Russian pagan characters. Russian pagan characters The goblin pagan character is found in many fairy tales

Mythological character, the main character of the ritual associated with the celebration of the New Year or Christmas.

Probably, his name goes back to the Old Russian root “usin” - bluish, found in the names of the winter months (for example, prosinets - January). Other researchers believe that the word “avsen” comes from the word “canopy” (light). With the arrival of Avsen, the day increases, and the bright part of the year begins.

A cycle of folk songs is dedicated to Avsen, where he appears as an anthropomorphic character. They tell that Avsen comes on horseback and builds a bridge over which all other annual holidays “come”: Christmas, Epiphany, St. Basil’s Day.

Since Avsen's arrival marked the beginning of the New Year celebration, with the honoring of Avsen in the traditional folk calendar, the spring cycle of holidays associated with ensuring the fertility of the earth began. Therefore, they tried to appease Avsen in every possible way: he was solemnly greeted, treated to specially prepared dishes - pancakes, flatbreads, porridge, pies, pork legs.

Ritual songs were sung by children who went on January 1 to congratulate their fellow villagers. They carried a basket with grain (wheat or oats). The children sang congratulations and threw grains across the table into the red corner. The hostess gave gifts to the children, and they moved to the next house.

Bannik

A spirit that lives in a bathhouse, most often on a shelf or in an oven.

Bannik was represented as a small naked old man, covered with dirt or leaves from brooms. He could also transform into a dog or cat.

Sometimes the bannik was presented in a female form - then he acted under the name shishigi (from the dialect verb shishit - to swarm, move, do furtively). Outwardly, she looked like a small woman and was also dangerous for humans, so it was not recommended to come to the bathhouse without an appropriate offering.

In some places the bannik was called obderikha. According to legend, she looked like a woman with long arms, large teeth, floor-length hair and wide-set eyes. She was respectfully called the “bathhouse mistress.” Before washing, they respectfully asked: “Housewife of the bath, let us wash, fry, steam.” When leaving, they thanked me: “Thank you, hostess, for the guy’s bathhouse. Good for your construction, good for our health.”

Since the bathhouse has always been considered the habitat of evil spirits, the bannik was usually perceived as a character hostile to humans. To protect himself from the bannik, they sacrificed a black chicken to him, and after washing in the bathhouse they left a broom, a bar of soap and some warm water.

Before entering the bathhouse, they “asked” the owner to let them wash and not harm people. During the bathing day, all people were usually divided into three lines and washed in “three pairs”; the “fourth pair” was intended for the bathhouse. Before starting to wash the banner, they warned with the words: “The baptized are on the shelf, the unbaptized are from the shelf.”

It was believed that the bannik was washed together with other household spirits - brownie, yard, kikimora. Therefore, after the third steam, people had to leave the bathhouse. In addition, it was forbidden to wash after midnight, and it was strictly forbidden to spend the night in the bathhouse. It was not allowed to heat the bathhouse on holidays, especially on Christmastide, because at that time devils or banniks and their children washed there.

All of the above beliefs have a clear practical basis, since carbon monoxide gradually accumulated in a closed bathhouse, and a person could suffocate.

The bathhouse could especially harm a child left unattended in the bathhouse. There was a belief that the bannik replaced such a child with his own cub. The changeling is distinguished by its ugly appearance and the fact that it always screams. Unlike other children, he does not grow and begin to walk on time. Usually, after a few years, the changelings died, turning into a firebrand or a broom.

Being a habitat of evil spirits, the bathhouse was considered one of the places of Christmas fortune-telling. At this time, at midnight, the girls approached the door of the bathhouse or the brow (entrance) of the heater. Sticking their hand or the naked back of their body there, the girls waited for the bannik’s answer. If he touched with a furry hand, it was assumed that the groom would be kind and rich, if he was naked, he would be poor and evil.

They not only washed themselves in the bathhouse, but also gave birth, since it was the warmest and cleanest place in the house. To prevent the bannitsa from causing harm, the woman in labor did not remove the cross, and she was never left alone.

In the northern regions, it was believed that a bathhouse grandmother lived in the bathhouse and could cure any disease. She was approached with a spell before washing a newborn baby for the first time.

During the construction of a new bathhouse or when moving to a new place, the bannik, like the brownie, was invited with them. Usually this was done by the owner of the house, and its inhabitants brought treats and a strangled black rooster or chicken to the bathhouse. Then the chicken was transferred to a new bathhouse, where it was buried under the threshold. It was believed that after completing the rituals, the bannik settled in a new place, and it was possible to wash in the bathhouse.

Belovog

God of luck and happiness among the Slavic peoples.

In the minds of ancient man, the whole world was divided into two parts - favorable and hostile. Each of them was controlled by its own god, who determined human destiny. One deity was responsible for all the good (White God), and the other for all the bad (Black God).

The existence of faith in Belobog is confirmed by toponyms associated with him that have survived to this day among various Slavic peoples - the names of mountains (hills). Thus, Mount Belobog was found in Serbia, near Moscow, back in the 19th century. There was an area called "White Gods".

The popularity of Belobog is confirmed by numerous mentions in medieval chronicles, which included stories of travelers from other countries. In particular, the German monk Helmold, who visited the Slavic countries in the 12th century, wrote in a chronicle named after him that the Slavs do not begin any serious business without a sacrifice to Belobog.

However, over time, they lost faith in Belobog, although traces of it have survived to this day. In particular, the belief that white brings good luck.

In Russian fairy tales, the images of Belobog and Chernobog merged into a single character, called “Share”, “Fate”. She can be good or bad. This is where the idea arose that a person’s fate is determined by Share or Nedolya. They are also similar to the people to whom they are given. The difference is that Dolya is dressed in a beautiful dress, and Nedolya is dressed in an old and torn one. To live happily, you need to know your lot, that is, mind your own business. You could see your share like this: go to the field on Easter night and, hearing the bells ringing for matins, ask: “Where is my share.” Having heard the answer, you should have gone where it was said and seen Dolya and asked her for advice.

Unlike Doli, Nedolya, on the contrary, comes to a person’s house and sits on the stove, because she is always cold. In Belarus they say that sometimes Nedolya is accompanied by small demons - Sinisters. They looked like small animals living behind the stove or sitting on the shoulders. Sometimes the evil one looked like a mangy cat. The evil one could be put in a bag and drowned, buried, or left at a crossroads. All of the above beliefs show the influence of European demonology, where the witch was accompanied by household spirits.

Demons

Initially, the word “demon” meant a spirit hostile to man. Traces of beliefs in demons can be found in numerous ancient conspiracies.

As Christianity spread, pagan ideas about a hostile spirit were combined with the idea of ​​Christian demons, the personified embodiment of all kinds of evil. It is known that angels who opposed the Lord God became demons. As punishment, the angels were cast down from heaven to earth. Once in the human world, they lost their angelic traits and turned into numerous demons. The legends also say that demons are the servants of the Devil, the main fallen angel, the worst enemy of God. In the lives of saints and teachings, not only demons, but also pagan gods are called demons. Usually they are associated with stories about the temptation of saints.

In addition, they attacked monks, ascetics and hermits, trying by any means to interfere with their service to God. The first stories about such demonic machinations date back to the 11th century, their author was the Egyptian hermit Anthony the Great. He overcomes various temptations and avoids the traps set by tireless demons seeking to interfere with his monastic solitude.

After the spread of Christianity in Rus', stories about the tricks of demons also appeared. In the Prologue there is a story about how John of Novgorod caught a demon who had climbed into a washstand, defeated him and rode him to Jerusalem. The conqueror of the demon could also be a soldier or a blacksmith. These motifs were used by N.V. Gogol in the story “The Night Before Christmas” (the blacksmith Vakula travels on a demon to St. Petersburg).

The dual origin of demons (divine and earthly) was manifested in the fact that their functions expanded significantly, for example, it determined their power over the elements. Demons could spin whirlwinds, raise blizzards, send rain and storms. The beliefs are reflected in the poem by A.S. Pushkin “Demons” (1831).

At the same time, demons retained some of the properties of angels: superhuman power, the ability to fly, read human thoughts and inspire their desires in a person.

In the Christian tradition, demons were usually depicted as humanoid creatures, covered with shaggy hair, black or blue skin, with a long tail, and with claws on their hands and feet. Most often, the demon appeared before a person in the form of a cat, dog, or wolf, but he could also turn into people.

The main function of demons is associated with causing various, most often minor, harm to people. There are numerous fairy tales in which the demon takes the form of a person and seduces gullible people. It was also believed that the demon was capable of sending illness, depriving a person of strength, or simply deceiving. Demons are especially active on Christmas night and Christmastide, which are traditionally considered a time of rampant evil spirits.

Since the demon was always somewhere nearby, close to the person, as if expecting his mistakes, everyday failures were usually associated with him. This is where numerous sayings come from: “The demon has led you astray,” “This is the demon’s leprosy,” “The demons have averted their eyes.” To protect yourself from demons, you should wear a cross around your neck, and begin every task with prayer or simply with the words: “Lord, bless.”

Witch

The main character of the demonology of the Eastern and Western Slavs. The image of a witch combines the features of a folklore character and the properties of some demonological creatures.

According to popular beliefs, an ordinary woman became a witch and was possessed by an evil spirit. The devil, devil, demon, and even her deceased husband were considered such. One became a witch for the purpose of enrichment after concluding an appropriate agreement with evil spirits.

The properties of a witch were inherited from mother to daughter or from grandmother to granddaughter. They believed that the witch could not die until she transferred her witchcraft power. Sometimes a witch was considered simply a lonely woman who differed from those around her in her behavior or did not communicate with her neighbors.

The description of the appearance of a witch in Slavic folklore does not differ from its European counterparts. She looked like an ordinary woman, only sometimes she had a tail and horns. The witch had a heavy, unfriendly look, her eyes were barely visible from under her swollen, reddened eyelids. It was believed that the witch never looks into the eyes because the inverted reflection of a person can be seen in her pupils.

Most often, the witch was represented as an ugly old woman with a hooked nose, bony hands, and sometimes lame or hunchbacked. But she could take on the appearance of a beautiful woman or girl in order to more easily lure people into her network. This is exactly the kind of witch portrayed by N.V. Gogol in the images of Solokha and Pannochka (“The Night Before Christmas” and “Viy”, 1831).

The functions of a witch also practically do not differ among different nations. Usually the witch was engaged in casting spells on people, pets, plants, as well as in divination. As a result of her actions, people began to quarrel, get sick, and could even die. In Ukraine and the Carpathians, witches were credited with the ability to cause rain, send hurricanes, hail, fires, storms and droughts. The witch could harm crops by breaking or tying up ears of corn in the field. They believed that by collecting the spikelets, the witch also took the future harvest from the field.

Demonologists believed that at night the witch's soul left her body, trying to harm people or attend the Sabbath. The witch could also spoil livestock and take milk from cows, lard from pigs, eggs from chickens, and yarn from women. To do this, she collected dew from the pastures and fed it to her cow. Numerous tales are known in which the heroes repeated the witch's witchcraft actions at home, and then did not know what to do with the large amount of milk from the cow. Finally, a witch could bewitch a person, turn him into a horse and ride him to death.

The Eastern Slavs believed that witches manifest themselves primarily during holidays - Midsummer, St. George's Day, Annunciation, Easter and Trinity. It was believed that witches were especially dangerous during periods of the full moon and stormy nights.

The Western Slavs also considered the most dangerous days of St. John, Lucia, Peter and Paul, the feast of Corpus Christi, and Walpurgis Night. On such days, witches attacked people by turning into a toad, dog, pig or cat.

To protect against witches, amulets were usually used. To prevent the witch from entering the courtyard, a candle, consecrated in the church for Candlemas, should be placed on the gate. A broom on a long stick stuck up with its rods, the teeth of a harrow or pitchfork, as well as a stove grip became a talisman. To protect the house, a knife, ax, scythe or other cutting objects were placed on the threshold. The fairy tale (“Finist – the clear falcon”) says that he could not enter the house because of the knives placed at the window.

Magical actions were also protected from witches - showering a house or yard with poppy seeds, circling them, outlining walls with chalk, drawing crosses on gates, windows and doors. Herbs also protected, for example, wormwood, garlic, and St. Andrew's cross, which repelled evil spirits.

A significant part of the beliefs about witches is associated with ways of recognizing them. To do this, special ritual or ritual actions had to be carried out. It was believed, in particular, that upon seeing the Kupala lights, the witch began to suffer - writhing in convulsions, suffering from headaches. To stop the unpleasant sensations, she went out to the fire. Then it was necessary to neutralize the witch by pouring water boiled on the Kupala fire with needles thrown there. To force the witch to approach the fire, one had to pour the milk of the cow that she had damaged into the fire.

When planning to deal with the witches, they were kept in wait in places where they could cause harm, for example, near the barn or stables. If you found a toad or frog there, you had to cut off its paw or gouge out its eye. One of the women in the area was later seen with her hand or eye bandaged. Sometimes an animal caught in a stable was simply killed and then thrown into the water. You could also hit the witch with an aspen stake or stick.

Numerous epic tales tell of the flights of witches to the Sabbath. On the eve of Walpurgis Night (May 1), the witch smeared herself with mole fat and flew out through the chimney, chanting the spell: “I fly out, I fly out, I don’t touch anything.”

Getting to the gathering place, the witch used a shovel, a broom, a poker, a scythe, a pitchfork, a chair, a stick, and a horse skull. She also flew on a magpie and on animals (a horse or a boar). The places for the sabbath (gathering) of witches were “bald” mountains (on which there was no forest or only isolated trees grew). Road intersections and large stones also became such places. Having gathered, the witches feasted, worshiped the devil in the form of a goat, and started their intrigues.

It was believed that a witch could cause harm even after death. Therefore, she should have been buried face down or driven into the coffin with an aspen stake.

The Witcher

Unlike the witch, the witcher is a character exclusively of East Slavic demonology. His image also combines the features of a folklore character and the features of a representative of evil spirits, borrowed from Christian demonology. Therefore, the witcher had two souls - human and demonic, which, in turn, determined the versatility of the witcher’s actions: he remained hostile to a person or was friendly towards him.

It was believed that the witcher looked like a man with a small tail on which four hairs grew. He had an “evil eye”; if a person looked directly into his eyes, he could get sick and even die. The witcher saw the outside world upside down. He could quietly remove a person's eyes and then return them to their place or replace them.

In most fairy tales, the witcher acts in concert with the witches - he harms people, casting spells on them, takes milk from cows, turns people into wolfhounds. He himself can turn into a horse, a wolf and even a moth. At the same time, there are beliefs according to which the witcher performed good deeds, charming diseases, curing people and animals.

