Buchkov Tikhon

The research work is devoted to the study of the elements of water and fire, expressed in many proverbs, riddles, beliefs and legends, despite their hostility to each other. But it is a living energy that manifests many positive and negative things even today. And we see this almost every day. Today all over the world there is an unprecedented interest in Slavic culture, while in our country people are often more aware of the principles of Feng Shui and other exotic teachings than about the cultural traditions of their people. But people’s memory cannot be “corrected” so easily, that’s why brownies and water creatures live in people’s memories...

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NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM “INTELLECTUAL AND CREATIVE POTENTIAL OF RUSSIA”

Research competition “Youth. The science. Culture-Ural"

Section: linguistics

Mythological characters in Russian folklore

MBOU Secondary School No. 46 with in-depth study of individual subjects in Surgut

Scientific supervisor: Pokataeva Irina Pavlovna,

Primary school teacher,

First qualification category

MBOU Secondary School No. 46 with UIOP, Surgut

Zlatoust - 2015

Introduction

1.Theoretical part

1.2 The origin story of fire and Brownie

1.4 Two primordial enemies - Fire and Water (riddles)

1.5 Essences of fire and water in the modern world

2. Practical part

2.1 Questionnaire for 4th grade students

Conclusion

List of used literature

Applications

annotation

Topic: “Fire and Water”

Completed by: Tikhon Buchkov

Head: Pokataeva Irina Pavlovna

The research work is devoted to the study of the elements of water and fire, expressed in many proverbs, riddles, beliefs and legends, despite their hostility to each other. But it is a living energy that manifests many positive and negative things even today. And we see this almost every day. Today all over the world there is an unprecedented interest in Slavic culture, while in our country people are often more aware of the principles of Feng Shui and other exotic teachings than about the cultural traditions of their people.But people’s memory cannot be “corrected” so easily, that’s why brownies and water creatures live in people’s memories...

Listening to stories, you often hear about creatures that are next to us, which we cannot see. And I wondered: do they really exist and where did they come from? What do they bring to us, good or evil? Benefit or harm? What elements are they from?

Relevance This study is that every educated person should know the cultural traditions of his people and honor them, since the study of these traditions allows one to become familiar with the national culture, spiritual and moral values ​​of one’s people, form aesthetic taste, and cultivate respect and interest in folk traditions.

An object research - element of fire - Brownie, element of water - Water.

Target: clarify the images of Brownie and Vodyanoy through the study of the elements of fire and water.

Tasks :

Get acquainted with the elements of fire and water.

Find out who the Spirits of fire (Brownie) and water (Vodyanoy) are; where did they come from?

What do they bring to us: good or evil?

How this living energy manifests itself in our modern days.

Hypothesis : We assume that fire and water are two irreconcilable, hostile elements to each other, at the same time working against each other and capable of turning life in the house into both joy and a series of misfortunes.

Subject of study: images of the brownie and the merman in beliefs and traditions, proverbs about them, sayings and signs

Research methods:

Stage 1: collecting information in ancient books, encyclopedias, legends and beliefs, people's stories, the Internet

Stage 2: analysis of various legends about these elements and the spirits of the brownie and water spirit that emerged from them

Stage 3: survey of classmates, analysis of questionnaires

Stage 4: conclusions

1.1 Fire and water in the minds of the pagans of ancient Rus'

Fire and water are two hostile to each other, two irreconcilable, although sometimes working against each other, elements. The Russian people, too fond of eloquent speech, did not pass them by with their living word, flying from century to century. He has his own tale about each of these elements separately and together about both of them, expressed in many, many motley proverbs, riddles, beliefs and legends, despite all the hostility that often unites both of these mighty elements, at the will of the people-storyteller, wise from the ancient times .

Fire, in the minds of the pagans of ancient Rus', was the son of Heaven (Svarog), which is why they called him “Svarozhich” in those times that sank in the darkness of centuries, giving him worship: “... and they pray to the fire, they call him Svarozhich...” “, a certain Lover of Christ wrote about this. The later legend, recorded in the “Monuments of Denied Literature” (II, 445), says that fire came from the eyes of God. "How's the fire going?" - this legend asks. “Archangel Michael brought fire from the apple of the Lord and brought it to earth!” - the answer is given. The sun was accepted by the ancestors of the plowman people, who spiritualized all visible nature, as the all-seeing eye of the Creator. Thus, according to the popular worldview, fire comes from the beautiful luminary of the day.

“Fire came down from heaven,” says pious, simple-minded wisdom. “The waters of heaven water the earth,” she continues, saying: “Fire and water are adversaries!”, “Water is the master of everything; he is afraid of water and fire!” The wise thousand-year experience of the people gives good advice to the plowman - “hold on to the earth”, “be friends with the earth”, but with this advice there is a reservation: “Don’t joke with fire, don’t be friends with water, don’t trust the wind!”, “Be friends with the earth: from entered the earth, the earth feeds, you will go to the earth!”, “Fire and water - need and trouble!”, “Fire is the king, water is the queen, earth is mother, sky is father, wind is lord, rain is the breadwinner, sun is prince, moon - princess" etc.

According to popular belief, fire is endowed with extraordinary power, but water is stronger than fire (“earth is stronger than water, man is stronger than earth”), “Fire and water are good in farm laborers, but God forbid they live with their minds!” the old man warns the later descendants of the hero Mikula Selyaninovich. "Don't be afraid of the axe, be afraid of the fire!" - she adds: “You can’t argue with fire and water!”, “God gave free rein to fire and water!”, “Walk near fire - you’ll get burned, near water - you’ll get wet!”, “A thief steals - even if he leaves the walls, the fire will come and The walls will be blown away!"

According to a figurative Russian expression, fire is a “hero-voivode”, and water is “its own king.” If the water takes away the power, so it is, - people’s Rus' says, - “and the White Tsar will not take it away”... From the fire, according to her winged word, the water boils, and the fire is poured with water. Water is even more dangerous than fire for unwary people. “The mill stands by water, but perishes by water!”, “And still water the steep banks are being washed away!”, say popular proverbs: “Water covers itself, and the shore, you know, is digging!”, “Always expect a dashing misfortune from big water!” The same proverb says: “Trouble has come, the water has spilled: you can’t move, but they don’t tell you to stand!” The hopelessly dangerous situation into which everyone who fails to heed the experience of old people who have crossed the field of life finds themselves is depicted in the common language by the expression “Out of the frying pan and into the fire!”, or even more aptly: “Out of the fire and into the water”, “Just out of the gate and into the water!”...

1.2 The history of the origin of fire and Brownie

Fire is different from fire. The heart of the people-storyteller, mindful of the covenants of ancient times, has preserved its prophetic legends not only about heavenly and earthly fire, but also about “living” (worn out of wood). So water is reputed, according to these legends, to be either living or dead. Heavenly fire (lightning) is sent down to earth, the people say, for a reason: God’s justice punishes unrepentant sinners with it. Extinguishing a fire from a thunderstorm ("God's fire") is therefore considered a sin. The ancient Slavs, uniting the heavenly and earthly fires into one element, called them - like many others, leading their family tree from the same Aryan root to the tribes "water-born" (sons and grandsons of water), thus placing them dependent on her position. “Living fire is even now given a special miraculous power. In ancient times in Rus', like other Slavic relatives, it was the custom to maintain an unquenchable flame on the hearth, kindled from fire extracted from the dry core of a tree. This, according to ancient belief, protected the house from any misfortune and even provided the family with a peaceful, happy life. In the remote corners of the Light Russian expanse, a superstitious and reverent attitude towards such fire, produced by the big people of the family, has still been preserved to this day.

In ancient times, the home was considered sacred. In the fire maintained on it, they saw power - not only giving a person warmth and food, but also driving away all evil spirits and all kinds of severe illnesses from the home. The hearth was the first altar of a pagan Slav; the tree burning on it is the first sacrifice to the lord of the heavenly fires, Perun the Thunderer. In the old days, meetings of relatives gathered around the hearth. When moving out from their grandfather's nest, young members of the clan certainly took burning coals from the old one with them to their new hearth. Only this, according to the belief of the early ancestors of the modern plowman, could preserve family ties. If the fire on someone's hearth went out, it promised all sorts of troubles to the superstitious imagination and was considered a harbinger of the extinction of the family. Even the firewood scattered from the hearth did not promise anything good for the owners. Spitting on the hearth was considered a great sin. If someone poured water on someone else's fireplace, it was an expression of irreconcilable hostility - life and death. Ash taken from the hearth in holidays, served, in the hands of the head of the family, as a healing agent: it was used for the most diverse diseases. Setting off on a long journey, the ancient Slav took with him not only a handful of his native land, as is observed today, but also a pinch of ash from the hearth. Incantations were pronounced in front of a blazing hearth. By the fluctuations of its flame, fate was predicted and the future harvest was guessed. This fortune-telling has disappeared from the people's memory, but you can still hear in Rus' the words of a conspiracy like: “Ahti, mother of a white stove! You don’t know yourself either sorrow, or illness, or pinches, or aches! So is the servant of God (name) I wouldn’t know any tricks, no tributaries, no lessons, no ghosts.” Even now in the Little Russian south of Russia, many villages have preserved the custom of giving sick people a drink of holy water with stove ash. In the Kursk province, according to several researchers of folk antiquities, the stove replaces the pharmacy in remote corners. Those suffering from nervous diseases (“from fright”) are placed in front of its hot mouth; people with sore throats are forced to rub their necks on the edge of the stove; “for a cold,” the patient throws a stone found on the river bank into a blazing oven, throws it and says: “Just as the stone on the river bank was dry, so if my servant of God (name) had dry feet, not afraid of cold or frost, not a snowstorm, and as hot as he is now, so be you too, your feet are hot!” To protect a newborn child from the evil eye, the godfather takes coal from the stove and, going out to the intersection, throws the coal over himself. In the Oryol province, domestic animals are given under the protection of the hearth, for example, placing calves that have just been born to the stove. In the forties, in many indigenous Great Russian places, when returning from a funeral, it was necessary to touch the stove with your hand. This, in the opinion of those who adhered to this custom, was supposed to protect against death “in an instant.” People who know “all the ins and outs” advise protecting the stacks of bread. and the haystacks from the mouse-eater are nothing other than pouring under them, on four sides, ash from scraps of hay and ears of grain burned on the fireplace, meticulous housewives from time to time scoop out the ash from the oven and sprinkle it on the floor in the chicken coop, thinking, that this will make the chickens lay eggs better. Gardeners, blessing themselves, scatter the ashes (“from the worm”) over the beds cut for planting cabbage seedlings. There are places where it is customary to mix ashes from the hearth into the first rye seeds “to protect against hail.”

And in many, many other cases of everyday life, the simple-minded old man pinned his hopes on the help and protection of his benevolent bright spirits who lived in the hearth. All these deities, propitiated by the flame, were subsequently united in one tenacious creature - Brownie (also called “master” and “household grandfather”). With this reincarnation, caused by the hand of all-crushing time, the bright appearance of the powerful spirit of fire turned pale, having lost a considerable share of its strength and power along the way over centuries. Even the very memory of him has become a vague legend of a half-forgotten past, obscured from the inner world of the modern plowman by the foggy haze of new layers of everyday superstition. Perhaps one cannot even recognize in the present-day Domovoy the most distant relative of the deity of pagan Rus' - so blurred are all his once sharply visible features during the successive centuries-long modification; before that, his elemental properties and responsibilities were exchanged for trifles. The people even evicted him from the hearth itself, transferring the location of the old one to the podechek, where the sorcerers-healers of our days turn in appropriate cases.

An inquisitive researcher of the Slavs' views on nature evoked from the foggy darkness of oblivion the ingenuous image of this caring keeper of the family hearth. The brownie, in his description, is the oldest and most honorable person in the householder’s family, to which he belongs in an ascending line, as the forefather (grandfather), who laid the foundation for the hearth and the union of relatives gathered under one roof. He usually wears his master's clothes, but always manages to put them back in place as soon as the family member needs them. He sees every little thing, tirelessly fusses and makes sure that everything is in order and ready, here to help a worker, there to correct his mistake. His master's eye is pleased with the offspring of any domestic animal; he dislikes unnecessary expenses and gets angry at them. If he likes his life, then he serves the household and vigilantly looks after the entire house and yard. He sympathizes with every family joy, grieves over every family grief. He even warns his respectful families about every danger that threatens them from anywhere.

To this day, in old Rus', many wedding customs related to the reverence of the hearth are observed. In ancient times, not a single bride left her parents' house before the wedding without saying goodbye to its fire. Farewell was accompanied by special rituals, which little by little disappeared from everyday life. At the same time, the bridesmaids sang special “fire” songs; but almost no trace of them has survived to this day. In front of the groom's house, the bride was also greeted by fire: a friend ran out to meet him with a burning brand from the groom's hearth in his hands. “Just as you took care of the fire in your father and mother’s house, so take care of it in your husband’s house!” he greeted the young woman, running around her three times. As soon as she had time to enter the hut, she was led to a blazing hearth and here she was showered with three handfuls of grain, as a sign that she was joining the family and as a wish for fertility in her married life. From that moment on, the newlywed came under the protection of a bright spirit, whose presence in the hearth protected the whole family from “unnecessary” misfortune. In the evening, after the feast, the young woman took off her belt and threw it on the stove. This seemed to entrust the entire married life of the young newlyweds to the protection of the brownie. The neighbors of the Great Russian peasant, the Simbirsk Chuvash, still observe an ancient custom adopted from the Russians, which has been lost in the memory of people's Rus', which consists in the fact that the newlywed, entering her husband's house for the first time, first of all bows down to the stove, and then proceeds to perform other rituals of this most solemn day for her in her gray, everyday life.

In the everyday life of the modern Russian peasant, one can count many dozens of such cases in which he, unconsciously joining the superstition of his ancestors, turns to the intercession of the forgotten patrons of his home.

Looking through the research of our people experts, every now and then you come across evidence of this. For example, in the Kursk province, until recently it was considered necessary to bring a cow bought from the market to feed it for the first time on the stove screen. In many other, even non-adjacent, provinces, when sending someone from the household on a journey, even now big housewives open the shutter and swing open the hut door so that the warm breeze of the hearth follows the traveler, protecting him on a foreign side and constantly reminding him of his own family, caring and grieving for the absent. There are places where, during the first thunderstorm, a fire is lit in the stove, as if calling on the earthly patron to help against the heavenly fire. This is an undoubted relic of the ancient propitiatory bloodless sacrifice to Perun the Thunderer. As one of the universally observed customs of pious folk antiquity, one can point to the custom of being baptized when lighting the first evening fire in the hut. The fire is extinguished by old people who adhere to their grandfather’s precepts, also with the sign of the cross. Some strict guardians of the ritual side of life consider it a considerable sin to extinguish the fire without proper reverence. When lighting a fire in the stove, Belarusians remain silent and are careful not to look back. If, according to them, this custom is not observed, then it will not be surprising if a fire occurs in the house on the same day. In the Tver district there is a custom recorded to drive away from neighbors as far as possible the householder whose house is on fire: otherwise the punishing wrath of God will follow him, and the flames will engulf the house into which he enters, and even to which he approaches. In the old days, Chernigov residents carried around the fire not only holy icons, but also bread and salt. One cannot help but see in this custom again the relic mentioned above. In the Volyn region, in such a case, women take out a table covered with a clean tabletop, put holy water on it, put bread and salt next to it and walk with this table around the burning house, walking, shouting in their own voices:

"Oh, you, greedy for fire,

Sent from heaven to us!

Don't disperse like smoke,

Bo ordered you like that, son of God!”

Overheard by collectors of folklore monuments in the same places rich in legends, another version of this parable was overheard: “I am in the air for you, guest! Having called it his own, the Lord ascended into heaven, and the servant of the holy fire rushed after the Lord!”

The superstitious soul of an inhabitant of remote, remote corners sometimes tells him that the patron of the hearth, angry with the owners, is to blame for a fire. He, the old man, takes such cruel revenge only for the most serious insults inflicted on him. In order to avoid such a disaster, which almost completely ruins the most economical peasant, and sends the poor man and his entire family around the world, the Belarusians observe a special custom of treating the Brownie, who for this protects not only from fire, but also from any other God’s disfavor. In Simbirsk and its neighboring Volga provinces, the custom of burning the first logs of each newly built house is strictly observed. This, according to the carpenters, should protect against the menacing visit of the “red rooster”.

1.3 History of the origin of water and Vodyanoye

Water, according to the ancient saying of the Russian people, who are searching for the beginning of the universal principles, seems to be the blood of the earth.

There is a legend in Rus' about the creation of the earth's seas, lakes and rivers. When God created the earth, it says, He commanded the rain to fall. It began to rain. The Creator called to the birds and gave them the task of spreading water to all directions of the world. Iron-nosed birds swooped in (personification spring thunderstorms) and began to fulfill the command of the One who created them. And all the ravines, all the basins, all the potholes in the earth were filled with water. “This is where all the waters came from,” the story ends. According to another version, it is complemented by how one bird out of the entire flock refused to obey the Creator. “I don’t need lakes or rivers,” she said, “I’ll drink on a pebble!” The Lord flared up with great anger at the small bird and forbade it and all its descendants forever and ever to even fly up to rivers and other receptacles of earthly waters; She was given permission to quench her thirst with rainwater alone. And this bird flies into the drought shouting “Drink, drink!”

Since ancient times, the Russian people and all their relatives, the Slavs, have held in great veneration the springs that emerge from the mountain rock layers. Their appearance refers to the strikes of the fiery arrows of Elijah the Prophet (lightning), which is why they are known as rattling and holy. It is customary to build chapels and place crosses over such springs. On holidays, as well as during periods of rainlessness, religious processions are held to them. In the Simbirsk province (in the Korsun and Simbirsk districts) not long ago, twenty to thirty years ago, pious old blueberry women went to the priest in the dry spring and asked for a blessing to “go to the rattle”. Then they approached the spring and began to dig the ground near it. If they managed to dig to a new water “vein,” this was considered a sign that God had mercy on the grain growers and it would soon rain. They returned home and walked through the village, accompanied by the kind refrain of cheerful children, hopping exactly like a sparrow:

"Rain, rain, more!

I'll give you the grounds!

Well, rain - rain,

Water with a bucket

For uncle's rye,

For grandma's spelt!" etc.

Since time immemorial, water has been given the power of fertility in Rus'. The ancient pagan Slav saw in rain the source of harvests, poured out by the cloudy rain-bearing maiden who entered into a marriage union with the thunder god. People transferred the power of fertility from rainwater to rivers and streams. In some places, even in the thirties, the custom of praying over springs was observed, even though neither a cross nor a chapel was erected there. In the old days, when the Russians kidnapped (“kidnapped”) their brides, it was enough for the train to travel around the lake three times for it to be considered tantamount to a wedding. And now, even in those places where the ancient superstition holds especially firmly, the bride and groom swear over wells of future fidelity to each other.

Water, like fire, has always seemed endowed with healing powers. “Water cleanses from all unclean things, fire consumes all evil spirits!” - says common wisdom through the mouths of old people. For what kind of diseases do village cures not use water even today! And in this case, the water of the rattling spring is assigned the greatest importance. “Helps,” according to knowledgeable, experienced witches, and rainwater. Water melted from snow, especially collected in March, also helps. If they take water for a sick person from a flowing place, from a river, they will never scoop it up against the current. The prophetic power with which folk antiquity endowed water forces people to resort to it with fortune-telling, which still does not lose its meaning in rural life. Fortune tellers look into the water, guessing fate by the movement of the streams; listen to the water, determining the prediction by its noise; throwing various objects onto the water.

Just as the Brownie lives near the hearth, so in every river, in every lake there lives a Vodyanoy. The superstitious popular imagination has created many different legends about him, from which even now one can guess his distant origin from the pagan Dazhdbog. According to the people, it depends on him to “hold back the rains.” That is why the plowman-farmer pays him every respect, appeasing him with all possible gifts, calling him, like Domovoy, “grandfather.” Water is his kingdom, where he has the power to do whatever he wants. Under his power are not only fish, but also mermaids (underwater maidens), not only everything that lives in the water, but also everything that approaches it. All who have to live on the gifts of water (fishermen, millers, boatmen) should be at peace with him. He provides all kinds of protection to those who remember this: he takes care of swimmers, sends a good catch, looks after the nets, monitors the water level in the pond, etc. But “trouble is the one who starts a quarrel with him!” - old people warn young people, who remember less and less about the precepts of hoary antiquity.

“Judgments of God” have been conducted in Rus' since time immemorial. Even Perun the Thunderer, the formidable lord of the lights of heaven and rain-bearing clouds, was called upon to be their witness and judge. The punisher of evil evil spirits who crossed the paths of the work of the plowman people, he was also the scourge of human vices and crimes. Fire and water , these elements under his power were given the power to expose lies. That is why our most distant ancestors, in difficult cases, turned to their impartial mediation. Like other neighboring peoples, not only the Slavs, but also the Germans, the fiery test of the guilt and correctness of the defendants was carried out in ancient Rus' in this way. The accused had to walk with his bare feet on a hot iron: the people believed that in case of innocence, every person would do this without harm to himself. The one judged by water had to either get a stone from the bottom of a cauldron of boiling water, or enter the river at its widest point and swim to the other bank. The culprit should have been drowned in the latter case, its very falsehood. It often happened that the accused, fearing heavenly punishment, confessed to their crimes and agreed to suffer punishment from earthly judges rather than perish from God’s judgment. Subsequently, over time, the test began to be carried out in an easier way, by casting lots on the water, according to which the trial was decided.

“Push water and there will be water!” - he laughs at the dull listeners, who need to explain every word, chew it and put it in their mouth. “Water won’t make any profit, stupidity won’t do any good!” “Ask him why are you stupid? Our water is like that!” The people do not spare either friend or enemy, and will not have mercy on themselves in words. "The world is strong as water, but stupid as a child!" - he says about rural gatherings, where loud-mouthed galmans are used to getting the upper hand: “The world, the water will make noise, and it will disperse!”, “The people, like water on the beginnings, overflow!” etc. “Fire is not water, it will engulf you and you won’t emerge.” After the fire, get water!” - they say in the village about those who are too strong in hindsight. “Throw away the profit with a stone and water!” - about a matter for which it is not worth even to take on; “Water with water is not a mountain with a mountain: it will merge!” about people who are thinking about the same thing, approaching each other; “On which river to swim, that’s where he drinks water!” business is underway.

About the resourceful man, who gets away with everything that goes wrong, a lot of popular sayings are allowed to walk around folk Rus', such as: “It’s as bad as water off a duck’s back!”, “He’ll come out of the water dry!”, “He stole and stole the whole thing!” into the water!”, “His craft went on the water, went on the water, was carried away by the water!” Secretive people who do not like long-winded speeches received the following apt definition: “Our silent man has filled his mouth with water!” About those who should not be trusted, the words flew from the lips of folk wisdom: “He has the truth written on the water with a pitchfork!”, “Believe him, he can swim on water on a stone!”, “Words from the tongue are like water from a jib!” etc. “Water does not flow under a lying stone!” - it is said about couch potatoes waiting for bread to come into their hands. “It’s like a stone on the neck, a fable is like flowing water!”, “The past entwines the legs with grass, the fable runs away with the flowing water!”, “I’ll figure out someone else’s misfortune on the water, but I won’t apply my mind to my own!”, ends the one who feeds on the bounty of the earth -Nurse-nurse people-storytellers, not stingy with red and well-aimed speeches that hit the eye, not the eyebrows. He walks along the path of centuries, sowing the verbal field with rumors; Speeches sprout up, burst into words, fill with proverbs, in order to again end up in the treasury of new sowers, to ring with new speeches, grown by the people's reality. Once such a speech-rumor has flown out into the open air, it will not fall into the hands of oblivion, it will not float across the water without a trace, it will not sink like a stone to the bottom - it will go for a walk in Holy Rus', for a walk to gain strength, to multiply words with words...

1.4 Two ancient enemies - fire and water (riddles)

Two ancient enemies left their mark - fire and water- and in the treasury of Russian folk mysteries. “What burns without fire, flies without wings, runs without legs?” - asks the riddle. - “Sun, clouds and fast rivers!” - answers the solution. “I was born in water, fed on fire!” - salt, the sister of our daily bread, speaks up. “I am not on my own, but the strongest and most terrible of all, and everyone loves me and everyone ruins me!” - declares that hero, who “fed” the costliest half of the bread and salt. “I neither burn in fire nor drown in water!” a new word is heard: ice speaks. The day ends, the sky is clouded with darkness and twilight, and night comes. The people look, and he himself says: “The immortal sheep is burning in the fire!” And the fire is right there in his memory: “He slept in stone, stood on iron, walked on wood, like a falcon flew!” - I remember the plowman winged word. “What can’t you get out of the hut?” ask the riddle hunters. - "Stove!" - then comes the solution. “What is not visible in the hut?” - “Warmth.” In the Pskov province they think differently about the stove: “The woman is standing in the corner, and her mouth is on her side!”; in Novgorodskaya - in its own way: “On one side is Belets, on the other is Belets, in the middle is Chernets!”; among the Vologda residents - in the same way: “Two white men are leading a little black man!”, “The lady is sitting in the barn - you can’t take her in a couple!” - say the Siberian riddlers. There are mysteries flying around folk Rus' about the stove screen. “Mother Sophia dries during the day and dies at night!” (Pskov province), “Two are steaming, the third is pushing; when it opens, all the sweetness rises!” (Samara province) - the most flowery of them. “The mother is fat, the daughter is red, the son is brave - he has gone to heaven!” ("... the son is curly-haired - he flies in the sky"), they make a wish about the stove smoke of the Olonka women and the Olonka men. In the Kursk province there is the same riddle, but with a modified ending: “The son is long-legged, he can bend over backwards”... “The father (fire) has not yet been born, but the son (smoke) is already walking into the forest!” - say the Pskovites, adding to this: “It sways, it perishes, but it won’t fall to the ground!”, “The godfather’s reel went to heaven!” In those places where there are still black-smoking huts, the village folk make eloquent thoughts about the smoke in a different way: “The cat is black, snickering in the window” (Simbirsk province), “A Ham is walking around the shop in Hamina’s shirt. Ham, get out!” " (Samara province), etc. “What grows upside down?” - wonders about soot in the chimney; "The box is full of golden sparrows!" - about the stove burner (or: “Full of red testicles!”); “Below the top, higher than the stove, warms your shoulders!” - about the floors; “I’ll hit the white stone chambers with damask steel, the princess will come out and sit on the feather bed!” - about flint, flint, spark and tinder. They say about the fire itself: “Without arms, without legs, and crawling up the mountain!”, “The red one is sharpening a hole!”, “The pig is trembling, the bristles of gold!” There are riddles about the burning birch splinter: “The red cockerel is running along the perch!” (Ryazan province), “The cat runs along the block, the cat puts down one piece!” (Samara province), “Eats white, drops black!” (Novgorod province), etc. A candle, according to the riddles, is a “pillar” burning without coals; a light with a lit torch; seems to be an “old man” who stands, “eats the prison and bends it to himself.” It is said about him: “Yarmoshka stands on one leg, crumbling crumbs - neither for himself nor for his wife!”

