Baba Yaga is the wife of Veles and a strong sorceress, about whom many legends were composed in ancient Slavic mythology. Over time, this character gradually turned into an evil, scary, shaggy old cannibal on a bone leg, living in the forest in a strange house on bird legs and luring people to her. However, not all so simple. Has Baba Yaga always been a negative character, and what rituals and traditions are associated with her - read in the material.
What does her name mean and who is she
Scientists from different countries tried to translate the word Baba Yaga, and as a result, they did not come to a consensus. There were no discrepancies with the term baba, it is safe to say that this part of the name means a female person. And what about Yaga? For example, in the Komi language the word "yag" means forest. From Czech "jeze" is translated as an evil aunt. In Slovenian, "jeza" means anger, while Serbo-Croatian offers a variant of "jeza", which means horror. In Sanskrit, the word yaga comes from the root ah, which means to move. If we go back to the origins, then translated from the Proto-Slavic “ega” means horror, danger, and anger.
All variants, except, perhaps, Komi and Sanskrit, suggest something terrible, terrible, evil. However, this Baba Yaga was not always: initially this character was positive.
In pre-Christian Russia, Yaga was considered the most famous coastline, she kept the clan and folk traditions. After Rus' was baptized, belief in pagan gods began to be considered heresy, and for the most part they turned into malicious and terrible creatures. This fate did not pass and Baba Yaga, who became a nasty, angry and ugly old woman, whose appearance and behavior inspired fear.
Yaga - a guide to the afterlife
In many Russian fairy tales, the main character must get to Far Far Away in order to achieve his goal. And it is Baba Yaga who helps him in this. After the prince, the peasant, any other good fellow gets to the grandmother, he asks her for help in this. At first, Yaga refuses, intimidating the hero, showing him his terrible dwelling, talking about his nightmarish deeds and about what suffering he will have to endure. But then he changes his anger to mercy and starts heating the bathhouse, where the guest carefully soars. This is nothing more than a ritual bath.
Then comes the time for treats, and this moment can also be considered as a kind of rite, the so-called mortuary dinner, designed to penetrate into the sinister realm of the dead. It turns out that the hero is alive, but after all the rituals, he is in a strange position, between the living and the dead, which later transformed into the saying "neither alive nor dead."
But after that, he easily falls into the desired kingdom, fulfills his mission there and wins.
Yaga healer and healer
Baba Yaga knows how to prepare a variety of potions, love potions, tinctures, she dries roots and herbs, in general, fully corresponds to the image of a healer. In ancient times, people who knew how to use the gifts of nature and achieve the desired results with the help of herbal remedies were most often feared, but at the same time revered. Once again they were not contacted, they were contacted only when there was a strong need for it.
Many healers really lived very secluded, often settled in the forest. This is understandable - it was more convenient to find the right herbs there and no one could interfere with the process of preparing medicines.
In old fairy tales, it is often mentioned that Baba Yaga roasts babies in the oven, putting them there on a shovel. But, if we recall the ritual of "baking" babies who were sick with rickets, then everything will become clear. The baby was wrapped in a kind of sheet of dough, laid on a shovel for bread and put into a warm heated oven several times. After that, the child was swaddled, the used dough was thrown out into the yard, where it (according to legends - along with the disease) was eaten by dogs.
Sinister attributes and contradictions
Baba Yaga lives, as every child knows today according to fairy tales, in a house on chicken legs. Why does this granny live in such a dwelling? The answer may be related to the fact that in ancient times it was customary for the Slavs to build original crypts for the dead, which were small buildings on high piles. Such houses were placed on the edge of the forest. There is an assumption that this is why Baba Yaga lives in a kind of house for the dead, and her hut can be considered as a transit point between life and death.
Protecting her home, she erects a fence of bones, decorated with skulls. This character moves in a mortar, while during the flight he uses a broom to cover his tracks. The stupa looks like an oak log, and in the old days they kept the dead in it. Consequently, Baba Yaga is essentially rushing through the air in a coffin, in an oak mortar. This old woman has the talent of a sorceress, she is able to easily cause damage. Yaga is entertained by the fact that by cunning he lures people into his house, most often young men or children, in order to fry them in his huge oven and eat them.