The Witcher was also distinguished by his organizational skills. He knew all the witches and wizards in the area and could control them. The Ukrainian tale tells how a witcher saves his son, bewitched by a witch. He goes to Bald Mountain and defeats all the witches there, including the most important one - the Kyiv one.

Like the witch, the witcher flies to the Sabbath. Sometimes he leads all the witches there. The witcher is then given the traditional functions of the devil, and witches must report to him. The Witcher also teaches young witches and prevents them from harming people too much. Some tales say that witchers gather separately from witches at crossroads or on the Red Mountains.

Before death, a witcher is obliged to transfer his power and knowledge to another person, but he continues to act after death, and most often for the benefit of people. It was believed that the witcher guards his village, keeping the dead and ghouls out. However, if appropriate measures are not taken in time, after death the witcher himself may become a ghoul. To prevent this from happening, the deceased witcher had to be cut off, placed face down in a coffin, or driven into the grave with an aspen stake.

Veles

In Slavic mythology, Veles is the god of livestock. Traces of the cult of Veles-Blasius were preserved in all places where the Slavs settled; idols and sanctuaries of the god were found during excavations.

It is known that in Kyiv on Podol there was a large idol of Veles, in front of which protective and propitiatory rites were regularly performed.

Veles is also mentioned in documents. In particular, in the text of the trade agreement with the Greeks from 907, Veles acts as a guarantor on the part of the Russians. His name is mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years (12th century) as the patron of domestic animals. Vladimir commanded “to throw the hair of the idol into the Pochaina River.” Perhaps, as the deity of the lower world, Veles patronized storytellers and singers, apparently for this reason in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” Boyan is called “Veles’s grandson.”

After the adoption of Christianity, the functions of Veles were transferred to Saint Blaise (obviously due to the correspondence of the names), as well as to Saints Nicholas and George (Yuri).

Numerous protective rituals are known that existed until the end of the 19th century. On the day of St. Blaise, called the “cow holiday” in Rus', draft animals were freed from work. Then they prepared a treat consisting of meat dishes, as well as pancakes and pancakes (pancakes so that the oxen were smooth), they were generously poured with oil so that the newborn calves sucked milk well. Part of the treat was brought to the barn and fed to the animals with the words: “Saint Blaise, give happiness to the smooth heifers, to the fat bulls.” In particular, in many places on the field, a “hair beard” was left, several uncompressed stalks of cereals tied with tape. It was also believed that in case of illnesses in livestock, it was necessary to bring the icon of St. Blaise into the barn.

Wind

Like other elements, the wind could be evil and good, destructive or beneficial to humans. A small wind blowing in the right direction was needed to perform a number of chores - sowing, winnowing grain, turning windmills. A strong wind uprooted trees, destroyed houses and crops, and raised a storm at sea. It was believed that a quiet breeze arises from the blowing of angels, and a strong wind is generated by the devil.

The Slavs believed that the winds obey their ruler, Stribog. The four main winds live in the four corners of the earth: north, south, east and west. In fairy tales, the winds are represented in the images of young people. Together with their father or mother, they live at the edge of the world, in a deep forest or on an island in the middle of the sea-ocean. From here the winds fly all over the world, bringing rain to the earth and helping ships sail.

The idea of ​​the wind as an animate being has led to the emergence of numerous stories about summoning and even inviting the wind. It was believed that the wind could be caused by singing or whistling. In many coastal areas there are stories about how fishermen's wives went out to the sea in the evenings. Facing the east, the women sang, turning to the wind. They asked him to blow in the right direction, not to sink or drive ships away from their native shores. In return, they promised to cook porridge and bake pancakes to feed the wind.

Millers and sailors turned to the wind and asked for help. They fed the wind by climbing to the top of the mill or mast and throwing up several handfuls of flour. The mill or sail was then turned with the wind. This is how the expression “harnessing the wind” appeared.

So that the wind would not be offended, people made sacrifices to it: every year on certain days they fed him bread, flour, cereals, and meat. On major holidays, leftovers from festive dishes were given to the wind. To calm the strong wind, they gave him gifts - they burned old clothes or shoes.

There is also a known rite of dedication to the wind of a child. During hot weather or a long drought, a smartly dressed girl was taken to a high place and gently persuaded the wind: “Blow, blow the breeze, we’ll give you Anechka.” In a Latvian wedding song, this is an appeal to the wind.

It was believed that it was dangerous to offend the wind, since it turned from good to evil, bringing diseases, as well as various evil spirits. But the wind could also carry away diseases, as they asked for in a special appeal “Take the trash away.” Sometimes they turned to the disease itself: “The wind brought you, let the wind carry you away.” In order not to “give it to the wind,” they buried the straw on which the sick or deceased lay. It was forbidden to dry baby's diapers in the wind, so that the wind would not carry away the child's thoughts or memory.

Since ants always gathered in an anthill before bad weather, a belief arose about their connection with the wind. It was believed that the destruction of an anthill would lead to the appearance of a destructive whirlwind.

Vechorka, Polunochka and Zorka

In Russian fairy tales, this is the name given to the triad of heroes, personifying the main stages of the daily solar cycle. Their names are determined by the time of birth. Three heroes were born one after another on the same night: the eldest in the evening, the middle one at midnight, and the youngest at dawn.

Researchers believe that the images of Zorka, Vecherka and Polunochka passed into the fairy tale from ancient solar myths. Depending on the nature of the connection with the sun, they differ in strength. Vechorka and Polunochka are always inferior to Zorka, who receives strength from the sun. Similar images of triple gods exist in the myths of various peoples of the world: the plot of the Mahabharata, for example, tells about the three children of the goddess Ushas who performed heroic deeds. In the epics of a number of Caucasian peoples there are twin heroes with similar names (Budzi and Kudzi).

Most stories dedicated to such heroes say that when they grow up, they will go in search of the three royal daughters abducted by the Whirlwind. The heroes reach a dense forest, in the center of which they find a hut. They stop and decide that they will take turns staying home and cooking.

When two brothers go hunting, a “little man as big as a fingernail, with a beard as long as an elbow” appears in the hut, beating the remaining brother and taking away the food he had prepared. This continues for two days. On the third day, Zorka remains in the hut, who turns out to be stronger than his brothers. He defeats the old man and, so that he does not run away before the brothers arrive, pinches his beard in an oak stump.

However, the old man manages to uproot the stump and escape. The brothers follow in his footsteps and discover that he has disappeared into a “gap,” a deep well or hole. Zorka descends underground, leaving his brothers to wait for him on the surface. In the underworld, Zorka finds the Old Man, defeats him and frees the princesses he carried away.

This plot often includes motifs from other fairy tales, for example, with the story of the three kingdoms or the fight with monsters on the Kalinov Bridge. In the Russian fairy tale epic it is one of the most archaic plots.

Vortex

A strong, dangerous wind that can swirl in one place and lift people, animals and objects into the air.

It was believed that the whirlwind was formed by crowds of various evil spirits: demons, devils, witches, and sometimes goblin. They somersault, dance, fight in a powerful air current. This presentation reflected specific observations. It is known that a whirlwind rushing across a field resembles a column of dust in which pieces of straw, leaves, and plant branches are carried. Popular fantasy saw in their flickering people, animals, and strange creatures with chicken paws instead of legs. A similar dance is colorfully described by A.S. Pushkin in the poem “Demons” (1831).

The whirlwind was also represented as an anthropomorphic creature with a huge head and grinning mouth. The main feature is its destructive activity: it can uproot trees, rip roofs off houses, and scatter hay stacked in stacks. It was believed that the Whirlwind comes from the other world. Due to constant hostility towards man, he is considered a representative of evil spirits. The whirlwind could bring illness, cause damage, or even cause paralysis.

To protect against the Whirlwind, they used amulets: they tied a rope during a storm, blessed a knife on Easter, and pronounced special spells. To drive away the whirlwind, they sprinkled holy water scooped from an ice hole on Epiphany into the frantically rotating column, or threw a sharply sharpened blessed knife. If he was covered in blood, then it was believed that the Whirlwind was wounded along with the evil spirits rushing inside him.

According to numerous tales, demons could be seen. To do this, one had to bend down and look at the vortex back between the legs, from under the left shoulder, or through the inverted sleeve of one’s clothing. In the same way, one could see the witches rushing in a whirlwind.

The destruction left behind by the whirlwind was also considered unclean. Uprooted trees, broken ears of corn in the fields, as well as “witches’ brooms” (branches that grew into a tangle) and even an ordinary mat on the head were considered to be the product of evil spirits.

Water

In popular belief, one of the main elements of the universe. Since ancient times, people have been aware of the enormous importance of water. It was considered the source of life and at the same time had enormous destructive power. Therefore, in relation to water, two feelings have always been combined - fear and gratitude.

In the vast majority of folk customs, water exists as an image endowed with positive semantics. Hence the corresponding affectionate characteristics - “sweetheart”, “pure”, “mother” or definitions - “water”, “God’s sister”, “water is the queen”.

Over time, a dual view of water developed. On the one hand, they saw water as a means of purification and at the same time looked for a source of strength in it. In Russian fairy tales, for example, water could be either alive or dead. On the other hand, water was considered as a kind of border between the human world and the “other world.” The idea that after death a person’s soul is immersed in water also comes from ancient times. It was through water that in most mythological systems the path to the afterlife, where the souls of the dead and various evil spirits lived, passed. In particular, the custom of funerals is known by sending the deceased across the water in a boat, into which objects and food intended for the deceased were placed. To this day, the custom has been preserved after the death of a person to pour out all the water in the house.

The numerous functions of water were due to the antiquity of the rituals associated with it; over time, they combined the archaic ideas that animated it, as well as later Christian beliefs based on the cleansing function of water.

The ancient Slavs deified springs, believing that in these places its power came out of the earth. Therefore, the water from the source was considered healing and was used as a talisman against forces hostile to humans. This is also where the custom of dousing yourself with water comes from before any difficult task or before a wedding. The ancient wish has been preserved: “Be healthy as water.”

Man's fear of the raging elements is reflected in the belief that mermen, mermaids and devils live in the water. The following sayings are common: “Where there is water, there is trouble,” “The devil is afraid of fire, but lives in water.” To prevent devils from getting into the water intended for food or drinking, it should be covered with straws laid crosswise.

When collecting water from a stream or going for a swim, certain actions had to be followed: throwing pieces of bread into the water or leaving food on the shore, and also turning to the water with a respectful greeting. When entering the water, they addressed the devil directly, saying: “The devil is out of water, and I’m into the water.” Coming out of the water, they said: “I am from the water, and the devil is in the water.”

After the spread of Christianity, the veneration of water was preserved, organically entering the Christian cult, which already included the rite of baptism. The cleansing function of water was reflected, in particular, in the Blessing of Water ritual. The water taken from the ice hole on this day was considered healing, and it was kept in the house throughout the year. In some places, the blessing of water was also performed on other holidays: on the eve of Easter, on the Day of the Nativity of John the Baptist.

They believed that the water taken from the springs on Christmas, Candlemas and Holy Thursday had miraculous and even magical properties. They washed themselves with this water, gave water to the sick and livestock, and used it for magical actions.

In an effort to rid the cattle of diseases or the machinations of the yard, they sprinkled holy water in the corners of the barn. Instead, you could take water, which the brownie himself endowed with magical powers. To get it, you had to put several coals taken from under the stove, where the brownie usually lived, into a pot of water. This water was supposed to be sprinkled on the corners of outbuildings, as well as beehives and the entrance to the bathhouse.

Water was also used as a talisman. Small children were doused with water, saying the spell: “Water is off a duck’s back, but thinness is on (name).” There is a famous legend in which Saint Peter splashes water behind his back. It was believed that as many drops fall, as many devils will die. Traces of such rituals are preserved in the rituals of washing newborns, as well as the dead. To protect against the evil machinations of the dead, after removing the body, the floor and furniture in the house had to be washed.

To ensure a safe return, holy water was sprinkled after the person leaving home. Water was also widely used for fortune telling. To see the future, one was supposed to look into a vessel with water or at the surface of a river. If the water remained clear, then the prediction was considered favorable. Otherwise, they spoke of imminent illness or even death. This ritual is reflected in the saying “Like looking into water.”

To determine the character of the future husband, a stone was thrown into the water. If there was a splash when falling, it was believed that the husband would be grumpy. If the stone fell quietly, then the character of the future spouse should have been calm.

There was also a custom of feeding water: throwing specially baked cookies into it, they asked for help in upcoming affairs or to facilitate an upcoming wedding. During fortune telling, the girls threw a wreath onto the water. If the river carried him away, then the girl was waiting for matchmakers.

Water

The spirit of water, one of the main representatives of Slavic demonology, personified the power of the water element hostile to man. The most ancient ideas of various cults merged in the image of the merman: pagan and Christian features complemented each other and formed into the image of a mysterious river spirit. This is also where its various names come from: “water man”, “water master”, “grandfather water man”, “ash man”, “hair man”. Stories and beliefs about the merman are common in Belarus and northwestern Russia, i.e. in areas with many natural bodies of water. It was believed that the merman lives in every lake, river, and pond.

Most often, the merman was represented as a tall man or an ugly bald old man, entangled in mud, with a long gray or green beard and a large belly. Usually he was surrounded by female spirits: waterworts and mermaids. Often the merman was endowed with the traits of other evil spirits, most often the devil. Hence the numerous descriptions of the merman as a creature with horns or long clawed paws. Like other representatives of evil spirits, the merman had the ability to transform into a fish, horse, pig, cow or dog.

According to legends, there is a vein of water in the deepest places: river whirlpools, whirlpools, mill dams. It was believed that the waterman’s estate was located under the water, in the dark depths. It resembles a rich peasant house. True, the pets living there are always only black. A similar indirect indication of belonging to an evil spirit is also manifested in the custom of sacrificing black animals to the merman: a goat or a rooster.

They say that the merman has a family - the wife of the merman and the children of the merman. Vodyaniha looks like an ugly woman with huge breasts. In some places it is believed that in the spring, when rivers flood, mermen celebrate weddings.

Since the merman personified an element hostile to man, they tried to appease him in every possible way. Since the millers were closest to the waterman, they annually presented the waterman with a black pig. During the construction of the dam, a horse skull was buried in the bottom of the river, which was supposed to protect the mill from the mischief of the waterman.

