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Kupala or Kupalo is an alleged Slavic deity who was first mentioned in the 17th century and compared to the Greek deities Ceres. However, modern scholars of Slavic mythology deny the existence of such a deity.
The fifth Kupalo was, as I believe, the God of Abundance, like Ceres for the Ancient Greece, To him, the foolish people gave thanks during harvest-tide. The commemoration of this demon Kupalo is still being celebrated in some of our lands by the foolish, from the 23rd of June, the eve of the birth of St. John the Baptist, up to the harvest and longer in the following way: in the evening, the plain folk of both sexes come together, and they wind wreaths from edible herbs or from roots. When they have wound the herbs around themselves, they light a fire. In another place, they erect a green branch and, holding hands, they circle around this fire, singing their songs in which Kupalo is mentioned. Then they jump over the aforesaid fire, dedicating themselves to this demon.
In the 17th century, Kupala is also recognized as a deity by the Kievan Synopsis and the Life of St. Vladimir.
Some researchers, such as Martin Pitro and Petr Vokáč, and Linda Ivantis, believe that Kupalo was not a deity, but a ritual figure or effigy used during Kupala Night. Source material confirms the existence of effigies with such a name, e.g. Ukrainian "ritual effigy, used in Saint John's Eve celebrations," or Belarusian "person leading the way in Saint John's Eve games."
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