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Following the Star

Catherine Madsen

In Western Alaska, where Orthodox Christians observe Christmas on January 7th, a musical tradition that originated in Ukraine is thriving. Variously spelled Selaviq, Slaviq or Slaaviq (from the Slavonic word Slava, “glory”), it is a multi-day celebration involving visiting, eating, gift-giving, and singing . The carols date back to , and were adapted centuries ago to Christian use. Selaviq is celebrated all over Orthodox Alaska, but the festivities are particularly elaborate in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, where they incorporate elements of the traditional winter ritual of thanks to the sea mammals.

Most likely it was Father Iakov Korchinskii who brought kolyadi from Ukraine to the village of Russian Mission around 1905. He also brought the tradition of “”, the use of a large spinning star during the singing and the processions from house to house. Starring originated in the Carpathian Mountains in the 16 th century, during a period of Polish control; it was a grassroots protest against the imposition of Latin, as the carols were sung in Slavonic. In Western Alaska, , they are generally sung in three languages—Slavonic, Yugtun, and English.

The history of Russian Orthodoxy in Alaska differs significantly from the history of other Christian denominations. Orthodoxy was the first to arrive, in the mid-18th century, not initially through missionary activity but via the Russian “fur rush,” which brought Siberian trappers into the Aleutians and Kodiak. Trappers often married into local families, bringing their religion with them; when missionaries arrived, beginning in 1795, they found people who were already somewhat knowledgeable and interested in learning more. The missionaries, who were themselves somewhat knowledgeable about Siberian spiritual traditions, did not condemn or try to suppress traditional ways; they listened, developed a sympathetic understanding, and discovered points of commonality. The late Rev. Dr. Michael Oleksa explains in how the missionaries offered Christianity as an addition to, not a replacement for, the people’s established moral and spiritual knowledge.

In this way, Orthodoxy established itself more or less organically among the Unangan, Tlingit and eventually the Yup’ik peoples. As writing systems were developed, the people rapidly became literate both in their own languages and in Slavonic; many took on leadership roles in their churches, and some went to Russia to study for the priesthood. The missionaries’ intention from the start was that Alaskan Orthodoxy would be under indigenous control, and that a local seminary would be established (owing to political disruptions, ). The missionaries consistently defended Native communities against the abuses of the Russian-American Company, which enslaved local hunters and forced them to decimate seal and sea otter populations for the fur trade. Later, when Protestant missionaries arrived under U.S. auspices, intent on forcing the abandonment of Native languages and spiritual traditions, it was again the Orthodox clergy who attempted—though sadly without much success—to support bilingual education in the students’ home villages rather than Anglophone education in residential schools.

Direct contact with the Russian church waned with the 1867 transfer of Alaska to the U.S., and with the 1917 Russian Revolution it was cut off altogether as the church suffered severe repression. Alaskan Orthodoxy was left essentially autonomous, to conduct services in and to develop its own fusion of Christian and pre- Christian traditions. This includes a vibrant and some striking theology, which Dr. Oleksa outlines in his lecture.

The Covid pandemic slowed down the celebrations for a time, but Selaviq is now back at full strength—one of the many joys of winter in Alaska.

 

 

 

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