The fishermen also tried in every possible way to please the “water grandfather”. Therefore, part of the first catch was thrown back into the water, saying: “Take, grandfather, a gift!” Before entering the water, they asked the waterman for permission: “Master, mistress, save me!” In order not to disturb the merman, it was forbidden to take water from the river at night. If they took it, they asked permission: “Master and hostess, allow me to take some water.”

Since the waterman was known as an avid smoker, he was often given a pinch of tobacco, which was thrown into a whirlpool or under a mill wheel. There are numerous stories that tell how in the evenings a merman would sit on the shore of a mill pond with a pipe in his mouth.

It is curious that the merman was also revered as the patron saint of bees. This idea probably reflected the dependence of beekeeping on weather conditions and, above all, on dampness and rain. It is known that prolonged rains prevented bees from collecting honey and could lead to the death of hives. In order for the merman to take care of the bees, it was necessary to give him fresh honey, not yet taken out of the honeycombs.

The image of a merman was often used by writers (in N.V. Gogol’s story “May Night or the Drowned Woman,” 1830). In a somewhat cartoonized form, it is found in some works of the 20th century, in particular in “Naughty Tales” by I. Lada (1956), a story O. Preusler “Little Merman” (1965).

Air

One of the four elements of the universe.

In ancient Slavic ideas, air was primarily considered as a medium through which damage was caused or disease spread. It was believed that such air appears in moments of complete calm, as well as on moonless nights or during a lunar eclipse. Anyone who found himself on the street at that time should fall face down on the ground so as not to inhale unclean air.

With the adoption of Christianity, the view of air changed. It began to be seen as the seat of the human soul. It was believed that after a person’s death, the soul leaves the body and becomes invisible. For forty days the soul is in the air, after which it rises to heaven, where the Lord God himself determines its future fate. Therefore, after forty days, it is customary to organize a wake for the deceased and be sure to place a treat on the grave. At the same time, the soul is greeted with a special spell: “The body is in the hole, the soul is with us, we are going home, the soul is going up the mountain.”

According to another belief, also associated with funeral rituals, steam rises from a recent burial, taking on the image of a woman in a white dress or the deceased himself. This ghost is extremely dangerous; in search of a corporeal shell, it can chase people and even kill them. To escape from such a spirit, one had to run against the wind or raise the pectoral cross (white scarf) towards the wind.

The air was considered the seat of evil spirits. They believed that demons and witches danced in a rapidly rotating whirlwind, and illnesses were hidden in clouds of fog. According to numerous tales, a witch could drink a wonderful liquid or smear herself with a magic ointment, after which she would become light as a feather and invisible. She could freely fly through the air or go to the Sabbath.

In popular Orthodoxy, the air was seen as the location of demons who sought to cause minor troubles to people. An invisible demon could land on a person's left shoulder. Then one should turn to the guardian angel, who was on the right shoulder and remained invisible. Traces of this idea are preserved in the custom of spitting over the left shoulder. It was believed that this could ward off evil spirits.

Dazhdbog

God of the Sun among the ancient Slavs. In ancient Russian sources he is mentioned together with Stribog, who personified the clear sky. The Tale of Bygone Years (1144) tells that the main sanctuary of Dazhdbog was located in Kyiv, on a high hill.

The Slavs believed that Dazhdbog was the son of one of the main deities - Svarog. They saw in the Sun the bearer of enormous creative power, on which their well-being depended. This is where the name of God comes from - “the one who gives well-being to people.”

Perhaps this is why Dazhdbog was considered the patron saint of the entire Russian people. It is known that in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” the main character of the work is respectfully called “Dazhdboz’s grandson.”

To this day, traces of belief in Dazhdbog have been preserved in Ukrainian folk songs, where he was depicted as the patron of weddings. One Ukrainian song, in particular, tells how the groom meets Dazhdbog on the way to the wedding and asks for his protection.

In the spring, the main holiday associated with the glorification of Dazhdbog was celebrated. The Slavs believed that it was Dazhdbog who met the Sun and brought it to earth. The nightingale was mentioned as Dazhdbog's assistant. According to legend, he brought the keys to Dazhdbog so that he would lock Winter and unlock Summer.

Dvorovoy

A domestic spirit that lived in the yard. Like the brownie, the yard served as the patron of all livestock.

The description of the courtyard combines the traditional features of the brownie and the werewolf, taken from Christian demonology. Outwardly, the yard looked like a person, but his legs were like a chicken, goat or cat. According to other stories, the courtyard looked like a snake with a rooster's head and comb. At night he could take the form of the owner of the house. The location of the courtyard was considered to be a specially suspended pine or spruce branch with densely overgrown needles.

Since the courtyard was a nocturnal creature, he did not like anything light. Having bought a white horse, it was led into the yard backwards or through a sheepskin coat spread out at the gate. If he didn’t like the horse, then he didn’t take care of it, the animal began to lose weight, waste away, and often found itself covered in perspiration in the morning. They tried to sell such cattle, otherwise the yard servant could kill it. Sometimes, to protect themselves from the yard, they resorted to the help of a brownie or hung a killed magpie in the stable (in the barn). It was believed that it would scare away the evil spirit.

They always tried to appease the courtyard with numerous offerings. On major holidays, he was left with treats, and when moving to a new place, he was respectfully invited to follow the family.

Note that the brownie and the yard are double characters, and in many areas they are not distinguished.

Brownie

The home spirit is the guardian of home and family.

Initially, the guardian of the house was considered to be a deceased ancestor - the founder of the clan, the first owner of the family home. The Slavs believed in such spirits even during pagan times. Over time, individual traits were lost, and from an ancestor the brownie turned into a home spirit - a guardian. He is also called by his place of “residence” – “golbechnik”, “baker-maker”, “podechnik”, and respectfully – “hut highway”, “grandfather”, “well-wisher”, “shaggy landlady”, “breadwinner”.

That is why in most stories and fairy tales the brownie has a human appearance. Usually the brownie was represented as a small old man with a silver-white beard, large hands and bare feet. This image is found among most European peoples.

In rare cases, a brownie is compared to a tree: “A frightened woman crawls out, as tall as a hundred-year-old birch tree, her head is a scattered shock of hay, a clump to the right, a clump to the left, a tangle sticks out from there, like a tumbleweed, and long hairs curled up like thistles, and her eyes are burning. he’s just staring.”

On the other hand, the brownie was also characterized negatively, emphasizing his belonging to evil spirits - “dashing”, “the other half”, “not his own spirit”, “likhody”, “house devil”, “unclean”.

Usually there were two types of brownies. One was the housekeeper, who lived in the corner behind the stove, the second was considered a servant, who lived outside the hut. Their distinction reveals the traditional opposition: house - yard. The house was considered “one’s own” territory, and everything that was outside it was considered alien.

Domozhil always helped the owner, he had a family, a housewife wife, or housewife, and children. In some stories, the brownie's wife was called a kikimora. The brownie was highly respected; on holidays, he was given refreshments; the owner of the house himself invited him to share the meal, respectfully calling him “breadwinner,” “master,” and “grandfather.” The last appeal preserved the ancient belief that the deceased ancestor of the family became a brownie. That is why anthropomorphic features predominate in the image of a brownie.

During archaeological excavations, scientists have repeatedly found small figurines or schematic drawings on birch bark depicting brownies. The finds clearly show human features.

Usually the brownie lived in the house or in outbuildings, in dark corners or under the stove. Sometimes the brownie lived in a stable, since horses were his favorite animals. The kind brownie carefully looked after them, combed their manes, and provided them with the best food. The brownie, offended by the owner, starved the horses, frightened them, or even sent some kind of disease to them.

Before buying a horse, the thrifty owner went into the stable and asked the brownie what color the horse should be bought. The owner did not just put the newly purchased horse in the stable, but always “introduced” it to the brownie, begging him to take care of it as well as other animals. If the horse was liked, the brownie would help the owner and look after it. Sometimes the brownie didn’t like the horse, and then he tried to survive it - he didn’t give it food, scared it, and made it sick.

In addition to horses, the brownie especially loved the rooster, which was considered the “master of the house.” To drive an evil brownie out of the house, they often used a rooster, sweeping its wing around all corners of the hut and yard.

During the construction of a new house, after laying the first row of logs, a special ritual of driving the brownie was performed. He was given a treat in the form of a saucer of milk, and then throughout the night he was strictly forbidden to approach the construction site. Otherwise, the future house could be left without a brownie and, therefore, lose a protector who would protect it in the future from the invasion of evil spirits.

The custom of being the first to let a rooster or a cat into a new house has survived to this day. It was believed that they would be subject to the machinations of an evil force that could lie in wait for a person in a new home.

When moving to a new place, the brownie was specially invited to move with everyone else. Sometimes the brownie was even transported with belongings. Arriving at the stable with a treat, the owner persuaded the brownie not to leave his family and livestock unprotected. Stories are recorded in various places about how an abandoned or forgotten brownie moans and cries in an empty house. Sometimes he began to play dirty tricks on those who dared to settle in such a place. During the housewarming, the brownie was also presented with special food gifts.

It was believed that it was best to transfer the brownie to the day of the Beheading of John the Baptist (August 29 / September 29). Arriving at the old barn, the owner took the stake out of the manger and moved it to the new yard with the words: “Father the hostess, mother the hostess, little children! We're going, and you're coming with us!" If the family was divided - for example, an adult married son moved to a new house, then the brownie family was divided - his children moved to a new place.

Unlike the domozhil, the courtyard was considered a negative spirit and in function was similar to the barn or bannik. Faith in this spirit is described in the “Life of Theodosius of Pechersk,” a monument of the 12th century: “A monastery monk came to our blessed father Theodosius and told that in the stable, where the cattle are locked up, there is a dwelling for demons. They do a lot of nasty things, not allowing the cattle to eat.”

The customs associated with the courtyard were of an emphatically protective nature: it was forbidden to stay overnight both in the bathhouse and in the barn; Strange animals were not allowed into the yard, since the housekeeper could take on their appearance. The favorite animal of the yard was a cat (or cat), which was active at night. The identification of the yard man and the cat is illustrated by the riddle: “How in our country the yard man walks with a black head, wears a velvet fur coat, he has fiery eyes, a snub nose, a sticky mustache, sensitive ears, nimble legs, tenacious claws. During the day he lies in the sun, tells wonderful tales, wanders around at night, and goes hunting.”

Sometimes, instead of a cat, the yard appears in the complex image of a monster: “The cat is a little bigger, and the body looks like a cat’s, but there is no tail. The head is like a man’s, the nose is humpbacked, pre-humpbacked, the eyes are huge, red, like fire, and above them there are black, large eyebrows, a wide mouth, and in it two rows of black teeth, a red and rough tongue, hands like a man’s, only the claws are curved . All overgrown with hair, it looks like a gray cat, but the legs are human.”

The shaggy appearance of a brownie was considered a favorable sign. They believed that in poor houses he was naked. Usually the brownie hides from people, and his appearance foreshadows some important event.

If it happens that the brownie leaves, then “the house will not hold on”: the household will fall apart, the livestock will get sick, or one of the family members will die. They also say that before the death of the owner, the brownie appears in his hat. There are many stories about how the brownie warned of misfortune. If he screams under the window, walks around the house - to death, knocks on the window, creaks the door - to a fire, makes noise in the attic - to trouble.

In order for the brownie to help run the household, they tried to appease him. Entering the barn, they greeted: “Good afternoon to you, master of the house. Protect me from all evil." When leaving in the evening, they said goodbye: “Look, grandfather brownie, don’t let anyone in.” On major holidays, the brownie was fed: on New Year's Eve, borscht and porridge were taken to the attic, during the fast before Lent and Nativity - pancakes, a piece of meat and a cup of milk, and on Easter - colored eggs. It was believed that on the day of Ephraim the Syrian (February 10) the house-elf had a name day. On this day, they left him porridge, colored scraps, and sheep's wool.

Kikimora

A demonological character known primarily in Russian folklore. The image of the kikimora combines ideas from different eras. The most ancient layer developed in pagan times and is associated with the veneration of the female deity Mokosha. Another component is related to the belief in the “damned.” A daughter cursed by her parents or who died before baptism became a kikimora. Therefore, ideas about the appearance of a kikimora are varied - she looks like a small ugly old woman with chicken legs, and like a girl with a long braid, naked or dressed in a white, black or red shirt, and like a peasant woman in the usual outfit of a married woman, and like a small girl.

Kikimora came to the house herself or was “let in.” Thus, a carpenter or stove maker dissatisfied with his remuneration, in order to harm the owner, could place a figurine of a kikimora, roughly carved out of wood, under the matitsa (the main beam of the house). Like the brownie, the kikimora lived in a hut. Her appearance in a house or in outbuildings, on a threshing floor, in a barn, in a yard, in a bathhouse was considered an evil omen. It was believed that the kikimora settled in houses built in a “bad” place, that is, where a strangled person or an uninveterate dead person was buried.

After the housewarming party, the kikimora usually began to harm its owners. In order for her to change her anger to mercy and begin to help the family, abundant offerings were required. If the kikimora began to over-salt the bread, the salt shaker should be tied with a juniper belt. It was believed that the kikimora did not like this plant and would not approach it.

At the same time, acting as a female spirit, the kikimora patronized all traditionally female activities: spinning, weaving, and baking. There are widespread stories about how kikimora helped wash dishes, rock children, and bake bread. She usually wove or spun for a good housewife. The kikimora punished the careless owner: she tangled the threads and knocked over the kneading bowl. The kikimora especially carefully watched the girls who were going to get-togethers; she punished the lazy ones with clicks.

The noted functions bring the kikimora closer to other demonological characters of Russian folklore, in particular with the brownie’s wife. Together with the brownie, the kikimora could take care of livestock and looked after chickens at night.

Like other household spirits, kikimora predicted the future. She appeared before any important event or the death of one of the family members. Usually, before a disaster, the kikimora rattled its utensils, knocked or cried.

The most common talisman against kikimora was considered to be the “chicken god” - a small flat stone with a natural hole. It was hung over the chicken roost, where the kikimora usually lived. Finding a stone was considered a good sign. The Lord's Prayer also helped. It was believed that on the day of Gerasim Grachevnik (March 17), the kikimors become quiet. In the Medical Book of the 18th century. contains a conspiracy to expel the kikimora from the house: “Oh, you goy, brownie kikimora, get out of the goryunin’s house as soon as possible.”

It is very difficult to get rid of kikimora. To destroy a sent kikimora, one had to find a doll or other object with which it was sent, say prayers, throw it outside the estate or burn it. You could put camel hair with dewy incense under the pole.