1.5 The essence of fire and water in the modern world.

Brownies in the modern world. Good and evil. Who are they?

Let's figure out who the brownies are. What they look like. Are they good or evil entities?

Brownie, Barabashka, Poltergeist - these words generally mean one thing, an energetic essence, a small spirit. They say the brownie still lives in everyone village house and in many city apartments, but not in every one. The brownie keeps the hearth and becomes its patron and soul. It is he who makes sure that there is always prosperity in the house, that there are no quarrels, illnesses, and that bad people and evil spirits cannot harm the owners. For this, people pay him with their love. The belief in the existence of the brownie has survived to this day - many are 100% convinced that the brownie exists, and some provide evidence that they have met him in person.

Recent cases with brownie

Russian singer Akula has been “at war” with her brownie for several months now. Slamming cabinet doors. The brownie's violence is unpredictable. Mrs. World Alisa Krylova has the same problems. She is also terrorized by the brownie, who moves furniture, things, and moves car keys to different rooms.

The reasons why brownies begin to be aggressive towards the owners of houses and apartments are unknown. Maybe they just didn't like the owner. According to brownie experts, you just need to make friends with the entity. It is known that brownies are very fond of milk, cookies, and candies, and if you throw it to him in different places where you think they go, then you can appease him and it is better to pour the milk into a saucer. It is also known that they are not indifferent to shiny objects. But still, most brownies are very kind and love people and pets very much. But if a brownie sees that someone has offended his beloved cat, for example, kicked him or beat him for something, then he will take revenge for this.

What does a brownie look like?

It is believed that a brownie is born as an old grandfather and dies as a baby. Most often, the brownie looks like an old man - small, covered all over with gray hair, including the palms. Sometimes, in order to avert prying eyes from himself, he takes on the appearance of the owner of the house. But sometimes it can be a bad sign - death or illness. In general, the brownie loves to wear the owner’s clothes, but always manages to put them back in place as soon as the person needs things.

In childhood, brownies look like balls covered with long, hard-to-touch hair. The hands are small, with soft fingers. Legs may be absent - then brownies move through the air, hovering above the floor. When they see a person, they become almost transparent and hover motionlessly under the ceiling, sometimes they begin to fly very quickly around the room, leaving a grayish trail behind them.

In adolescence, a brownie has no gender, but living next to a person for a long time, it gradually acquires the appearance, character and gender of its owner. In different regions of Russia, the brownie takes on different images. In addition to the old man, the village brownies pretend to be a hare, a bear, a lynx, or appear as a shadow on the wall. Urban brownies often take the form of a mouse, snake, weasel or cat.

A brownie differs from demons in that he does not do evil, but only sometimes jokes or, as they say, “mischief” and even provides services if he loves the owner or mistress. The one he loves, he curls his hair and beards into braids, and the one he doesn’t love, he pinches him at night until he bruises. If the brownie fell in love with the family, then he warns of misfortune and guards the house and yard from thieves. But what is most surprising is that the characters of the brownies are formed by the people themselves.

What does a brownie eat?

Brownies feed on our emotions, they will never “eat” us by force, like vampires, they simply feed on the energy that we create around us. And he also feeds on the energy from ordinary food that the products emit. If you are an angry and cruel person, there is no good energy and a heavy atmosphere in your home, then your brownie in such an environment will not be able to be kind and affectionate.

If he does not escape from such an evil house at all, then, most likely, he will manifest himself in this way: scare the owners with howls and screams, hide things, damage furniture and dishes, push, scare, strangle people and other unpleasant actions. With such actions, we say that there is a poltergeist in the house, and we begin to drive him out in every possible way, without thinking at all that it is our poor brownie who is forced to defend himself, since he has already become “brutal” from constant scandals and negativity. In this case, in the kitchen, in a secluded corner at sunset, leave a saucer with milk and a bun or cookies and sincerely ask the housekeeper for forgiveness. But if his pranks are expressed in the spontaneous combustion of objects, bad inscriptions on the walls and other things of that kind, then the Brownie should be shown who is boss in the house. You need to take a belt in your hand and walk around the house and quilt furniture, walls, floors and things and say in an authoritative and strong voice:

“Know your place, know your place.

You, the brownie, must guard the house, take care of the household,

Yes, please the mistress, and not fight,

Know your place, know your place."

Any words can be said, the main thing is that they are spoken by the owner of the house. If you can’t come to an agreement with the brownie, take a broom and, saying: “I’m sweeping you, you alien, harmful brownie, I’m driving you out,” sweep the floors, looking into every corner with the broom. And so every day, except Friday, all week. I want to warn you that it is worth trying all methods of influencing your brownie. And scold, and scold, and caress, and only if nothing comes of it, and he is really very angry, then kick him out, but remember, life is bad without a brownie. Calm, friendly, positive owners in their houses have equally calm and positive brownies, but a kind brownie, unlike an angry one, is more difficult to track, since it does not manifest itself so clearly. According to common belief, the brownie lives behind the stove, and if the owner has horses and a stable, then he is placed near the horses. In urban environments, they live under the stove, in the oven, under the bathtub, on the mezzanine or in the closet.

Good brownie.

Usually it quietly dozes somewhere under the ceiling in the form of a clot of energy, coming to the aid of its owners at the right moments. In houses with such brownies, things are rarely lost, people quarrel less often, money is better stored, providing the owners with material wealth, and pets do not get sick. It is almost impossible to see a good brownie, unless you are endowed with a special gift that allows you to see the energy of everything around you, but his presence is felt in a feeling of care and patronage.

However, pets and small children can see the brownie: for example, he sometimes even plays with the child and answers his questions.

Do not try to communicate with the brownie, to get a good look at him, this may be unsafe for your psyche. All magical creatures do not really like people intruding into their lives, and brownies are no exception. To get rid of your too intrusive attention, brownies can influence your psyche, so much so that you lose sleep and appetite, the entire rhythm of life is disrupted, and serious mental and health problems may begin. And if this doesn’t stop you, and you continue to impose your communication on the brownie, then he may turn into an angry poltergeist.

Why do socks get lost?

A sign from the brownie can be the constant disappearance of socks. This mainly concerns the man who leads double life or he puts all the housework on his wife, while completely avoiding it himself. This sign may also be a protest against the fact that general cleaning has not been done for a long time, since the brownie does not like disorder. Clean the house and then perhaps your socks will match. That is, if the brownie begins to “mischief,” it means that something is wrong in the family.

How to communicate with Domovoy?

People used to believe that if you spoke to a brownie, you could either go numb or become a stutterer. Therefore, it is recommended to simply listen to what Domovoy warns about. If the dishes rattle, a fire may occur. If he pours water on him, then he will get sick, and if he cries and groans, then he will be on fire. Well, if he starts howling and slamming doors, it means death. If there is only the appearance of prosperity in a family, but in reality the husband and wife do not get along, then knives often disappear in such a house.

It is necessary to determine for the Brownie a place where he would sleep and hide. Although, usually, the brownie finds and arranges such a place for himself, but sometimes he directly shows that he likes it here - be lenient. The brownie is a thinking creature. Moreover, he easily reads your thoughts. First you need to know that you can talk to Domovoy both mentally and out loud. If your family perceives this normally, then it is possible in the presence of family members. Of course, the brownie has a name, but since you don’t know him, you can address him as “Grandfather”, “Grandfather-housewife”, “Master-father”, “Brownie-father”, “Sir-brownie”, “Neighbor”. When talking about a brownie in the third person, respectfully call him “he”, “himself” - your brownie will appreciate the respectful attitude. Ask him to help with something, promise him something tasty or toys. Usually the Brownie speaks to you in his own language, which is not always easy to understand. You can ask him “Brownie, Brownie, we don’t wish you harm, explain what you want.” The answer can be felt with the palm of your hand: heat means yes, cold means no.

What does the brownie like to play with?

Old beads, jewelry, shiny buttons, old coins. Put all this in a beautiful box without a lid and tell the Brownie that this is a gift for him, and put it in a secret place. No one should touch the box or its contents. The box can be sewn from postcards, glued together, or taken ready-made and decorated with all sorts of shiny pieces of paper and rain.

Give the Brownie some money. Usually this is five kopecks in one coin. It is placed in a hard-to-reach place in the house, often left between cracks in the floor. At this time they say: “Grandfather brownie! Here's some money for boots and sunflower seeds. I give it from my heart, I give it to you!”

If Domovoy gets spoiled, then you should scold him: “Such a grown-up grandfather is the one who plays pranks. Oh no no no!". He will feel ashamed and will try to make amends.

The best way to communicate with Domovoy is to treat him with something tasty. The brownie will certainly appreciate your concern, and will try to thank you sooner or later. All esoteric literature recommends pouring milk into a clean saucer and placing the treat in a secluded, warm corner. You can also add some sweets and cookies to the milk. Sometimes you need to pamper your Brownie with porridge - for example, on the first day of every month.

It is better to place goodies under the battery. If there are dogs, cats or other animals in the house, then place it on the refrigerator or in a corner so that the Brownie is comfortable, and away from human eyes, and so that the animals do not get it. When putting out treats, you should say: “This is for you, Grandfather-housewife.” Then there will be more happiness in the house, and peace between household members.

On major holidays (Maundy Thursday, Easter, Christmas) in good families, after the festive dinner, they always left a treat for the brownie on the table.

Even the name day of the Domovoi “housewife” was celebrated, they were celebrated on February 10, on Efrim the Sirin. On this day it was necessary to leave a gift for the “owner” on the table. Usually it's bread and porridge. At the same time they said: “Master-father, take care of the household”, “Master-father, take bread and salt, plenty of water.” After the festive dinner, the “neighbor” was humble and helpful all year. If this is not done, then the Brownie could turn from a good creature into an evil and harmful one, and after that all things in the household would go awry.

All the food that was given to the brownie is then given to domestic animals or any animals on the street, birds. The porridge is removed the next day, and the sweets are kept until the next first day. Also, on family holidays, do not forget to give the Brownie a glass of wine (do not offer vodka) and something tasty. At the same time, say: “Master-father, sir brownie, love me and perhaps accept my treat.” Everyone clinks glasses with a glass of Domovoi. On the ninth of June, Fyodor's day, the brownie settles down to sleep on a broom, and by chance it can be taken out of the house along with the garbage. Therefore, on this day, peasants in Rus' did not sweep the floors at all, so that prosperity and comfort would not leave the house along with the brownie.

Who is the brownie at enmity with?

Brownies have enemies, these are directly spirits from the lower astral plane. Namely, these are the souls of suicides who were not inveterate according to all Christian customs, which neither heaven nor earth accepts. But since they also need to be somewhere, they try to push the good brownie out of the house. Spirits from the lower astral plane settle only in problematic families. Therefore, when a scandal is brewing, think carefully before it can be fraught.

How to check if there is a brownie in your house?

In this simple way - by leaving treats for the Brownie - you can check whether he is even in your house, using the pendulum technique the next morning. You hang any object on a long thread - a ring, a large bead, any object that seems most suitable to you. The pendulum answers questions by swinging in different directions, yes or no. When leaving an offering for the brownie at night, check the energy of the milk in the morning. Yes, milk will at first glance be untouched if cats do not latch it, because brownies are energetic entities, and they feed, accordingly, on energy. Your pendulum will not be able to answer the question whether milk is good or bad, it will simply stand still, without swinging, because all the energy from the milk will go away. This means you have a brownie, and he accepted your offering.

You can also check the presence of a brownie this way: in apartments, it is quite possible that the brownie’s favorite place to live is the bathroom, namely the washing machine. If you place a mirror on a stand on it, then most likely during the day this mirror will be knocked over.

How not to offend a brownie?

The common people respect the brownie, so the peasant is afraid to offend him in any way and is even careful not to say his name without purpose. In conversations they do not call him a brownie, but “grandfather, master, big man, or himself.” It is believed that he does not like mirrors, also goats, as well as those who sleep near or under the threshold. They say that Brownie does not like lazy people. You cannot whistle in the house, since the Brownie cannot tolerate whistling, he can leave the house, sometimes immediately and forever. Brownies also really don’t like tobacco smoke, so it’s better to never smoke in your home, as this smoke settles on household utensils and furniture and does not disappear. According to legends, you should not leave piercing or cutting objects on the table (forks, knives, etc.), as well as salt, pepper, garlic, onions, at night, because this prevents the brownie from protecting the house and resisting evil forces.

In addition, the Brownie does not tolerate dirty kitchen appliances and dishes standing in the kitchen for a long time, and when the owner is far from the kitchen, you can hear the characteristic knocking and rattling of dishes. The anger of the brownie can be pacified by placing a few coins on the hallway cabinet or on the roof of the bookcase in the hall. Don’t forget to greet and say goodbye to Domovoy, calling him respectfully “Master.” Sometimes the Brownie may reveal his name to you - this is a very positive sign.

Water energy in the modern world.

Many modern scientists argue that water - seas, rivers, oceans and lakes - often behaves like an intelligent entity, that water is alive.

But what some scientists are just now arriving at has long been known to people on all continents. (Annex 1)

Even the Gospel describes an incident when Jesus Christ ordered the raging waves to calm down, and they obeyed Him.

It would seem: water and water. It is used to wash dirty things, water gardens and vegetable gardens, and use it for drinking and cooking. Practical, utilitarian and down to earth application.

But for some reason, people at all times have animated and deified water, populating it with intelligent and magical inhabitants.

There is not a single people whose mythology does not contain good or evil, gentle or wild, humanoid and not very aquatic creatures. All of them personified the water element - sometimes peaceful and calm, sometimes wild and uncontrollable.

At some times, water fed and gave life, and at others it became a ruthless killer, sinking ships and demolishing entire villages.

Constantly changeable, capricious, generous and stingy at the same time - how to understand her, how to find an approach to her, how to teach her to live in peace with people?

Or maybe it was the water element, knocking on the consciousness of people, creating in it understandable and accessible images capable of conveying its soul and character? (Appendix 2)

The most famous and interesting of them is Water. Character from Slavic mythology. Like all natural mythical creatures Among the Slavs (domovoi, goblin, banniki, etc.) he was depicted as an ugly old man with a fish tail. (Appendix 3)

For comparison: the water gods of Greece - Poseidon, his son Triton, the old man Ocean - were powerful handsome men.

In Russian folk tales, the merman (aka sea ​​king) acts as an enemy of people.

• It is he who takes people captive, dragging them to him and making them his slaves.
• It is he who, in exchange for drinking water, demands that the king or merchant give him something from his house that he does not know about.
• It is he who gives tricky tasks to good fellows, and then tries in every possible way to deceive them.

In the modern world and now in different regions of our country there are different types aquatic. For example, in the south of Russia, the Vodian-anchutka is described as a water monster living in rivers and ponds; They scare children.

In the Smolensk region, anchutik is “a strange name for the devil who sits on the legs of someone who dangles his legs at the table while eating - they usually scare children and teenagers.”

Anchutka was often represented with goose heels and a pig's snout

The waters of the springs where water spirits live have cleansing properties and even have the ability to give immortality and youth. And nowadays people visit holy springs and thanks to them they are healed. The belief in the life-giving power of water has not disappeared; we still use this power of the life-giving energy of water.

Good spirits are guardians of water, living along the banks of rivers.

They protect people from evil spirits, predict the future, and also save small children left unattended and falling into the water.

In modern esotericism they don’t really believe in drowned women and monkfish. But there is a conceptwater elementals– invisible creatures from subtle planes associated with water.

Man's attitude towards the spirits of nature has now changed. From hostile-distrustful, filled with fears, it turned into benevolent cooperation.

Nowadays, people strive to take care of the earth and living things.

And if earlier care and concern related only to domestic animals and personal agricultural land, today people think about the earth as a whole - about the entire planet, trying to protect and save wild animals and protected areas.

Apparently, this is why communication with natural spirits has moved to a new level, which means that each of us can count on their help and protection.

2. Practical part

2.1. Questioning of 4th grade students

We conducted a survey among 4th grade students, in which 30 people took part.

We asked the following questions:

1. Where did you find out information about Vodyanoy and Domovoy?
2. What role does the Brownie play at home? Merman in the water element?
3. What fairy tales do you know where the Brownie and the Vodyanoy are mentioned?
4. What do they bring to us: good or evil? (why?) benefit or harm? (Why?)
5. Why do you think fire and water cannot exist without each other? Why might they be hostile to each other?
6. What benefits does the water element bring to us? What harm?
7. What benefit does fire bring to us? What harm?
8. Name familiar signs, legends, proverbs, sayings, riddles about water and fire.

To the first question, respondents answered that: they learned the information from the stories of adults - 15 people, 9 people answered that they were interested in educational literature, where there are interesting stories, 6 people - from the Internet. (Appendix 4)

To the second question, respondents answered that: the brownie protects the owners of the house - 30 people, the merman scares people - 20 people, 10 answered that the merman drowns people, drags them into the pool.

To the third question, respondents answered that: 12 people named only the animated film “Kuzya the Brownie,” 18 people found it difficult to answer this question.

To the fourth question, respondents answered that: the brownie is the spirit of the house, brings good - 11 people, the brownie is the keeper of the hearth, protects the owners - 13 people, a fairy-tale character, brings nothing - 6 people. Water, fairy-tale character - 18 people, evil spirit of water, destroys people - 12 people.

To the fifth question, respondents answered that: fire and water, good and evil balance each other. Good lies in opposing evil. If evil disappears, then good too, answered 30 people.

To the sixth question, respondents answered that: in the summer it pours rain on us, in the winter it covers us with snow. Covering about three-quarters of the surface of our planet, water is part of everything on earth: rocks, minerals, plants, not to mention living organisms. And we ourselves are 80 percent water – 19 people. At all times and among all peoples, water in real life and in legends has been used both for harm and for good. Water brought death and water brought life back. Church rituals are not complete without water; water is an indispensable attribute of magical manipulations – 9 people. On the one hand, water is considered the cradle of life, on the other hand, water has more than once become the cause of global disasters. What is at least worth the Great Flood or the sinking of the legendary Atlantis - 2 people.

To the seventh question, respondents answered that: people cooked food on the fire, warmed themselves by the fire -8 people. 10 people illuminated their home and defended themselves with fire from enemies. By the way, cars and planes also move with the help of fire. After all, fuel burns in engines, in jet engines. And combustion is the life of fire - 12 people. Fires caused great disasters - 30 people

To the eighth question, respondents cited a lot of interesting signs associated with the elements of water and fire.

Conclusion

The survey showed that the majority of 4th grade students are still interested in and believe in the existence of brownies and mermans, they know many signs, riddles, fairy tales, sayings about water and fire.

Conclusion

Thus, our HYPOTHESIS that fire and water are two irreconcilable, hostile elements, at the same time working against each other and capable of turning life in the house both into joy and into a series of misfortunes, was confirmed.

This topic turned out to be even more interesting than we thought. I would like to learn as much as possible about brownies (the spirit of fire) and mermans (the spirit of water), and make friends with the brownie in my home. The struggle against the ancient pagan faith continued in Rus' for many centuries and ended with an amazing mixture of the Christian faith with local customs and way of life, forming a unique culture of Orthodox Christianity. Much has been lost and forgotten, but some ancient ideas about the world around us and the creatures and spirits that inhabit it are still alive today. Small ones turned out to be especially “tenacious” good spirits dwellings and various individual places of the peasant economy, which are also called by the common name “house”, “water”.

In general, be polite and friendly with them, remember that they are the masters of their property, and you are the guest. And then they will become your friends, help you at the right time and share their gifts.

Annex 1

Appendix 2

Appendix 3

Appendix 4

Bibliography.

1. Elena Levkievskaya, article “Masters of Spaces and Spirits of Nature. Brownie."
2. Elena Levkievskaya "In the land of brownies and goblins. Characters of Russian mythology" (M.: OGI, 2009)
3. Dovatur A.I., Kallistratov D.P., Shishova N.A. The peoples of our country in the “History” of Herodotus. M., 1982.
4. Rybakov B.A. Paganism of ancient Rus'. M., 1987.
5. Sakharov A.N., Novoseltsev A.P. History of Russia from ancient times to the end of the 17th century. M., 1996.
6. Sedova M.V. Eastern Slavs in the 6th–13th centuries. M., 1982.

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You cannot be a truly cultured person without knowing the history of your native culture, many of whose roots go back to the depths of Slavic paganism with its spirits and gods.

Mythological characters in Russian folklore Goal: to clarify the images of Brownie and Vodyanoy through the study of the elements of fire and water Objectives: To get acquainted with the elements of fire and water. Find out who the Spirits of fire (Brownie) and water (Vodyanoy) are; where did they come from? What do they bring to us: good or evil? How this living energy manifests itself in our modern days. The relevance of this study lies in the fact that every educated person should know the cultural traditions of his people and honor them, since the study of these traditions allows one to become familiar with the national culture, spiritual and moral values ​​of one’s people, develop aesthetic taste, and cultivate respect and interest in folk traditions . The object of study is the element of fire - Brownie, the element of water - Vodyanoy.

Hypothesis: We assume that fire and water are two irreconcilable, hostile elements to each other, at the same time working against each other and capable of turning life in the house both into joy and into a series of misfortunes. Subject of research: images of the brownie and the waterman in beliefs and legends, proverbs about them, sayings and signs. Research methods: Stage 1: collecting information in ancient books, encyclopedias, legends and beliefs, people's stories, the Internet Stage 2: analysis of various legends about these elements and the brownie and water spirits that emerged from them Stage 3: survey of classmates, analysis of questionnaires Stage 4: conclusions

Fire, in the minds of the pagans of ancient Rus', was the son of Heaven (Svarog), which is why they called him “Svarozhich” in those times that sank in the darkness of centuries, giving him worship. According to the popular worldview, fire comes from the beautiful luminary of the day - the sun. 1.1 Fire and water in the minds of the pagans of ancient Rus' There is a legend in Rus' about the creation of the earth's seas, lakes and rivers. When God created the earth, it says, He commanded the rain to fall. It began to rain. The Creator called to the birds and gave them the task of spreading water to all directions of the world. The iron-nosed birds (the personification of spring thunderstorms) flew in and began to fulfill the command of the One who created them. And all the ravines, all the basins, all the potholes in the earth were filled with water. “This is where all the waters came from,” the story ends.

1.2 The history of the origin of fire and the Brownie The hearth of the home was considered sacred in the old days. In the fire that was maintained on it, they saw a force that not only gave a person warmth and food, but also drove away all evil spirits and all kinds of severe illnesses from the home... And in many, many other cases of everyday life, the simple-minded old people pinned their hopes on the help and patronage of their well-wishers light spirits that lived in the hearth. All these deities, propitiated by the flame, were subsequently united in one tenacious creature - Domovoi (also called “master” and “grandfather brownie”)

1.3 The history of the origin of water and Water Water, according to the ancient word of the Russian people, searching for the beginning of the universal beginnings, seems to be the blood of the earth. Since ancient times, the Russian people and all their relatives, the Slavs, have held in great veneration the springs that emerge from the mountain rock layers. Just as the Brownie lives near the hearth, so in every river, in every lake there lives a Vodyanoy. Water is his kingdom, where he has the power to do whatever he wants. Under his power are not only fish, but also mermaids (underwater maidens), not only everything that lives in the water, but also everything that approaches it.

1.4 Two primordial enemies - fire and water (riddles) Two primordial enemies - fire and water - have left their mark in the treasury of Russian folk riddles. What burns without fire, flies without wings, runs without legs? Sun, clouds and fast rivers! What can’t you get out of the hut? Stove! “I’ll hit the white stone chambers with damask steel, the princess will come out and sit on the feather bed!” About flint, flint, spark and tinder

1.5 The essence of fire and water in the modern world. Brownies in the modern world. Good and evil. Who are they? Brownie, Barabashka, Poltergeist - these words generally mean one thing, an energetic essence, a small spirit. The brownie keeps the hearth and becomes its patron and soul. Slamming cabinet doors. The brownie's violence is unpredictable. It is believed that a brownie is born as an old grandfather and dies as a baby. Most often, the brownie looks like an old man - small, covered all over with gray hair, including the palms.

Water energy in the modern world. Many modern scientists argue that water - seas, rivers, oceans and lakes - often behaves like an intelligent entity, that water is alive. Even the Gospel describes an incident when Jesus Christ ordered the raging waves to calm down, and they obeyed Him. Or maybe it was the water element, knocking on the consciousness of people, creating in it understandable and accessible images capable of conveying its soul and character? The most famous and interesting of them is Vodyanoy. He was depicted as an ugly old man with a fish tail.