Indeed, scary. Despite this, if we recall Russian folk tales, it is unlikely that at least one will come to mind in which Baba Yaga carried out her threats. On the contrary, the heroes, getting to the old woman's house, take a steam bath, eat deliciously, sleep sweetly, and then they also receive guidance, advice and gifts. They are offered valuable unusual items, for example, a flying carpet, gusli-samogudy, boots-walkers. With their help, the guest of Baba Yaga receives a special power, becomes practically invulnerable, which helps him to carry out his plans. Baba Yaga seems to endow the main character with special abilities, helping him defeat evil and achieve his goal. From an evil old woman, a kidnapper and a hooligan, Yaga returns to her original image - albeit a grouchy and absurd, but a kind woman-keeper.
If we analyze folk tales, then Yaga seems to be not just an evil old woman who knows how to conjure. She is something else, able to modify time and space, possessing divine power.
Introduction
One of the key images in a fairy tale is Baba Yaga, who helps Ivan Tsarevich or Ivanushka the Fool to get an almost impossible desire in the Far Far Away kingdom: a lost bride, rejuvenating apples, a treasure sword, etc. The omnipotence of Baba Yaga leads researchers to think, that this is a collective image that came to us from the folklore of different peoples and still scientists do not have a common opinion about the origin of the word Baba Yaga. However, as a rope does not twist, but there will be an end. Let's try to understand this on the basis of comparative linguistics.
Etymology of the word "Baba Yaga" in different languages
In Fasmer's dictionary, the word "yaga":
"yaga
I Yaga;
I: ba; ba-yaga;, also yaga;-ba; ba, yaga; i, adj., Ukrainian. ba; ba-yaga; - the same, blr. ba; ba-yaga;, along with Ukrainian. yazi-ba; ba "witch, hairy caterpillar", i; zya "witch", st.-glory. ;ѕа;;;;;;;, ;;;;; (Ostrom., Supr.), Bolg. eza; "torment, torture" (Mladenov 160), Serbo-Chorv. je; for "horror", je; ziv "dangerous", Slovenian. je;za "anger", jezi;ti "to get angry", other Czech. je;ze; "lamia", Czech. jezinka "forest witch, evil woman", Pol. je;dza "witch, baba-yaga, evil woman", je;dzic; sie; "get angry."
Praslav. *(j)e;ga are brought closer to lit. i;ngis "lazy", Latvian. i;gt, i;gstu "go out, wither; annoyed", i;dzina;t "annoy, annoy, tease, make nasty", i;gns "annoying, dissatisfied", OE. ekki cf. R. "sorrow, pain", English. inca "question, doubt, sorrow, dispute"; see Bernecker I, 268 et seq.; M. - E. I, 834; Trautman, BSW 70; Holthausen, Awn. wb. 48; Fortunatov, AfslPh 12, 103; Liden, Studien 70; Milevsky, RS 13, 10 et seq.; Mikkola, Ursl. Gr. I, 171; Thorpe 28; Watering, RES 2, 257 et seq. Connection with other ind. ya;ks;mas "disease, exhaustion" is disputed, contrary to Liden (see Bernecker, ibid.; Uhlenbeck, Aind. Wb. 234), just as with Alb. i;dhe;te; "bitter", Geg. idhe;ni;m, melancholy. idhe;ri;m "bitterness, anger, annoyance, sadness", contrary to G. Mayer (Alb. Wb. 157); see Jocle, Studien 20 et seq.; likewise lat. aeger "disturbed, sick", which has often been used for comparison, hardly applies here, contrary to Bernecker; see Trautman, ibid., and especially Meillet-Ernu 18. Incredible is also the reconstruction of the proto-form *je;ga (Bernecker), against which Sobolevsky already (ZhMNP, 1886, Sept., 150), just like the rapprochement with Yaga; to "shout" and fidget;, contrary to Ilyinsky (IORYAS 16, 4, 17). It is necessary to reject attempts to explain the word yaga; like loans. from the Turks. *;mg;, cf. kypch. emgen- "to suffer" (Knutsson, Ralat. 124), or from Fin. ;k; "anger" (Nikolsky, FZ, 1891, issue 4–5, 7).