Kostroma

In East Slavic mythology, the embodiment of spring and fertility. Usually Kostroma was represented in the image of a beautiful young woman in long white clothes with an oak branch in her hands. She moved along the ground, accompanied by a girl's round dance. With the advent of Kostroma, plants blossomed and pleasant aromas filled the air.

The image of Kostroma is associated with the ceremony of seeing off spring in the form of a ritual funeral. In the summer, the funeral ceremony of Kostroma itself was held. A straw effigy of a woman was specially made for him. Accompanied by a round dance, the effigy was carried around the village and then buried in the ground, burned at the stake or thrown into the river. It was believed that the following year Kostroma would resurrect and come to earth again, bringing fertility to the fields and plants.

Kupala

The main character of the summer solstice festival, which took place on the night of June 23-24 / July 7. Apparently, on this day the ancient Slavs celebrated the holiday of the solar deity. The holiday of Kupala was also associated with the veneration of fire. It was believed that the connection between fire and water personified the dependence of fertility on bright sun and good watering. The fact that Kupala is really the name of a deity is evidenced by the Gustyn Chronicle of the 17th century: “Kupala is commemorated on the eve of the Nativity of John the Baptist. In the evening, simple children of both sexes gather and weave themselves crowns from edible herbs or roots, gird themselves with plants, light a fire, where they put a green branch, holding hands, turn around the fire, sing their songs, jump over the fire, themselves to the same demon The bath is sacrificed. And when night passes by, they retreat to the river with great shouting.” It is obvious that the rituals combined the worship of two elements - fire and water.

Accordingly, Kupala was represented in the form of a woman or a man. Preparations for the holiday began several days in advance; the effigy, dressed in festive clothes, was placed in a high place near the village. Offerings were laid out around him, and in the evenings they danced and sang songs.

In the evenings, numerous fires were lit, over which the ritual participants had to jump. It was believed that the higher the jump, the higher the bread would grow in the summer. The fire provided the ritual participants with health and fertile power. Therefore, not only girls jumped over the fires, but also women who wanted to give birth to a child. When the holiday ended, the effigy of Kupala was drowned in the river or burned.

After the adoption of Christianity, the holiday of Kupala was combined with the day of John the Baptist and became known as Ivan Kupala Day. It is celebrated among almost all Slavic peoples. In particular, in Latvia, on this day they celebrate the Ligo holiday, the ritual of which is practically no different from the Kupala ritual.

The interaction of the two elements is also evident in the Kupala games. On Kupala night they jumped over fires and “played with water”: they doused each other. It was believed that the guy would marry the girl whom he doused with water. Midsummer games were distinguished by their eroticism. Guys and girls walked and swam together, which was prohibited on other days. During games, kisses, caresses, and hugs were allowed. The girl could “play” with whomever she wanted, and jealousy on the part of her permanent “boyfriend” was not allowed. The songs that accompanied the entertainment were also quite explicit.

It was believed that on Midsummer's Day nature reaches its highest point of flowering. Therefore, it was customary to collect medicinal herbs that acquired maximum strength, as well as plants necessary for sorcery and fortune telling. Usually they were collected by women, naked or wearing only shirts with loose hair. For fortune telling, they chose Ivan-da-Marya and made up a set of “twelve herbs from twelve fields.” Girls put it under their pillow to see their betrothed.

For divination, they looked for weeping grass, which casts out evil spirits, overcoming grass, which overcomes all obstacles, tear-grass, which opens all doors and locks, elecampane, which helps to bewitch a loved one, revaka, which protects “on the waters.”

Since collecting herbs was considered unclean, they had to be blessed in the church or secretly taken to the temple and the spell read: “Be afraid of the evil demons, the old witches of Kyiv. Drown them in tears, lock them in the pits of hell, keep my words with you firmly and firmly. Amen. Age of centuries!

It was believed that on the day of Ivan Kupala, evil spirits actively manifest themselves. Therefore, Kupala night was considered the most favorable time for searching for treasures, which became visible for a short period of time. The treasures served as a kind of bait with which demons and devils caught gullible people. A fantastic fern flower served as a talisman against evil spirits. They believed that it blooms at midnight, in a deep forest, where the crow of a rooster is not heard. A person who manages to pick it will know the language of animals and birds, will see the power of plants, all treasures will become known to him, and he will be able to turn invisible.

To get a wonderful flower and protect yourself from evil spirits, you had to come to the forest, sit on the ground, draw a circle around yourself and not move from your place, no matter how frightening the gathered evil spirits might be. Having picked a blossoming flower, one should make the sign of the cross on oneself and, without looking back, leave.

The symbolism and plots of Kupala rituals were repeatedly used in literary works (in N.V. Gogol’s story “The Night on the Eve of Ivan Kupala”, A. Mickiewicz’s poem “Dziady”),

Lada

A family deity widespread in Slavic folklore. The most important goddess of the Slavic pantheon.

Researchers have long believed that Lada is one of two birthing goddesses.

The roots of their origin are hidden in ancient times. Similar deities are found in the pantheons of almost all Indo-European peoples. M.V. Lomonosov compared Lada with Venus.

To this day, in many places, the ritual of the girl's holiday, lyalnik, has been preserved. During it, the girls praised the great deity and asked Lada for a good husband and a happy married life. People also turned to her after marriage and asked for personal well-being and protection. This is evidenced by the constant epithet of the goddess - “guardian”. The name Lada has always been accompanied by respectful epithets - Diva (Dido) - Lada, Mati-Lada.

The special status of Lada led to the multiplicity of holidays dedicated to it; they were celebrated six times a year, from the beginning of March to the end of June. Rituals associated with Lada are usually timed to coincide with the spring-summer cycle of holidays. In particular, it was Lada who was asked for permission to call for spring.

Then the goddess was addressed before the start of summer field work.

The remaining rituals were associated with the spring-summer cycle of prayers for rain, the festival of the first greenery, the first shoots, the first ears of corn.

During the Red Hill holiday, the girls played the game “And we sowed millet, sowed.” It was held on a hill (red hill). All the players were divided into two groups - one sang about sowing millet, the other that “we will trample down the millet, we will trample down.” Trampling marked the completion of the entire cycle of threshing bread.

Perhaps it was just such a game that the chronicler described, noting that the Slavs “arranged games between the villages and snatched their wives.” The cycle of glorification of the goddess closed after the beginning of earing of grain (in June), so the last holiday associated with Lada was the summer solstice. After the Kupala festivities, appeals to Lada stop.

The researchers also found that Lada was also approached to ensure the well-being of a future marriage. It often happened that it was in the middle of summer that the decision to enter into a marriage was made, although the wedding took place much later, after the end of field work.

Over time, games and chants dedicated to Lada moved into children's folklore and became games, losing their clear correlation with the ritual. In M. Gorky’s novel “The Artamonov Case” (1925) there is a complete reproduction of what was preserved at the end of the 19th century. rite of worship of Lada.

In fact, Lada, like Lel, belongs to the characters of “armchair” mythology. At a time when ethnography was just beginning to take shape as a science, scientists often saw the names of gods where they actually did not exist. The word is from the chorus of a popular girl's song.

became the name of God. But since this name has entered Russian culture, we considered it necessary to talk about it in a separate article.

Lel

Spring deity of the ancient Slavs. In folk songs, Lel is a female character, and the main participants in the holiday dedicated to him were girls.

The holiday "Lelnik" was usually celebrated on April 21, on the eve of St. George's Day (Yegory of the Spring). These days were also called “Red Hill”, since the scene of action was a hill located not far from the village. A small wooden or turf bench was installed there. They put a girl on it, who played the role of Lyalya (Leli).

The semantics of the holiday is connected with the fact that St. George’s Day was the day of the first cattle pasture in the field. Similar holidays exist among many different peoples of Europe. In Italy they celebrate Primavera - the day of the first greenery; in Greece, since ancient times, they have been celebrating the return to earth of Persephone, the daughter of the fertility goddess Demeter.

During the “Lelnik” celebration, offerings were placed on the bench to the right and left of the girl on the hill. On one side there was a loaf of bread, and on the other side there was a jug of milk, cheese, butter, egg and sour cream. Around the bench the girls laid out the wreaths they had woven.

The girls danced around the bench and sang ritual songs in which they glorified the deity as a nurse and giver of the future harvest. While dancing and singing, the girl sitting on the bench put wreaths on her friends.

Sometimes after the holiday, a fire (olelia) was lit on the hill, around which they also danced and sang a song.

It is significant that the rituals dedicated to Lelya always lacked the funeral motif present in other summer holidays, for example, Rusal Week and Ivan Kupala Day.

Sometimes two girls, personifying women in labor, took part in the holiday dedicated to Lelya. Probably, this ritual preserved the ancient idea that the goddess of fertility in most myths is, as it were, divided into two characters. Echoes of this myth are preserved in the ancient Greek tale of Demeter and her daughter Persephone.

However, over time, the true meaning of the holiday was gradually forgotten, and it turned into an ordinary summer holiday, with which girls celebrated the beginning of spring.

Modern people associate the name Lelya with the fairy tale by A.N. Ostrovsky's "Snow Maiden", where Lel is presented in the image of a beautiful young man playing the pipe. In fact, Lel, like Lada, is a character in “armchair” mythology. At a time when ethnography was just beginning to take shape as a science, scientists often saw the names of gods where they actually did not exist. A word from a common refrain in a girl's song.

became the name of God.

Goblin

The owner of the forest and animals, the embodiment of the forest as a part of the world hostile to humans.

Forest spirits similar to the goblin are known in the folklore of other peoples. In Germany he is called Rübetzal, in the Caucasus - Dali, in the Far East - Hanka (forest man).

In different regions of Russia, the goblin is also called differently. They say that foresters live in pine forests, and boletuses live in forests. In the North they talk about the owner of mushrooms, moss, and berries. They are ruled by the Honest Forest. In Belarus, it is believed that in the depths of the Pushcha, a huge virgin forest, the Pushcha lives. He is shaggy, covered with moss, and as tall as a tall tree. In northern conspiracies, the head of the goblin is called Musail-les,

The idea of ​​the owner of the forest goes back to ancient times, which led to the combination of human and animal features in the image of a goblin. He can transform into any animal or bird, but at the same time he is also engaged in traditional human activities - weaving baskets and bast shoes, playing cards, carving spoons. They say that he lives with his wife - Leshikha (other names are Lesovka or Lesovikha). Outwardly, the goblin looks like a man dressed in animal skin. It is often endowed with other characteristics of an animal: tail, horns, hooves. A goblin can easily change its height, grow taller than trees or shrink below grass.

In the forest, he behaves like a master: he drives animals from place to place, monitors the growth of trees, mushrooms and berries. The goblin is especially closely related to wolves. Like St. George, he is called the wolf shepherd.

The goblin is always hostile towards humans. Therefore, when getting into the forest, you need to be extremely careful so as not to accidentally find yourself at the mercy of the devil. It can frighten, lead into a remote thicket, and deprive the hunter of his prey. In the forests, goblins make numerous paths, but you should not walk along them - you can get lost or get sick. There are also stories about how goblins take girls lost in the forest to their place.

The Leshy is easy to recognize because the left side of his clothes is tucked over the right, his left boot is on his right foot, and his hat is backwards. He walks through the forest and mutters to himself: “I walked, I found, I lost.”

Having recognized the devil, one had to pronounce a safety spell: “Sheep’s face, sheep’s wool!” When the goblin guessed that he had been recognized, he rushed into the bushes and disappeared shouting: “Ah, I guessed it!” It was also believed that every year on October 4, on the day of Erofey, goblin organize a kind of holiday: they run through the forest, fight with each other, breaking trees with a crash and finally fall through the ground, only to reappear in the spring.

The goblin enjoyed special respect and even honor among hunters. While in the forest, they tried not to make noise and invariably left gifts for the devil in secluded places: some food or a glass of vodka. When meeting him, they gave him a pinch of tobacco or the entire pouch.

Before hunting or picking berries, they asked for permission: “Mistress, help me pick berries and not get lost.” To prevent the devil from touching the children, it was necessary to place a piece of bread wrapped in a clean rag on the stump and say: “King of the forest, accept our gift and low bow, and accept my little children and send them home.”

In order not to anger the devil, one was not supposed to make noise or whistle in the forest. When angry, a goblin can “deceive” a person, that is, force him to wander through the forest, lead him into a quagmire, or steal his hat.

The mother of cheese is the earth

According to popular beliefs, one of the main components of the universe (together with water, air and fire).

The earth was considered the embodiment of the reproductive power of nature, which is why it was likened to a woman. The soil fertilized by rain produced crops, fed people, and helped continue the family line. Therefore, in conspiracies the formula was often used: “Earth is mother, sky is father,” for example: “God thou, damp earth, mother! You are our dear mother, you gave birth to us all.”

Traces of the deification of the earth were reflected in the most ancient funeral rituals. During archaeological excavations, skeletons were discovered laid in the pose of a newborn. Probably, the funeral was perceived as the return of the deceased to the mother's womb. Echoes of the ritual are also visible in the custom of putting on clean underwear in anticipation of imminent danger or death. This is, in particular, what sailors do during a strong storm.

The land that received the deceased was considered miraculous, so those present at the funeral sought to put their hands on it in order to cleanse themselves of possible future misfortunes. Traces of the ritual have survived to this day: during funerals, it is customary to throw a handful of earth onto the coffin lowered into the grave.

The fertility of the earth and abundant rains depended on the ancestors lying in the ground. They turned to their ancestors for help in a variety of cases. Over time, the custom of visiting graves and eating at them, accompanied by a mandatory invitation from ancestors, developed. The custom of presenting Easter eggs to ancestors has survived to this day.

They also turned to the earth during illness and asked it for healing. There was another custom: if you committed a sin, you could repent in the holy land.

The likeness of the earth to a living being is manifested in the fact that in winter the earth falls asleep, in spring it awakens. After the adoption of Christianity, the image of the mother of the earth became closer to the image of the Mother of God, gradually developing into the cult of the Mother of God the earth, while the suffering of the earth and at the same time her love for man were constantly emphasized. The idea was reflected in the ancient wish for the earth: “Be healthy like a fish, beautiful like water, cheerful like spring, hardworking like a bee and rich like the holy land.”

It was believed that the earth had name days, which were celebrated on Spiritual Day. On this day, it was strictly forbidden to plow, harrow, or generally engage in any earthwork, such as sticking stakes into the ground.

The second festival of the earth was celebrated on the day of Simon the Zealot (May 11). Probably, his choice was due to the fact that on May 10, according to the Christian calendar, the spring holiday of Nicholas (Nicholas the Great), who in the folk calendar was considered the patron saint of farmers, was celebrated.