We conducted a survey among 4th grade students, in which 30 people took part. The following questions were asked: 1. Where did you find out information about Vodyanoy and Domovoy? 2. What role does the Brownie play at home? Merman in the water element? 3. What fairy tales do you know where the Brownie and the Vodyanoy are mentioned? 4. What do they bring to us: good or evil? (why?) benefit or harm? (why?) 5. Why do you think fire and water cannot exist without each other? Why might they be hostile to each other? 6. How does the water element benefit us? What harm? 7. What benefits does fire bring to us? What harm? 8. Name familiar signs, legends, proverbs, sayings, riddles about water and fire. Questionnaire

The main features of mythological stories: an attitude towards authenticity; witness testimony; weakened aesthetic function; teacher function. Genre varieties: epics; happened; beliefs. Classification (according to the index of Aivazyan-Pomerantseva and Zinoviev): 1) about the spirits of nature (goblin, water, mermaids, shulikuns, middays, field creatures); 2) about the spirits of the house (brownie, bannik, ovinnik, kikimora); 3) about the devil, the snake, the damned; 4) tales about people with supernatural abilities and the dead (witch, sorcerer, dead man).

Modern mythological stories.

The relevance of mythological consciousness for modern man. Stories born in the twentieth century (about UFOs, Bigfoot, White and Black speleologist, etc.), in the light of folklore. Common features with traditional tales: story as testimony; memorial; description of the feeling of fear; installation of authenticity; emphasizing the suddenness of the meeting; evening as a time for action; a secluded place as a scene of action, etc. Portraits of characters from UFO stories and traditional mythological figures. Same functions.

Ticket 24. Legends. Types of legends. History in oral narrative.

TRADITION[ukr. - confirmation, German. - Sage, fr. and English - tradition, Greek - parádosis, in popular terminology - “pre-syulshchina”, “byl”, “byvalshchina”] - “folk tale”, more precisely those stories and memories that are not included in the circle of genres that are clearly isolated: epics, historical songs, spiritual poems, fairy tales , legends and anecdotes. P. is a term applied to works of oral creativity and, by analogy, transferred to the corresponding works of literature (monuments ancient writing, presenting unreliable events). The purpose of folk poetry is to consolidate the past in posterity, therefore in the appropriate environment it is usually treated with a certain trust (unlike, for example, fairy tales and jokes, which are not believed in). The number of folk P. is unlimited, but according to their content they can be divided into several groups: 1. P. mythical(cm.« Mythology » ). These, in addition to stories about the gods, are stories about the sky and its phenomena, about the soul and body, about the struggle of spirits, about evil spirits, about the souls of the departed, about folk saints like Frol and Laurus, Friday, etc. 2. P. naturalistic: etiological legends about the origin of plants, animals, birds, fish, objects or their properties, about fantastic animals (Phoenix bird, Firebird, Leviathan), about wonderful peoples (one-eyed people, dog heads, gogs and magogs), etc. 3. P . historical, especially numerous. These include P. geographical(about the names of localities, cities, tracts: Kyiv from Kiy, Paris from Paris, etc.), o clothing239 monuments(treasures, monasteries, burial grounds, temples, etc.), about customs(initiation rites among primitive peoples, marriage, funeral rites, etc.), about truly historical events(about the Tatars, about wars), about different historical figures(about Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Attila, Belisarius, Columbus, Joan of Arc), about genealogy nationalities or heroes (Franks from the Trojans, Danes from Odin, Rurik from Augustus, etc.), P. about minerals(for example, Herodotus talks about the wealth of the north in gold and amber off the coast of the North Sea). The class struggle captured historical legends into its whirlpool, making them either weapons of enslavement and deception of the oppressed classes (feudal legends about the Monomakh cap, the white hood, the nobility of the kings), or a focus for attracting sympathies, aspirations for liberation and a bright future among the oppressed classes (for example peasant P. about Stepan Razin, about Pugachev and other heroes of popular uprisings). The October Revolution gave rise to a number of revolutionary legends about the heroism of the civil war, about the Red partisans, about the leaders of the revolution, about communists (Baku commissars, Chapaev, Dzerzhinsky, etc.), and counter-revolutionary stories (about the birth of the devil, the Antichrist, updated icons, etc.). Big circle P., which widely captured not only the USSR, but also the peoples of the East, was caused by the heroic personality of V.I. Lenin. Folk history, reflecting the features of industrial, everyday, social, and class relations at different stages of the past, represents a rich historical source. Stored folk P. among the general population, but there are special experts on them, people who sometimes have an enormous memory. The most storytelling folk poetry is not an end in itself, but occurs when the occasion is appropriate at gatherings, get-togethers, etc. The existence of folk poetry occurs in waves: sometimes it freezes, then under the influence of a socio-political impulse it comes to life again. There are P., wandering around the globe (about the flood, etc.), there are narrowly local P. The creative process of creating P. continues to this day. P. is rich in our ancient historical (chronicles, chronographs, paleas, etc.) and literary monuments (apocrypha, legends, stories, novels). P. serves as a rich source of plots and images of world fiction (for example, “The Divine Comedy” by Dante, “The Decameron” by Boccaccio, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare, “Faust” by Goethe, “Pan Tadeusz” by Mickiewicz, “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” Gogol and many others).

A genre of non-fairy tale prose with an emphasis on authenticity. Any legend is historical in its basis, but at the same time it is not identical to reality.

Two ways to create legends: generalizing memories and arranging them using ready-made plot schemes.

The legend tells about something that is universally significant and important for everyone. The plots are usually single-motive. Your own ways of depicting heroes: direct characteristics and assessments so that the image is correctly understood. The portrait was rarely depicted or was laconic.

Main cycles of legends:

1. the most ancient legends.

About the settlement of Slavic tribes, about the first Russian princes, about the construction and capture of cities. Rus''s fight against enemies. (about Belgorod jelly, about Nikita Kozhemyak)

2. legends about a just king.

Associated with the names of Peter and Ivan the Terrible

3.legends about the leaders of popular movements.

Ermak, Stepan Razin, Emelyan Pugachev

4. legends about robbers and treasures

Ticket 25. Legend: the problem of origin. Functions. Legend and folk religious beliefs.

Legend- one of the varieties non-fairy tale prose folklore. Poetic tradition about some historical event. In a figurative sense, it refers to the events of the past covered in glory, causing admiration.

Typically contains additional religious or social pathos.

Legend - approximate synonym concepts myth;epicstory about what happened in time immemorial; the main characters of the story are usually heroes in the full sense of the word, often directly involved in events gods and other supernatural forces. Events in the legend are often exaggerated, a lot is added fiction. Therefore, scientists do not consider legends to be completely reliable historical evidence, without denying, however, that most legends are based on real events. Legends were usually oral stories, often set to music; Legends were passed down from mouth to mouth, usually by wandering storytellers. Later, many legends were written down.

Legends are prose works in which events associated with the world of inanimate nature and the animal world are fantastically understood. Of people. With supernatural beings.

Main functions: explanatory and moralizing.

They existed both orally and in writing. Legend is a term from medieval writing and means in translation. from Latin: that which must be read.

Types of legends:

1. Etiological legends. Greek reason + concept. They are educational in nature. They fantastically explain the origin of the world, man, phenomena

2. religious and edifying legends. Diverse in content and form: stories about God, about angels and saints, plot interpretations of the names of saints, about holy fools, etc. Could take the form of fairy tales.

3. social-utopian

They expressed the passionate but unrealizable dream of the peasantry for a fair social system. 17th-19th century. Fictitious facts intertwined with real ones, fiction complemented reality. 3 subtype (chichers): about the golden age (the heavenly time when everything was good), about distant lands, about princes-saviors.

1. In the original meaning of the word L. - excerpts of the “lives” and “passions” of saints, read during a church service or monastic meal on days dedicated to these saints. 2. Hence - in a broader, non-ritual sense - a small religious-didactic narrative, developing in the form of a coherent plot or individual episodes a fantastic biography of persons, animals, plants, things that have become, for some reason, objects of Christian cult: the legend of the cross, L about aspen - Judas tree, etc. 3. With even broader usage, the term L. is also used to designate: a) works of a non-narrative nature, developing “legendary” themes - for example. dramatic miracles; b) religious and didactic narratives associated with non-Christian cults - Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish: L. about Buddha, L. about the descendants of Muhammad, Hasidic L. about tzaddikim; c) unsupported by historical documents and often fantastic stories about any historical figure or event that is completely unrelated to religious cults; for example, literature about Alexander the Great, etc. In such an expanded use of words, the term legend loses its precise literary meaning, and consideration of its use in a figurative sense goes beyond the scope of the proposed note, which establishes the specifics of the genre and the dialectics of its development on the specific historical material of feudal social literature formations Western Europe.

From the perspective of the specificity of the genre, a legend can be defined as a small genre of medieval narrative-didactic literature, pursuing the goals of direct propaganda of certain elements of the Christian cult and thereby the idea of ​​​​the chosenness of the clergy, as a propaganda novel of the church.

ALKONOST (alkonos) - a fabulous bird of paradise, in the apocrypha and legends the bird of sadness and sadness.

Depicted in popular prints with wings and by human hands, body and face of a woman. The image of Alkonost goes back to the Greek myth of Alcyone, who threw herself into the sea and was transformed by the gods into a kingfisher. Alkonost lays eggs on the seashore and, plunging them into the depths of the sea, makes it calm for six days. Hearing the singing of this bird forgets about everything in the world.

BABA YAGA - old forest sorceress, witch, sorceress. A character in fairy tales of Eastern and Western Slavs. Lives in the forest, in a “hut on chicken legs.” One of her legs is bone, she has poor vision, and flies around the world in a mortar. You can trace parallels with other characters: the witch is a way of moving, the ability to transform; goddess of animals and forests - life in the forest, complete subordination of animals to her; the mistress of the world of the dead - a fence made of human bones around the hut, skulls on stakes, a bolt - a human leg, a lock - a hand, a lock - teeth. In most fairy tales, she is the hero’s opponent, but sometimes he is his helper and giver.

BEREGINI - air maidens who protect people from ghouls. The Slavs believed that bereginii lived near the house and protected the house and its inhabitants from evil spirits. Cheerful, playful and attractive creatures, singing enchanting songs in delightful voices. In early summer, under the moon, they dance in circles on the banks of reservoirs. Where the beregins ran and frolicked, there the grass grows thicker and greener, and in the field the bread is born more abundantly.

SHAKER-INS - spirits of disease. At first, fever was called this, and then other diseases. In the conspiracy there are 7, 10, 40, 77, but most often 12 diseases. Shaking demons are serious diseases; they were considered “the daughters of Herod the King” and were depicted as naked women of a devilish appearance with wings. Their names correspond to the functions: Shaking, Ogneya, Ledeya (sends chills), Gnetea (lays on the ribs and womb), Grynusha or Khripusha (lays on the chest and coughs out), Gluheya (head ache and stuffy ears), Lomeya (bones and body aches), Puffy, Yellow (sends jaundice), Korkusha (sends cramps), Glyadeya (does not let you sleep, deprives you of your mind), Neveya (if it catches a person, he will not live).

GODDESSES - mythological characters of the Western Slavs. Terrible in appearance: old ugly lame women with large heads, saggy breasts, swollen bellies, crooked legs, black fanged teeth; According to legends, children are kidnapped and replaced. They can appear in the form of frogs, dogs, cats, or appear as a shadow, but most often they are invisible to people. Dead women in labor, women who committed suicide, girls who got rid of their fetuses, and child killers become goddesses. They live in caves, swamps, ponds, and ravines. They appear at night in bad weather.

SWAMP (omutnitsa, shovel) - a drowned maiden living in a swamp. Her black hair is spread over her bare shoulders and decorated with sedge and forget-me-nots. Disheveled and unkempt, pale-faced with green eyes, always naked and ready to lure people to her only in order to tickle them to death without any particular guilt and drown them in the quagmire. Swampwomen can send crushing storms, torrential rains, and destructive hail to the fields; steal threads, canvases and linens from women who have fallen asleep without prayer.

BRODNITS - among the ancient Slavs, the spirits of the guardian of fords, pretty girls with long hair. According to legend, Brodnitsy live with beavers in quiet pools. They guard the fords made of brushwood, correct them, and guard them. When the enemy sneaks up, the Wanderers imperceptibly destroy the ford, directing the enemy into a swamp or pool.

WITCH - according to ancient legends, a woman who sold her soul to the devil. In the south, this is a more attractive woman, often a young widow; in the north - an old woman, fat as a tub, with gray hair, bony hands and a huge blue nose. She differs from other women in that she has a small tail and has the ability to fly through the air on a broom, poker, and mortar. He goes on his dark deeds without fail through a chimney, and can turn into different animals, most often a magpie, a pig, a dog and a yellow cat. Along with the month, he grows older and younger. On the Sil of August 12, witches die after drinking milk. A famous gathering place for witches for the Sabbath on Kupala Night is in Kyiv on Lysaya Gora.

VIL (samovily) - female spirits, beautiful girls with flowing hair in light clothes, living in the mountains. Pitchforks have wings, they fly like birds, own wells and lakes, and are able to “lock” them. If you take away the wings of Pitchforks, they lose the ability to fly and become ordinary women. Whoever takes away the clothes from the Forks, they obey him. They treat people friendly, help the downtrodden and orphans, know how to heal, and predict the future.

VODYANITSA - the wife of a merman, but a drowned woman from the baptized, and therefore does not belong to the undead. Also called - cracker, joke. Waterworts prefer forest and mill pools, but most of all they love honeydews under mills, where rapids muddy the water and wash out holes. They usually gather under the mill wheels to spend the night together with the watermen. Waterworts are mischievous: when they splash in the water and play with the running waves or jump on mill wheels and spin with them, they tear nets and spoil millstones.

VOLOSYNI - in Slavic mythology the image of the constellation Pleiades. Later name: Volosozhar, Stozhary, Vlasozhely, Baba. According to ancient legends, women of one of the clans during an enemy attack turned into a “heavenly herd” so as not to be captured. The radiance of this constellation portends good luck in hunting and an increase in livestock. On starry nights, the shepherds went outside, stood on the wool and prayed that there would be more sheep than stars in the sky. Volosynya - the wife of the god Volos, the patron saint of cattle breeding.

GORGONY (maiden Gorgonia) - in Slavic book legends, a maiden with hair in the form of snakes, comes from the ancient Gorgon Medusa. The face of Gorgonia is beautiful, but deadly, she knows the language of all living beings. The heroes are trying to get the head of Gorgonia in order to obtain a miraculous remedy that will give victory over any enemy, but only the strongest and bravest succeed. The iconography of the head of Gorgonia is a characteristic feature of popular Byzantine and Old Russian amulets - “serpentines”.

DANA - Slavic goddess water. The fair-faced girl is a river, murmuring its cheerful song. She will give a drink to a tired traveler, and wash a warrior’s wound, and, rising into the sky, will fall as a blessed rain on the fields. She was revered as a bright and kind goddess, giving life to all living things. From the name of Dan comes the name Dnieper (Danapris), Dniester, Danube, Dvina, Donets. The word Dana is complex: DA (“water”) plus NA (“nenya”), meaning “Water - Mother.” The chorus of the song “Dana, Shidi, Ridi, Dana” - “Dana, she creates, she creates a river, Dana.” This goddess was given special honors during the Kupala holidays.

DENNITS - the image of the midday dawn (star) in Slavic mythology. Star-Dennitsa is the sister (according to other legends, mother or daughter) of the sun, the beloved of the month. The sun is jealous of Dennitsa for the month and does not allow them to meet. Dennitsa foretells the sunrise, leads the sun to the sky and melts in its bright rays. At night, Dennitsa shines brightest and helps the month.

DIDILIA - goddess of childbirth, growth, vegetation, personification of the moon. They made sacrifices to her and asked for children. She was depicted in different ways: as a young woman, with her head wrapped in a cloak, with a lit torch in her bare hands (a torch is a symbol of the beginning of a new life); a woman preparing to give new life, with flowers, in a wreath. The image of Didilia was often used by famous artists.

DODOLA is a character in South Slavic mythology, the goddess of rain, the wife of the thunderer. In the magical rites of causing rain among the southern Slavs, ritual actions are performed by the priestesses of the goddess (six girls aged 12 to 16 years) - the Dodolitsy. They are decorated with wreaths, water is poured on them, and bread is offered to them. At the same time, the Dodolians sing, turning to the goddess with a request to send rain. Dodola is akin to the goddess Didilia.

FIREBIRD - in Slavic fairy tales, a wonderful bird that flies from another (thirtieth) kingdom. This kingdom is a fabulously rich land that was dreamed of in ancient times, for the Firebird’s coloring is golden, its cage, beak, and feathers are golden. It can be assumed that the Firebird is associated with other mythological characters: Rarog, the Fire Serpent. Sometimes in fairy tales the Firebird acts as a kidnapper.

ZHELYA is the goddess of sorrow and pity among the ancient Slavs, the messenger of the dead. Beautiful with unearthly beauty and sad. The pale face is set off by long black hair. Together with his sister Karna, he flies over the battlefield and announces who will die. And after the battle he sits, bowing his head and hugging his knees with his hands, mourning the dead. According to the existing custom, the dead warriors were burned - Zhelya carried their ashes in a horn.

ZHIVA (Zhivana, Siva) - “life-giver”, goddess of life, she embodies life force and opposes the mythological embodiments of death. IN right hand holds an apple, in the left - grapes. Zhiva appears in the form of a cuckoo. At the beginning of May, sacrifices are made to her. The girls honor the cuckoo - the spring messenger: they baptize it in the forest, worship each other and curl wreaths on the birch tree.

KARNA (Karina) - the goddess of sadness, the mourning goddess of the ancient Slavs, sister of Zheli. If a warrior dies far from home, Karna is the first to mourn him. According to legend, crying and sobbing can be heard over the dead battlefield at night. It is the goddess Karna in long black robes who performs difficult female duties for all wives and mothers. Old Russian "kariti" - to mourn.

KOSTROMA - in East Slavic mythology - the embodiment of spring and fertility. In the rites of seeing off spring, this is a young woman, wrapped in white sheets, with an oak branch in her hands, walking accompanied by a round dance. They also made an effigy of Kostroma from straw and held a ritual funeral (burned, torn into pieces) with ritual mourning. The ritual also symbolized the rebirth of nature. Kostroma was buried on Spiritual Day - the first Monday after Trinity.

LADA - goddess of love, patroness of marriages, hearth, goddess of youth, beauty, fertility. Femininity itself, tender, melodious, fair-haired; in white clothes - she will lead a guy to his sweetheart in a round dance on Kupala night; and he will hide his stepdaughter from the evil stepmother under the branches when she gets ready to meet her friend. In young families, the hearth supports: it happens that the hearth is about to go out, and Lada throws a twig, waves her clothes - the hearth will flare up, touch the hearts of the foolish with warmth, and again there will be harmony in the family.

LETAVITSA - the spirit of dawn. At night it flies or sits somewhere on the branches, bringing the day closer. Enchants night owls with her girlish beauty. She is wearing red boots, with the help of which she flies; For her, they are like light wings; they contain all the strength of a flyer. Only those who can force themselves not to look at her boots or take them off will not succumb to the flying woman’s charms. If this spirit of dawn is left without boots, control it as you wish. The flying bird disappears at sunrise.

FEVER is the demon of disease. She appears to be a bare-haired woman with a devilish appearance. Mentioned in Slavic apocrypha and in conspiracies. Often, our ancestors, in order to appease and not attract Fever, called it with affectionate and friendly words: good woman, kumoha, sister, aunt, guest, guest. Images of illness are weakly expressed in Slavic tradition, and therefore are not reflected in rites and rituals.

MAKOSH (Mokosh, Makesha) is a Slavic deity, patroness of women's work, spinning and weaving. Also an agricultural deity, mother of the harvest, goddess of abundance. The poppy flower is as intoxicating as love. From the name of this bright flower, which girls embroidered on wedding towels - the name of the goddess. Makosha is the deity of female vitality. The only female deity whose idol stood on the top of the hill in the pantheon of Prince Vladimir.
Among some northern tribes, Makosh is a cold, unkind goddess.

MAVKI (Navki, Mevki) - in East Slavic mythology, evil spirits, often deadly. According to Ukrainian beliefs, children who die before baptism are turned into mavoks: the name Mavka is derived from “nav” (Navka), which means the embodiment of death. Mavkas are incorporeal and are not reflected in the water, have no shadow, and have no back, so all their insides are visible. Mavkas and mermaids are not the same thing, they have many differences.

MARA (marukha, mora) - in Slavic mythology the deity of evil, enmity, death. Later, the connection with death is lost, but the harmfulness of the deity is obvious (pestilence, darkness). The northern Slavs of Mar have a rough spirit, a gloomy ghost that is invisible during the day and does evil deeds at night. Mara most readily lives in shallow and damp places, in caves under washed-out shores. in some places Mara is the name of evil spirits.

MOLONYA-QUEEN (Melania) - the formidable goddess of lightning, the wife of the Great Rattles Thunder, lives in the sky. Her son is the Fire King. There is a myth about the abduction of Mologna by the god Veles. If you follow this myth, Fire the King is an illegitimate son. When the whole heavenly family is assembled, but things are not going well in the family, everyone is angry in their own way: Thunder thunders, Mologna shoots golden arrows, King Fire rushes on these arrows, setting fire to everything that gets in the way. Sparrow night is a major quarrel in the heavenly family.

MORENA (madder, marzhana) - a goddess associated with the embodiment of death, with darkness, disease, with seasonal rituals of the dying and resurrection of nature, sometimes with rituals of causing rain. Among the southern Slavs it is a light, flying ghost of winter. And when winter ends, a stuffed Morena is knitted from last year’s straw and drowned (burned, torn into pieces) in honor of the future harvest.

MORYANA - maiden of the sea waters, daughter of the sea king. Most of the time he swims in the depths of the sea, turning into a fish, playing with dolphins. It comes ashore on quiet evenings, sways in the waves, splashes, and sorts out sea pebbles. When the angry king of the sea raises a storm, he calms him down and calms the storm. In Russian fairy tales, the image of Marya Morevna is close to Moryana.

PARASKEVA-FRIDAY (Virgo-Pyatenka) is a female deity. patroness of Friday. He also favors youth games with songs and dances. Appears in white robes and guards wells. Where Paraskeva-Pyatnitsa is depicted on the plank roofs, the water there is healing. So that the grace of the Virgin-Five does not dry out, women secretly make sacrifices to her; sheep's wool for an apron. In Belarus, the custom has been preserved of making her sculptures from wood and praying to her for rain for shoots on a dark night.

MIDDAY is a woman in white who is a worker in the field. Her favorite time is noon. At this time, she asks riddles to those she meets and, if someone doesn’t guess, she can tickle them. Those who work at noon, when custom and nature themselves require a break, are punished by noon. Rarely does anyone get to see her - those whom she punished prefer not to brag, but to remain silent about it. Midday is the embodiment of sunstroke.

PRIYA is the goddess of love, marriage and fertility. A young, calm woman with smoothly combed long hair. She is revered by housewives as the patroness of the vegetable garden. The women knew: if they please Priya, they will weed the grass, water it, thin it out, plant it in the right proportions, i.e. Keeping the garden in order will ensure a rich harvest for the table in the fall. And if there is something to bring to the table, the owner will be pleased, and there will be advice and love in the family. Priya's favorite time is autumn, when the tables are laden with vegetables and when cheerful weddings take place.

CHILDREN - maidens of fate, fertility, feminine power. Their cult arose during the period of matriarchy and is associated with the cult of female fertility. They are present at the birth of children and determine their fate. Usually, midwives who deliver babies know how to cajole women in labor so that they can help them give birth easily. There were two or three women in labor, later - seven, apparently corresponding to the days of the week.

RUSALKA is the maiden of the waters, according to other legends, the wife of a merman. This is a tall, beautiful girl who lives at the bottom of a pond. The mermaid does not have a fish tail. At night, she and her friends splash on the surface of the water, sit on a mill wheel, and dive. The maiden of the waters can tickle a passerby to death or take him away with her. As a rule, girls who drowned themselves from unhappy love or were drowned by their stepmothers become mermaids. A mermaid can marry a man, but this marriage is always unsuccessful.

The mermaid is one of the most controversial images. Information about him differs significantly in the complex of beliefs of the Russian North (as well as the Urals and Siberia) in comparison with the data of the Ukrainian-Belarusian and South Russian demonological systems.

The first of these complexes is characterized by the following features: firstly, the scarcity of stories about a female character called a mermaid; secondly, the rapprochement of this image with characters more popular in the northern Russian tradition, defined by the terms vodyaniha, joker, goblin, devil, etc.; thirdly, there is a noticeably accentuated connection between the “mermaid” and the water element.

Northern Russian materials note the fact of single (and not group) appearance of mermaids; predominantly a terrible appearance, the appearance of a naked woman with saggy breasts or a long-haired, shaggy woman (less often, a woman in white). Here there are stories about their winter appearance in an ice hole or about a mermaid in the form of a naked woman chasing a man’s sleigh as he rode through the forest in winter.

In this tradition, tales about the cohabitation of a mermaid with a man are a development of the plot about an “imaginary wife”: a female werewolf visits a hunter in a forest hut under the guise of his wife, gives birth to a child from him, and when the hunter recognizes evil spirits in the werewolf, the mythical “wife” tears his child in two and throws it into the water (the same plot is typical for the images of the goblin, devil, and forest maiden).

The situation is different with the “mermaid” complex of beliefs characteristic of Ukrainian-Belarusian and South Russian demonology. In many places, the appearance of mermaids is inconsistently described, either as young beauties or as neutral female image, then like old, scary-looking women.