II Yaga;
II "skin of a foal", Orenb., Sib. (Dal), "fur coat made of goat skins with fur outside", tob. (ZhSt., 1899, issue 4, 518). From Leb., Kuer., Barab., Crimean-Tat., Uig. ja;a "collar", Tur., Tat., Chagat. jaka – the same (Radlov 3, 25, 39)." [SF]
Azerbaijani - k;p;gir;n qari > from "korchag" (glor.) k;p;gir;n > korchaginaj garnj - korchagnaya garna (girl, woman) (glor.)
Albanian - Baba-Yaga > baba-yaga (Slav.)
English - Baba-Yaga > baba-yaga (sl.)
Arabic - baba-jagana > > baba-jagana - baba-yagana (glor.)
Armenian - Baba-Yaga > baba-yaga (Slav.)
Basque - Baba-Yaga > baba-yaga (Slav.)
Belarusian - Baba Yaga
Bulgarian - eza "torment, torture"; baba-yaga - baba-yaga > baba-yaga (glor.)
Bosnian - Baba-Yaga > baba-yaga (Slav.)
Welsh - Baba-Yaga > baba-yaga (sl.)
Hungarian - Baba-Jaga > baba-yaga (Slav.)
Dutch - Baba-Jaga > baba-yaga (Slav.)
Greek - urnomaggissa > urnomaggilschitsa - urnomaster (glor.) / Baba, Mttamtta
Georgian - baba-Yaga > baba-yaga (Slav.)
Danish - Baba-Yaga > baba-yaga (Slav.)
Yiddish - baba-jaga > baba-yaga (Slav.)
Icelandic - Baba > baba (sl.)
Spanish - Baba-Yag; > baba yaga (sl.)
Kazakh - Almauyz-kampyr, Zhalmauyz-kempir > kempir >
Kyrgyz - mastan kempir, zhez kempir, zhez tumshuk > kempir > korjabbij/krivj - gnarled/crooked (slav.) (omission r, reduction b/m, b/p, reduction v/m, v/p)
Chinese - B;b;y;g; > baba yaga (sl.)
Latvian - Baba-Yaga > baba-yaga (Slav.)
Lithuanian - ;ie;ula > giegula, possibly from gorgos - terrible, terrible (Greek), otherwise Gorgon. On the other side:
garnij - garnij - beautiful (ukr.)
Grazus - beautiful (lit.)
Gorgeous (English), gorgias (Old French) - magnificent, beautiful.
Macedonian - Baba-Yaga > baba-yaga (Slav.)
Mongolian - eke - mother > eke > jaga - yaga (glor.) (g / k reduction)
German - Hexe > jege - yaga (glor.) (g / x reduction)
Norwegian - Baba, Porselen > baba (sl.) / bor-zelenj - green boron (sl.) (reduction b/p, z/s)
Persian - Baba-Yaga ogress > baba-yaga (glor.)
Polish - Baba-Yaga > baba-yaga (sl.)
Portuguese - Baba-Yaga > baba-yaga (Slav.)
Romanian - Baba-Yaga > baba-yaga (Slav.)
Serbian - Baba Yaga
Slovak - Je;ibaba >
Slovenian - jeza - anger > ujaz-baba - horror-woman (glor.)
Swahili - Baba-Yaga > baba-yaga (sl.)
Tajik - Baba-Yaga > baba-yaga (Slav.)
Turkish - baba-Yaga > baba-yaga (Slav.)
Uzbek - Yalmog "iz kampir > korjabbij / krivj - gnarled / crooked (glorious) (omission r, reduction b / m, b / p, reduction v / m, v / p)
Ukrainian - baba-yaga, yazi-baba "witch, hairy caterpillar", ide "witch",
Finnish - noita akka > najada-jagga - naiada-yaga (glor.) (reduction of g / k), otherwise, "water witch"
French - Baba > baba (sl.)