The understanding of the earth as holy was also manifested in the idea that its righteous depths do not accept sorcerers, suicides and criminals. Back in the 19th century. cases were recorded when, during a drought that lasted several months, drowned people were dug out of the ground. There is also a well-known episode of the epic “Dobrynya and the Serpent,” in which the hero asks the earth to accept the blood of the serpent he defeated in order to prevent him from being reborn.

The oath of the earth was considered the most reliable. So, in order to secure the boundary of the site, there was a special ritual: a person put a piece of turf on his head and walked along the boundary with it. The border he laid was considered inviolable and inviolable, since it was protected by the land itself. In a work of the 11th century. the famous Christian saint Gregory the Theologian recognized the inviolability of this oath.

The idea of ​​the homeland is also associated with reverence for the land.

When leaving on a long journey, people often took a handful of their native land with them and carried it on their chest in an amulet as a talisman protecting them from possible misfortunes. In case of death in a foreign land, the earth was placed together with the deceased in the grave. Remnants of the ritual have survived to this day. Returning from exile, many kneel down and kiss the ground. It is known that the Pope always acts in this way when he comes to any country for the first time. The mothers of Soviet soldiers killed abroad also scattered soil from their homeland on their graves.

Maslenitsa

A pagan holiday dedicated to seeing off the passing winter and the arrival of the sun's warmth, the awakening of the fertile power of the earth. In the Christian calendar, the timing of Maslenitsa fluctuated depending on the day of Easter, which was preceded by the seven-week Lent. Maslenitsa was celebrated in the eighth week before Easter.

Maslenitsa was represented in the form of a straw effigy, usually dressed in women's clothing. At the beginning of the week they “met” him, that is, they put him on a sleigh and drove him around the village with songs.

Often the songs resembled greatness: they sang the wide, honest Maslenitsa, Maslenitsa dishes and entertainment.

The glorification was usually ironic, Maslenitsa was called a dear guest and was depicted as a young, elegant woman (Avdotyushka Izotyevna, Akulina Savvishna). Then the effigy was placed in an open place and celebrations began around it.

Each day of Maslenitsa week had its own name: meeting - Monday; flirting - Tuesday; gourmand - Wednesday; revelry, turning point, wide Thursday - Thursday; mother-in-law's evening - Friday; sister-in-law's gatherings - Saturday; farewells, farewells, forgiven day - Sunday.

The Maslenitsa week itself was called cheese week. Initially, on Maslenitsa they ate “white” food: milk, butter, sour cream, cheese. Pancakes appeared as a funeral food (by depicting the sun, pancakes symbolized the afterlife, which, according to the ancient ideas of the Slavs, correlated with the sun, which descended there at night). The first Pancake week pancake was intended for deceased ancestors; it was left on the window or taken to the cemetery. Funeral motifs are also reflected in the closeness of the melody of Maslenitsa songs to funeral lamentations.

The extraordinary feasts typical of Maslenitsa, an abundance of food, ritual overeating and drinking strong drinks, fun and even revelry symbolized the prosperity that was to come in the new year. The abundance of fatty (“oily”) food gave the holiday its name.

Maslenitsa was considered a holiday of youth and fertile power, so young married couples were always congratulated at this time. The young people were considered welcome guests: they went to visit their father-in-law and mother-in-law, showed themselves to the people in their best clothes (they stood in rows on both sides of the village street). They were forced to kiss in front of everyone. The young people were supposed to impart their vitality to the earth, to “awaken” its maternal nature. Therefore, in many places newlyweds, and sometimes girls of marriageable age, were buried in the snow, in straw, or rolled in the snow with ritual laughter.

On Thursday (or Friday) the wide Maslenitsa began. At this time they rode from the icy mountains, and later on horses. The festive train in honor of Maslenitsa (a string of sleighs with horses harnessed to them) in some places reached several hundred sleighs. In ancient times, skating had a special meaning: it was supposed to help the movement of the sun.

Fist fights were considered popular entertainment. They usually gathered in groups - entire streets or parts of the village. In the Siberian regions, the game “taking a snow fortress” was popular, which took place on a river or in a field. They built a kind of fortress out of snow with a wall as tall as a man. Young people walked around her, played snowballs, and rode on sleighs. Then the line of sleighs whooped and flew into the snow fortress, showered with a hail of snowballs.

During Maslenitsa, people also walked through the streets dressed as bears and goats; men dressed up as “women” and vice versa. Pets, goats and horses were also dressed up in trousers or skirts.

Maslenitsa week ended with a “farewell” - the burning of Maslenitsa. On Sunday, the effigy was carried along the street, then taken outside the village and burned (sometimes thrown into the river or torn and scattered across the field). During the ritual, corrugating songs (and later ditties) were sung, in which Maslenitsa was reproached for leaving too quickly and bringing Lent with it.

Maslenitsa was awarded with offensive nicknames: “wet tail”, “wry neck”, “polyzukha”, “pancake eater”. When parting with Maslenitsa, women feigned tears and even performed mock funeral laments.

The custom of burning Maslenitsa is due to the fact that it personified winter, death, and cold. With the onset of spring it was necessary to get rid of it.

In some places, they did not make effigies; instead, they burned bonfires, which were laid out in a high place, and in the middle of them, an old cart wheel was mounted on a pole - when it lit up, it seemed like an image of the sun. The circle of fire symbolized the sun and contributed to the arrival of warmth and spring.

The day of farewell to Maslenitsa came on Forgiveness Sunday. In the evening of this day, the fun stopped, and everyone asked forgiveness from relatives and friends for their sins in the past year. We tried to make peace between the families and apologize for the offenses caused. The godchildren visited their godfather and mother. People seemed to be cleansed of insults and filth. In the evening, on the eve of Clean Monday (the first day of Lent), they washed the dishes from light food and washed in the baths in order to cleanly meet the beginning of Lent, which was supposed to last seven weeks, until Easter.

Mokosh

The only female deity in the ancient Russian pantheon. Mokosh was usually represented as a woman with a large head and long arms. Her image is found, for example, on embroidery.

To date, the main functions of the deity have not been clarified. Probably, initially Mokosh was the goddess of water, rain and was responsible for fertility, but over time the image of Mokosh became associated with traditional women's occupations - spinning and weaving. Researchers have found that the name of the goddess goes back to an Indo-European root meaning spinning.

Gradually, from a cosmic deity, Mokosh turned into the patroness of the house. The peasant women were afraid to anger Mokosh and made sacrifices to her. If Mokosh could be appeased, she would help the spinners and even spin herself at night. Mokosh could punish a careless housewife: mix up an abandoned tow or start making noise at night. Later, some of Mokoshi’s functions were transferred to the kikimora.

With the adoption of Christianity, faith in Mokosh began to be persecuted: having come to confession to the priest, the woman had to answer whether she had gone to Mokosh.

In the Christian pantheon, the goddess Mokosh was replaced by the holy great martyr Paraskeva.

On Memorial Day, it received the popular name Paraskeva Pyatnitsa; it was also called Linen. The first sheaves of flax and the first woven pieces of fabric were sacrificed to Paraskeva. At the end of the 19th century, when starting work, Ukrainian spinners performed the Mokrida ritual - they threw pieces of tow into the well.

The connection with Mokoshi water comes from the external similarity of the name with the Slavic root “wet”. However, the main function of the goddess was still determined by her connection with household work.

Navii

In Slavic mythology, a collective image of deceased ancestors. Probably, navias were originally the name given to the dead who sailed to the kingdom of the dead on a funeral boat.

Navii are invisible and always hostile to humans. Thus, the Tale of Bygone Years tells how hordes of invisible Navii attacked Polotsk, and an epidemic broke out there, claiming many lives.

A holiday associated with the Navii, called Navsky Velik, was celebrated on Thursday during Easter week, as well as at the beginning of autumn. It was believed that on this day the Navi emerge from their graves and go to their descendants for a funeral meal. For navi, they prepared a special treat, which was placed on the table in the room, then the windows were opened. In order not to disturb the Navii, it was strictly forbidden to go outside after sunset.

A special saving ritual was used against navi. If navias caused harm, the grave of the deceased should be dug up and the “navia bone” should be removed from it - the only bone of the deceased that had not decomposed over time. The bone was supposed to be burned and the ashes thrown back into the grave. Then navia will disappear and stop disturbing the living.

Southern and Western Slavs believed that navias could determine the fate of a child. It was believed that invisible nawis gather at the bedside of a woman in labor and decide whether the child will live or die. A Navii doomed to death was given an invisible “Navi sign.”

Over time, the cult of Navi became associated with the veneration of the clan, and even the holiday itself received the name Radunitsa. The image of navyi was widely used in Russian literature, in particular, in the works of F. Sologub: in the novel “Drops of Blood” (originally called “Navyi Chary”) and some stories about children.

Ovinnik

A mythological character who lives in a barn, a special structure where sheaves were dried and bread was threshed. To do this, the sheaves brought from the field were carefully laid in rows, after which a fire was lit in a specially dug hole - a podlaz. The heated smoke rose up and dried the sheaves. After drying was completed, the sheaves were threshed in a barn or a special structure - a threshing floor.

The appearance of the barn is characterized by duality: it combines the features of a human and an animal. Usually the ovinnik appeared in the form of a huge black cat or dog: “the eyes burn with red-hot coals, like a cat’s, and he himself looks like a huge cat, all black and shaggy,” but most often he is described as a humanoid creature covered with long black hair. Ovinnik could only be seen during Bright Matins on Christ's Day (Easter).

The barn dweller lives in the “podlaz”, a pit where the barn is heated, together with his wife, the barn-keeper. From there, he makes sure that the sheaves brought from the field are neatly laid in rows on top of each other, and that the firewood burns evenly and does not produce sparks.

Barn

To earn the favor of the barn, one had to constantly please him with offerings, incantations and prayers. They always spoke to the barnkeeper extremely respectfully, calling him “father-barn” and even “king of the barn.”

After the drying of the sheaves was completed, the barn grower was always thanked. Taking off his hat, the owner bowed and said: “Thank you, Father Barnkeeper, you have served faithfully this fall.” In order not to offend the barnkeeper, one was not supposed to spend the night in the barns: the barnkeeper could torment an unexpected guest with nightmares or even strangle him.

During the major holidays - Exaltation, Intercession of the Day, the day of Agathon the Bean (August 22), it was not allowed to light a fire in the barn, since the barn celebrated the name day. On these days, the barnkeeper was always given a treat. They left him a glass of vodka, a piece of pie, and also brought him a rooster. On the threshold of the barn, the head of the rooster was cut off, and blood dripped in all corners, then the rooster was buried under the threshold of the barn.

Like other household spirits, the barn was endowed with the function of predicting the future. On Christmastide or Vasilyev's evening (New Year's Eve), girls came to the barn to find out their future fate. Approaching her bare back or her back to the drying window, the girl asked: “Ovinnik, my dear, am I destined to get married this year?” If the barn stroked the naked part, it was believed that the girl would get married. Otherwise, she had to wait until next year.

Fire

One of the four elements of the universe, its origin was associated with the sun and lightning. The fire provided warmth and light. It also had cleansing powers. Svarog was considered the God of Fire, and fire itself was respectfully called Svarozhich.

On the other hand, fire was perceived as a terrible element that destroyed all living things during a fire. Honoring fire, in Ancient Rus' they lit unquenchable fires that burned in the sanctuaries of many gods, in particular in the sanctuary of Perun. In the house, the usual place for worshiping the fire of Svarozhich was the barn. Svarog was probably once an agricultural deity.

The Slavs believed that fire is a living creature that needs to be fed on time so that it obeys man, so that the fire can drink, they put a pot of water in the stove at night. Fire was treated with respect, calling it “Father Light.” At night the fire was extinguished, turning to it: “Sleep, Father Light.” It was considered a sin to spit in the fire. Having been offended, he could take revenge on a person: burn his house or dry him up with a harmful disease.

Protective rituals were associated with heavenly fire (lightning). During a thunderstorm, all the dishes in the hut had to be turned over, and the dishes with water had to be crossed. To protect yourself from a demon flying with lightning, you should light an Easter candle or throw a few pieces of incense on the stove coals.

In Slavic conspiracies, fire is likened to a love fire. The Novgorod birch bark letter says: “So kindle your heart and your body, and your soul to me and to my body and to my appearance.” To attract a lover, one had to put his footprint, cut out of the ground, or an object belonging to him into the oven. They began to dry in the oven, and the beloved suffered from love. We find traces of such beliefs in the epic “Dobrynya and Marinka”. It describes how the sorceress took the footprint of the hero, placed him in the oven and asked for fire: “How hot the wood burns, with those brave traces, a brave heart would flare up like that of the fellow Dobrynishka - Nikitich.”

Among the ancient Slavs, fire was an indispensable component of the funeral cult. The Slavs believed that, when burned, the deceased passes into another world, where he continues his previous life. Therefore, utensils, livestock, jewelry, slaves and wives were placed in the fire.

The idea that fire separates the world of the living and the world of the dead is also reflected in Christian beliefs. Apocryphal legends say that during the Last Judgment a river of fire will flow across the earth. It will burn all living things, and the Lord God will ask: “Are you clean, O earth?” For the first time, the earth will answer: “Pure, like husband and wife.” And the fire will flare up again. And God will also ask: “Are you clean, O earth?” “Pure as a widow,” the earth will say. And the fire will break out again. God will ask for the third time: “Pure as a red maiden,” the earth will answer. Then God's judgment will come.

Only “living fire” had purifying properties, fire obtained from lightning or produced by striking a flint (by rubbing wooden sticks). Back in the 19th century. To protect against epidemics, they performed a ritual of cleansing livestock: they got live fire and lit two fires from it. The herd was driven between them, then all healthy family members crossed over a small fire, and the sick were carried after them. During epidemics, fires were also lit at different ends of the village. It was believed that such a rite of purification by fire would protect houses from disease. The ritual of jumping over bonfires on the night of Ivan Kupala has also been preserved.

Beliefs in the purifying power of fire manifested themselves in the widespread custom of burning witches and those possessed by evil spirits at the stake.

Fire, as the personification of the underground element, is personified in the image of a serpent or dragon living in caves. The hero entering into a duel with him must be wary of his fiery breath.

There are numerous stories about the Fire Serpent, who seduces women or kidnaps princesses, but sometimes he can bring treasures to his master. The Baltic peoples know tales about pukis - a fiery spirit that faithfully serves its master, bringing him what he wants.

Perun

The most important God of the Slavic pantheon, the main god of the agricultural cult, the personification of thunder and lightning.