The following became mermaids: deceased unbaptized children; brides who did not live to see their wedding; children and girls who died as a result of violent death. When asked about the appearance of mermaids, one often heard that they walked on earth in the same form in which unmarried deceased girls are usually buried: in a wedding dress, with loose hair and a wreath on their heads. This is exactly how, according to folk custom, they dressed dead girls, as if arranging a symbolic wedding for them. It was believed that the souls of people who died before marriage cannot finally pass on to the “other world” and from time to time invade the world of the living.

The second most important feature of the “mermaid” image should be the seasonality of one’s stay on earth. There is a widespread belief that Rusal Week is a “festival of mermaids”; it was then that they allegedly appeared from the afterlife and frolicked all week in fields, forests, and places near water (sometimes they entered the houses of their relatives). At the end of this period, the mermaids returned “to their places” (they went into the water, into the graves, into the “other world”).

According to East Slavic beliefs, mermaids appear in a cereal field during the flowering period of rye; among the southern Slavs it was believed that rusaliyas and rusalians reside in places where the rosen plant blooms abundantly. Apparently, it is this circle of beliefs that clarifies the etymology of the “flower” name of the mermaid (associated with the name of the flower “rose”), since it is known that the ancient holiday rosalia, dies rosae was dedicated to the period of flowering of roses and was a memorial rite in honor of those who died untimely young people.

You should pay attention to significant differences between the folklore mermaid and the literary image of the same name. A list of all the “mermaid” images created in fiction would be a very long list. All of them are depicted as drowned women and inhabitants of waters, endowed with the features of treacherous beautiful maidens, women with fish tails who lure their victims into the water, seeking the love of earthly youths, taking revenge on unfaithful lovers, etc. This standard image has firmly established itself not only in fiction, but also into everyday consciousness, and into many scientific dictionaries and encyclopedias. Its source turned out to be not so much authentic data from folk demonology, but similar characters from ancient and European mythology that became popular in the book tradition (nymphs, sirens, naiads, undines, melusines and other mythical water and forest maidens).

SNOW Maiden is the daughter of Frost, according to other legends - the granddaughter. Kind, not as bad-tempered as Moroz. Sometimes in the summer he lives with people and helps them. When she walks through the forest, squirrels, hares and other forest babies look to her for protection. The Snow Maiden's heart is cold, and if someone manages to ignite the fire of love in it, the Snow Maiden melts. It also melts from the rays of the loving Yarila-Sun. On New Year's Eve, together with Frost, her grandfather, the Snow Maiden comes to the children and gives them gifts.

DEATH is a character that is inherent not only to the Slavs, but to the mythology of almost all peoples. A terrible old woman, disembodied, only bones, with a scythe, comes from the inferno to the earth to choose the next victim and take her life. In many legends and fairy tales, the hero enters into combat with Death, often tricks him around his finger and turns out to be the winner.

STRAPHIL-BIRD is the mother of all birds, the ancestor of birds. The Straphile bird lives in the middle of the sea, and when it rouses itself, there is a storm at sea. According to other legends, Straphil the bird tames storms, and at night hides the sun under its wing in order to give light again in the morning. Or he hides the earth under his wing, saving it from universal troubles. Derived from the Greek name for the bird ostrich. In the morning, after the Strafyl bird “startles,” roosters begin to crow all over the earth.

SUDENITS - spirits of fate among the Slavs, female creatures who determine the fate of a person at his birth. Three sisters, always together, immortal, come at midnight on the third day after the birth of a child and name his fate. As they name it, so it will be; no one can change the prediction. One of the sisters suggests death, the other - physical disabilities, and the third says how long to live, when to go to the crown, what you will encounter in life. Her prediction is usually fulfilled.

CHEESE-EARTH MOTHER - goddess of the earth. Thunder wakes her up in the spring. Mother Cheese Earth wakes up, becomes younger, decorates herself with flowers and greenery, spreads life, strength and youth. She is considered the mother of all living things, including people. Her name day is celebrated on Simon the Zealot (May 23). Very often this image is used in oral folk art, in fairy tales, epics, legends.

PHARAOHKS are fantastic half-fish, half-maidens, characters of Russian folklore. The name of the pharaoh is associated with a secondary interpretation of the traditional image of the mermaid under the influence of biblical myths. According to a Russian legend, known since the 16th century, the Egyptians, who were expelling the Jews from Egypt, in the water of the Black Sea turned into half-men, half-fish, and their horses - into half-horses, half-fish.

NUMBERGOD - goddess of the moon. She holds in her hand the moon, by which time was calculated in ancient times; she is characterized by calm, measuredness, and dispassion. Her period is from early twilight to dawn, but despite this, she is indifferent to the dark forces of evil. Contemplating reality, he calmly counts down both seconds and centuries, loves to walk through the snowy expanses on long winter nights, and swims in warm water on short summer nights.

Prepared based on:
Characters of Slavic mythology. Compiled by: A. A. Kononenko, S. A. Kononenko.

Vinogradova L. N. Slavic folk demonology: problems of comparative study

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One of the three main heroes of the Russian epic, the youngest in age.

Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin Zmeevich Artist N. Kochergin

The archaic features preserved in the images of Ilya Muromets, Alyosha Popovich and Dobrynya Nikitich allowed researchers to conclude that the characters of the epics arose as a result of rethinking the images of unknown deities. In particular, they resemble the fairy-tale triad - Gorynya, Dubynya and Usynya, heroes who help the hero get living water(fairy tale “Gorynya, Dubynya and Usynya - heroes”).

At the same time, in many ways, the image of Alyosha is similar to other archaic heroes of the Russian epic, for example, the wizard-hero Volga Vseslavevich (Volkh) - a young man who loves to boast of his strength. Some researchers (in particular, B. A. Rybakov) tried to identify Alyosha Popovich with the real Russian warrior Alexander Popovich, who died in the Battle of Kalka in 1223. Perhaps the name of Alexander Popovich appeared in chronicles under the influence of widespread epics about Alyosha Popovich, in other words, we are talking about a secondary influence.

Based on the texts of epics, it is possible to reconstruct the biography of Alyosha Popovich. Like Ilya Muromets and Dobrynya Nikitich, he comes from northeastern Rus' and is the son of the Rostov priest Leonty (according to some texts of the epics - Fyodor). The birth of Alyosha Popovich is accompanied by traditional miraculous signs - thunder and lightning. Almost immediately the heroic qualities of the hero appear: Alyosha asks his mother “not to swaddle him in swaddling clothes”, because he can already sit on a horse on his own. As soon as he gets back on his feet, Alyosha Popovich wants to go for a walk “throughout the world” - this is what all epic heroes do.

Alyosha Popovich heads to Kyiv, where he meets other heroes. Gradually he enters the heroic triad. According to some researchers, Alyosha is the most “human” of all the heroes of the Russian epic, since his characteristics contain not only traditional heroic qualities, but also elements of psychological assessment.

The description of Alyosha Popovich differs from other characters in his attempts to create a dynamic image endowed with individual properties. Alyosha differs from the older heroes in his cunning, as well as some unbalanced behavior, impetuous and harsh character. As they say in the epic, “he is not strong in strength, he is bold in pretence”: he defeats the enemy not so much by force as by cunning.

Sometimes Alyosha can deceive not only the enemy, but also his ally Dobrynya Nikitich. Therefore, for such actions he is constantly punished (the epic “The Marriage of Dobrynya and the Failed Marriage of Alyosha”). Alyosha Popovich loves to brag and often boasts of his strength. However, his jokes are not always harmless. Alyosha can offend those around him and even insult them. Therefore, his comrades - the heroes - often condemn Alyosha’s actions and behavior.

Alyosha Popovich is the hero of traditional heroic stories. The most archaic of them is the story of the fight with Tugarin (the epics “Alyosha Popovich and the Serpent”, “Alyosha and Tugarin”). The clash of heroes takes place either along the route of Alyosha Popovich to Kyiv, or in Kyiv itself, and Alyosha Popovich always acts as a defender of the honor and dignity of the prince.

Tugarin tries to choke Alyosha with smoke, cover him with sparks, and burn him in a fire-flame, but he invariably fails. Alyosha prays to God, he sends rain, the snake’s wings get wet, and he cannot fly. The main duel between him and Alyosha takes place on the ground. Alyosha deceives the enemy, forcing him to turn around (“What kind of power are you bringing with you?”). The battle ends traditionally - with the victory of the hero. Having scattered Tugarin’s body “across an open field,” Alyosha Popovich lifts the enemy’s head on a spear and takes it to Prince Vladimir.

The epics also tell the story of Alyosha Popovich’s marriage to the Zbrodovich’s sister Elena (Olen, Olenushka). There are also known stories about the unsuccessful matchmaking of Alyosha Dobrynya Nikitich Nastasya Mikulichna. Sometimes two plots are combined, and then Yasena Dobrynya becomes Nastasya Zbrodovichna.

Alkonost

The image of a magical bird with a woman's face. Usually mentioned in Byzantine and Slavic medieval legends. It spread in parallel with a similar image of the Sirin bird.

Baba Yaga, Sirin and Alkonost.Artist I. Bilibin

The legend tells that Alkonost lays eggs on the seashore, then immerses them in the depths of the sea for seven days. The sea remains calm until the chicks hatch. Therefore, the image of Alkonost is associated with a belief about the source of the origin of sea storms.

An image that occupies a special position in the mythologies and fairy tales of different peoples.

Baba Yaga (Yaga Yagishna, Ezhi Baba)

In national traditions, the image is multifaceted and contradictory: the Greek nymph Calypso, Naguchitsa in the fairy tales of the peoples of the Caucasus, Zhalmauyz-Kempir in Kazakh fairy tales, grandmother Metelitsa in German ones.

In Russian fairy tales, Baba Yaga has a repulsive appearance. She usually appears in the form of an old woman with a bone leg, who has poor vision or is blind. She throws her huge breasts over her back. In particular, the following description is common: Baba Yaga, a bone leg, sits “on

The mortar of the furnace, on the ninth brick,” she has “teeth with a pestle on the shelf, and her nose has grown into the ceiling.”

Baba Yaga. Artist I. Bilibin

Fairy tales tell how Baba Yaga kidnaps children and roasts them in an oven, throwing them in with a shovel. Researcher V. Ya. Propp connected the origins of the image with the ritual of baking a child to give him invulnerability. This motif is present in many fairy tales and epic works(“Iliad” by Homer, Nart epic). V. Ya. Propp proposed to interpret the tales of Baba Yaga as an initiation rite reproduced in mythological form. The researcher also made another assumption. He noted that Baba Yaga’s main “activity” is due to her close connection with wild animals and the forest. She lives in a remote thicket, animals and birds obey her. Therefore, V. Ya. Propp connected the origin of Baba Yaga with the image of the mistress of animals and the world of the dead, widespread in fairy tales and myths of many peoples. Thus, it is easy to notice the similarity between Baba Yaga and the evil sorceress Louhi, the mistress of the fairy-tale country of Pohjela from Finnish fairy tales: both old women live in the forest and confront the main character.

The fairy tales of Western and Eastern Slavs say that Baba Yaga lives in a dense forest in a “hut on chicken legs.” The hut is surrounded by a fence made of human bones with skulls on posts. Constipation is replaced by hands clasped together; instead of a lock, there are jaws with sharp teeth. Baba Yaga's hut is constantly turning around its axis. The hero can penetrate it only after he casts the spell: “Stand up as before, just as your mother did!” Towards the forest with your back, towards me in front.”

Baba Yaga's meeting with the hero begins with questions and ends with providing him with the necessary help. Often the hero turns to three sisters and receives help only from the eldest Baba Yaga (“The Tale of Rejuvenating Apples, Living Water and the Girl Sineglazka”).

Combining the features of many ancient characters, in different stories Baba Yaga acts as the hero’s assistant, giver, and adviser. Then her appearance and home lose their frightening features. Only one constant detail is preserved: the hut must stand on chicken legs. In some fairy tales, Baba Yaga also acts as the mother of snakes, the opponents of the main character. Then the hero enters into a duel with her and wins.

Bova the prince

Hero of Russian fairy tales and popular popular stories.

Bova the prince Lubok. XIX century

The image of Bova has been known in Rus' since the beginning of the 17th century, when translations of the Polish “The Tale of Bova the Prince” appeared. The basis was a medieval novel about the adventures of the knight Buovo from the city of Ancona; The novel was converted into a folk book, versions of which were distributed throughout all European countries - from Poland to Macedonia.

Together with other similar monuments - “The Tale of Eruslan Lazarevich”, “The Tale of Peter of the Golden Springs” - “The Tale of Bova the Prince”

entered into Russian folklore. Over time, the image of Bova is found along with the images of Russian heroes and fairy-tale heroes - Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich, Ivan Tsarevich.

The story tells how Bova achieves the love of the beautiful princess Druzhnevna. Fighting against numerous enemies, Bova accomplishes feats, defeats foreign troops, and defeats the fabulous hero Polkan (half-man, half-dog). The ending of the story is traditional - Bova unites with his beloved, having overcome all the intrigues and obstacles.

The image of Bova entered written culture. Since popular retellings of his adventures continued to be published until the beginning of the 20th century, the image aroused interest among Russian writers, who perceived it through the oral medium (stories of nannies). At the end of the 18th century, A. N. Radishchev wrote the poem “Bova”. In 1814, the image of Bova was used by Pushkin, who created a sketch of the poem “Bova”.

Boyan

The image of the epic singer in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.”

Goes back to Indo-European images. Analogues are found in the epics of almost all European peoples.

Guslar-storytellersArtist V. Vasnetsov

It is unknown whether Boyan actually existed. In the introduction to “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” (12th century)

contains the following characteristic: “The prophetic Boyan, if anyone wants to create a song, his thoughts spread across the tree, like a gray wolf along the ground, like a crazy eagle under the clouds.” Let us suggest that the author of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” could summarize in the image of Boyan the real features of the court singers of Kievan Rus.

However, the image of Boyan is mentioned not only in the Tale of Igor's Campaign, but also in other monuments of the 12th century, in the 12th century inscription scratched on the wall of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, as well as in the Novgorod Chronicler.

Boyan is usually characterized by the constant epithet “Veles’s grandson,” which indicates his connection with other world, the god of the underworld, as well as his supernatural nature (various magical skills).

Another constant epithet included in the characterization of the hero - “prophetic” - reflects the idea that the singer had secret knowledge and could predict events or cause them with his songs. Epic singers are endowed with such qualities (Braghi in the Elder Edda, Väinämöinen in the Finnish runes). The specificity of Boyan’s poetic style, the beauty and sophistication of his texts is also indicated by the definition of “nightingale of the old days.”

The interpretation of the image of Boyan in literature was formed under the influence of secondary folklorization and the widespread use of the image by authors of the late 18th century and A. S. Pushkin in the poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila”, after which the image began to be perceived as fairy-tale (A. N. Ostrovsky’s play “The Snow Maiden” and the author's interpretation of the folk singer in the image of Lel).

Brawler

The name of a fairy-tale island mentioned in Russian fairy tales and spells (for example, in the saying “on the sea-ocean, on the island of Buyan, there lies a baked bull. In the side there is crushed garlic and a sharpened knife”).

In conspiracies, Buyan Island is the place of residence of mythological characters (sometimes Christian saints or evil feverish shakers). There are also some magical items there.

(Alatyr stone). It was believed that the mention of Buyan in the conspiracy gives concreteness to the appeal and, accordingly, makes it more effective.

Vasily Buslaev

Russian character epic epic.

The main character of two epics of the Novgorod cycle. They probably appeared no earlier than the 14th century, since in the image of Vasily Buslaev traditional heroic features are either absent or simply listed. In later versions, the hero even acts under the name Vaska the drunkard.

Vasily BuslaevArtist A. Ryabushkin. Illustration for the epic

The epic provides the following information about the hero: he was born in Veliky Novgorod. When he was seven years old, he:

He began to walk around the city,

To look into the princely courtyard,

He started joking, joking,

He makes unkind jokes

With boyar children, with princely children,

Whoever gets pulled by the hand - hand away,

Whose foot - foot off,

If they push two or three together, they lie without a soul.

Gradually, he feels the “great strength” within himself and makes heroic weapons - a club, a bow, a spear and a saber. Then Vasily recruits a “good squad” of thirty young men. However, the difference between his actions and the actions of traditional heroes is that Vasily does not fight with any opponents, but together with his comrades he only revels and fights on the bridge “with the peasants of Novgorod.” Appearing with his squad at the brotherhood - the general holiday of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker - he starts a fight. The Novgorod men are trying to pacify the troublemakers. Grabbing the cart axle, Vasily

He started clicking on the men, Vasilyushka waved - the street, waved - intermediate. Is it in the Volkhov river? For a whole mile, water mixed with blood.

Vasily Buslaev enters into a kind of confrontation with all the residents of Novgorod. But under the influence of his mother, an “honest widow,” he is forced to admit that he was wrong. Realizing that the sin committed must be atoneed for, Vasily equips the ship and asks his mother to bless him:

Give me a great blessing -

I, Vasily, should go to Jerusalem city,

I should pray to the Lord,

Venerate the holy shrine,

Take a bath in the Erdan River.

His mother gives him a blessing, but only for good deeds.

On the way to Jerusalem, Vasily climbs “Mount Sorochinskaya” and sees a human skull on the ground. As he kicks it out of the way, a voice suddenly rings out:

Why are you throwing my head away?

Well done, I was no worse than you,

And on that mountain Sorochinsky,

Where the head lies empty

The brave head is empty,

And it will lie on Vasilyeva’s head.

But Vasily does not pay attention to the warning:

But I don’t believe in dreams or choke, But I believe in my scarlet elm.

In Jerusalem, Vasily performs all the required rituals, serves mass, a memorial service, venerates shrines, but in the end he breaks the order - he bathes in the Jordan, where Jesus Christ was baptized. Having cleansed himself of past sins, he immediately commits a new one. On the way back, Vasily stops on the mountain, but now he sees a “white-flammable stone” under which the hero rests. There is an inscription on the stone saying that you cannot jump along the stone. But Vasily again violates the ban:

He took a running start, jumped along the stone and only missed a quarter of the mark, and then he killed himself under a stone. Where the empty head lies, Vasily was buried there.

The stone symbolizes the border of Death's domain. Vasily tried to violate the border of her kingdom, inaccessible to the living, so death takes him.

In early versions of the epic, Vasily Buslaev appears as a boyar’s son, but then his origin is not mentioned. This technique allows us to more clearly show the role of Vasily Buslaev as the leader of the poor attacking rich ships.

Basilisk

A mythical animal mentioned in legends, spiritual poems and spells.

Basilisk

The image first appeared in ancient Greek sources: a basilisk was considered a snake with a diadem on its head (this is what a cobra looks like before an attack). With her gaze she kills all living things. The image of the Basilisk penetrated into medieval bestiaries (collections of descriptions of animals) and legends. In the Middle Engraving of the 16th century. centuries, the Basilisk was depicted with the body of a rooster and the tail of a snake. In the Slavic world, the Basilisk was represented as a huge snake, capable of killing with poison, gaze and breath. The legends of many peoples report the special gaze of the Basilisk, capable of penetrating through walls and turning all living things into stone. If the Basilisk sees its reflection in the mirror, it will die. Slavic sources say that the Basilisk has the head of a turkey, the eyes of a toad, the wings of a bat, and the tail of a snake. Sometimes his appearance resembled a huge lizard with a crest on his head and a long forked tongue.

Information about the birth of the Basilisk is contradictory. One legend tells that the Basilisk is born from a cock's egg hatched by a toad; in another, a rooster hatches an egg in the altar. The Basilisk itself can also lay eggs, from which vipers hatch.

According to legends, the Basilisk lives in caves, where it spends daylight hours. He cannot stand sunlight or the crow of a rooster, so he can only leave his shelter at night. In caves, the Basilisk finds food because it only eats stones.

Giant

A character from Slavic mythology, found in fairy tales, traditions and legends.

The image of a giant combines the features of a man and an underground monster. Traces of beliefs have survived to this day in legends, where giants are often depicted as half-mountain, half-human. The giant looks like a man of enormous stature, “higher than a standing forest, lower than a walking cloud.” He has such strength that he can turn over a mountain, pull out a tree, lift a plowman and his team.

Slavic legends say that giants were the first inhabitants of the earth. They developed the desert land: they built mountains, dug river beds, and sowed fields and forests with plants. Echoes of such legends were included in the Estonian “Kalevipoeg” and became the basis of numerous legends.

V. Ya. Propp assumed that the images of giants arose on the basis of the characters of ancient myths, which speak of the struggle of the thunder hero with an enemy who emerged from underground. The Indo-European myth tells that the thunderer

the animal can act in the form of a giant (Ukko in the Finnish epic). To defeat evil spirits, he throws not only lightning, but also huge stones to the ground. Greek myths tell about the struggle of the gods with the Hecatonchires - hundred-armed giants, huge as rocks. In the Scandinavian epic “Elder Edda,” the thunder god Thor is the opponent of the giants Grimthurs.

Christian legends do not mention the divine origin of giants. They were considered pagans, viewed as savages and cannibals with human heads rather than dogs. In some fairy tales, giants also act as kidnappers.

There are several versions of the death of the giants. They believed that God was punishing them for pride and lack of faith in his power (biblical motive). There is a well-known legend that God destroyed the giants because they harmed people - they destroyed houses, trampled fields and forests. Other stories say that the giants died during the global flood because they could not feed themselves. An apocryphal legend says that the giants were eaten by a huge bird, Kuk. The winner of the giants could be an ordinary person, armed with an appropriate prayer or conspiracy. Sometimes the giants were overcome by a hero endowed with heroic strength.

In later legends, images of giants were often identified with various invaders - Tatars, Turks, Swedes or even Huns. It is curious that at that time the giants were credited with knowledge of the Latin language, which was supposed to emphasize their foreign origin.

Traditional folklore motifs are associated with images of giants: victory over a snake, throwing a mace into the sky, causing thunder to roll. Pieces of huge bones of fossil animals found during the erosion of river banks were often associated with giants, as were huge stones left by the glacier. Both stones and pieces of bone were used in folk medicine as a remedy for fever. Traces of beliefs were reflected in the texts of conspiracies.

Verlioka

A fairy-tale monster that lives in a deep forest, a destroyer and destroyer of all living things. He is always the enemy of fairy-tale heroes.

The image of Verlioka is found in Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian folklore. The description of Verlioka is traditional: “tall, about one eye, half an arshin in the shoulders, stubble on his head, he leans on a stick, he grins terribly.” The description matches the images of some characters from children's horror stories. Apparently, this feature determines the character’s prevalence only in fairy tales intended for children.

In the image of Verlioka, the features of a giant wizard are clearly visible. He destroys everything around him, kills everyone he meets. After Verlioka's death, the magic stops, and everyone he killed is resurrected. To fight the villain, people (grandfather), animals (drake), and inanimate objects (acorn, string) unite.

In the 20th century, the image received a kind of creative rethinking. Verlioka became the hero of the fairy tale story of the same name by V. A. Kaverin. Since the image of Verlioka retains only one traditional feature - the connection with the forest, some researchers define the genre of the story as fantasy.

Viy

A character from East Slavic mythology, who combines the features of a fairy-tale giant and traditional signs of evil spirits. In fact, the image was invented by N.V. Gogol.

The name Viy comes from the Old Slavonic word “veyka” (Ukrainian - viyka), eyelash. Viy is a giant who can hardly move due to the excessive weight of his body. Viy's gaze has deadly power - it kills or turns to stone. His eyes are constantly hidden under huge eyelids; they are raised with pitchforks by the demons accompanying the monster. Viy acts as the ruler of the underworld or the leader of the devils. It not only causes harm to humans. With his deadly gaze, Viy destroys cities where infidels live. In this motif, traces of ancient beliefs in the “evil eye” were combined with ideas about creatures endowed with a deadly gaze (basilisk).

The image is interestingly interpreted in the story of the same name by N. V. Gogol, based on Ukrainian folk legends. It combines the features of various characters: the basilisk, the ruler of the underworld, Saint Kasyan, who is considered the embodiment of leap year and the personification of all kinds of misfortunes. Apocryphal legends about this saint say that he lives in a cave where daylight does not penetrate. His gaze also brings misfortune to a person.

It is curious that this motif was included in the apocryphal legend about Judas Iscariot: as punishment for the betrayal of Jesus Christ, Judas lost his sight due to overgrown eyelids.

Wolf

One of the main animals in Slavic mythology.

According to legends, the wolf was created by the devil, who molded him from clay. But the devil could not revive him. Then the devil turned to God, who breathed a soul into the wolf. The dual origin of the wolf determined its borderline position between this and that world, man and evil spirits.

The wolf is always opposed to man as the personification of brute destructive force. The wolf is hostile to humans, destroys livestock and can attack people. The main feature of a wolf in conspiracies and, above all, in fairy tales, is considered to be its foreignness, its belonging to another, non-human world. Therefore, the wolf is often endowed with supernatural features - iron teeth, fiery skin, copper head. It is curious that in wedding songs, those accompanying the groom, as well as all the bride’s relatives, are called wolves, since during the wedding they are strangers in the groom’s house. In folk songs, the groom's relatives accordingly call the bride a she-wolf.

However, there is a belief that, by destroying devils, the wolf acts according to God's will. Almost throughout Europe, there is a widespread idea that a meeting with a wolf portends good luck, happiness or some kind of well-being. Apparently, this is why in fairy tales the wolf invariably acts as an ally or magical assistant to the hero. He helps Ivan Tsarevich obtain magical objects, and then resurrects him with the help of living water.

The image of a wolf is associated with the oldest idea of ​​werewolves. It is wolves that sorcerers and people bewitched by them turn into. Numerous tales are known that wolves obey the goblin, who gathers them in the clearing and feeds them like dogs.

According to Christian beliefs, the wolf is considered the guardian of herds. The patron saint of wolves is Saint George. The tales tell how Saint Yuri (George) in the spring distributes their future prey among the wolves.