Croatian - Baba-Jaga > baba-yaga (Slav.)
Czech - Je;ibaba > ujaz-baba - horror-woman (glor.)
Chuvash - katen karch; k, wup; r karch; k > from "korchaga" (glor.), "to bend someone with a korchaga, his arms, legs with a korchaga, crooked" [SD]
Estonian - Baba-Yaga > baba-yaga (Slav.)
Japanese - B;ba-y;ga > baba-yaga (Slav.)
"In the mythology of the Kazakhs and Kirghiz (zhelmoguz kempir), a demonic creature in the form of an old woman, often with seven heads. Usually personifies an evil inclination. Zh. k. is a cannibal, kidnapper of children; in the form of a lung, she floats on" the surface of the water, and when a person approaches , turns into a seven-headed old woman, grabs him and forces him to give up his son (the fairy tale "Er-Tostik")... There is an opinion that the image of Zh. she sometimes functions as a shaman-sorceress, hostess of the ancestral fire, mistress and guardian of the “country of death.” (Features of a good baba-yaga, the patroness of the hero, Zh. k. retained in some fairy tales, in which she tells how to get a self-playing dombra, helps get a magic mirror and get married.) Among the Kirghiz, a variety of Zh.k. is a demon mite, who appeared as an old woman in tatters, who lives in the mountains, in the forest, far from human dwellings.She carries the girls into her hut and imperceptibly sucks blood from their knees ; when the victim becomes weak, the miner eats it. Mitya is close to the demon zhalmavyz [yalmavyz (karchyk)] of the Kazan Tatars. There is a similar character in the mythologies of the Uighurs and Bashkirs [cannibal sorceress yalmauz (yalmauyz)], Uzbeks [old woman-eater yalmoFiz (kampir) or zhalmoviz (kampir)] and Nogais (elmavyz)"
In an interesting essay on folklore, the author confirms the version of the image of Baba Yaga as a mother goddess.
"Scientists believe that the image of Yaga is a transformation of the ancient image of the mother goddess, who commands both the fate of the world and the fate of people. In the transition from matriarchy to patriarchy and from hunting to agriculture and cattle breeding, the mother goddess began to be perceived as the mistress of rain, the most important and the most necessary for crops - she flies in a fiery mortar with a storm, sweeps her tracks with a fiery pomelo (wind). And with the advent of Christianity from the coast, she turned into a demonic creature spinning a tow (fate) "
However, in my opinion, the image of Baba Yaga is incomparable with the cult of the Patron Mother, since the characters of folk art and religious cult are different in purpose and function. Baba Yaga is a witch, the guardian of the world of the dead, a healer, lives in fairy tales isolated from society. The mother goddess is the progenitor of the clan, is the image of the family, clan, ethnic group, lives in society. Mother Goddess is a product of myth, and Baba Yaga is a product of a fairy tale, but myth always precedes a fairy tale, so Baba Yaga and Mother Goddess are incompatible.
Baba Yaga is a symbol of ugly old age. This is what a once beautiful girl turns into according to the laws of inexorable time, therefore words similar in roots that denote horror and beauty in different languages \u200b\u200bhave the opposite meaning (see Gorgon).
There are significant differences between nomadic and sedentary life, which are also reflected in the word creation of the Indo-European and Turkic peoples. So the word Yaga has a common root for the Indo-Europeans and the Turks j-g, but its meanings are different.
In Indo-European languages, the word Yaga:
1. Formed from the old Russian verb "yagat" - to swear.
From the Sanskrit root ah, auh, meaning - to go, move, from which comes the Sanskrit ahi, Latin anguis, Slavic hedgehog, etc. (P.A. Lavrovsky); ahi > agi > nogi - legs (glor.). In the tales of Afanasiev, "Leg" is a snake (cf. p. 5, where Yaga is a lizard).