He was especially revered by the Slavs, since the appearance of rains necessary for crops depended on him. The image of Perun was also associated with the animal totem - the horse. The Slavs represented Perun as an elderly man with a gray head and a golden mustache. Perun's main weapon was lightning - thunder arrows, as well as thunder stones.

In folk legends, Perun was sometimes represented as a horseman galloping through the skies on a horse or riding a chariot. People mistook the roar from the chariot for peals of thunder. Lightning was the fiery arrows that Perun launched at his enemies. There is a well-known mythological plot in which Perun defeats an enemy hiding on the ground and strikes him with lightning and thunder.

Traditionally, the central summer holiday of the agricultural cult was dedicated to Perun. The main event of the holiday was the ancient ritual of sacrificing an animal, the so-called Perunov bull. During the festival, the entrails and skin of a bull were burned in front of the image of the god, the meat was fried and used for a ritual feast. After the holiday was over, all the bones and remains of the animal were collected and also sacrificed. In order not to anger Perun, it was strictly forbidden to take pieces of meat or bones with you.

The ritual of making rain was also associated with Perun. It involves making a sacrifice or pouring water on a specially chosen woman.

The cult of Perun was widespread throughout the territory of the Slavs: in the Baltic states, in Kyiv, Novgorod and Vladimir Rus'. In The Tale of Bygone Years, the chronicler noted that there are many Peruns, in other words, there are many Peruns on earth.

Probably the main sanctuary of God was located in the town of Peryn, located near Novgorod. The names of the corresponding places where temples dedicated to the deity could be located have been preserved to this day - Peryn, Perunov oak, Perunov grove.

With the advent of Christianity, Perun's functions were transferred to the Christian saint Elijah the Prophet, in whose image the characteristic features of the thunder god appeared, riding across the sky on a thundering chariot. Pagan myths combined with the biblical tale of Elijah’s ascent to heaven in a chariot of fire.

Back at the end of the 19th century. On the day of Elijah the prophet, they performed the ritual of sacrificing the “Ilya bull.” The ritual of presenting an animal is practically no different from the holiday dedicated to Perun.

Field (field worker)

A mythological character associated with arable farming and agriculture, the spirit of fields and meadows. Belief in him is widespread in the mythology of all Eastern Slavs.

It was believed that each field had its own field man. He walks around his domain every night, manifesting himself in the form of a fiery spark. Most often, the field man looks like a small and ugly man who lives in grain fields or meadows. Sometimes a field man was described as a man swiftly moving across the field, covered with white or red wool, with a beard made of ears of corn.

Together with his wife and children - “mezhedniks” - the field man lives in the boundary. Children - “field children” run along the boundary and catch birds, and when they see a person, especially a sleeping one, they can tickle him or even strangle him.

Usually the field worker appears at noon in the summer and makes sure that everyone working in the field takes a break on time. Like other household spirits, the field spirit can be both evil and good. It protects the crops, but can also cause harm by entangling the ears or sending sunstroke to those working in the field. To appease the field man, you should bring him a couple of chicken eggs as a gift, as well as an old rooster. They were buried in the field at night on the eve of Spiritual Day.

When the grain harvest was completed, a bunch of ears of corn or the last sheaf was left on the field. It was believed that the field would use them as a shelter for the next year.

Midday

Slavic field spirit. He was represented as a girl in a white dress or a shaggy, ugly old woman. Apparently, this is one of the oldest characters in Slavic demonology. The “midday demon” is spoken of in the “Prayer” of Daniil Zatochnik and in the teachings of Cyril of Turov.

Midday sent sunstroke and could kidnap a child left in a field. At the same time, the noon guarded the crops, which is why it is sometimes called “rzhitsa” or “rzhanitsa.”

The tales say that the midday woman holds a giant frying pan, with which she either shields the bread from the scorching rays of the sun, or burns everything that grows in the field. Sometimes this image is divided into images of good and evil midday. She also makes sure that no one works in the fields at midday, when the sun is too hot, or on weekends. Midday punished those who violated the order by burning the crops. The stories reflected specific observations: if you stayed in an open field during the summer heat, it was easy to get sunstroke.

To avoid the wrath of Midnight, some general rules had to be followed. In particular, it is believed that Poludnitsa does not like the color black and favors those who wear white clothes. Therefore, it was forbidden to come to the field in black clothes or with a black object. Midday is especially dangerous from June 20 to July 20, when the ripening period of bread ends. At this time, in order not to disturb Poludnitsa, it is not allowed to come to the field, tear the grass or generally make noise near the crops.

The image of Poludnitsa is most widely represented in children's folklore. There are well-known “scarecrows”: “Don’t go into the rye, it will eat you,” “Sit in the shade, midday will burn you.” Numerous fairy tales and horror stories tell how Poludnitsa takes away children who were secretly feasting on the gardens. Therefore, in many places the stories about Midday were contaminated with the stories about Baba Yaga. So, in Belarusian folklore, Poludnitsa was even renamed into an iron woman.

In some places the image of Poludnitsa was combined with the image of Polevik. So, the tales say that in the middle of summer Poludnitsa and Polevik have children - Polevik. They run around the field, tumble and play with each other. Probably, such a description reflects cases of fires in the field during the summer drought.

The image of Midday also penetrated into popular Orthodoxy, where a unique image of the Mother of God - the bread-spreader - was formed. Icons with her image are popular throughout Central Russia. The Mother of God was depicted as a woman in white or blue clothes, seated on a cloud above an eared field. This plot clearly echoes folk stories about how a passerby, who accidentally found himself in a field around noon, saw Poludnitsa moving over the crops.

Genus

Mythological character, patron of clan unity.

The clan is mentioned in the chronicles after the main pagan gods, along with the women in labor who accompanied him by the female characters. The clan and women in labor were considered the deceased ancestors of the patriarchal clan, whom their relatives considered their patrons. They also had other names - chur, schur, grandfather.

The cult of the family was of particular importance for the Russian princes. Back in the 11th–12th centuries. The Eastern Slavs retained veneration of the princely family. The right to own the throne and ancestral land depended on its unity. Therefore, regular sacrifices were made to the clan and women in labor.

Usually the gods were invited to a ritual treat, for which special porridge was prepared and special bread was baked.

The gods were also treated to cheese and honey. Refreshments were placed in the sanctuaries. It was believed that the gods appear there invisible to human eyes.

Women in labor in pairs

Special holidays were also dedicated to the family - “Naviy Day” (Day of the Dead), celebrated on Thursday of the Holy Week of Great Lent, “Radinitsa” - Tuesday of the first week after Easter.

Since the productive principle was always associated with a woman, the cult of the clan was traditionally female. Special priestesses took part in it and performed sacrifices several times a year. Sometimes they turned to Rod for protection from diseases, but then the main role in the ritual was played by women in labor.

With the adoption of Christianity, the cult of the family began to gradually weaken. God Rod transformed into the patron spirit of the family, into the “grandfather of the house,” and later into the guardian of newborns. It is a well-known belief that after the birth of a baby, women in labor gather near its cradle to determine its fate. An echo of the beliefs was preserved in the well-known fairy tale about the sleeping princess (the tale of C. Perrault “The Sleeping Beauty”, 1697).

However, over time, the cult of the clan and women in labor was almost completely forgotten. It turned into the veneration of dead ancestors. In addition, in the Slavic pantheon there were many female deities who replaced women in labor. Traces of veneration of the Family continued to be preserved only in everyday life. One of their manifestations can be considered joint family burials, as well as periodic commemoration of relatives in the cemetery (parental Saturdays).

Mermaids (veregini)

A poetic image of girls who danced in circles along the banks of rivers and lakes on summer evenings. Known in the folklore of all European peoples. In areas adjacent to large rivers, legends about mermaids were told in every coastal village. The Slavs considered mermaids to be half demons and half dead people.

It was believed that young beautiful girls who drowned in the river, brides who died before marriage, as well as babies who died unbaptized became mermaids. Since mermaids were considered aliens from the world of the dead, they were believed to be looking for a place on earth. This is how stories arose about how a man who found himself in the forest caught a mermaid and brought her to his home. She lived for a whole year and ran away only in the spring.

It was believed that mermaids spent most of the year at the bottom of the river or appeared on land during the so-called Mermaid Week. The ancient Slavs celebrated a special holiday at this time, “Rusalia”: they held round dances on elevated places, mummers walked around the village, singing Rusal songs. The center of the holiday was the ritual of funeral or farewell to the mermaid. Participants chose a mermaid, usually the most beautiful girl, who was decorated with numerous wreaths and garlands of greenery. Then the procession passed through the village, and in the late afternoon the participants took the mermaid out of the village, most often to the river bank. While performing special songs, wreaths and garlands were removed from the mermaid and thrown into the water or into a fire (if there was no river nearby).

After the ceremony was completed, everyone scattered, and the former mermaid tried to catch up and catch one of those accompanying her. If she caught someone, it was considered a bad omen, foreshadowing future illness or death.

I

Why did the writer call his hero Cheburashka?

Don't be surprised, but supposedly the first Cheburashka was a little girl. Here's how it happened.
In the frosty winter, the writer Eduard Uspensky walked through the yard. Suddenly he sees a baby walking with her mother. The girl is wearing a long shaggy fur coat. This fur coat will suit her when the girl grows up. And now the baby has difficulty making her way through the snow, constantly stumbling and falling. And her mother picks her up and says: “What a Cheburashka!”
The writer liked this word, and he called his fairy-tale hero with it.
This is how this “beast unknown to science” appeared, which came to our country in a box of oranges and settled in the capital of our homeland.

(95 words)
(According to B. Goldovsky)

Grammar tasks

Option I – everything, her;
Option II – beast, her.

2. Select:

a) synonym for the word:

Option I – liked;
Option II – frosty(winter);

b) antonym for the word:

Option I – small;
Option II – falls.

Option I – writer, walks, long;
Option II – grow up, little word.

Option I – baby;
Option II – (on) girl.

Option I – the second one in the 2nd paragraph;
Option II – fourth in the 2nd paragraph.

II

Skit

Before the 1917 revolution, theaters were closed during Lent. During this period, performances for spectators were not allowed, and eating meat was prohibited.
And so the Moscow Art Theater came up with such a thing. The actors gathered in the theater building and sat at a long table. Cabbage pies were served for dinner. And the actors, without spectators, presented various scenes from their lives, which they composed themselves. The jokes were for our own people. This is how the cabbages appeared. Their popularity grew.
Rumors about actors' dinners quickly spread throughout Moscow, and many people try to get to them. Cabbage plays are becoming a special theatrical genre.
Nowadays theatrical skits can be seen on television.

(97 words)

Grammar tasks

1. Do a phonetic analysis of words:

Option I – eat meat;
Option II – your own thing.

2. Find:

a) synonyms for the word:

Option I – performance;
Option II – actor;

b) ambiguous word:

Option I – in the 1st paragraph;
Option II – in the penultimate paragraph.

3. Make a morphemic analysis of words:

Option I – came up with cabbage, acting;
Option II – served, theater, long.

4. Make a morphological analysis of the word:

Option I – (c) period;
Option II – (for) spectators.

5. Create a sentence outline:

Option I – the third of the 2nd paragraph;
Option II – the first of the 3rd paragraph.

6th grade

I

Sofa

Usually a sofa is called upholstered furniture with a long wall and handles, and sometimes with bolsters along the edges. This word was born in Turkey.
In Russia, sofas appeared during the time of Catherine the Great. This was in the second half of the 18th century, after the capture of the Turkish fortress of Ochakov by Russian troops. Luxurious sofas were to the taste of the nobility, who furnished their living rooms with them. Expensive trinkets were laid out in front of the sofas. Because of this, such pieces of furniture were known as “a sign of reckless vanity”1.
Fifty years later, many houses had sofa rooms, where sofas were located along the walls. Here family members and guests gathered for conversations.
Somewhat later, following foreign fashion, sofas began to be placed in the very center of the living room. The result was some kind of “quadrangular mass”, something like a “sofa pie”.

(109 words)
(According to K. Burovik)

Grammar tasks

1. Write out the borrowed word from the 1st paragraph of the text:

Option I – masculine;
Option II is feminine.

Option I – times, luxurious, place;
Option II – Russians call them fortresses.

3. Perform word-formation analysis:

Option I – long;
Option II – luxurious.

Option I – soft; born; eighteenth;
Option II – Turkish (fortress); furnished; such.

5. Parse the sentence:

Option I – first in the 2nd paragraph;
Option II – the last one in the 3rd paragraph.

II

Munchausen

Munchausen is the most ordinary, honest German baron who lived more than 250 years ago. Participant in the Russian-Turkish War of 1735–1739. After the end of the war, Munchausen settled on his estate in Germany. Here he loved to gather cheerful companies and talk about his military exploits and travels around Russia.
One day the German writer Raspe heard these stories. He soon emigrated to England, where he wrote a book about the baron's adventures in Russia. Raspe added quite a lot to these stories, but did not put his name under the composition.
A few years later the book fell into the hands of another German writer. The burgher added some more stories to it.
This is how the book about Munchausen appeared, which you have already read. And if you haven’t read it yet, be sure to check it out.

(114 words)
(According to the magazine "Children's Encyclopedia")

Grammar tasks

1. Write down the borrowed word:

Option I – from the 1st paragraph;

2. Make a morphemic analysis of words:

Option I – collect, named, honest;
Option II – tell, writer, German.

3. Do a word-formation analysis:

Option I – Russian-Turkish;
Option II – inflict.

4. Make a morphological analysis:

Option I – ordinary; get acquainted;(more) 250 (years);
Option II – (o) military(feats); settled;(through) some(years).

5. Write out a complex sentence:

Option I – from the 1st paragraph;
Option II – from the last paragraph.

7th grade

I

Brownie - fairy-tale character

The brownie loves to be treated humanely. I have a sweet tooth. He especially loves jelly and cannot refuse it, day or night. Mainly nocturnal. The life and work of a brownie is concentrated behind the stove. From here he makes sure that the mice and owners do not become mischievous, and that the house is warm and cozy. From time to time, the brownie himself likes to misbehave, rearranging things, knocking on doors and windows.
He looks different. Sometimes you can’t distinguish him from the owner of the house, and sometimes he will appear in the form of a gray-haired old man with a face completely overgrown with hair, or even pretend to be a broom or a cat.
Wherever people move, they ask for a brownie to join them. They ask for a long time until he agrees. After all, a house without a brownie is not a home, but a misunderstanding. It's uncomfortable there.

(119 words)
(According to B. Goldovsky)

Grammar tasks

1. 1. Write out the sentence from the dictation:

Option II – with participial phrases.