Rituals protecting against wolves are associated with the holidays of St. George. In particular, on these days you cannot eat meat, drive livestock into the field, or perform work related to livestock and livestock breeding. It was dangerous to mention the name of the wolf in everyday speech. This is how numerous euphemisms appeared that replace the name of an animal in fairy tales - “gray”, “gray sides”, “God’s dog”, “forest dog”.

To protect against the wolf, they use spells addressed to the devil or Saint George with a request to calm down “their dogs.” When you met a wolf, you had to kneel down and greet him.

The eyes, heart, teeth and claws of the wolf served as amulets, and healing properties were attributed to them. A wolf tooth was hung around the neck of a teething child. Wolf tail or wool made from it is worn to protect against diseases.

Volkodlak

In Slavic mythology, a wolf-clad is a person who has the supernatural ability to turn into a wolf. The idea of ​​the wolf-dog combines features of a folklore image and a character from Christian demonology.

A sign of a wolf dog is the wolf hair (dlaka) growing on the head, noticeable already at birth. The Slavic name of the character comes from it.

The motif of a person turning into a wolf is common in the folklore of all European countries, as well as the Caucasus, which indicates the origin of the image in ancient times. Some epic heroes (Volkh Vseslavyevich, Beowulf, Sigurd) and literary characters, in particular Vseslav Polotsky (“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”), had the ability to turn into a wolf.

Researchers associate the image of the wolfdog with the oldest form of marriage - kidnapping (kidnapping the bride). In some Russian dialects, the groom's friend was called a wolf. Numerous stories have been preserved about people turning into wolves during a wedding.

A person could become a wolfdog thanks to witchcraft. The motive of transformation into a wolf after putting on a wolf skin is also known; when removing it, the reverse transformation occurs. In Lithuanian and Latvian folklore, such characters were called vilktaks (vilkacis). Usually the transformation was carried out by putting on an enchanted belt (prievit) or stepping over (somersaulting) over a stump. At the same time, the corresponding conspiracy was pronounced: “In the name of the devil, let me become a wolf, gray, fast as fire.”

Like a real wolf, the wolfhound attacked people and animals. There are stories about how a bewitched person strives to overcome the power of witchcraft, does not harm anyone and refuses raw meat.

Sometimes the wolfhound turns into a bear. Such a transformation is described, in particular, in ancient Russian handwritten book"Enchanter". But beliefs about transformations into bears are less common, since the bear personifies a different circle of beliefs.

The myth about the origin of a solar eclipse is also associated with the image of the wolfdog. Many Slavic peoples have stories that during an eclipse, wolfhounds eat the moon (sun). It was believed that after death, a wolfhound could become a ghoul, so before burial he should have his mouth gagged or a coin placed in it.

In Russian literature, the image of the wolfdog became widespread after the publication of A. S. Pushkin’s poem “The Ghoul.”

Volkh (Volga, Volkh Vseslavevich)

Hero of Russian epics.

The image of the Volkh combines ancient ideas about animals and the traditional qualities of an epic character (hero), who also has the characteristics of a werewolf. Volkh appeared from the union of the young princess Marfa Vseslavyevna and the snake:

A young princess walked and walked, Through the garden, a green garden, She jumped on a fierce snake, The fierce snake is entwined, Near her boot is green morocco, Near her silk stocking, Her trunk hits the white stitch, And the princess suffered diarrhea in her boots.

The birth of the Volkh resembles the appearance of a deity and is accompanied by traditional signs: thunder roars, the earth trembles, birds, fish and animals scatter. Immediately after birth, Volkh begins to speak, and his voice is like thunder. The baby is swaddled in damask armor, he plays “golden helmet” and

“a club weighing three hundred pounds.” When Volkh turns seven years old, his mother sends him to learn “cunning and wisdom.” He masters not only the sciences, but also acquires the ability to transform into a falcon, wolf, aurochs - golden horns. When Volkh turns twelve years old, he gathers a squad and goes with it to the field, and at the age of 15 he is already ready to perform military feats.

The plot of Volkh’s campaign against the “Rich Indian” belongs to the most archaic layers of Russian epic. Having learned that the Indian king is going to attack Kyiv, Volkh gets ahead of him and goes on a campaign against the Indian kingdom. Along the way, he turns into different animals - in the guise of a falcon he kills a bird, turning into a wolf, he runs through the forests and hunts animals to feed and clothe his squad.

Unlike his warriors, Volkh is always awake. Leaving his squad on the border of the Indian kingdom, he turns into a tour - golden horns. Having reached the palace, Volkh became a falcon, made his way into the chambers of Tsar Saltyk Stavrulievich and overheard his conversation with his wife, Tsarina Azvyakovna. Having learned about the intentions of the king, who planned to harm Rus', Volkh turns into an ermine and goes down to the cellar. There he bites the strings of the bows, chews through the spears and horse harness, after which he returns to the squad.

To get inside the city, Volkh turns his warriors into ants. Having captured the capital of the Indian kingdom, he kills the king, takes Queen Azvya-kovna as his wife, gives seven thousand maidens as wives to his warriors and becomes the king of the captured kingdom.

Epic motifs are found in many literary and folklore works. In particular, we find a similar description of the birth of a hero in the Mahabharata; the motif of warriors turning into ants is found in Greek myths,

The hero of the Russian fairy tale “Crystal Mountain”, Ivan Tsarevich, is also endowed with the art of transformation. Having turned into an ant, he penetrates inside the crystal mountain, defeats the snake and marries the princess. The hero of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” Vseslav Polotsky, also has the ability to become a werewolf. In the form of a gray wolf, he runs around the fields to find the enemy army.

Some motifs of the epic about Volkh are found in legends included in Russian chronicles. Thus, the Novgorod Chronicle tells a story about a wolf-sorcerer who could turn into a fierce beast. rya - crocodile. He allegedly lived in the Volkhov River and interfered with ships sailing along it. The monster's name was Volkh. Further, the chronicle says that this Volkh worshiped the god of thunder and even placed an idol of Perun on the bank of the river. The Volkh was defeated by demons sent to him by God. The Volkh dies and falls straight from the grave into hell.

Another epic story is connected with the image of Volkh: Volkh is the brother of Mikula Selyaninovich. Having gathered a squad, Volkh helps Mikula defeat three cities: Gurchevets, Orekhovets and Krestyanovets.

Other heroes - Ilya Muromets, Sadko, Vasily Buslaev - turn out to be weaker than Mikula the Plowman and cannot pull his plow out of the ground. Even such an omnipotent sorcerer like Volkh cannot lift Mikula Selyaninovich’s plow. This emphasizes that the highest value is not strength and witchcraft, but creative work.

Grief

A character in Russian folk tales, a figurative embodiment of an evil fate; an anthropomorphic image endowed with the ability to transform into various objects.

In most stories, the appearance of Grief is associated with misfortunes befalling the hero. Any endeavor ends in failure. To get out of the vicious circle, the hero finds Grief and tries to free himself from it. He invites Gor to play hide and seek with him and by cunning lures him into a trap (coffin, snuffbox, cart wheel). Having caught Grief, the hero hides it - burying it in the ground or throwing it into a hard-to-reach place, and having freed himself from Grief, he returns to his normal life. In satirical and everyday tales Grief's opponent is a soldier who, by cunning, defeats Grief and saves people from him.

At the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th century, the ancient Russian “Tale of Woe-Misfortune” was compiled on the basis of folk tales. The main character of the story suffers from the persecution of Grief, forcing him to constantly drink, drinking away all his property. To get rid of Grief, the hero of the story goes to a monastery.

The folklore image of Grief was used by N. A. Nekrasov in the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'.” The image of Grief became one of the characters in the fairy tale play by S. Ya. Marshak “To be afraid of Grief is not to see happiness.”

Div

Demonic character of East Slavic mythology. Mentioned in medieval teachings directed against paganism, in the “Tale of Igor’s Campaign” (“Div calls out to the top of the tree”). The Russian diva was perceived as a humanoid or bird-like creature.

The researchers did not come to unanimous opinion about the origin of the word "Div". On the one hand, it is associated with the word “divo” - the Slavic designation of a miracle, on the other - with the adjective “diviy” - wild.

The Indo-European designation for God is also associated with the root “div”. In the episode “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” the expression “the Divas fell to the ground” is perceived as a harbinger of misfortune. Perhaps the name reflected the coincidence of the features of Div with the Iranian Devo - a negative character found in folklore and mythology.

Nikitich

NikitichArtist V. Vasnetsov Fragment of the painting “Bogatyrs”

The second most important Russian hero, occupies a middle position between Ilya Muromets and Alyosha Popovich.

A number of epics mention the merchant origin of Dobrynya. They say that Dobrynya was born in North-Eastern Rus' in the family of a Ryazan merchant, a “rich guest” of Nikita Romanovich. Dobrynya's father dies soon after his birth or even before it. Unlike the “old Cossack” Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya is always called “young”.

Dobrynya is raised by her mother, Amelfa Timofeevna. She teaches Dobrynya “cunning literacy”:

And when Dobrynya is seven years old, his mother made him learn to read and write, and Dobrynya’s literacy went to science.

In epics, Dobrynya’s education, knowledge of manners, and “knowledge” (ability to behave) are constantly noted. Dobrynya is not only a brave warrior and a sharp shooter. He is a skilled chess player and can sing and play the harp. In one of the stories, he even beats the Tatar Khan at chess.

Dobrynya has extraordinary diplomatic skills, often settling quarrels between heroes and conflicts with Prince Vladimir.

It is thanks to the efforts of Dobrynya that the heroic trinity unites again after a disagreement between Ilya Muromets and Alyosha Popovich.

In some texts, Dobrynya also acts as the leader of the squad, so at the beginning of the plot his princely origin is indicated. His rich, “princely” house also corresponds to Dobrynya’s position.

There are many epic stories associated with the name of Dobrynya. The most common plot is “Dobrynya and the Snake,” where the motif of snake fighting is associated with the idea of ​​protecting the Motherland from invaders. The hero not only defeats the snake, but frees the “full Russian.” Unlike other heroes, Dobrynya fights not only with the snake, but with the entire “snake tribe”. The epic says that while still a young man he began to “ride a good horse in an open field and trample little snakes.”

Dobrynya accomplishes her main feat on the Puchai River. Contrary to her mother’s warning, Dobrynya enters the water of the magical river (“fire shoots from one stream, sparks fall from the second, smoke pours from the third”). A snake immediately appears and attacks the defenseless hero. The fight begins in the water. With her bare hands, Dobrynya grabs the snake and begins to strangle it, then drags it ashore and knocks off the heads with a “cap of Greek soil” (a cap filled with earth).

The serpent begs Dobrynya for mercy in exchange for an oath not to harm people and flies away, but, flying over Kiev, kidnaps Zabava Putyatichna, the niece of Prince Vladimir. On behalf of the prince, Dobrynya goes to the snake kingdom; kills the snake and frees not only Zabava, but also all the “full Russians” - those who languished in captivity under the snake.

The plot is included in the world epic fund (Perseus, Sigurd, Siegfried). It is also widespread in Christian hagiographic literature (the lives of St. George and Theodore Tiron). Researchers believe that the epic symbolically reflected the history of the baptism of Rus': The serpent is seen as the personification of paganism, killing the serpent with the “cap of the Greek land.” Dobrynya acts as a bearer of Orthodoxy, which came to Rus' through Byzantium from Greece.

The clear archaic basis of the plot and the connection of Dobrynya Nikitich with the water element, diving, and descent into caves allow us to consider him as an epic character who defeats a monster that came from the underworld. V.V. Ivanov points to the origin of the name Dobrynya from the ancient root “dobr” (“wild”), meaning bottom, bottom, abyss in Indo-European languages.

Sometimes Dobrynya is brought closer to the Danube. Indeed, the same plot about the fight with the snake is associated with the images of these heroes. In other stories where Dobrynya participates, the motive of the duel is also widely represented. The hero’s opponents are both traditional antagonists - hostile creatures, and other heroes (for example, the Danube, with whom Dobrynya is reconciled by Ilya Muromets).

In the epic “Dobrynya and Marinka,” the hero’s opponent is the “poisoner,” the “drinker,” the witch Marinka, who is trying to bewitch the hero. Marinka wants to seduce Dobrynya and invites him to marry her. But Dobrynya does not give in, then Marinka turns him into a tour, pronouncing a spell over the footprints of his feet carved out of the ground:

As I cut these traces of Dobrynyushkina, So would Dobrynyushka’s zealous heart cut, Come, Dobrynyupka, to the Turkish sea, Where nine rounds walk, walk, Come, Dobrynyushka, in the tenth round.

Dobrynya's mother comes to the aid of her son and breaks his spell. Dobrynya defeats the witch and punishes her, together with her mother turning Marinka into a “water mare” (a dog or a magpie).

No less popular is the plot in which Dobrynya acts as a matchmaker, procuring a bride for Prince Vladimir. Together with the hero Danube, Dobrynya goes to a foreign kingdom, undergoes trials and brings a bride to the prince. The plot can be correlated with the chronicle story about how Prince Vladimir sent Dobrynya to the Polotsk prince Rog-vold to woo him. daughter.

Dobrynya is the protagonist of the plot “a husband at his wife’s wedding,” which is included in the circle of so-called world plots and is presented, for example, in “The Odyssey” and “The Song of the Nibelungs.” Dobrynya leaves for a long time in the “open field” and asks his wife to wait for him for twelve years. Only after this period has expired does he allow his wife to marry anyone except Alyosha Popovich.

Nastasya Mikulichna remains faithful to her husband, but after the end of her term, Prince Vladimir orders her to marry Alyosha Popovich. In some stories, Alyosha Popovich resorts to cunning - he informs her about the death of Dobrynya. Dobrynya's wife submits to the will of the prince. But during the wedding feast, Dobrynya appears, disguised as a passerby. He throws the ring into the cup that is presented to the bride.

Dobrynya punishes Alyosha for deception. Ilya Muromets reconciles the heroes, reminding that Dobrynya and Alyosha are “cross brothers” who kissed the cross as a sign of friendship. The quarrel stops. Apparently, in the image of Dobrynya, over time, the features of both the most ancient and later epic heroes were combined.

A mythologized image of a hero found in Russian epics. Probably, in the image of the Danube, the image of an epic hero was combined with the image of a god personifying the corresponding river.

The Danube appears as a character in only one epic. It tells that together with Dobrynya, Danube goes to the Lithuanian king to marry his daughter Apraksin to Prince Vladimir. The Danube goes to the king, and Dobrynya remains to guard the horses “in the open field.” However, the king refuses and imprisons the Danube in “deep cellars.” Having learned about what happened, Dobrynya enters the battle and defeats the Lithuanian squad that opposed him. After the defeat of the army, the Lithuanian king agrees to the proposal of the heroes and gives them his daughter. The heroes bring Apraksin) to Kyiv, where the marriage ceremony takes place.

Danube

Some versions of the plot tell that, once in the palace of the Lithuanian king, Danube falls in love with Apraksin’s sister Nastasya. She frees the hero and runs away with him to Kyiv. During the wedding feast, Danube and Nastasya have an archery competition. Danube loses it: the first time he undershoots, the second time he overshoots, and the third time he hits Nastasya. She dies and before her death she tells Danube that she is pregnant with a radiant baby. Having learned about this, Danube throws himself on his spear and dies next to his wife. The Lord turns the Danube into the Danube River, and Nastasya into the river called by her name. In this plot, the heroic epic was combined with the toponymic legend about the origin of the Danube River. The motif of separated lovers turning into rivers is often found in world folklore (for example, the Kazakh legend about the origin of the Ili and Karatal rivers).

Let us note that the Danube River in Russian epics, at the will of the storytellers, can flow near Kiev, Moscow or Novgorod.

Eruslan Lazarevich

Hero of ancient Russian fairy tales and folklore.

Bruslan Lazarevich.Splint. XIX century

“The Tale of Eruslan Lazarevich” has been known in Rus' since the beginning of the 18th century. It probably arose from

recording and subsequent presentation in the form of a story of one of the oral retellings of an unknown Turkic dastan, which tells about the exploits of the hero Rustam. Indeed, many features of the story indicate this connection. The name of the main character is associated with the Turkic nickname of Rustam Arslan (lion), and the name of his father - Zalazar - with the name of the father of Rustam Zal-Zer (gray-haired Zal).

The hero's childhood is described in accordance with the epic tradition. Already in early age Eruslan’s heroic qualities manifested themselves: he wins all games. Having learned that Eruslan is causing injuries to his peers, his father sends him “to the hundred field.” There Eruslan meets the groom Ivanka, with his help he gets a heroic horse and weapons and goes on a “Cossack walk.”

During his wanderings, Eruslan learns that his father was captured by the enemy and blinded. Eruslan immediately goes to the rescue. Along the way, he defeats rival heroes, fights fairy-tale monsters, meets mysterious maidens-birds (laughing birds), they transport him to a magical land. There he meets the wonderful Head of a giant hero and from it learns about a magic sword with which he can kill the Fire King.

Following the advice of the Head, Eruslan cunningly obtains a sword and, having deceived the Fire King, cuts off his head. Having freed and healed his father and uncle with the help of a medicine made from the enemy’s liver, Eruslan marries the princess he saved from the snake. But immediately after the wedding, he leaves his wife and goes to the Sunny City to meet the queen, who is “more beautiful than anyone on earth.”

The beauty of the princess conquers Eruslan, and he remains in the maiden kingdom for many years. Meanwhile, in the Indian kingdom, his son, Eruslan Eruslanovich, is growing up, who one day goes in search of his father. During the duel, Eruslan recognizes his son by the ring given to his mother. He stops the fight and returns to his wife with his son.

Thanks to the dynamic plot, the intricate adventures of the main character, the abundance of vivid and colorful descriptions, and elements of psychological characterization, “The Tale of Yeruslan” was distributed in a large number of handwritten copies and oral retellings. From the beginning of the 18th century, the story was included in numerous popular prints, becoming one of the first popular books.

The advent of printed publications led to interest in the story among new readers and listeners. At the end

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, numerous fairy tales and even epics were written down about Eruslan, where he acts on a par with native Russian folklore characters. The image of Eruslan was used by I. A. Krylov and A. S. Pushkin.

Firebird

A mythological creature mentioned in East Slavic tales. Similar images can be found in the fairy tales and mythology of all Indo-European peoples (the bird Ga-ruda is found in the Indian epic, the Simurgh in the Iranian epic, and the Ognevik in the Slovak epic). Therefore, most researchers consider the firebird as the oldest relict image preserved from the times of Indo-European folklore.

The firebird has fiery feathers and a long sparkling tail. The unusual - fiery - color reflects her belonging to another, non-human world. Usually the plot begins with a story about how the firebird flies into the royal garden from the thirtieth kingdom for golden apples. The hero tries to catch it, but the bird manages to escape. While flying away, she drops one of the feathers, which Ivan Tsarevich finds and goes in search of the firebird. In another plot, the firebird acts as the kidnapper of the main character's mother. Having found his mother, Ivan Tsarevich also gets the firebird.

The image of the firebird was included in the fairy-tale plot “the enchanted wife.” In it, the fiery bird turns out to be an enchanted girl. After the hero hides the magic plumage, she cannot turn into a bird again and becomes the bride of Ivan Tsarevich.

The plot of the firebird is used in the fairy tale “The Little Humpbacked Horse” by P. P. Ershov and the ballet “The Firebird” by I. F. Stravinsky.

Serpent

Character of Slavic mythology and folk demonology. The image of the serpent combines the most ancient pagan features and Christian ideas about the devil (evil spirit).

The image of a serpent was associated with the idea of ​​elemental destructive power. According to popular beliefs, the snake has demonic properties and heroic power. He guards healing herbs and living water, and stores untold riches. The snake can become a werewolf. This image combines the features of different epic characters - a warrior-horseman and a monster.

In most descriptions, the serpent is a huge dragon with large wings, long claws and several heads. A flame bursts out of the serpent's mouth; its flight and appearance itself are accompanied by a roar, thunder or storm. Sometimes the snake takes the form of lightning, a meteorite with a fiery tail, and also turns into a person. However, regardless of the appearance of the snake, it always remains the enemy of people, and fighting it is a difficult test for the hero.

The plot of the hero-snake fighter is common in the epics of all peoples of the world. In Russian epics, the winner of the snake is the hero Dobrynya Nikitich. He goes to the snake kingdom, defeats the snake, frees the captives and the prince's niece Zabava Pu-tyatichna.

The plot of snake fighting is also presented in numerous toponymic legends. One of them tells about Nikita Kozhemyak, who defeated the snake that attacked Kyiv.

Stories about the snake are also common in the Christian tradition. Under the influence of the Old Testament, where the serpent acts as an antagonist to God, the serpent acquired the characteristics of the devil. That is why he acts as a traditional opponent of warrior saints. Saint George, Kozma and Demyan, and Theodore Tyrone fight with him. There is a widely known story about how, having defeated the serpent, Saints Kuzma and Demyan plowed a rampart on it from Kyiv to the Black Sea - this is how the Dnieper and the system of settlements - the serpent shafts - were formed. Like the folk heroes, the warrior saints defeat the serpent in a difficult fight and free the people it has captured.

In folk tales, the snake primarily acts as a seducer of women. Therefore, the fight against him is based on protective magic. You can get rid of the snake by fumigating yourself with your own hair. Another way is to use a talisman. The serpent is afraid of the cross and loud noise. He cannot enter the house if there is a black dog in the yard or valerian herb is hung above the door.

Dragon

A type of snake image found in Russian epics and fairy tales.

The name is correlated with the word “mountain” as the habitat of the serpent. The image goes back to the Indo-European idea of ​​a snake - the master of the underworld. There are numerous analogues among both Slavic and other peoples: Iranian Lie Daha (literally - a serpent living on a mountain); Tatar Zi-lan; Zaliag-snake, found in fairy tales of the peoples of the Caucasus.

Serpent Gorynych is a giant monster with three, six or twelve heads. He lives in his kingdom (sometimes in a cave), where he hides looted wealth, kidnapped people and the princess(es). His many children, the little snakes, also live there.

The images of Tugarin, Zmiulan or the Fire Serpent combine the features of a monster and a warrior. In epics, the Serpent often appears as an enemy of the Russian land. The snake can fly across the sky or engage in battle with a hero on the ground.

The plot of “Dobrynya and the Serpent” clearly shows the features of an ancient myth, which tells about the battle of heroes. The serpent tries to defeat the unarmed hero. The fight is built on two climax points. The first meeting with the Serpent occurs when Dobrynya violates her mother’s ban and bathes in the Puchai River. The appearance of the Serpent is preceded by signs - the earth shakes, the water in the river turns into fire.

However, Dobrynya manages to grab the Serpent, pulls him ashore and delivers a crushing blow with the “cap of the Greek land.” The snake falls to the ground and begs the hero for mercy. He invites Dobrynya to make peace, secured by an oath. The snake promises that it will not attack people and appear in an “open field.”

Dobrynya believes the promise and releases the Serpent Gorynych to freedom. But he immediately breaks his oath: flying over Kiev, he kidnaps Prince Vladimir’s niece Zabava Putyatichna. Prince Vladimir sends Dobrynya to the second battle with the Serpent. The hero gets to the snake kingdom, destroying numerous baby snakes along the way.

Having reached the Snake's nest, Dobrynya starts a life-and-death battle. The mother of cheese, the earth, helps to defeat the Serpent; she gives the hero irresistible strength and absorbs the poisonous blood of the Serpent. Having defeated the enemy, Dobrynya frees the “full of Russians”, leads people out of their holes and frees Zabava Putyatichna.

The image of the Serpent is found in several fairy tales. The central place among them is occupied by the “Battle on Kalinov Bridge”, where the hero also defeats the Serpent Gorynych and averts the threat of enslavement from his land. The snake also confronts the hero in the “Three Kingdoms” plot, where the hero defeats three monsters with different numbers of heads.

In later fairy tales, the image of the Serpent takes on the features of a traditional villain. He is a rival of Ivan Tsarevich, seduces his wife Elena the Beautiful, but ultimately dies at the hand of the hero.

Ivan the hero

A mythologized character of a Russian fairy tale, transferred from the heroic epic.

Unlike Ivan the Tsarevich and Ivan the Fool, Ivan the Hero always receives a nickname indicating his origin (Ivan Suchich - Ivan the Bear's Ear, Ivan Zorkin, Ivan Bykovich - “The Fight on the Kalinov Bridge”, “The Little Man with the Marigold”, Ivan Cow's son - "Three Kingdoms"). That is why folklorists talk about varieties of the same type of hero. A similar image of a hero is found in Ukrainian, Belarusian, Latvian and other fairy tales (Pokatigoroshek, Fyodor Tugarin, Kurbad).

The plot of the fairy tale about Ivan the Bogatyr is built according to a traditional scheme: the action develops from the birth to the wedding of the hero. In almost all versions, the birth of Ivan is the result of magical power and is accompanied by miraculous signs: a shaking of the earth, a strong storm, the appearance of stars in the sky on a clear day.

The hero's extraordinary abilities manifest themselves even before birth: he speaks while in the womb. Having been born, Ivan immediately gets to his feet and grows by leaps and bounds. In games with peers, his heroic strength is revealed: he always wins.

Having learned about the kidnapping of his mother (other stories talk about brothers or sister), Ivan asks that a weapon be made for him that matches his strength:

mace, club or heroic sword. Having received weapons and a heroic horse, Ivan sets off on the road with his brothers. They arrive at the hut, where the brothers take turns preparing dinner. The first two brothers are attacked by the Little Man and are defeated.

When Ivan's turn comes, he defeats his opponent by pinching his beard in an oak log or tree trunk. However, the peasant manages to escape. The brothers follow in his footsteps and reach a hole - a deep cave or well. Descending into the well, Ivan penetrates the underground kingdom, defeats two snakes, reaches the old man's house, learns the secret of his death, defeats him and frees his captured relatives and three princesses. The latter become the brothers' brides.