2. In all the names of Baba Yaga, a very ancient Indo-European root can be traced, which scientists reconstruct as * jegъ, which means "evil, vile."
3. "YAGA zh. Sib. orenb. yargak, ergak (Akad. Word erroneously erchak), a kind of okhabnya with wool outward, from foal skins or from non-blowing, and expensive yagas from loon necks (Columbus septentrionalis); fur coat, sheepskin coat, negligent I will cut it, in a tob. with a folding collar, in Orenb. without; they line it with a cloth or light fur; everyone wears a yaga or yargak, especially on the road and hunting. Yagushka tob. female yaga, with a narrow collar; for the road" [SD ]
4. The combination of Baba Yaga arose by merging the words baba (old woman, woman) and yaga (evil; anger, illness) according to Vasmer.
5. Yaga - from the word Yasha. Yasha - foot-and-mouth disease progenitor, keeper of the family and traditions - caring, but very strict and demanding Bereginya
6. Yaga - from the word Yoga - a priestess who owns the secrets of ancient teachings. Baba is a word of honor in Rus'. Baba means experienced, wise, knowledgeable.
In Turkic languages, the word Yaga:
1. The word Yaga is associated with the Mongolian eke (mother), especially since among the ancient Mongols the word eke referred to female deities. The Mongolian eke corresponds to the Buryat ehe, and in the Turkic languages eka (elder sister, aunt). eke - eke > jaga - yaga (glor.).
2. Among the small peoples of Siberia, Yaga-Yag means "the first, lonely" or "a river that carries to the other world." jaga > reka - river (slav.) (omission r, reduction k / g)
3. In the Komi language, Yag means forest, hence the connection with the Slavic word jagoda - "berry". However, jagoda > jablok - apple (sl.) (inv. jagoda, substitution b/d, reduction k/g), otherwise, "round". berry - berry (English) > jablloc - apple (Slav.) (reduction l / r)
One way or another, the Turkic parallels in the word Yaga intersect with Slavic ones and yet transform into Slavic roots.
In Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga is the guardian of the kingdom of the dead, because sedentary peoples had cemeteries and graveyards. The nomadic peoples did not have permanent graveyards, they were buried, as a rule, in mounds, which, over time, were abandoned due to the search for new pastures for livestock. From here it is possible to form a purely Turkic word "kampir", which can be translated as "mare" or "hoofed":
kampir - kampir > kobbilj - mares (glor.) (reduction b / m, b / p, l / r)
kampir - kampir > koptnaj - ungulate (glor.) (reduction b / m, b / p, l / r)
Interestingly, in a fairy tale, the name of Baba Yaga is associated with a horse and a mare. So, Baba Yaga gives Ivan Tsarevich a magic horse, Baba Yaga's daughters turn into mares.
"In some South Slavic tales, Baba Yaga is not an evil forest old woman, but a steppe hero, a mother, wife or sister of snakes killed by heroes. Her kingdom is located far away, in a distant kingdom, beyond a fiery river, often in the underworld. She owns herds of cattle and herds of magical horses. The protagonist is employed by her as a shepherd in order to receive such a magical horse as a reward. In some fairy tales, she turns her daughters into mares. The hero of the fairy tale herds them and takes as a reward a magic horse with a nondescript appearance, which is son of Yaga. In many fairy tales, Yaga rides a horse and fights like a hero, and she is accompanied by a great army, a huge army. Defeating Yaga, the hero falls into the dungeon, fights with her workers and defeats them: they (blacksmiths, seamstresses and weavers) they can no longer make a new army for Yaga. Perhaps the basis of the image of Yaga the Bogatyr was the legends about the tribe of Amazons who lived in the south, near the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov. "
The mare is the animal totem of the eastern Baba Yaga, where the mare is the progenitor of the clan.
Such are the metamorphoses of the image of Baba Yaga in a fairy tale, which either roams like a mare across the endless steppes, or leads a harsh, secluded lifestyle of a witch in the dense forests of Eastern Europe.
