RE: Volos drawing
Wow, this is a really great painting, and frame too...thank you for sharing :-)
Yes, many gods have become "Saints", Christian missionaries used all possible tricks to turn people into Christianity ( they were converting people from 6. to 10. century). They also burned old oak trees that were sacred for Slavs, but some of the oaks older than 1000 years have survived. My grandmother told me that as a girl she was playing around old oak near village where she was born (southern Serbia) .That oak was called "The Record" ( Zapis ). She told me that there was an old custom of burning dead people and spreading ash around the oak so that the tree absorbed the dust in itself so that the person (spirit) continues to live in a tree. And when someone got sick they took a branch from the tree and burned it in the house so that the smoke filled the house and pushed the evil ghosts out of the house. Also when they hear a bad news or need help, they have been knocking on wood ( tree) to wake up sleepy ancestors who live in the tree (wood) and ask for help...
I'm always fascinated to hear such stories and traditions. There are many projects all over the world where people are going to the elders to ask them about the old stories and knowledge to record it before it is lost. I think and feel that it is important to keep these things alive, because they keep us connect to the natural world. Without the natural world, we are not alive.
True, we are all in the mission...If you did not watch movie "Paradise Found" I can recommend to you. It's about Paul Gauguin and his fight to preserve old culture in Tahiti island. Thanks to him, the Tahitians preserved their heritage.
Haven't seen that one.