Actually, I’m Pagan Thanks to Music

Abstract

The paper presents findings regarding the role of music in the community and teachings of the Slovak contemporary Pagan leader Žiarislav, based on ethnographic research carried out between 2016 and 2018. The paper discusses three inter-related themes: (a) the role of music in the community of Žiarislav’s followers, (b) the role of Žiarislav’s music in the process of shaping modern Pagan identity, and (c) music as an instrument for the spreading of alternative or dissenting ideas. The conclusions are based on an anthropological investigation into the lives and music-related customs of Žiarislav’s followers. The paper also explores the significance of music in Žiarislav’s spiritual teachings. Research into modern Pagan music is a thriving field, and all such research assists with an understanding of a living form of modern Slovak Paganism. It also represents an ideal research space for the study of strategies regarding the (re-)actualization of Slovak national identity among modern Pagans in Slovakia, one pillar of which is traditional Slovak folk culture, including music.