Abbreviations
SPI - A Word about Igor's Campaign
PVL - The Tale of Bygone Years
SD - Dahl dictionary
SF - Fasmer's Dictionary
SIS - dictionary of foreign words
TSE - Efremov's explanatory dictionary
TSOSH - explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov, Shvedov
CRS - dictionary of Russian synonyms
BTSU - Ushakov's big explanatory dictionary
SSIS - collection dictionary of foreign words
MAC - small academic dictionary of the Russian language
VP - Wikipedia
EBE - Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron
TSB - the great Soviet encyclopedia
1. T. D. Bayalieva "Pre-Islamic beliefs and their survivals among the Kirghiz", F., 1972
2. N. Dyalovskaya "Folklore. Baba Yaga", http://www.litcetera.net/forum/112-557-1
3. V. N. Timofeev “Methodology for finding Slavic roots in foreign words”, http://www.tezan.ru/metod.htm
Koschey the Immortal, Kikimora, Goblin, Nightingale the Robber - familiar to us from childhood are a little scary, a little ridiculous, a little funny, and in the end, rather pathetic characters of Russian folk tales. Who are they, where did they come from, how did their character, habits, destinies change over time? Let's try to figure it out. It is interesting that in the coming year Baba Yaga took third place among the characters invited to the New Year trees, ahead of even the symbol of the year - Bunny. Why is this since time immemorial recognized villain so fond of our kids?
Smart villains
Indeed, many children like to be afraid, but not seriously, but pretend, for the thrill of sensations. After all, if there is a villain in a fairy tale, then there is a hero who will definitely win. Fairy tales are good because good in them certainly overcomes evil, sins and vices are ridiculed, and villains lose. But you must admit that negative characters are always more multifaceted, more interesting, livelier or something than positive ones. With those, everything is clear literally from the very beginning - they live correctly, study diligently, honor their parents as expected, fall in love with the beautiful princesses, whom they eventually go to save, in a word - a happy ending is literally written to them. But the villains - those are more entertaining. Smart, inventive, cunning, sharp-tongued and outrageous in appearance. They would have a little more luck ... Are they really born as snarky and misanthropic, or, for some reason, simply turned into them? So, one of the stories of Baba Yaga.
Mighty Goddess
Our ancient Slavic pagan ancestors had a deity - Baba Yoga - the patroness of the Family, the personification of tribal wisdom. She collected orphans from cities and villages and delivered them to her Skete in order to save the remnants of the Clans of the Great Race from death. The old woman moved through the air in a wooden mortar and only at night. Our ancestors since the time of matriarchy have greatly revered this goddess, but in all likelihood, the maternal instinct of the ancient Slavs forced them to slightly intimidate their children, who loved to run away and take a longer walk - they say, you get lost, you won’t find your way home, Baba Yoga will fly in, take you for an orphan and separate us forever. Without malicious intent, of course. In any case, I think so.
According to many scientists - researchers of ancient Slavic and ancient Russian culture, Baba Yoga could well become the prototype of the fabulous Yaga. Moreover, in pre-Christian times - positive (after all, she saved the children), and then, like many characters of pagan Slavic beliefs, negative.
Witch Doctor and Midwife
There is another opinion. The ancient name for fire is "yaga". "Yagat" - meant to burn, and in the second meaning - to scream loudly, heart-rendingly. So shouted women in labor, or hunters. In the ancient Slavic sense, a "woman" is an old wise woman, the founder of a clan, a healer, a sorceress. And if you remember that there used to be a ritual of “baking” a sick child, then a lot falls into place. The midwife spoke bread dough, wrapped a sick baby in it, laid it on a shovel and thrust it into a well-heated oven. Then she took it out, unfolded it, and gave the dough to the dogs. The child often recovered from such wrapping and warming. By the way, in not a single, even rather late fairy tale, Baba Yaga roasted anyone, she was just going to do it.