In some stories, the hero does not descend into a well, but climbs a high mountain, where princesses live in three magical kingdoms. The hero's opponents are three snakes (three-headed, six-headed and twelve-headed).

In all fairy tales, the hero returns home. On the way back, the brothers, possessed by anger and envy, deceive Ivan and kill him (throw him in a deserted place). With the help of a magical assistant (a wolf or his own horse), Ivan is resurrected (freed from his bonds). Returning home, he exposes the brothers' treachery and marries his bride.

The hero shows heroic qualities only when he performs his first feat. In the future, he achieves his goal thanks to his personal qualities and magical objects. In the fairy tale “Until the Third Rooster,” V. M. Shukshin used both qualities of the hero: his supernatural nature and personal courage.

Ivan the Fool

Mythologized character of Russian fairy tales. The most common plots are “Sivka-Burka” and “Pig - the golden bristle”.

Researchers have not come to a clear opinion about the origin of the image. E. M. Meletinsky believes that the image of a persecuted hero was borrowed from legends, since individual motifs that make up the plots of fairy tales about Ivan are common in the mythology of different nations.

Ivan is the third and youngest of the brothers. He is a peasant, but does not engage in any useful work. The two older brothers act as prudent, thrifty owners. However, they never achieve their goal.

At the beginning of the tale it is said that Ivan lies on the stove all day long or spends time in taverns. He is transformed only after the death of his father, willingly replaces his brothers, for which he receives a magic horse as a reward. Ivan hides the horse from his brothers and sets off to conquer the princess. Sometimes he has to not only fight, but also take part in guessing and asking riddles. He guesses everything, but no one can solve his riddles.

Having married the princess, Ivan performs several feats and obtains magical objects: rejuvenating apples, living water, pig - golden bristles. Ivan then becomes king and the plot ends.

In the second version of the plot, Ivan the Fool guards the garden (field), into which a mysterious thief gets into at night. At night, Ivan discovers that the thief is a wonderful mare. She flies into the garden and tramples down the grass (crops). Sometimes, instead of a mare, a firebird appears in the plot.

Ivan releases the captive magical creature and receives a magical horse as a reward. The Firebird also leaves him her feather. Seeing the feather, the king forces Ivan to go in search of the firebird. During his journey, Ivan finds not only the firebird, but also a toy cat, a ring, rejuvenating apples and, finally, a beautiful bride. The tale ends with the traditional wedding of the protagonist and the Tsar Maiden.

In the 18th century, based on the plot of Ivan the Fool, a fairy-tale popular story appeared. It became the basis for numerous oral retellings recorded by folklorists, as well as P. P. Ershov’s fairy tale “The Little Humpbacked Horse.”

Ivan Tsarevich

The mythologized image of the hero of fairy tales, their main character, for example: “The Frog Princess”, “Ivan the Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf”, “Rejuvenating Apples”, “Finist the Clear Falcon”, “The Dead Princess”, “One-Eyed, Two-Eyed and Three-Eyed” "

Ivan Tsarevich.Artist I.Bilibin

The composition of fairy tales is traditional - events develop from the birth to the wedding of the hero. Ivan Tsarevich is the youngest of three brothers. Together with his brothers, and sometimes instead of them, he guards the royal garden in order to catch the thief who takes away the golden apples. The apple thief turns out to be the Firebird. Ivan tries to catch it, but misses the bird and only gets a golden feather.

By order of the Tsar, Ivan and his brothers go in search of the magic bird. On the way they part and continue their journey separately. Ivan Tsarevich meets a magical assistant - the Gray Wolf. He helps Ivan find not only the firebird, but also a magic horse, as well as a beautiful bride.

On the way back, Ivan Tsarevich meets his brothers, who kill him and take everything he got. The gray wolf revives Ivan with the help of living water, he returns home and exposes the deceivers. The tale ends with a wedding feast.

Many researchers consider Ivan Tsarevich an ideal fairy-tale hero. Indeed, in fairy tales he is always portrayed as a young, handsome, active and brave hero. However, the plot is structured in such a way that the character can achieve success only thanks to his personal qualities.

N.V. Novikov believes that the image of Ivan Tsarevich was formed under the influence heroic epic. Traces of such influence are manifested in such motives as the acquisition of heroic strength, fights with monsters, and the return to life of a deceased hero.

V. Ya. Propp correlated the image of Ivan Tsarevich with the most ancient mythological characters who die and are resurrected annually, starting a new life (Asiris, Yarilo - characters of Egyptian and Slavic mythology).

Idolishche Poganoe

A mythologized opponent of Russian heroes. In epics, Idolishche appears in the form of an anthropomorphic monster. It is going to capture Kyiv or attack Constantinople. When Idolishche captures the city, he takes Tsar Konstantin Ataulievich and Princess Apraxia captive.

Having learned about what happened from a passer-by, Ilya Muromets exchanges clothes with him and goes to Constantinople. There he comes to the palace disguised as a beggar and begs for alms. The idol orders the beggar to be driven out and boasts that “he has no opponent,” since Ilya Muromets is still in Kyiv.

Ilya Muromets cannot stand it and gets into a fight. During the struggle, Ilya kills the servants of the Idol and then enters into battle with the monster itself. In a duel, he kills Idolishche and frees the king and his wife.

In the plot, where the main action takes place in Kyiv, events develop according to a more complex pattern. The idol is besieging the city and demanding a worthy “super opponent.” Prince Vladimir sends Ilya to battle. The hero begins the fight, but his saber suddenly breaks. Then Ilya Muromets kills Idolishche with a “cap of Greek land.”

In some versions, instead of a weapon, Ilya Muromets uses an oak tree torn out of the ground or one of the warriors of the Idol. He grabs him by the legs and starts waving them: “Wherever he waves, there will be a street, he will wave away a side street.”

Probably, in the duel between Idolishch and Ilya Muromets, the heroism of the Russian people defending their land from enemies is glorified in poetic form. In epics dedicated to the fight against the Tatars, instead of Idolishch there appears a character called Kudrevan-ko, Badan, Kovshey or Skurla. However, the plot remains unchanged.

Ilya Muromets

The main character of the Russian epic epic. As the eldest in age, in most stories he leads a squad of Russian heroes. Together with Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich, he is part of the so-called heroic triad.

Ilya Muromets accomplishes many feats; stories associated with him often form an epic cycle. Ilya's main qualities are strength, courage, wisdom, sobriety, life experience, prudence. The indestructible power of Ilya Muromets and his military skill should warn those who are planning to go to war against Kyiv. He usually defeats enemies alone.

The names mentioned in the epics - Kyiv, Chernigov, Bryansk forests, Moroveysk, the Smorodina River (not far from Karachev), the village of Devyatidubye located in the same places (which gave the name to the nine oak trees on which the Nightingale the Robber sat) and the village of Solovyov Perevoz - allow us to say that Ilya Muromets was born in northeastern Rus'. As an epic character, he is mentioned in stories related to the Chernigov-Bryansk lands.

From the epics you can trace Ilya’s entire life path. He was born in the village of Karacharovo, located near the city of Murom, into a peasant family. After birth, he could not walk and sat for thirty and three years. Only after his miraculous healing by the passing Kalikas does Ilya gain “great strength” and get off the stove. Kaliki perform three miracles: they heal Ilya, endow him with unprecedented heroic strength and help him receive a heroic horse and a treasure sword. The Kaliki predict that Ilya must perform heroic feats and that “death is not written in his family.”

When the Kaliki leave, Ilya goes to his father’s field and clears it of “stumps and roots.” Having received the blessing of his parents, Ilya goes to Kyiv. From this day his heroic life begins.

On the way, Ilya meets Svyatogor, they compete in strength, and Svyatogor wins. The heroes fraternize. Then Svyatogor dies, but manages to transfer his power to Ilya. Only after this does Ilya become a real hero. He continues his journey to Kyiv and on the way defeats the Nightingale the Robber. Then Ilya accomplishes other feats: he protects Chernigov from enemies, builds a bridge across the Smorodina River.

Arriving in Kyiv, Ilya comes to the princely palace. Having shown the Nightingale to the prince, he makes him whistle like a nightingale and kills him. The hero remains in Kyiv, receives an honorable place at the princely table, but refuses, because he believes that his place is with the warriors.

Further stories describe how Ilya reconciles Dobrynya and Danube, who had quarreled, and helps Alyosha Popovich and Duke Stepanovich. In Kyiv - according to other stories in Constantinople - Ilya performs other feats. He defeats Idolishche and defends the city from the warriors of Tsar Kalin. Sometimes Batyga (Batu Batyevich) appears in the plot instead of Kalin.

A separate cycle of epics is associated with the trips of Ilya Muromets. He goes to “Rich India” or “Cursed Karela”. Having met the robbers, Ilya kills them and distributes the treasury to the poor. There are known stories about Ilya’s fight with other heroes, for example with Dobrynya Nikitich. But the duel between them always ends in reconciliation and the exchange of crosses, after which both heroes go to Kyiv to serve Prince Vladimir.

A special group of plots is associated with the duel between Ilya Muromets and his son Sokolnik (Podsokolnik). The son of a hero (sometimes the daughter of a hero acts instead of him) always acts as an enemy of Rus'. This plot often includes a description of the heroic outpost located on the border of Rus'.

Without fear of consequences, Ilya warns Prince Vladimir against wrong actions (the epic about Sukhman). Ilya's independent position leads to a quarrel with the prince. The hero is put in “deep cellars”, where he must die of hunger and thirst. No one dares to violate the prince's order. Only Princess Apraksevna orders Ilya to be secretly fed with dishes from the prince’s table. Therefore, Ilya does not lose strength and in difficult times comes to the defense of Kyiv.

In this plot, Ilya loses his archaic features and does not perform traditional feats. He appears as a folk hero, going to battle in the name of “widows, orphans and little children”, and not in the name of “Prince Vladimir’s dog”:

Before the fight he

Here I asked God to help me, Give the Most Pure Most Holy Theotokos, I let the heroic horse ride on this great army-power,

And he began to trample like a force from the edge, As soon as he goes somewhere, there will be a street, When he turns, he will turn into a side street.

Now the entire heroic squad comes to his aid:

They trampled the silushka, poked it out, And that one was Tsar Kalin’s dog, And they took him to the fullest.

Having defeated Tsar Kalin, Ilya delivers him to Prince Vladimir, and he swears to “pay tribute forever and ever and to you, Prince Vladimir.”

In most epics, the traditional interpretation of the image of Elijah prevails, according to which he appears as a wise man. In the image of a gray-bearded old man riding across a field on a white horse, he is depicted in the famous painting “Three Heroes” by V. M. Vasnetsov.

The image of Ilya Muromets is associated with the biblical Elijah the Prophet. After death, Ilya Muromets becomes Saint Ilya. The opposite is also known, when Elijah the Prophet is compared to a hero-snake fighter. V. Ya. Propp believed that the connection with the earth clearly visible in the image of Elijah also brings him closer to Saint Elijah as the patron saint of fertility.

Indrik Beast

A mythologized image of a horse-like unicorn, mentioned in Russian legends, spiritual poems and fairy tales. The word "shndrik" is a distorted spelling of the Old Russian "foreigner" - unicorn.

The unicorn was first mentioned by the Greek historian Ctesias. He described a fantastic animal that was supposedly found in India: “Larger than a horse. His body is white, his head is dark red, and his eyes are blue. There is a horn on the forehead. The base of the horn is snow-white, the tip is bright red, and the middle is black. The powder scraped from this horn can save you from deadly poison.”

Scientists believe that the image of the unicorn arose under the influence of the medieval book tradition. Legends about Indrik are included in bestiaries, where his appearance acquired traditional fantastic features. The unicorn now has three legs, nine mouths and a golden horn.

In Russian legends, Indrik acts as “the father of all animals.” It can have one or two horns. A similar description is found in the Dove Book.

Indrik is a beast - the father of all animals.

Why is Indrik the father of all beasts?

Because Indrik is the father of all beasts,

And he walks underground,

But the stone mountains do not hold him,

And even those rivers are fast.

When he emerges from the damp earth,

And he is looking for an opponent.

In Russian fairy tales, Indrik is depicted as an underground beast that walks through the dungeon, “like the sun in the sky.” Indrik is the master of all underground waters. In many stories, he acts as an opponent of the serpent, who prevents him from taking water from the well. In fairy tales, Indrik is a fantastic animal that hunts main character. Sometimes he appears in the royal garden instead of the firebird and steals golden apples.

The hero goes to the underworld in his footsteps, finds the unicorn, enters into battle with him and wins. The conquered unicorn becomes the hero's magical assistant and helps him get what he wants.

Koschei the Deathless

In East Slavic fairy tales - an evil sorcerer who always opposes the main character. The word “koschey” is borrowed from Turkic languages ​​and means a slave, a captive. Starting from the middle of the 18th century, it became the name of a fairy-tale character and penetrated from folklore into popular literature and fiction. Negative ones are also associated with the image of Koshchei human qualities, above all, excessive stinginess, greed, deceit and hypocrisy.

Koschei the Deathless.Splint. XIX century

According to most stories, Koschey lives in a kingdom located at the edge of the world. Sometimes he lives with his daughter(s). To get to Koshchei, the hero must go through a difficult path. On the way, he meets magical assistants, from whom he learns the secret of Koshchei’s power and invulnerability. Often the hero's assistant becomes a beauty captured by Koshchei. She finds out from Koshchei the secret of his death and tells the hero about it, who is going to free her.

Koshchei’s death is hidden: “On the sea, on the ocean, there is an island, on that island there is an oak tree, on the oak tree there is a chest hanging, in the chest there is a hare, in the hare there is a duck, in the duck there is an egg. There is a needle in the egg, and at the end of the needle is Koshcheev’s death.”

Koschey is endowed with the traits of a werewolf and a sorcerer. He has supernatural powers, so the hero fights him long and hard. The duel always ends with victory over Koshchei and the destruction of his kingdom.

Kitovras

The image of a fairy-tale monster, identified with the Greek centaur (half-man, half-horse).

Kitovras has been mentioned in handwritten texts since the 14th century. He is a character in The Tale of Solomon and Kitovras. Apparently, the image of a centaur replaced the demon Asmodeus, alien to Russian readers. Kitovras answers King Solomon's questions and even competes with him in wisdom, but is defeated.

After the legends about Solomon spread in Rus', Kitovras became a character in many stories. He is endowed with the traditional features of a werewolf, who rules people during the day in the form of a man, and at night in the form of the “beast Kitovras” he is the king of beasts.

Probably, in the image of Kitovras, ideas about divi people appeared - fantastic peoples who allegedly inhabited the outskirts of the world. The image also influenced the depiction of Polkan the hero in the translated story about Bova the Prince.

In the original version, Polkan's name is a Russified form of the Italian word "polica-no" - half-dog. On numerous popular prints, Polkan is represented as a traditional centaur. But what he has in common with the half-man, half-dog is that he always acts as an opponent of the main character and dies at his hand.

Prince Vladimir Red Sun

The mythologized image of the prince in Russian epics.

Vladimir. Engraving from an old printed book. XVII e.

Most researchers believe that the historical prototype of the epic image was Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich (? -1115). He rules in Kyiv, unites all the heroes around him to protect the Russian land from enemies. These are the Tatars or fairy-tale monsters (Idolishche, Serpent Tugarin, Nightingale the Robber, Serpent Gorynych).

Bogatyrs gather in Kyiv from different directions: Ilya from Murom, Dobrynya from Ryazan, Alyosha from Rostov. Along the way, each of them performs a feat in order to gain the right to serve the future master. In Kyiv, heroes occupy places corresponding to their position, skill and age at the court of Prince Vladimir. All the most important problems are solved in the palace. The prince gives the heroes instructions: to help out his niece, liberate Constantinople from Idolishch, defeat the Serpent Tugarin, defeat the Tatar army.

In most epics, Vladimir is called the Red Sun to emphasize the ideal image of the prince. In addition, the comparison with the Sun strengthens the contrast between Vladimir and the monsters attacking Kyiv. Snakes are traditionally considered creatures of the dark underworld.

In the epics, the court of Prince Vladimir is contrasted with an open field, the Sorochinsky mountains, dark forests, and magical rivers. Fairy-tale monsters live in them. From there, from the open field, come the enemies, who are always called Tatars.

Probably, the image of Prince Vladimir combined several epic images: the supreme ruler of the upper world, the leader of the squad and the head of a large family. At Vladimir’s court, his niece Zabava Putyatichna, the heroine of the plot “Dobrynya Nikitich and the Serpent,” lives.

The epics say that Prince Vladimir is married to Apraksin Korolevichna. Once upon a time she was wooed for Prince Dobrynya Nikitich (the plot of “The Matchmaking of Prince Vladimir”). Princess Apraxia, unlike Prince Vladimir, has a calm and balanced character. She supports

Ilya Muromets, who undeservedly fell into princely disgrace.

However, in some stories the image of Apraksin is interpreted differently. When Tugarin Zmeevich appears at the prince's court, Apraxia becomes interested in him. Alyosha Popovich and other heroes deservedly reproach Apraxia for violating marital fidelity. In the epic dedicated to Churila Plenkovich, Apraxia falls in love with the handsome steward and even begs her husband to appoint Churila as the prince's bed servant. Probably, the image of Apraksin combines the features of the heroines of several epic stories that arose at different times.

In later epics, the image of Prince Vladimir changes significantly. He becomes petty, envious, jealous. Vladimir often undeservedly offends the heroes, and only his wife ensures that the heroes return when the enemy approaches the city (the plot “How Ilya Muromets quarreled with Prince Vladimir”).

cat Baiyun

Character from Russian fairy tales.

The image of Bayun combines the features of a fairy-tale monster and a bird with in a magical voice. Fairy tales say that Bayun sits on a high iron pillar. With the help of songs and spells, he removes the power of anyone who tries to approach him. To capture the magic cat, Ivan Tsarevich puts on an iron cap and iron gloves. Having caught the animal, Ivan takes it to the palace to his father. There, the defeated cat begins to tell fairy tales, and the king is healed.

The image of a magic cat is widespread in Russian popular print stories. Probably, it was borrowed from there by A.S. Pushkin (prologue of the poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila”).

Lesovik

See Leshy

Dashingly one-eyed

In East Slavic folklore it appears as a personified image of evil fate and grief. The name “dashing” goes back to the adjective “superfluous” - this is how someone who should be avoided as a bearer of misfortune was designated.

In fairy tales, Likho acts in the form of a thin woman of enormous height with one eye, sometimes acquiring the features of a giantess. She lives in a deep forest thicket, where the hero accidentally ends up.

At first, Likho warmly welcomes the hero, but then tries to eat him. Fleeing, the hero cunningly gets out of the hut. Noticing that he is running away, Likho shouts after him that he is due a gift. But in fact, she comes up with another trap - her hand grows to a magic axe. The hero is saved only after he cuts off his own hand.

In some versions the hero's rescue occurs, as in ancient myth about Odysseus and Polyphemus. Wrapped in sheep's clothing, the hero gets out of the hut (in the myth, from a cave). Probably, popular motifs of world folklore are reflected in the Russian fairy tale. The connection between the image of Likh and the most ancient mythological characters can also be traced in the description of Likh as a one-eyed creature. In folk tales, the image of Likha is often associated with the image of Grief.

Marya Morevna (maiden Sineglazka, Tsar Maiden, Usonsha the hero, White Swan Zakharyevna)...

Common name female heroes, heroines of Russian fairy tales.

The image of the heroic heroine is presented in many stories - “Rejuvenating Apples”, “The Tale of the Three Kingdoms”, “Marya Morevna”.

The heroic heroine lives in her own maiden kingdom. To get into it, the hero has to overcome many obstacles. In most stories, the hero gets to the maiden kingdom on a magic horse, which is provided to him by old women assistants. Often this role is played by three sisters - Baba Yagas. The assistants give the hero magic horses, warn him of the dangers that lie in wait, and help him return.

Having reached the maiden kingdom, the hero obtains the magic item he needs (rejuvenating apples, living water, a magic bird). He also deprives the Tsar Maiden of her chastity. As a rule, this happens during her magical (heroic) sleep. After the hero's departure, the Tsar Maiden wakes up, gathers an army of girls and sets off in pursuit. However, the hero manages to cross the border of the magical world and disappears.

Without catching the hero, the Tsar Maiden returns to her kingdom, and after some time her twin sons are born. When they grow up, the Tsar Maiden again gathers an army and comes to the hero’s kingdom. There the children recognize their father. The fairy tale ends with a wedding.

The plot about Marya Morevna is constructed differently. It tells how the heroine takes Koshchei the Immortal prisoner. Having put him in prison, the hero stands guard at the border of her kingdom, where her meeting with Ivan Tsarevich takes place. The heroes enter into a duel, Ivan Tsarevich wins.

After the wedding, the heroes go to the kingdom of Marya Morevna. Soon, leaving her husband in the palace, Marya Morevna leaves for the war. Ivan Tsarevich enters the forbidden room (basement, dungeon). Yielding to persuasion, he gives water to Koshchei, who gains his strength, frees himself, kidnaps Marya Morevna and takes her to his kingdom.

Ivan Tsarevich goes in search of his wife. On the way, he meets three old women who show him the way to the kingdom of Koshchei. Having reached there, the hero tries to take Marya Morevna away, but fails. Only after learning the secret of Koshchei's death. Ivan Tsarevich emerges victorious during a mortal fight. The heroes return to the kingdom of Marya Morevna.

Compared to the images of male heroes, the image of a female hero is more schematic. In particular, there are no descriptions of her heroic strength or scenes of fights. The storyteller only reports the results of the battles. Probably the cult of strength seemed inappropriate to him when describing a woman. The heroic heroine uses magic more often than strength.

Mikula Selyaninovich

The image of a heroic plowman, found in Russian epics. Mikula Selyaninovich is an archaic hero of the Russian epic.

The image of Mikula showed the features of a giant plowman. The ancient epics say that it is he who drives the giants out of the earth. The creative activity of the plowman is opposed to both the military power of the werewolf prince and the supernatural, but not used, power of Svyatogor. Mikula Selyaninovich acts as the personification of the invincible power of the earth itself - the mother of all living things.

Similar images are found among other Slavic peoples, for example, in the medieval Czech chronicle it is said that the plowman Przemysl becomes the first prince. The Hungarian chronicle Gall Anonyma says that the Polish prince is the son of the plowman Piast.

Svyatogor and Mikula Selyaninovich.Artist N. Kochergin

Peasant origin also becomes an attribute of the main hero of the Russian epic - Ilya Muromets. But, unlike other heroes, Mikula Selyaninovich’s strength is aimed exclusively at peaceful affairs: he plows the land and grows grain. It is on the arable land that his meeting with Volga takes place. He hears:

As Oratai yells and whistles in the field, Oratai’s bipod creaks, and pebbles chirp against pebbles.

Only on the third day does Volga get to the plowman and see how he

Peña-roots twists out,

And big stones fall into the furrow.

Mikula Selyaninovich is the protagonist of two epic stories. In each of them he appears as the strongest hero. In the epic about Mikula and Volga (Volkha), Volga and her squad cannot pull Mikula Selyaninovich’s plow out of the ground.

Oratay-oratayushko

I took the bipod with one hand,

He pulled the bipod out of the ground,

I shook out the land from the omeshas.

He threw the bipod behind the willow bush.

Amazed Volga asks him:

Somehow they call you by your name,

Do they call you after your fatherland?

Volga invites the hero to his squad. But Mikula Selyaninovich refuses, he must continue to work on the field:

I’ll fold it like rye and drag it home, I’ll drag it home and thresh it at home, And I’ll brew beer and get the men drunk, And then the men will begin to praise me: Well done, Mikula Selyaninovich!

In the plot “Mikula Selyaninovich and Svyatogor-bo-gatyr” Mikula appears in the form of a wandering beggar with a bag on his shoulder. At first Svyatogor talks to him disrespectfully, but he asks him to help him pick up the bag from the ground. Svyatogor tries to do this, but cannot, because “all earthly cravings” are hidden in the bag. Mikula Selyaninovich's victory over Svyatogor symbolizes the superiority of peasant labor over traditional military manifestations of force. A similar plot is presented in the Scandinavian myth about Thor and the giant Ymir.

Morozko

Character of fairy-tale and ritual folklore.

In Russian fairy tales, Morozko is an old man who lives in a forest hut. He can send unbearable frost or act as a magical giver. In the most common fairy tale plot, Morozko generously rewards the hardworking stepdaughter and cruelly punishes the lazy and careless daughter of the mistress.

In the tales, Morozko is presented as a little old man with a long gray beard. He runs through fields and forests with a mallet and brings bitter frosts. Morozko often appears in the form of a hero or giant who walks through the forest and fetters trees and water.

Among the forest peoples, the image of Morozka is associated with the ritual of feeding on the eve of Christmas. An older family member comes out to the door and offers Morozka a cup of jelly or porridge, politely inviting her to try the food: “Moroz, Moroz! Come eat some jelly and don’t hurt our oats.”

After the spread of Christianity, the image of Morozka was associated with tales and beliefs about the New Year's grandfather, widespread among the peoples of Western Europe. They tell that Santa Claus lives in the far North. Every year he goes on a trip around the world on a reindeer or horse-drawn team. Frost carries bags of gifts in a sleigh and gives them to small children. The arrival of Santa Claus means the coming of the New Year.

Sea king

A mythological character found in Russian epics and fairy tales. Probably, the image of the Sea Tsar was borrowed from Russian folklore and presented in the epic about Sadko and in fairy tales where the Sea Tsar is the father of Vasilisa the Wise.

In the epic, the Sea King is the ruler of the underwater kingdom. As he dances, a destructive storm breaks out on the sea. Upon learning of this, Sadko breaks the strings on the harp and refuses to continue playing. Trying to leave the hero forever underwater world, The Sea King invites him to marry one of his daughters. Sadko chooses Princess Chernava, who helps him outwit the Sea King. She turns into a river and helps Sadko get into the human world. In the story about the appearance of the Chernava River, the features of the Novgorod legend about the origin of local rivers are clearly visible.