2. Make a morphological analysis of the participle:

Option I – from the 1st paragraph;
Option II – from the 2nd paragraph.

3. Write down the word starting with Not :

Option I - which without Not not used;
Option II - which without Not is used, replace it with a synonym.

4. Write down a sentence:

Option I – with union to from the 1st paragraph; come up with a sentence that would say to;
Option II - with a particle Not from the last paragraph; come up with a sentence that would say where not.

Option I – humanly;
Option II – differently.

II

Internet etiquette

The global system of connecting computer networks, sometimes called the Network, has its own rules of conduct. Sometimes they are not at all similar to those that guide us in real life. What are these rules?
The Internet provides quick contact between people, so it is customary to respond to letters immediately. No one will understand you if you don’t respond to an email within 24 hours of receiving it.
Try to write without errors by checking spelling with email editors. Write briefly, in a business-like manner, using special symbols to express gestures and facial expressions. It is also not customary to start a letter to a new addressee without respectful address. Be sure to use this phrase: “Would you be so kind as to...”. Thank the recipient in advance, no matter what you ask of them. Don't forget to sign the letter.

(116 words)
(According to L. Lozovsky, L. Ratkovsky)

Grammar tasks

1. Write down the sentences:

Option I – with a participial phrase;
Option II – with an adverbial phrase.

2. Make a morphological analysis of words:

Option I – immediately, within(days);
Option II – certainly if.

3. From the 2nd paragraph, write a sentence:

Option I - in which Also written together;
Also would be written separately;

Option II - in which to written separately;
make a sentence in which to it would be written together.

4. Write a sentence with a particle:

Option I – or from the 1st paragraph;
Option II – whether from the 3rd paragraph.

5. Make a word-formation analysis of the word:

Option I – compound;
Option II – receiving.

8th grade

I

Goblin

The goblin, a pagan character, appears in many fairy tales. Outwardly, he looks like a man dressed in animal skin. Having tucked the left side of his clothes over the right and putting on his left boot on his right foot and his hat backwards, the goblin walks through the forest and mutters to himself: “I walked, I found, I lost.” It is often given the characteristics of an animal: tail, horns, hooves. It can easily grow higher than trees or, conversely, become lower than grass.
In the forest, the goblin behaves like a master. He is closely related to animals, especially wolves. Like St. George, he is called the wolf shepherd.
When entering the forest, a person must be extremely careful, because the goblin is cunning. He can frighten, lead into a remote thicket, and deprive him of hunting prey. Despite the numerous trails laid by the goblin, it is easy to get lost in the forest.
When the devil was recognized, he rushed into the bushes and disappeared screaming.
Because of their special respect for the goblin, the hunters who were in the forest tried not to make noise and left gifts for him in secluded places.

(147 words)
(According to F.S. Kapitsa)

Grammar tasks

Option I – the second of the 2nd paragraph;
Option II – the third of the 2nd paragraph.

2. Write out the sentence from the 1st paragraph:

Option I – complicated by a separate sentence;
Option II – complicated by a separate definition.

3. Specify the type of one-part sentence:

Option I – penultimate;
Option II – included in the latter.

Option I – smelling because;
Option II – wearing, despite.

5. Make a word-formation analysis of the word:

Option I – easily;
Option II – closely.

II

Two football players

Among our players, two stood out in particular: one of the forwards and a defender.
The black-headed striker was a very fast and agile player, but perhaps stupid. As soon as the ball hit him, he broke through to the goal. But then the defenders intercepted him. He wriggled, danced, made feints and in the end got so confused that he shot just two steps from the goal... But what a roar there was over the stadium when he managed to score the ball! Fanned by a roar of adoration, without looking at anyone, at a steady trot, like a circus horse, he ran to the middle of the field.
Legends were told about the long, always imperturbable defender. They said that he once kicked the ball out of the goal area with such force that it flew into the opponent’s goal. He really hit hard! It used to be that he would run out to meet the ball and just hit it! And then he lazily returned to his place, confident that after his hit the ball would not fly back very soon.

(141 words)
(According to F. Iskander)

Grammar tasks

1. Parse:

Option I – first sentence;
Option II – second sentence.

2. Write down a separate definition related to the personal pronoun:

Option I – from the last sentence of the 2nd paragraph;
Option II – from the last sentence of the 3rd paragraph.

3. Write down the introductory word:

Option I – from the sentence of the 2nd paragraph;
Option II – from the sentence in the 3rd paragraph.

4. Make a morphological analysis of words:

Option I – among, two, but;
Option II – as soon as two, towards (the ball).

5. Find a word with the following morphemic composition in the third paragraph of the text:

Option I – Option II –

9th grade

I

While sitting at the table, rest on its edge only with your wrist; a woman is allowed to lean on the table with her elbow for a short time. A cloth napkin is placed on the knees and the lips are wiped with paper napkins.
If on the table near your plate there are several knives on the right and several forks on the left, then remember that when changing dishes you need to use them sequentially from the edges to the plate. Under no circumstances should you put a knife in your mouth: they only use it to cut food!
You don't cut fish with a knife; However, sometimes a special knife is placed with some types of fish to hold the fish, from which the fleshy part is taken with a fork.
Bread is always taken by hand. Small pieces are broken off from it as needed. You also need to spread butter, caviar or pate not on the whole slice at once, but on the pieces that are broken off from it.
The meat dish is eaten by gradually cutting off small parts from it; Do the same with poultry dishes.
During a meal, if you accidentally drip on the tablecloth, discreetly blot the area with a napkin or place a cloth napkin on it. Just don't attract everyone's attention!
When you finish eating, place the knife and fork parallel to each other on the plate so that both handles point to the right.

(176 words)
(According to the magazine “Klepa”)

Grammar tasks

1. Parse the sentence:

Option I – first in the penultimate paragraph;
Option II – the latter.

2. Name the types of subordinate clauses that occur:

Option II – in the sentence of the 3rd paragraph.

3. Make a morphological analysis of words:

Option I – washed, sequentially;
Option II – directed to.

4. Do a phonetic analysis of words:

Option I – eat, dishes;
Option II – edges, him.

5. Write out the following word from the 1st paragraph:

Option I – Option II –

II

Baron Pyotr Karlovich Klodt had two hobbies: horses and modeling. After retiring, he began attending drawing classes at the Academy of Arts. Then he entered the foundry as an apprentice.
Serfs usually worked in the workshop and barons had never trained. Master Vasily Ekimov was at first confused: he was not used to commanding barons. But Baron Klodt tried so hard that Ekimov had no trouble with him. The old man, who cast many monuments during his life, was often sad: his students never became worthy masters. But now he was calm: Ekimov, perhaps, could not have created such beautiful horses as the baron cast!
When the architect Rossi was working on the pier between the Admiralty and the Winter Palace, he ordered Klodt two sculptural groups of horse tamers, symbolizing man's victory over the wild elements. Klodt decided to sculpt a life-size mighty horse. A real horse was needed as a model - Klodt was sent a wild Arabian horse. And the sculptor himself began taming the horse. The horse became obedient and even allowed the baron’s daughter to rear him.
Nicholas I liked the sculptures so much that he ordered them to decorate the Anichkov Bridge.

(174 words)
(According to V. Voskoboynikov)

Grammar tasks

1. Parse the sentences:

Option I – penultimate in the 2nd paragraph;
Option II – the last one in the 2nd paragraph.

2. Show graphically whether a comma is needed or not before the conjunction And :

Option I – in the first sentence of the 2nd paragraph;
Option II – in the third sentence from the end of the 3rd paragraph.

3. Write out a complex sentence with a subordinate clause of manner of action and degree:

Option I – from the 2nd paragraph;
Option II – from the 3rd paragraph.

4. Make a morphemic analysis of words:

Option I – confused, barons, sculptural;
Option II – became an Arabian horse.

5. Write down three words from the dictation:

Option I – with unstressed vowels in the root, write down a test word next to it;
Option II – with alternating vowels in the root, next to it write down a word with the same root with a different vowel. (Grew up, got busy, raised.)

Vanity- arrogant desire for fame. Explain and write the word.

Goblin- the owner of the forest in the mythological ideas of the Slavic peoples. A frequent character in Russian fairy tales. Other names: forester, forester, leshak, forest uncle, lisun (polisun), wild peasant and even forest. The spirit’s place of residence is a remote forest thicket, but sometimes also a wasteland.

This is the main owner of the forest, he makes sure that no one harms anyone on his farm. He treats good people well, helps them get out of the forest, but he treats not-so-good people badly: he confuses them, makes them walk in circles. He sings in a voice without words, claps his hands, whistles, hoots, laughs, cries.

Origin

There was only God and the devil on earth. God created man, and the devil tried to create, but he created not a man, but a devil, and no matter how hard he tried and worked, he still could not create a man, all of his devils came out. God saw that the devil had already created several devils, became angry with him and ordered Archangel Gabriel to overthrow Satan and all evil spirits from heaven. Gabriel overthrew. Whoever fell into the forest became a goblin, whoever fell into the water became a merman, whoever fell into a house became a brownie. That's why they have different names. And they are all the same demons.

— Dilaktorsky P. From the traditions and legends of the Kadnikovsky district of the Vologda province // Ethnographic review. M., 1899. No. 3

One of the legends of the Mansi (a small people in Russia, the indigenous population of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug - Ugra) says that when creating man, the gods used clay and larch. People created from larch scattered through the forests with great speed and called them “menkws” (goblins); they are strong and do not drown in water. And the slow creatures molded from clay became ordinary people, whose lifespan is short: “If a person falls into the water, he drowns, it gets hot, and water comes out of him.”

Goblin are also born from the marriage of the devil with an earthly witch, sometimes from people who have committed a serious crime or died without a cross on their neck, etc. In some regions, the goblin is considered the grandfather of the devil and is nicknamed “the devil’s grandfather.”

Often, in the ideas of the people, the goblin already has a dual character: he is either a strong, terrible spirit, or a simple folk devil, stupid, whom a smart man can easily deceive.

Appearance

The goblin looks like a person, but his appearance is described in different ways. According to one testimony, the goblin's hair is long gray-green, there are no eyelashes or eyebrows on his face, and his eyes are like two emeralds - they burn with green fire. He can appear to people in different forms, but most often he appears to people as a decrepit old man or a shaggy monster with goat legs, horns and a beard. If the goblin has clothes, then they are turned inside out, the left hem is wrapped around the right, the shoes are mixed up, and he himself is definitely not belted. In the forest, the goblin appears as a giant, whose head reaches the tops of the trees, and in the clearings it is barely taller than the grass. “The goblin rushes through his forests like mad, quickly, barely traceable and always without a hat,” often with a huge club in his hands. Described as pointed-headed, wedge-shaped and shaggy, with hair combed to the left. This forest spirit is credited with the ability to shapeshift, so it can also appear in the form of a wild animal. Tough, but can be killed with a gun. According to other sources, he is an ordinary old man, small, stooped, with a white beard. Novgorodians assured that this old man wears white clothes and a large hat, and when he sits down, he crosses his left leg over his right. According to some northern tales, the goblin looks like a person, only his blood is dark, and not light, like that of people, which is why he is also called “blue-shaped.”

Lifestyle

Some goblins live alone, others live in families, and they build spacious houses in the forests where their wives take care of things and their children grow up. The home of the goblin is a log hut in a dense spruce forest far from human settlements. In some places, it is believed that goblin live in entire villages. Sometimes in large forests there live two or three goblins, who sometimes quarrel among themselves when dividing up forest dachas (Arkhangelsk province). Quarrels lead to fights, goblin beat each other with hundred-year-old trees, which they uproot, and hundred-year-old stones, knocked off the rocks. They throw stones and tree trunks 50 miles or more. Battles between goblin and merman are also frequent, mainly at night. In the Russian North, the expression “the devil has stepped” is noted about something that was done poorly.

Leshy is the ruler of forest animals. Most of all, he loves the bear, and when he drinks wine, which he is a big fan of, he certainly treats the bear too. The latter watches over the goblin when he goes to sleep intoxicated, and protects him from attacks by the merman. According to K.D. Loginovsky, collected in Transbaikalia, “for services, the goblin demands payment from people in the form of vodka treats.”

The goblin, at will, drives squirrels, arctic foxes, hares, and field mice from one forest to another. According to Ukrainian belief, a polysun, or forest man, drives hungry wolves with a whip to where they can find food. According to folk stories, goblins love a card game where the bets are squirrels and hares. So the mass migrations of these animals, for which it is difficult to find a reasonable explanation, turn out to actually be the payment of a gambling debt. According to “Northern Tales” by N. E. Onchukov, the forest man’s food is “hare and squirrel beef.” Also, wild apple trees are called “leshovka,” suggesting that the wood goblin grows these apple trees for himself. The horse senses the devil earlier than the rider or driver and may suddenly stop or rush to the side in fear. The goblin is at enmity with dogs tamed by humans, although sometimes he has his own dogs, small and colorful.

Leshim also really like to sing, sometimes for a long time and at the top of their lungs (like a storm), accompanying themselves by clapping their hands.

According to Polish belief, the goblin likes to sit on old dry trees in the form of an owl, and therefore peasants are afraid to cut down such trees. According to Russian belief, the goblin also likes to hide in the hollows of such trees. There is a saying about this: “Out of an empty hollow is either an owl, an owl, or Satan himself.” Les spend most of their time in trees; swinging and “fooling around” is their favorite pastime, which is why in some provinces they gave it the name “zybochnik” (from zybka, cradle). The procession of the goblin is accompanied by the wind, which covers his tracks. In this way, the goblin is reminiscent of the forest elves of Swedish folklore.

Popular beliefs

In the folk month, “Kupala Night” on July 7 was considered the time when all kinds of undead, including the devil, become active and play pranks. And on the night of “Agatho the Ogumennik” (September 4), according to legend, goblins came out of the forest into the field, ran through villages and villages, scattered sheaves on the threshing floors and generally committed all sorts of outrages. To protect the humens, the villagers went out to the fences, armed with a poker with sheepskin coats turned inside out. Also, September 27 (Exaltation) was considered a special “urgent day” for the goblin, the day when the leshaks drove forest animals to special places and it was dangerous to get in their way. “On Erofei,” as the peasants believed, “the goblin part with the forest.” On this day (October 17), the spirit falls underground (pulling it out seven spans), where it hibernates until spring, but before winter the goblin goes on a rampage, “fooling around in the forests”: wandering, screaming, laughing, clapping their hands, breaking trees, driving away the animals go into their holes and go wild. Superstitious Russian men and women did not go into the forest on this day: “The goblin is not his brother: he will break all the bones no worse than a bear.” However, not all goblin disappear for the winter; in some areas winter blizzards are attributed to them.