Between two worlds
From the point of view of supporters of the classical ancient Slavic origin of Baba Yaga, in addition to all that has been said, she also belongs to two worlds - the world of the dead (Far Far Away) and the world of the living. This is evidenced by the place of residence of Baba Yaga - a hut on chicken legs, standing in the thicket of the forest. When the hut turns in front of the path leading to the people - it is turned to the living, and when to the dark forest thicket - to the dead. Granny's bone leg is also not without reason. Bone means dead, even decayed. With one foot she is still here, and with the other already there - beyond the threshold of death. It is the leg that is given special attention also because if you look into the domino-tomb during the day, you can only see the legs - the Slavs always buried the dead with their feet towards the exit.
Priestess of Evil and Lady of the Forest Forces
The name “chicken legs” most likely comes from “smoke”, that is, smoke-fumigated, pillars, or high tree stumps, on which our ancient ancestors set up a “hut of death” - a small log house with the ashes of the deceased inside, also called “domovina”. By the way, this is how to this day in many areas, more often in villages, and not in cities, it is customary to call a coffin. This Slavic funeral rite existed in the 6th-9th centuries, until the adoption of Christianity. By the way, similar burials were practiced by the Aryans and some ancient Siberian peoples. In addition, if a person died, having disappeared without a trace, or his body could not be buried according to the rules, people made a small house, installed it on a stump, and placed a doll inside, firmly believing that it was through it that it was possible to communicate with the soul of the deceased.
Baba Yaga, in the afternoon - well, a completely blind old woman - lay motionless inside such a hut and did not see the one who came from the world of the living, but learned about his arrival by smell - "it smells of the Russian spirit." As many researchers note, a person who goes to the world of the dead to save the Princess will definitely find himself on his way to the hut of Baba Yaga, and do you know why? - For advice. Only she could take him there, only she knew how to get him back, and she tested the uninvited guest. The price of a mistake is life. Having passed the tests and successfully avoided the fate of being "eaten", that is, forever remaining in the world of the dead, the hero turns out to belong to both worlds at the same time, is endowed with many magical qualities, overcomes terrible monsters, subjugates some of the servants of the dark kingdom, often gains power over the forest and swamp evil spirits and masters the ability to control the elements. In a word, it becomes a little more than just a person. And this - and fear and honor from fellow tribesmen. So it turns out that on the one hand, Baba Yaga is a bloodthirsty and insidious priestess of evil, devouring children and good fellows, who had to be defeated, lime, destroyed, and on the other, a witch, the mistress of the forest forces, who appreciated the courage, intelligence and courage of the one who came and helping him on his difficult journey. (Remember the ball of thread that the old woman gives to the good fellow so that he does not get lost in the thicket).
road toy
There is another theory, according to which the harmful Babusya is not a native Slavic character, but brought to us from Siberia along with the legends and tales of the ancient Permians, Samoyeds and Lapps. "Yaga" they called women's clothing - a cover "like a dressing gown with a turn-down, a quarter, collar. It is sewn from dark non-spewers, with wool outside ... The same yags are collected from loon necks, feathers out ... Yagushka is the same yag, but with a narrow collar, worn by women on the road. By the way, a similar interpretation is given in his dictionary by V.I. Dal.
Such clothes were amazing for our ancestors, therefore they endowed the woman who wore them with special qualities. And imagine if this is an elderly, hunched, unsociable woman, and even a healer. Horror!
There is another opinion that claims that the name of Baba Yaga is in no way connected with the name of the clothes, but has correspondences in many Indo-European languages \u200b\u200bwith the meanings: “illness, annoyance”, “waste, get angry, annoy, mourn”. This position was adopted by the most recent interpreters of fairy tales. Everything seems to be clear here too - a leg has dried up, a hump has grown, gout is tormented, loneliness is gnawing, so you have to replenish your strength by “eating” others, especially young, clean, naive ones - in retaliation for your unfinished life. But somehow it's too adult for children's fairy tales ...
The most common version says that the prototypes of the fairy tale character were ancient witches and healers who settled apart in the forest, where they collected various roots and herbs, dried them and made healing tinctures. In almost every village there was such a woman, and it was to her that the inhabitants turned in case of illness and other needs. The attitude towards them was ambiguous: many considered them associates of evil spirits, so most often they were taciturn, gloomy, unfriendly women.