In the fairy tale “Elena the Wise and the Sea King,” the Sea King is endowed with the traditional traits of a monster. He penetrates the well. When the king wants to drink water, the Sea King grabs him by the beard and makes a promise to send the newborn prince to him.

Having reached a certain age, the prince goes to the Sea King. On the way, he meets his daughter, who turns out to be Elena the Wise. She helps the prince fulfill his father’s demands, then the heroes escape from the sea kingdom. The fairy tale ends with the wedding of the heroes.

Mink beast

A mythological character common in Russian folk tales.

Some versions of the tales about Tsarevich Ivan tell how the hero gets the firebird or the mink beast. At the beginning of the fairy tale, it is said how a mink animal comes running to the kingdom of Tsarevich Ivan’s father to eat golden apples. Ivan Tsarevich wants to catch him and sets off in the footsteps of the mink animal. Having reached the magical kingdom, Ivan Tsarevich catches the mink beast and marries its owner, Elena the Beautiful.

Mink beastWood carving. XIX century

In another story, the mink animal acts as an assistant to the hero. Ivan Tsarevich gets to a hut located in a deep forest, where a mink animal appears at night. He becomes the hero's assistant and helps him get a bride.

Fire King

A figurative personification of the destructive power of fire and lightning.

Russian and Belarusian fairy tales tell how the Fiery Tsar, together with Queen Molonitsa (Lightning), pursues the Serpent and burns his army and herds because he is attacking Russian lands. Probably, the plot reproduces the ancient Slavic myth about the duel with the Serpent of the god Perun.

The image of the Fire Tsar is mentioned in Russian conspiracies for high fever and gangrene (Antonov fire, ognik). The conspiracy ends with the appeal: “Fire, fire! Take your light!” Obviously, the image of the Fire King is also credited with the traits of a demon who sends illness.

The image of the Fire King is also presented in heroic tales, where he is the opponent of the main character. A peculiar transformation of the folklore image is found in the popular print story about Eruslan Lazarevich, where the image of the Fire King was combined with the image of the Serpent.

Fern

A plant with which a complex of folk beliefs is associated.

It is believed that once a year a flower with magical properties blooms on the fern. The fern blooms on the night of Ivan Kupala or on the eve of Ilyin's Day, when severe thunderstorms often occur.

If someone manages to get a fern flower, then the finder can see treasures hidden in the ground, become invisible, and learn the beneficial properties of plants.

It is also believed that a fern flower can bewitch a beloved girl, protect a field from natural disasters, and give power over evil spirits. That is why witches and devils strive to take possession of the flower and in every possible way prevent a person from getting to it.

The tales tell about several ways to obtain a magic flower. To take possession of it, you need to go into the forest at night, where you can’t hear the roosters crowing. There you need to draw a circle on the ground, sit in its center, light a candle blessed for Easter and take a sprig of wormwood in your hands. Then you should read the Psalter or Gospel.

At exactly midnight, when the flower blooms, evil spirits will gather. They will throw themselves at the magic circle and try to crawl through it in the form of snakes. Huge toads often appear near the circle, frightening with a loud scream or squeal. They also say that the devil can take the form of a beauty or an attractive young man.

Having picked a flower, you need to hold it tightly in your hand, read the “Our Father” three times and run home as fast as you can. Devils and witches usually rush to chase a running person, calling him by name. Often visions appear along the way, the dead appear, stretching out their hands and clanking their teeth. Under no circumstances should the flower bearer look back. If you violate the ban, the flower turns into a firebrand, a piece of rotten mushroom or a dry mushroom. To get a flower, the devils try to slip a person treasures, which at home turn into bones, dry shards or dry leaves.

The image of a magic flower was used by N.V. Gogol in the story “Night on Ivan Kupala”, N.S. Leskov in the novel “The Cathedral People”.

Rooster

A character in folk tales, riddles and conspiracies.

The semantics of the image is unambiguous: the rooster can act as the personification of the Sun, fire, light. It is the rooster that announces the rising of the sun every day. Because of its connection with the sun, the rooster was perceived as a messenger of the will of higher powers. The connection between the rooster and the sun can be traced in all cultures where this bird is known. Hence the belief that if a rooster crows and hits the window, a fire will soon occur in the house. The connection with fire is also visible in the expression “let a red rooster”, where the bird acts as a metaphorical symbol of flame. A rooster crowing outside of school hours is considered an unkind omen, signaling death, misfortune or illness.

The connection with the sun is indirectly manifested in the image of a rooster - the enemy of evil spirits. According to popular belief, the time from midnight to the first rooster crow was considered the most dangerous period of the day. The crow of a rooster marks the beginning of dawn, when all representatives of evil spirits must go home.

The rooster was also widely used as a talisman. After harvesting the grain, to appease the barn farmer, they strangled a black rooster on the threshing floor and buried it in the barn, sacrificing it to the barn farmer. Every year the black rooster was strangled and buried under the threshold of the bathhouse so that the bannik would be favorable to people. The same rooster was thrown into the mill whirlpool as a gift to the “water grandfather.” When dividing a family, the separating half necessarily got their own rooster. During housewarming, the rooster was the first to be allowed into the new house. Sometimes a cat was used instead of a rooster.

In the wedding ceremony, the rooster acts as a symbol of the well-being of the family and the fertility of the bride. Therefore, it is given to newlyweds who move to a separate house. When the bride arrives at the groom's house, first of all she must feed the rooster.

In Russian fairy tales, the rooster appears as an anthropomorphic character. He defeats a fox, helps a hare in trouble, or deceives forest animals. In the plot of “The Cat and the Rooster,” the rooster, on the contrary, turns out to be the victim, and the cat defeats the fox, freeing the rooster from the fox’s hole.

The image of a rooster is common not only in everyday tales, but also in fairy tales, where it can act as an assistant to the main character - the plot of “The Rooster and the Bean Seed.” In another plot - “The Magic Mill” - the rooster is the main character. He defeats the evil king and helps his master marry a beautiful princess.

Under the influence of Christian demonology, stories appeared that, upon reaching nine years of age, a rooster lays an egg from which the Fire Serpent, or Basilisk, hatches. At first he serves the owner of the rooster, and after three years he takes his soul to hell.

Deceased

According to popular beliefs, the dead included those who died a violent or premature death: those killed, those who died as a result of an accident, suicides - those who “did not live out their life”; deceased at a young age, who came into contact with evil spirits, cursed by their parents. Such dead people were equated with creatures of a demonic nature.

Sometimes the dead were called ghouls, undead or evil spirits. Like other representatives of evil spirits, the dead have always been hostile to humans. It was believed that at night they come out of their graves, scare and pursue people, torment their relatives, and send diseases.

To reduce the influence of the dead, they were buried far from housing and outside regular cemeteries. The grave of a dead person was considered a dangerous and unclean place and should be avoided. When passing by such a grave, you had to throw a stick, a stone or a handful of earth on it. Otherwise, the deceased could chase the offender who did not show him due respect.

In Semik, the Eastern Slavs traditionally commemorated all untimely deceased relatives: unbaptized children, girls who died before marriage. Relatives gathered at their graves and special memorial services were served. In Semik they also took special measures against the dead who could cause particular harm to a person. Aspen stakes or sharp metal objects were driven into their graves. The hands and feet of the deceased, not by his own death, were tied or the tendons under the knees were cut. On the same day, those who, for one reason or another, remained unburied were buried. A common grave was dug for them and a collective funeral service was held. At the cemetery, the priest served a special memorial service. It was believed that, deprived of veneration, the dead would send various disasters: drought, storm, thunderstorm or crop failure.

Ghosts

In Slavic demonology, the spirits of those who died an unnatural death, suicides and sinners. They can take the form of a person, a child, a girl or a woman, as well as an animal, a goose, a swan or a humanoid figure with goat legs.

Ghosts appear at night, usually around midnight. They are most active on Christmas Eve, the night of Ivan Kupala. It is believed that they can be found near the border with the “other world”: in ruins, in abandoned houses, in cemeteries, at crossroads, in swamps. Ghosts often appear near water - on bridges and near water mills.

Basically, ghosts are hostile towards humans. They can scare, lure you somewhere, deprive you of your memory, or send you sick. There are numerous stories about how ghosts make people wander through the forest or roads for hours. But at the same time, a ghost can help a person: indicate the location of a treasure or find a lost item.

They believe that not everyone can see a ghost. Therefore, meeting him is always a bad omen not only for the person who sees it, but also for his entire family. According to popular beliefs, you should not talk to a ghost and turn your back to it. When meeting a ghost, you should continue moving, as if not noticing it. In this case, you need to turn your clothes inside out or put on your hat backwards.

Amulets against ghosts are a cross, holy water, branches of mistletoe or blessed willow. To get rid of ghosts, you need to say a prayer or hit the ghost with your right hand.

Images of ghosts are widely represented in both world and Russian literature, in particular in N. V. Gogol’s story “May Night, or the Drowned Woman”, M. I. Tsvetaeva’s poem “Well done”, M. A. Bulgakov’s novel “The Master” and Margarita”, “A Poem without a Hero” by A. A. Akhmatova.

Sadko

The hero of the Russian epic epic, who retained the most ancient mythological features in his characteristics.

The Novgorod merchant and the guslar SadkoArtist N. Kochergin

Researchers suggest that the image of Sadko goes back to a real historical figure - the Novgorod merchant Sotko Sytinich. His name is mentioned in the Novgorod chronicles. However, it is possible that the name Sotko appeared in the chronicles under the influence of the popular epic hero.

The epic story dedicated to Sadko tells that he was a poor Novgorod guslar. One day Sadko was playing on the seashore and charmed the sea queen with his play. She promised Sadko to help catch a fish in the river - a golden feather. The next day, Sadko made a bet with Novgorod merchants and caught a magic fish. Having become a “rich guest,” Sadko equipped merchant ships, recruited a squad and set off for overseas countries.

Suddenly the ships stop on the open sea. The sailors cannot budge them, and then Sadko understands that the Sea King is demanding a human sacrifice. The sailors cast lots, and Sadko faces a sad fate: he must go to the bottom of the sea. Having stood “on an oak plank”, he finds himself

In the blue sea, at the very bottom, I saw Sadko - in the blue sea there was a white-stone chamber, I went into the white-stone chamber, the King of the Sea was sitting in the chamber.

Once in the palace of the Sea King, Sadko begins to play the harp. The king dances, and a storm rises on the sea. On the advice of Nikolai Ugodnik, who appeared in the image of Nikola Mozhaisky (Nikola Mokroy), the patron saint of Novgorod and the people's defender from storms and sea disasters, Sadko breaks the strings of the gusli and stops playing.

Then the Sea King invites Sadko to become a court guslar, and in return promises the hand of one of his daughters. Again using the advice of Nikolai Ugodnik, Sadko chooses Princess Chernava, who promises to help him return to the world.

During the wedding feast, Sadko falls asleep and wakes up near Novgorod on the banks of the Chernava River. At the same time, his ships return to the city with rich profits. To thank the saint for his advice, Sadko builds a church in Novgorod in honor of St. Nicholas the Pleasant.

The plot of Sadko’s marriage to the daughter of the Sea King is one of the world’s motifs and is known among all European peoples. However, in the image of Sadko one can trace the features of the hero of the Indo-European epic, who becomes the husband of the daughter of the Ocean - a mythological creature who personified the world's underwater kingdom. Obviously, the epic combines pagan and Christian motifs from different times.

The difference between Sadko’s image and other epic characters is that he is not a bearer of traditional heroic qualities. He is cunning and has musical abilities. The absence of any military or warrior motives in the epic indicates that it arose in a merchant environment, where the main qualities of the hero are cunning and the ability to find a way out in any situation.

The deheroization of the image limited its distribution; it is known only within the epic plot and did not penetrate into the fairy tale. In the 19th century, the epic about Sadko was used by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov as the basis for creating an opera of the same name.

Svyatogor

Russian epic hero.

The image of Svyatogor is built on a combination of mythological and epic features. In one of the epics, Svyatogor is even called Gorynych, which indicates his connection with characters related to the underworld. Most researchers believe that in Russian epics the image of Svyatogor is the embodiment of spontaneous primitive force. He arose in a myth that has not reached us, probably dedicated to his duel with a snake-like opponent. The stories associated with him were gradually forgotten, and Svyatogor entered the ranks of epic characters. Stories have survived to this day where he is mentioned along with later heroes: Ilya Muromets and Mikula Selyaninovich.

Going in search of adventure, Ilya Muromets meets Svyatogor. He puts Ilya and the horse in his pocket. Then together they try on a coffin that happens to be on their way, which suits Svyatogor. All his attempts to leave the coffin end in failure. Then Svyatogor realizes that his life’s journey is completed. Before his death, he manages to transfer part of his heroic strength to Ilya.

The plot of the transfer of power is widespread in the world epic and is usually associated with the image of a giant. In the Russian version, a clear contrast between Ilya Muromets and Svyatogor is indicative. The giant hero has excessive and useless strength, and is therefore doomed to death. Ilya receives the right to be called his successor, because his strength brings benefits.

The meeting with Mikula Selyaninovich also ends with the death of Svyatogor. He cannot lift Mikula's bag. Before his death, Svyatogor learns that the bag contains “earthly cravings.”

Only one plot is known in which Svyatogor acts alone. He wanders aimlessly through the mountains, finding no use for his strength. Finally Svyatogor lies down in a stone coffin and goes into the ground. In this epic, Svyatogor, before his death, turns to his father and says about him that he is a “dark” (“blind”) hero.

Such a hero does not belong to the human world. The Karelian epic “Kalevala” presents the image of the blind, motionless hero Vipunen, who gives magical power to Väinämöinen. Obviously, Svyatogor is a more ancient hero than other Russian heroes.

Developing the image of Svyatogor in Russian culture, storytellers gave him a name that goes back to the epithet “saint”. It is characteristic that the Holy Mountains are clearly contrasted with Holy Rus' as a world where other heroes live. Probably, initially the name of Svyatogor correlated with the name of the hero Vostrogor; he is described in the spiritual verse about the Dove Book.

The Indo-European origin of Svyatogor is confirmed by the image of the hero Snavitok in Belarusian fairy tales. The Iranian myth presents the same motives as in the epic about Svyatogor: the death of a hero by going into the ground, transferring power to another hero, death from boasting. Consequently, the image of Svyatogor belongs to the oldest layer of folklore characters.

Sivka-Burka

A magical horse found in Russian folk tales.

Sivka-Burka appears when the hero of the fairy tale, Ivan, is at his father’s grave and holds a funeral feast for him. As a reward, the father transfers to his son the right to own a magic horse.

Finding himself in a difficult situation, Ivan casts a spell:

“Sivka-Burka, prophetic kaurka! Stand before me like a leaf before the grass.”

Hearing the owner’s words, the horse immediately appears in front of him. His run is accompanied by special signs: “The horse is running, the earth is trembling, flames are burning from the nostrils, smoke is coming out of the ears.”

Having entered the horse's right ear and exited the left, the hero is transformed and becomes a hero. Then he mounts a horse, performs heroic feats or goes to war. After the victory, the hero returns home again and takes on his usual appearance.

Sivka-Burka is also represented in fairy tales, where the traditional motive of getting a horse is associated with him. Taking out the magic horse, the hero is transformed, takes on the appearance of a hero and sets off on his exploits. In heroic tales, the horse is the hero's assistant, since in them the hero always comes first. In fairy tales about a persecuted hero, Sivka-Burka appears as an independent character, faithfully serving the hero even when he receives it as a reward for some feat.

Sirin

The image of a mythological bird-maiden, more often found in Russian spiritual poetry.

According to researchers, the image of Sirin goes back to the ancient Greek sirens. Spiritual verses say that the Sirins live in paradise, from where they descend to earth. They can charm people with their singing. Sirin is often mentioned together with another mythical bird - Alkonost, but never acts as a prophet of the future.

Western European legends say that Sirin is the bearer of the soul of a person not accepted into heaven. This is probably why Sirin always sings sad songs.

Sirin and Alkonost are often depicted in popular prints as the personification of sadness and joy. A similar idea is reflected in the painting “Songs of Joy and Sorrow” by A. M. Vasnetsov, where both birds are depicted.

Death

A mythological image active in fairy tales, legends, spiritual poems and tales.

In Slavic folklore, Death appears in the form of a bony and ugly old woman with a scythe. According to ancient ideas, Death comes to a person at the moment of transition from the world of people to the “other world”, to the other world.

The appearance of Death is accompanied by signs: the howling of a dog, the crowing of a rooster, the cuckooing of a cuckoo, the croaking of a crow, the cracking of walls, the howling of a chimney. At the moment of a person’s death and the separation of the soul from the body, Death takes the soul and delivers it to God for judgment. It determines the future fate of the soul. To make the path of the soul easier, the dying person must be confessed, a cross placed on his chest, and a pre-blessed candle placed in his hand. For the same purpose, windows, doors and a chimney were opened in the house. It was also necessary to shift the dying person to the floor and cover him with a white or black scarf.

Death is the protagonist of many folk stories and tales. Her main opponent in everyday fairy tales is a soldier. A smart hero most often deceives Death and extends his life. Sometimes an old woman or a blacksmith acts instead of a soldier. In the plot of "The Soldier and Death", the soldier deceives Death and puts him in a snuffbox; in another tale, a blacksmith posts a sign on his house: “Come tomorrow.” In some stories, Death is associated with the image of Grief (the hero drives it into a “cart axle” or into a coffin, and then throws it into the river or into the “abyss of the sea”).

Under the influence of Christianity, the image of Death changed, and it began to act as the embodiment of the will of the Lord. In the spiritual verse about Anika, the hero dies because he set out to defeat Death. In the apocryphal tradition, this image was gradually relegated to the background; an angel and a devil fight for the soul of a dying person. The winner must take the soul with him. There are also numerous stories about angels carrying the soul of a deceased person across the sky to the Sun. Sometimes the image of Death is replaced by the image of the Archangel Michael, who comes for the soul of the dying person. Unlike Death, he is invisible.

Snow Maiden

Mythological character from a Russian fairy tale. The image of the Snow Maiden preserves the most ancient features of a dying and resurrecting god. Probably, once upon a time the name of the Snow Maiden was associated with a story about how she dies in the spring and is resurrected in the winter.

Over time, only the first part was preserved, becoming an independent fairy-tale plot. Passed into oral form, it is found in numerous retellings and children's folklore- along with stories about the adventures of Father Christmas (Morozko).

The image of the Snow Maiden lacks the traditional features of a fairy-tale heroine. She is more like an ordinary girl who is only forbidden to go out into the sunlight. Violation of the ban leads to the death of the heroine. The plot was used in the drama by A. N. Ostrovsky “The Snow Maiden”. The writer combined it with the traditional myth about the confrontation between heat and cold.

Sun

The ancient Slavs deified the Sun and revered it as the source of life, light and warmth. As a character, the Sun acts in fairy tales and legends.

SunEngraving from an old printed book. XVII century

In the pagan pantheon, the gods of the Sun were Hore, Dazhdbog and Svarog. Svarog was especially closely associated with the Sun, and the Slavs even called fire Svarozhich.

After the adoption of Christianity, the cult of the Sun was not forgotten, although in teachings against paganism there are often calls not to consider the Sun as a god. The Slavs could not immediately and completely abandon their faith. Traces of the solar cult are preserved in numerous apocryphal stories, which say that the Sun is the face of the Lord God. According to other stories, the Sun is a window through which God looks at the earth, and through it the heavenly light reaches people. Finally, the Sun, which travels every day across the entire sky, monitors what is happening on earth, and then tells the Lord God about what it sees.

Beliefs are associated with the most important Christian events and holidays. According to legend, on the day of Christ’s crucifixion, the Sun stopped in the sky out of grief and did not set for three days. At sunrise on Easter Day, the Sun “plays” - shines in different colors, rejoicing at the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. On Ivan Kupala, legends are told everywhere that the Sun on this day rests from hard work and bathes in water.

The veneration of the Sun is recorded in folk customs and prohibitions. In order not to offend the Sun, it was impossible to turn your back to it, point a finger, or spit in its direction. When relieving yourself, you should also turn away from the sun. Finding yourself in a field during a church service, you had to pray, turning your face to the Sun. After entering, they were afraid to lend money, did not throw garbage into the street, and did not start eating a new loaf of bread.

In Russian fairy tales, the Sun behaves like a humanoid creature, and it was represented in both female and male form. The Tsar Maiden says: “The month is my mother, the Sun is my brother.” It lives where the earth connects with the sky. He has a father, mother and sister. There are fairy tales about how the Sun kidnaps his future wife from people. In the Russian fairy tale “The Sun, the Moon and the Raven Voronovich”, an old man marries his daughters as the Sun, the Moon and the Raven. The sun warmly welcomes the old man and feeds him pancakes, which he bakes on his head.

The sun often acts as a magical assistant, telling the hero of fairy tales the name of the kidnapper or the way to the kidnapped lover. The image of the Sun is widespread in children's folklore. Numerous chants are known in which children turn to the Sun, begging him to stop the rain:

Bucket sun,

Look out the window

Your children are crying

They are jumping on the bench.

In Russian songs and riddles, the Sun is depicted in the image of a beautiful girl: “The red maiden looks in the mirror,” “The red girl looks through the window.”

Emphasizing the exclusivity of the hero, he is usually compared to the Sun. In epics, Prince Vladimir is compared to the Sun, giving him the nickname Vladimir the Red Sun. In carols, the owner and his wife are compared to the Sun. In wedding poetry, the bride and sometimes the groom are likened to the Sun:

My mother is a red sun,

And father, it’s a bright month,

My brothers are often stars,

And the sisters are white dawns.

According to popular beliefs, at night the Sun sinks underground, therefore in lamentations it is considered the luminary of the dead. The soul of the deceased is sent

For the hills, for the tall ones,

For the clouds, for the walking ones,

To the red sun to the gazebo.

There is a belief that the human soul is a piece of the Sun. If a sinner dies, his soul goes to hell. After the death of the righteous, the soul returns to the Sun. Its perception as the center of the world has been preserved in a riddle: “There is an old oak tree, on that old oak tree sits a spindle bird, no one will catch it: neither the king, nor the queen, nor the fair maiden.”

Many beliefs and folk stories are associated with solar eclipses. It is believed that various animals are trying to swallow the Sun - snakes, lizards, wolves. Traces of such ideas are preserved in numerous conspiracies against snake bites, high fever, and love magic:

I'll stand on the damp ground,

I'll look at the eastern side,

How the red sun shone,

The moss-swamps, black muds bake,

The servant of God (name) would be so hot and dry to me.

Sun signs - a circle, a wheel, a cross in a circle, a rosette - were used as amulets. They were included in clothing patterns and applied to houses, tools, fabrics, and dishes. During the wedding in the church, the newlyweds walked around the salting lectern - in the direction of the movement of the Sun, in order to protect themselves from future misfortunes.

Nightingale the Robber

An epic character who acts as a monstrous opponent of the heroes.

Probably, the plot of the Nightingale the Robber goes back to the ancient Slavic myth about the fight of the thunderer Perun with a serpentine enemy. Sometimes researchers bring the Nightingale closer to the god Beles (Hair), who also acts as an opponent of Perun. The duel between a hero and a monster is a traditional plot of the world heroic epic. Probably, the storytellers of Russian epics used a widespread plot, connecting it with pre-existing images of Slavic mythology.

The image of the Nightingale combines anthropomorphic features and signs of a supernatural character. On the one hand, he acts as a hero, equal in strength to Ilya Muromets. The nightingale sits in its nest, located on twelve oak trees, and waits for passers-by, blocking the direct road to Kyiv. On the other hand, in epics the Nightingale is depicted as a monster akin to the Serpent. His whistle makes the earth shake and leaves fall from the trees.

Ilya Muromets withstands a monstrous whistle, hits the Nightingale with an arrow in the right eye, ties him up and takes him to Kyiv to Prince Vladimir. Some versions of the epic say that in Kyiv the Nightingale demonstrates his terrible whistle. After Nightingale shows what he is capable of, Ilya Muromets executes Nightingale on the orders of Prince Vladimir.

The image of the Nightingale is present only in Russian epics, which indirectly confirms its ancient origin. Even in oral retellings of epic stories associated with the Nightingale, he is often replaced by the more traditional image of the Snake. In Belarusian fairy tales, the Serpent is called Falcon, which indicates its possible further transformation.

Over time, the image of the Nightingale has undergone certain changes. In later versions of the epics, it is said that Ilya not only defeats the Nightingale himself, but also conquers his kingdom. In most epics, the plot ends with the marriage of the victorious hero to the widow of his opponent. But such an ending clearly contradicts the interpretation of the image of Elijah as a Christian hero. Therefore, the motif of Ilya’s duel with the Nightingale’s daughters appeared in the epic. The hero defeats his opponents, but rejects the request for marriage.

Ghoul

Mythological character of Russian demonology.

The image of a ghoul merges the original Russian ideas about evil spirits with the traditions of European demonology, where stories and beliefs associated with vampires are widely represented. The idea of ​​ghouls goes back to ancient times. IN ancient Russian monuments ghouls have been mentioned since the 14th century.

According to popular beliefs, pawned (unclean) dead people became ghouls. These included suicides and those who died a violent or premature death. It was believed that they were not accepted by mother earth, so they were forced to wander the world and cause harm to the living.

To prevent the deceased from turning into a ghoul, the tendons under his knees were cut or he was placed in a coffin made of aspen boards. Sometimes coals were sprinkled on the ghoul's grave or a pot of burning coals was placed.

The tales tell how a ghoul appears at gatherings in the form of a handsome young man. He begins to court one of the girls and seduces her. Surprised that he disappears at night, the girl ties a charmed thread to his clothes. She uses it to find the ghoul's hideout. Looking out the window, the girl sees a ghoul eating a dead body. Noticing the girl, the ghoul begins to chase her. She is saved only after she manages to spray the ghoul with holy water.

It was believed that ghouls could send plague, smallpox or cholera. Therefore, during epidemics, people who were considered ghouls were burned at the stake. The last such case was recorded in Ukraine in 1873.

Finist - Clear Falcon

Character from a Russian fairy tale.

The image of a wonderful husband, disguised as a falcon, visiting his beloved, came into Russian fairy tales from literature. Researchers believe that it is a variation of the ancient story of Cupid and Psyche.

The name "Finist" is a corruption of the Greek "phoenix". Part of the name - falcon - arose under the influence of the metaphorical image of a falcon-groom, common in Russian wedding songs. “Falcon” in this context is synonymous with the word “well done.”

The plot begins with a scene in which the youngest of three daughters asks her father to give her Finist’s feather or the Scarlet Flower. Having received the gift, the girl hosts the handsome prince at night. The envious sisters find out about this and set up knives on the window through which Finist flies in. He wounds his chest and leaves his beloved, ordering her to look for him.

The girl wakes up and sees traces of blood. She then goes in search of Finist. To get to the distant kingdom, a girl must wear down three pairs of iron boots and eat three iron bread. On the way to the distant kingdom, she meets three old women who alternately give her magical objects: a golden apple, a pig - a golden bristle and a self-sewing needle. Having reached the distant kingdom, the girl learns that Finist is preparing for a wedding with a foreign princess who has bewitched him. In exchange for three magical objects, the girl receives the right to be with her lover for three nights. During the third night, Finist recognizes his former lover, the witchcraft disappears, and the fairy tale ends with a wedding.

Crap

The image of an evil spirit in Slavic mythology and folklore. It appeared in pre-Christian mythology. Presented in most folk tales and epic stories, the image was mainly influenced by Christian ideas about the devil.

In fairy tales, epic stories and popular prints, devils invariably appear as anthropomorphic creatures covered with black fur, with horns, a tail and hooves. Sometimes black wings can be seen behind the devil’s back. On ancient Russian icons the devil is present in the form of a small, pointed-headed humanoid creature.

The devil differs from all other representatives of evil spirits in his manner of behavior. He can turn into a black cat or a black dog, a pig, a snake, and sometimes into a person. Usually the devil appears at night - from midnight to the first rooster. The tales tell that the devil can pester a person at night and make him lose his way or lead him into a difficult place.

Fairy tales and epic tales do not describe a specific location of the devil. It can appear everywhere, so a person is afraid that the devil will unexpectedly

Thousands of Slavic gods

will stand in his way. They even try to replace the word “devil” with some conventional name: undead, evil spirits, evil spirit, prince of darkness, evil one, enemy power, horned one, “the one with the tail,” black master, anchutka, evil spirit.

In fairy tales, the devil always acts as an opponent of the hero, trying to set a trap for the hero or involve him in some kind of trouble. In fairy tales, the devil appears as a multi-headed monster. All encounters between the hero and the devil end in victory over him.

There are widespread stories about how devils kidnap small children and put their own little devils in their place. Such children are called newborns. To get your child back, you need to sprinkle the little devil with holy water or read the Lord's Prayer over him. At the third reading of the prayer, the imp will disappear and a real baby will appear. The plot of a devil possessing a child is often used by filmmakers. For example, the version of American directors “The Omen” is known.

Demon Artist I. Bilibin

In Slavic mythology, the devil acts as a traditional evil spirit, for protection against which there are numerous amulets. The most potent of them are the pectoral cross and holy water. An image of a cross painted on windows, doors and objects also protects against the devil. It is believed that if you place straws folded crosswise on a vessel of water, the devil will never get into it.

Smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol were considered bad habits, since it was the devil who gave man these potions. Smokers and alcoholics were considered potential helpers of the devil.

Miracle Yudo

The mythologized opponent of the hero, found in Russian heroic tales.

Usually Miracle Yudo looks like a many-headed serpent or a horseman warrior. Unlike the Serpent, Miracle Yudo always acts not as an invader of foreign territory, but as an enemy of the entire human world. That is why it comes from behind the Kalinov Bridge - the border between the human world and the “other world”. His appearance before the hero is always accompanied by changes in nature: frightening rumbles of thunder, flashes of lightning, earthquakes, rough seas. In some stories, Miracle Yudo appears in the form of a monster, trying to hit the hero with his roar. Then it appears from the depths of the water element with the same signs, in particular it is said that from the weight of its body “the earth shook.” It is also described that foul breath emanates from it.

Often Baba Yaga turns out to be the hero's ally in the struggle. She supplies the hero with a magical weapon or suggests how to defeat Chudr-yudo.

The duel between a hero and a monster begins with mutual threats. The instigator is always Miracle Yudo. It threatens to destroy the hero with one finger, competes with him in the force of the breath or the ritual exchange of blows. It is not known exactly how the fight proceeds, since the actions are not specified and, in particular, what weapons Miracle Yudo uses are not described. The duel ends when the monster returns to its original form. Then the hero defeats him. At the same time, he uses weapons with magical powers: a multi-pound iron club, a magic treasure sword. First, the hero deprives the enemy of magical power (cuts off his fiery finger), and then chops off all the heads one by one.

V. Ya. Propp believes that the image of Miracle Yud reflected man’s ancient ideas about “the general danger emanating from the world around him.” Therefore, Miracle Yudo is often endowed with the qualities of a werewolf, capable of taking the form of a bear, a tree, a needle, or a broom. The hero is helped to defeat the monster by animal assistants he met during his search for the monster: a bear, a wolf, a raven, a dog. They tear the monster into pieces, preventing it from being reborn again. After the death of Miracle Yud, his kingdom, created with the help of witchcraft, is destroyed.

Notes:

Biologists call the basilisk a lizard with a helmet-shaped crest on its head from the iguana family. It lives in the tropical forests of South America and feeds on insects.

It was bad with evil spirits in Rus'. There have been so many bogatyrs recently that the number of Gorynychs has dropped sharply. Only once did a ray of hope flash for Ivan: an elderly man who called himself Susanin promised to lead him to the very lair of Likh One-Eyed... But he only came across a rickety ancient hut with broken windows and a broken door. On the wall was scratched: “Checked. Likh no. Bogatyr Popovich."

Sergey Lukyanenko, Yuliy Burkin, “Rus Island”

“Slavic monsters” - you must agree, it sounds a bit wild. Mermaids, goblins, water creatures - they are all familiar to us from childhood and make us remember fairy tales. That is why the fauna of “Slavic fantasy” is still undeservedly considered something naive, frivolous and even slightly stupid. Nowadays, when it comes to magical monsters, we often think of zombies or dragons, although in our mythology there are such ancient creatures, in comparison with which Lovecraft’s monsters may seem like petty dirty tricks.

The inhabitants of Slavic pagan legends are not the joyful brownie Kuzya or the sentimental monster with a scarlet flower. Our ancestors seriously believed in those evil spirits that we now consider worthy only of children's horror stories.

Almost no original source describing fictional creatures from Slavic mythology has survived to our time. Something was covered in the darkness of history, something was destroyed during the baptism of Rus'. What do we have except vague, contradictory and often dissimilar legends of different Slavic peoples? A few mentions in the works of the Danish historian Saxo Grammarian (1150-1220) - once. “Chronica Slavorum” by the German historian Helmold (1125-1177) - two. And finally, we should recall the collection “Veda Slovena” - a compilation of ancient Bulgarian ritual songs, from which one can also draw conclusions about the pagan beliefs of the ancient Slavs. The objectivity of church sources and chronicles, for obvious reasons, is in great doubt.

Book of Veles

The “Book of Veles” (“Veles Book”, Isenbek tablets) has long been passed off as a unique monument of ancient Slavic mythology and history, dating from the 7th century BC - 9th century AD.

Its text was allegedly carved (or burned) onto small wooden strips, some of the “pages” were partially rotten. According to legend, the “Book of Veles” was discovered in 1919 near Kharkov by white colonel Fyodor Isenbek, who took it to Brussels and handed it over to the Slavist Mirolyubov for study. He made several copies, and in August 1941, during the German offensive, the tablets were lost. Versions have been put forward that they were hidden by the Nazis in the “archive of the Aryan past” under Annenerbe, or taken after the war to the USA).

Alas, the authenticity of the book initially raised great doubts, and recently it was finally proven that the entire text of the book was a falsification, carried out in the mid-20th century. The language of this fake is a mixture of different Slavic dialects. Despite the exposure, some writers still use the “Book of Veles” as a source of knowledge.

The only available image of one of the boards of the “Book of Veles”, beginning with the words “We dedicate this book to Veles.”

The history of Slavic fairy-tale creatures may be the envy of other European monsters. The age of pagan legends is impressive: according to some estimates, it reaches 3000 years, and its roots go back to the Neolithic or even Mesolithic - that is, about 9000 BC.

The common Slavic fairy-tale “menagerie” was absent - in different areas they spoke of completely different creatures. The Slavs did not have sea or mountain monsters, but forest and river evil spirits were abundant. There was no gigantomania either: our ancestors very rarely thought about evil giants like the Greek Cyclops or Scandinavian Jotuns. Some wonderful creatures appeared among the Slavs relatively late, during the period of their Christianization - most often they were borrowed from Greek legends and introduced into national mythology, thus creating a bizarre mixture of beliefs.

Alkonost

According to ancient Greek myth, Alkyone, the wife of the Thessalian king Keik, upon learning of the death of her husband, threw herself into the sea and was turned into a bird, named after her, alkyon (kingfisher). The word “Alkonost” entered the Russian language as a result of a distortion of the ancient saying “alkion is a bird.”

Slavic Alkonost is a bird of paradise with a surprisingly sweet, euphonious voice. She lays her eggs on the seashore, then plunges them into the sea - and the waves calm down for a week. When the eggs hatch, a storm begins. In the Orthodox tradition, Alkonost is considered a divine messenger - she lives in heaven and comes down to convey the highest will to people.

Aspid

A winged snake with two trunks and a bird's beak. Lives high in the mountains and periodically makes devastating raids on villages. He gravitates towards rocks so much that he cannot even sit on damp ground - only on a stone. The asp is invulnerable to conventional weapons; it cannot be killed with a sword or arrow, but can only be burned. The name comes from the Greek aspis - poisonous snake.

Auca

A type of mischievous forest spirit, small, pot-bellied, with round cheeks. Doesn't sleep in winter or summer. He likes to fool people in the forest, responding to their cry of “Aw!” from all sides. Leads travelers into a remote thicket and abandons them there.

Baba Yaga

Slavic witch, popular folklore character. Usually depicted as a nasty old woman with disheveled hair, a hooked nose, a "bone leg", long claws and several teeth in her mouth. Baba Yaga is an ambiguous character. Most often, she acts as a pest, with pronounced tendencies towards cannibalism, but on occasion, this witch can voluntarily help a brave hero by questioning him, steaming him in a bathhouse and giving him magical gifts (or providing valuable information).

It is known that Baba Yaga lives in a deep forest. There stands her hut on chicken legs, surrounded by a palisade of human bones and skulls. Sometimes it was said that on the gate to Yaga’s house there are hands instead of locks, and the keyhole is a small toothy mouth. Baba Yaga's house is enchanted - you can enter it only by saying: “Hut, hut, turn your front to me, and your back to the forest.”
Like Western European witches, Baba Yaga can fly. To do this, she needs a large wooden mortar and a magic broom. With Baba Yaga you can often meet animals (familiars): a black cat or a crow, helping her in her witchcraft.

The origin of the Baba Yaga estate is unclear. Perhaps it came from Turkic languages, or perhaps derived from the Old Serbian “ega” - disease.

Baba Yaga, bone leg. A witch, an ogress and the first female pilot. Paintings by Viktor Vasnetsov and Ivan Bilibin.

Hut on kurnogi

A forest hut on chicken legs, where there are no windows or doors, is not fiction. This is exactly how hunters from the Urals, Siberia and Finno-Ugric tribes built temporary dwellings. Houses with blank walls and an entrance through a hatch in the floor, raised 2-3 meters above the ground, protected both from rodents hungry for supplies and from large predators. Siberian pagans kept stone idols in similar structures. It can be assumed that the figurine of some female deity, placed in a small house “on chicken legs,” gave rise to the myth of Baba Yaga, who can hardly fit in her house: her legs are in one corner, her head is in the other, and her nose rests into the ceiling.

Bannik

The spirit living in the baths was usually represented as a small old man with a long beard. Like all Slavic spirits, he is mischievous. If people in the bathhouse slip, get burned, faint from the heat, get scalded by boiling water, hear the cracking of stones in the stove or knocking on the wall - all these are the tricks of the bathhouse.

The bannik rarely causes any serious harm, only when people behave incorrectly (wash on holidays or late at night). Much more often he helps them. The Slavs associated the bathhouse with mystical, life-giving powers - they often gave birth here or told fortunes (it was believed that the bannik could predict the future).

Like other spirits, they fed the bannik - they left him black bread with salt or buried a strangled black chicken under the threshold of the bathhouse. There was also a female version of the bannik - bannitsa, or obderiha. A shishiga also lived in the baths - an evil spirit that appears only to those who go to the baths without praying. Shishiga takes the form of a friend or relative, invites a person to steam with her and can steam to death.

Bas Celik (Man of Steel)

A popular character in Serbian folklore, a demon or evil sorcerer. According to legend, the king bequeathed to his three sons to marry their sisters to the first one to ask for their hand in marriage. One night, someone with a thunderous voice came to the palace and demanded the youngest princess as his wife. The sons fulfilled the will of their father, and soon lost their middle and older sister in a similar way.

Soon the brothers came to their senses and went in search of them. The younger brother met a beautiful princess and took her as his wife. Looking out of curiosity into the forbidden room, the prince saw a man chained. He introduced himself as Bash Celik and asked for three glasses of water. The naive young man gave the stranger a drink, he regained his strength, broke the chains, released his wings, grabbed the princess and flew away. Saddened, the prince went in search. He found out that the thunderous voices that demanded his sisters as wives belonged to the lords of dragons, falcons and eagles. They agreed to help him, and together they defeated the evil Bash Celik.

This is what Bash Celik looks like as imagined by W. Tauber.

Ghouls

The living dead rising from their graves. Like any other vampires, ghouls drink blood and can devastate entire villages. First of all, they kill relatives and friends.

Gamayun

Like Alkonost, a divine female bird whose main function is to carry out predictions. The saying “Gamayun is a prophetic bird” is well known. She also knew how to control the weather. It was believed that when Gamayun flies from the direction of sunrise, a storm comes after her.

Gamayun-Gamayun, how long do I have left to live? - Ku. - Why so ma...?

Divya people

Demi-humans with one eye, one leg and one arm. To move, they had to fold in half. They live somewhere on the edge of the world, reproduce artificially, forging their own kind from iron. The smoke of their forges brings with it pestilence, smallpox and fevers.

Brownie

In the most generalized representation - a house spirit, the patron of the hearth, a little old man with a beard (or completely covered with hair). It was believed that every house had its own brownie. In their homes they were rarely called “brownies,” preferring the affectionate “grandfather.”

If people established normal relations with him, fed him (they left a saucer of milk, bread and salt on the floor) and considered him a member of their family, then the brownie helped them do minor housework, looked after the livestock, guarded the household, and warned them of danger.

On the other hand, an angry brownie could be very dangerous - at night he pinched people until they were bruised, strangled them, killed horses and cows, made noise, broke dishes and even set fire to a house. It was believed that the brownie lived behind the stove or in the stable.

Drekavac (drekavac)

A half-forgotten creature from the folklore of the southern Slavs. There is no exact description of it - some consider it an animal, others a bird, and in central Serbia there is a belief that drekavak is the soul of a dead, unbaptized baby. They agree on only one thing - the drekavak can scream terribly.

Usually the drekavak is the hero of children's horror stories, but in remote areas (for example, mountainous Zlatibor in Serbia), even adults believe in this creature. Residents of the village of Tometino Polie from time to time report strange attacks on their livestock - it is difficult to determine from the nature of the wounds what kind of predator it was. The peasants claim to have heard eerie screams, so a Drekavak is probably involved.

Firebird

An image familiar to us from childhood, a beautiful bird with bright, dazzling fiery feathers (“they burn like heat”). A traditional test for fairy-tale heroes is to get a feather from the tail of this feathered creature. For the Slavs, the firebird was more of a metaphor than a real creature. She personified fire, light, sun, and possibly knowledge. Its closest relative is the medieval bird Phoenix, known both in the West and in Rus'.

One cannot help but recall such an inhabitant of Slavic mythology as the bird Rarog (probably distorted from Svarog - the blacksmith god). A fiery falcon that can also look like a whirlwind of flame, Rarog is depicted on the coat of arms of the Rurikovichs ("Rarogs" in German) - the first dynasty of Russian rulers. The highly stylized diving Rarog eventually began to resemble a trident - this is how the modern coat of arms of Ukraine appeared.

Kikimora (shishimora, mara)

An evil spirit (sometimes the brownie's wife), appearing in the form of a small, ugly old woman. If a kikimora lives in a house behind the stove or in the attic, then it constantly harms people: it makes noise, knocks on walls, interferes with sleep, tears yarn, breaks dishes, poisons livestock. It was sometimes believed that babies who died without baptism became kikimoras, or kikimoras could be unleashed on a house under construction by evil carpenters or stove makers. A kikimora that lives in a swamp or forest does much less harm - it mainly just scares lost travelers.

Koschey the Immortal (Kashchei)

One of the well-known Old Slavonic negative characters, usually represented as a thin, skeletal old man with a repulsive appearance. Aggressive, vengeful, greedy and stingy. It is difficult to say whether he was the personification of the external enemies of the Slavs, an evil spirit, a powerful wizard, or a unique variety of undead.

It is indisputable that Koschey possessed very strong magic, avoided people and often engaged in the favorite activity of all villains in the world - kidnapping girls. In Russian science fiction, the image of Koshchei is quite popular, and he is presented in different ways: in a comic light (“Island of Rus'” by Lukyanenko and Burkin), or, for example, as a cyborg (“The Fate of Koshchei in the Cyberozoic Era” by Alexander Tyurin).

Koshchei’s “signature” feature was immortality, and far from absolute. As we all probably remember, on the magical island of Buyan (capable of suddenly disappearing and appearing before travelers) there is a large old oak tree on which a chest hangs. There is a hare in the chest, in the hare there is a duck, in the duck there is an egg, and in the egg there is a magic needle where Koshchei’s death is hidden. He can be killed by breaking this needle (according to some versions, by breaking an egg on Koshchei’s head).

Koschey as imagined by Vasnetsov and Bilibin.

Georgy Millyar is the best performer of the roles of Koshchei and Baba Yaga in Soviet fairy tales.

Goblin

Forest spirit, protector of animals. He looks like a tall man with a long beard and hair all over his body. Essentially not evil - he walks through the forest, protects it from people, occasionally shows himself, for which he can take on any form - a plant, a mushroom (a giant talking fly agaric), an animal or even a person. The goblin can be distinguished from other people by two signs - his eyes glow with magical fire, and his shoes are put on backwards.

Sometimes a meeting with a goblin can end in failure - he will lead a person into the forest and throw him to be devoured by animals. However, those who respect nature can even become friends with this creature and receive help from it.

Dashingly one-eyed

Spirit of evil, failure, symbol of grief. There is no certainty regarding Likh’s appearance - he is either a one-eyed giant or a tall, thin woman with one eye in the middle of his forehead. Dashingly is often compared to the Cyclopes, although apart from one eye and tall stature, they have nothing in common.

The saying has reached our time: “Don’t wake up Dashing while it’s quiet.” In a literal and allegorical sense, Likho meant trouble - it became attached to a person, sat on his neck (in some legends, the unfortunate person tried to drown Likho by throwing himself into the water, and drowned himself) and prevented him from living.
Likh, however, could be gotten rid of - deceived, driven away by force of will, or, as is occasionally mentioned, given to another person along with some gift. According to very dark superstitions, Likho could come and devour you.

Mermaid

In Slavic mythology, mermaids are a type of mischievous evil spirits. They were drowned women, girls who died near a pond, or people swimming at inopportune times. Mermaids were sometimes identified with “mavkas” (from the Old Slavonic “nav” - dead man) - children who died without baptism or were strangled by their mothers.

The eyes of such mermaids glow with green fire. By their nature, they are nasty and evil creatures, they grab bathing people by the legs, pull them under the water, or lure them from the shore, wrap their arms around them and drown them. There was a belief that a mermaid's laughter could cause death (this makes them look like Irish banshees).

Some beliefs called mermaids the lower spirits of nature (for example, good “beregins”), who have nothing in common with drowned people and willingly save drowning people.

There were also “tree mermaids” living in tree branches. Some researchers classify mermaids as mermaids (in Poland - lakanits) - lower spirits who take the form of girls in transparent white clothes, living in the fields and helping the field. The latter is also a natural spirit - it is believed that he looks like a little old man with a white beard. The field dwells in cultivated fields and usually patronizes peasants - except when they work at noon. For this, he sends midday warriors to the peasants so that they will deprive them of their minds with their magic.

We should also mention the waterwoman - a type of mermaid, a baptized drowned woman who does not belong to the category of evil spirits, and therefore is relatively kind. Waterworts love deep pools, but most often they settle under mill wheels, ride on them, spoil millstones, muddy the water, wash out holes, and tear nets.

It was believed that waterwomen were the wives of mermen - spirits who appeared in the guise of old men with a long green beard made of algae and (rarely) fish scales instead of skin. Bug-eyed, fat, creepy, the merman lives at great depths in whirlpools, commands mermaids and other underwater inhabitants. It was believed that he rode around his underwater kingdom riding a catfish, for which this fish was sometimes called “devil’s horse” among the people.

The merman is not malicious by nature and even acts as a patron of sailors, fishermen or millers, but from time to time he likes to play pranks, dragging a gaping (or offended) bather under the water. Sometimes the merman was endowed with the ability to shapeshift - transform into fish, animals or even logs.

Over time, the image of the merman as the patron of rivers and lakes changed - he began to be seen as a powerful “sea king” living under water in a luxurious palace. From the spirit of nature, the merman turned into a kind of magical tyrant, with whom the heroes of the folk epic (for example, Sadko) could communicate, enter into agreements and even defeat him with cunning.

Mermen as presented by Bilibin and V. Vladimirov.

Sirin

Another creature with the head of a woman and the body of an owl (owl), with a charming voice. Unlike Alkonost and Gamayun, Sirin is not a messenger from above, but a direct threat to life. It is believed that these birds live in the “Indian lands near paradise”, or on the Euphrates River, and sing such songs for the saints in heaven, upon hearing which people completely lose their memory and will, and their ships are wrecked.

It's not hard to guess that Sirin is a mythological adaptation of the Greek Sirens. However, unlike them, the Sirin bird is not negative character, but rather a metaphor for the temptation of a person with various kinds of temptations.

Nightingale the Robber (Nightingale Odikhmantievich)

A character from late Slavic legends, a complex image combining the features of a bird, an evil wizard and a hero. The Nightingale the Robber lived in the forests near Chernigov near the Smorodina River and for 30 years guarded the road to Kyiv, not letting anyone through, deafening travelers with a monstrous whistle and roar.

The Robber Nightingale had a nest on seven oak trees, but the legend also says that he had a mansion and three daughters. The epic hero Ilya Muromets was not afraid of the adversary and knocked out his eye with an arrow from a bow, and during their battle, the whistle of the Nightingale the Robber knocked down the entire forest in the area. The hero brought the captive villain to Kyiv, where Prince Vladimir, out of curiosity, asked the Nightingale the Robber to whistle - to check whether the rumor about the super-abilities of this villain was true. The nightingale, of course, whistled so loudly that he almost destroyed half the city. After this, Ilya Muromets took him to the forest and cut off his head so that such an outrage would not happen again (according to another version, Nightingale the Robber later acted as Ilya Muromets’ assistant in battle).

For his first novels and poems, Vladimir Nabokov used the pseudonym "Sirin".

In 2004, the village of Kukoboi (Pervomaisky district of the Yaroslavl region) was declared the “homeland” of Baba Yaga. Her “birthday” is celebrated on July 26th. The Orthodox Church sharply condemned the “worship of Baba Yaga.”

Ilya Muromets is the only epic hero canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Baba Yaga is found even in Western comics, for example, “Hellboy” by Mike Mignola. In the first episode computer game"Quest for Glory" Baba Yaga is the main plot villain. In the role-playing game “Vampire: The Masquerade,” Baba Yaga is a vampire of the Nosferatu clan (distinguished by ugliness and secrecy). After Gorbachev left the political arena, she came out of hiding and killed all the vampires of the Brujah clan who controlled the Soviet Union.

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It is very difficult to list all the fabulous creatures of the Slavs: most of them have been studied very poorly and represent local varieties of spirits - forest, water or domestic, and some of them were very similar to each other. In general, the abundance of intangible creatures greatly distinguishes the Slavic bestiary from more “mundane” collections of monsters from other cultures
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Among the Slavic “monsters” there are very few monsters as such. Our ancestors led a calm, measured life, and therefore the creatures they invented for themselves were associated with the elementary elements, neutral in their essence. If they opposed people, then, for the most part, they were only protecting Mother Nature and ancestral traditions. Stories of Russian folklore teach us to be kinder, more tolerant, to love nature and respect the ancient heritage of our ancestors.

The latter is especially important, because ancient legends are quickly forgotten, and instead of mysterious and mischievous Russian mermaids, Disney fish-maidens with shells on their breasts come to us. Do not be ashamed to study Slavic legends - especially in their original versions, not adapted for children's books. Our bestiary is archaic and in some sense even naive, but we can be proud of it, because it is one of the most ancient in Europe.