In later Christian times, the image of Baba Yaga gradually merged with popular ideas about witches. But this is unfair, because the image of Baba Yaga is much richer and more multifaceted.
In conclusion, I would like to say - thank God that our old wise tales are still preserved among the people, and that you can still read them to children, and when they grow up, tell the “biography” of familiar and beloved characters. Why not a history lesson?! And where are their yellow-mouthed "Harry Potters" to our fellows, princesses, grandmothers with bone legs and immortal koshcheevs. It's great, trust me!
Lilia Velesova
We were all brought up on fairy tales, and one of the most frequent and mysterious heroes was Baba Yaga. Who is she really, an evil sorceress who tried to fry Ivanushka in a Russian oven, a kidnapper of small children, or is she still a kind character who helps fight against evil forces. After all, she more than once helped the main characters in the fight against Koshchei the Immortal, pointed out the right path and gave wise advice on how to get rid of all sorts of evil spirits. This well-known fairy-tale character, in the form of a disfigured old woman, had animals and birds in his house, respectfully treated them and even consulted with them on what to do in a given situation. Agree that Baba Yaga is a very controversial person, what do we really know about her and her personal life?
Let's try to figure out who Baba Yaga is. In fact, there is no exact and unambiguous opinion. According to some sources, she is considered the patroness of forests and animals, a kind ancient Greek goddess who guards the underground entrance to Far Far Away (the underworld).
But there is another version that the word "yaga" originated from the word "yogi", and Baba Yaga herself comes from India. It is not for nothing that she has a hermitic lifestyle and lives in the forest, away from people and settlements. This way of life is inherent in Indian hermit yogis. Her means of transportation - a stupa, resembles Indian buildings - stupas, which are places of worship that have hemispherical outlines.
According to other sources, she received such a name, as she was a very quarrelsome, angry and quarrelsome woman, in Rus' such people were often called Yagishna.
Some researchers claim that Baba Yaga emigrated to us from the northern part of the planet. The inhabitants of the North used to build their dwellings on poles, this was necessary so that wild animals could not enter the dwellings of reindeer herders, in addition, at a height, the snow did not completely cover the house, and it was possible to get out of the snow blockage. These buildings in their form resemble the dwelling of Baba Yaga - a hut on chicken legs. There is also an assumption that she received such a name, as she lived in an area where moss grows - reindeer moss, it was once called "yag".
Everyone saw that Baba Yaga wore a sleeveless fur coat, and it is likely that her name came from a simple phrase - a woman in a yaga (sleeveless fur coat).
In addition, there is a belief that Baba Yaga had Asian roots and, accordingly, bore an Asian name. The proof of this is her expression: "Fu-fu, it smells like a Russian spirit." The fact is that each race has its own body odor, and most often people can smell from a distance that belongs to a person from another race.
There is another incredible version, but it also has a place to be. Baba Yaga is a creature that came to our world from the world of the dead, that is, a dead woman. In ancient times, the dead were buried in houses that stood on stumps at a certain height, the roots of which peeped out of the ground, and resembled chicken legs. The door to the room was located in the opposite direction from the area where the villages were located, that is, in front of the forest, and back to the settlements. People believed that at night the dead could fly in their coffins, so they were laid with their feet towards the exit. Anyone who went into what kind of domina could see the legs of a dead person. It is from this that the expression "Baba Yaga bone leg" came from. The dead were treated with great respect and were not disturbed in vain. Although if troubles arose, then people believed that the deceased could help them in difficult situations and turned to them for help.
Well, the final version, Baba Yaga arrived on our Earth from outer space and is an alien. Her stupa is a kind of spaceship. Rather, even a device that makes up one of the steps of a huge spacecraft is necessary for mobile movement in space over short distances.
The above options for the origin of the sorceress cannot be refuted or confirmed - everyone chooses the option that is close to him. But, I think, regardless of its origin, we will love Baba Yaga, as the image that has been familiar to us since childhood, showed us a mysterious, original person, with a bright and independent character.