Temperament and habits

The devil's attitude towards people is mostly hostile. He tries to confuse the traveler in the forest, deliberately moving road signs from one place to another or throwing himself over a tree that serves as a sign; sometimes he takes on the appearance of a familiar person and, starting a conversation, quietly leads the traveler away from the road; sometimes he cries like a child or groans like a dying man in the thicket of the forest in order to lure a compassionate man there and tickle him to death, accompanying the action with loud laughter. People often go crazy over the jokes of the devil. According to a belief recorded in the Olonets province, every shepherd must give the devil a cow for the summer, otherwise he will become embittered and spoil the entire herd. In the Arkhangelsk province they thought that the goblin, if the shepherds managed to appease him, tended the village flock. The hunters also brought the goblin an offering in the form of a piece of bread or a pancake, which they placed on a stump. In conspiracies pronounced for success in animal catching, there were also appeals to the goblin. Only sorcerers dare to get acquainted with the goblin. In the Novgorod province, shepherds who know the secret hire a devil to graze their flock and protect it from animals. It announces its presence by “hooking”. When a person approaches, they laugh, clap their hands, and if they see a woman, they strive to drag her to them. He often steals girls to be his wives. A distinctive feature of this kind of cohabitation was that, as a rule, children were rarely born from goblin. In some areas of the Tula province they told how girls themselves ran away into the forest, and after a few years returned with a lot of money. It happens that a goblin comes up to the woodcutter's fires to warm itself, although in these cases it tends to hide its face from the fire.

All the animals in the forest are under the power of this spirit. Any mass movements of animals are interpreted as being directed by the goblin. Therefore, hunters try in every possible way to appease the spirit so that it does not harm them during the hunt. In the Chita region in the 19th century, from the words of old people, folklorists wrote down advice about the undesirability of spending the night on forest paths, since not far away someone would scream, whistle and bells would ring. If a fire is lit, then the goblin can come running and scatter everything. In this case, it is better to run away from this place as fast as you can.

The goblin’s favorite saying is: “I walked, I found, I lost.” Confusing people and confusing them is a common trick of the spirit. If the “goblin bypasses” a person, then the traveler will suddenly lose his way and may “get lost in three pines.” Ways to dispel the devil's confusion: the person led by him should not eat anything or carry with him a linden knot (lutovka) peeled from the bark; you can also put on all your clothes inside out or change your shoes - put the left shoe on the right foot and vice versa, turn the insoles around then the traveler will be able to find the way from the forest. In addition, this spirit loves to scream in a scary voice and whistle, thereby scaring people. The “Novgorod Collection” for 1865 reports that “the forest people... love to sing songs, clap their hands, laugh and groan.” According to information from the Arkhangelsk province, the goblin “screams in different voices: a child’s voice, a woman’s voice, a peasant’s voice, neighs and a horse’s voice.” He also “crows like a rooster, crows like a chicken, a cat, a small child.” But according to popular belief, only the goblin whistles in the forest, and it is dangerous for a person to whistle, since the goblin will be offended. When the Mansi sing about menkws (goblins), they make strong body movements, whistling, stomping, “as forest deities usually do.” There is an opinion that the Russian “pandemonium,” which the Orthodox Church opposed in ancient times, originates from the imitation of forest Slavic deities in pagan times.

Leshy is also credited with kidnapping children:

But everywhere he hung in the way, and the devil’s pranks were evil!

If he drives away an animal, he won’t be found; he will put rats in traps.

And how many children did he take to his place during the Kaisky portage!

It was not from the rains, but from bitter tears that the entire Kama region got wet.

Leshy lure children who have a bad life in their family with a kind attitude, so they call the goblin “good uncle.” Sometimes goblins take children with them, and the latter become wild and cease to understand human speech and cease to wear clothes. In return for the kidnapped baby, goblins sometimes put a bundle of straw or a log in the cradle, and sometimes they leave their offspring, ugly, stupid and gluttonous. Having reached the age of 11, the changeling runs away into the forest, and if he remains among people, he becomes a sorcerer.

Leshy, forester, leshak, forester, forester, forester - the spirit of the forest in Slavic mythology. The goblin lives in every forest, especially loves spruce trees. Dressed like a man - a red sash, the left side of the caftan is usually wrapped behind the right side, and not vice versa, as everyone wears. The shoes are mixed up: the right shoe is on the left foot, the left shoe is on the right. The goblin's eyes are green and burn like coals.
No matter how carefully he hides his unclean origin, he fails to do this: if you look at him through the horse’s right ear, the goblin has a bluish tint, because his blood is blue. His eyebrows and eyelashes are not visible, he has corny ears (no right ear), and the hair on his head is combed to the left. A goblin can become a stump and a hummock, turn into an animal and a bird, he turns into a bear and a grouse, a hare, and anyone, even a plant, because he is not only the spirit of the forest, but also its essence: he is overgrown with moss, sniffles as if the forest is noisy, It not only shows itself as spruce, but also spreads like moss and grass. The goblin differs from other spirits by special properties inherent to him alone: ​​if he walks through the forest, he is as tall as the tallest trees. But at the same time, going out for walks, fun and jokes on the forest edges, he walks there like a small blade of grass, below the grass, freely hiding under any berry leaf. But, in fact, he rarely goes out to the meadows, strictly observing the rights of his neighbor, called the field worker, or field worker. The goblin also does not enter villages, so as not to quarrel with brownies and buffaloes, especially in those villages where completely black roosters crow, “two-eyed” dogs (with spots above the eyes in the form of second eyes) and three-haired cats live near the huts.

But in the forest, the goblin is a full-fledged and unlimited master: all animals and birds are under his jurisdiction and obey him unrequitedly. Hares are especially subordinate to him. He has them as complete serfs, at least he even has the power to lose them at cards to the neighboring goblin. Squirrel herds are not exempt from the same dependence, and if they, migrating in countless hordes and forgetting all fear of man, run into big cities, and jump across rooftops, fall into chimneys and even jump out of windows, then the matter is clear: that means , a whole team of goblin played a game of chance and the defeated side drove the loss into the possessions of the lucky opponent.

A real goblin vocalist: he can sing without words and encourages himself by clapping his hands. He sometimes sings at the top of his lungs (with the same force as the forest rustles in a storm) almost from evening until midnight; he does not like the crowing of a rooster and immediately falls silent at the first cry.
The goblin rushes through his forests like crazy, with extreme speed and always without a hat.
Leshy know how to laugh, call, whistle and cry like humans, and if they become speechless, it is only when they meet real, living people.

Leshy do not so much harm people as they play pranks and jokes, and in this case they are quite similar to their relatives - brownies. They play rude pranks, as befits clumsy forest dwellers, and joke evilly, because after all, they are not their brother, a baptized person. The most common methods of pranks and jokes of goblin are that they “deceive” a person: they will either “lead” anyone who goes deep into the thicket with the aim of picking mushrooms or berries to a place from which there is no way out, or they will put such a fog in their eyes, that they will be completely confused, and a lost person will circle around the forest for a long time in the same place.

However, in all such adventures, the goblin still does not lead people to direct death, as the real devil does. Moreover, you can easily get rid of the leprosy of the devil, of course, first of all with prayer and the sign of the cross, and then with the help of well-known techniques that are taught from childhood, according to the commandments of our fathers and great-grandfathers. Thus, a person who is lost is recommended to sit down on the first deck, take off his clothes and turn them inside out, and then put them on himself in this form. It is also necessary to put the left bast shoe on the right leg or the right mitten on the left hand.

If two or three are in trouble, then they should all change clothes, having first turned them inside out (in this case, it is recommended to imitate the custom of the same devil, who has everything inside out and inside out). You can get out of trouble in the same way by saying the goblin’s favorite saying, which lucky people managed to overhear from him from afar: “I walked, found, lost,” or shout: “Sheep’s face, sheep’s wool,” and the goblin will immediately disappear shouting: “Ah.” , guessed it!”

There are, however, cases when all methods of fighting goblins prove powerless. This happens once a year, on that sacred day when goblin go berserk (October 4/17), against the martyr Erofey. On this day, knowledgeable peasants do not go into the forest.

On the eve of Midsummer (June 24/July 7), one could easily see the goblin in the forest and even conclude an agreement with him. The shepherds especially tried to do this so that the forest animals would not destroy the flock. Elijah's Day (July 20/August 2) is considered a holiday for goblin, when wolf dens open and all kinds of animals roam free. On Agathon the Ogumennik (August 22/September 4), goblins come out of the forest and rush around the villages, trying to scatter sheaves, so the owners on this day and night guard their threshing floors in sheepskin coats, put on inside out, with towels wrapped around their heads and holding a poker in their hands.

On September 14/27, on Exaltation, we also have freedom in the forest: peasants do not go there for fear of getting into a gathering of snakes and foresters who say goodbye to all the animals until next spring. Well, after the Exaltation, the goblin ordered Erofei the Martyr (October 4/17) to disappear or freeze. Before this, they start furious fights, break trees with a crash, chase animals in vain and finally fall through the ground, only to appear on it again when it moves away, thaws in the spring, and begin their pranks again, all in the same way.

In general, being afraid of the evil and unexpected plans of the goblin, the forest people are not averse to laughing at him, and all baptized Rus' considers using his name as a dirty word as their first pleasure (“Go to the goblin,” “The goblin would crush you,” etc.).

It is not for nothing that the myth of goblin has existed on Earth for millennia. According to popular views, the goblin serves as an unconscious weapon of punishment for a person’s voluntary and involuntary sins. For example, a goblin carried away a man in front of everyone because he was swearing obscenely while climbing the bell tower. The goblin punishes even more strongly for uttering curses, and if it happens, for example, that a woman in labor, having lost all patience in the throes of childbirth, curses herself and the child, then the child is considered the property of the goblin - as soon as the last sound of the uttered curse has died down. The goblin takes the child promised to him into the forest immediately after birth, placing in its place a “forest child” - sick and restless. If, by some miracle, the sworn child manages to be baptized earlier, so that it is impossible to take him right away, then the goblin waits until seven years of adolescence and then lures him into the forest (the goblin is given one minute a day when he can lure a person).
In the forest, the damned do not live long and soon die. And if it happens that one of them, through the intense prayers of his mother, survives, then he is found in the most pitiful form: he walks wild, does not remember what happened to him, and remains completely indifferent to everything that may await him when living together with people.

Village rumors very persistently attribute to goblin a passion for women and often accuse them of kidnapping girls. They are credited with wives of the same breed as themselves (leshachikha, lesukha) and cubs (leshenya).

In ancient times, at the beginning of summer, shepherds made an agreement with the goblin: do not suck milk from cows, do not drive cattle into swamps, etc. If the agreement was violated, they wrote a complaint against the offender on a wide board and hung it from a hollow tree in the thicket - let Grandfather Lesovik will figure it out.

Mythology of the ancient world, -M.: Belfax, 2002
B.A. Rybakov “Paganism of the ancient Slavs”, -M.: Russian Word, 1997
V. Kalashnikov “Gods of the ancient Slavs”, -M.: White City, 2003
D. Gavrilov, A. Nagovitsyn “Gods of the Slavs. Paganism. Tradition", - M.: Refl-Buk, 2002
godsbay.ru

Syntax and punctuation.

1

98

Syntax and culture of speech.

1

99

Syntax and spelling.

1

100

Syntax and morphology

1

101

Final control dictation for the 8th grade course. Final control

1

102

Dictation analysis. R.R. Oral essay of a narrative nature with elements of description

1

Evaluation materials

Forms and controls

1. Control dictation (start control) on the topic “Repetition of what has been learned”

in grades 5-7 Lesson 8

2.R.R. Essay about a cultural monument. Lesson 24

3. Test on the topic “Main members of a sentence” Lesson 25

4. Control dictation on the topic “Minor members of a sentence” Lesson 31

5. A story on a free topic (based on exercise 250) Lesson 43

6. Test dictation on the topic “One-part sentences” Lesson 44

7. General lesson (intermediate control) on the topic “Homogeneous members of a sentence.” Lesson 56

7. Writing an essay - reasoning from a quote Lesson 58

8. Control dictation on the topic “Homogeneous members of a sentence” Lesson 60

9. Control testing on the topic “Isolated and clarifying members of a sentence” Lesson 75

10. Text analysis. Characteristics of a person as a type of text Lesson 79

11. Control dictation on the topic “Isolated and clarifying members of a sentence” Lesson 80

12. Control dictation on the topic “Introductory and inserted structures” Lesson 91

13. Comparative characteristics of two familiar people Lesson 99

14. Final control dictation Lesson 101

Dictation on the topic “Repetition of what has been learned in grades 5 – 7”

(start control)
Silver strings of the taiga

The taiga was still pink from the sun. When the light-winged "AN-2" landed us at Tynda station. The taiga lay like a huge dark green carpet from horizon to horizon, covered with a still white dense blanket of fog. The head of the construction route suggests going to Yankan.

Yankan is the highest point of the highway under construction. For several months, embankments as high as a five-story building were erected here. Here, building enthusiasts have taken a new approach produce imploding works. They had to take into account permafrost, swamps and impassability. The bright and solemn centuries-old silence brings many surprises to the Bamovites.

And yet, most builders very soon got used to the difficult terrain and new professions for many. Their main task is to build the road on time.

We are leaving Tynda on a sunny day. Under the wing of the plane, two silver strings pierce the taiga highway. The music of goodness and courage, created on earth by the hands of a working man, sounds over the taiga.

(From newspapers.)

Grammar task

1. 
   Carry out a syntactic analysis of the 5th and 6th sentences.
2. 
   Write out all the phrases from your sentence, parse one of them.
3. 
   Analyze the highlighted words according to their composition and as a part of speech.

Intermediate (marginal) control

Homogeneous members of the sentence

Option 1
Find sentences that have punctuation errors.

1. 
   Sports, music, reading books have always fascinated me.
2. 
   And the stars suddenly sparkled in the fog and poured their cold light under the linden trees.
3. 
   Everything in the forest and fields was covered with snow.
4. 
   The trees planted by caring hands: poplar, acacia, and wild maple turned green welcomingly and freshly.

1. 
   Tits and starlings living in our forests are destroyers of harmful insects.
2. 
   Nekhlyudov looked at the moonlit garden and the roof, and at the shadow of the poplar, and breathed in the invigorating fresh air. (L. Tolstoy.)
3. 
   There are more and more pine forests and oak forests, birch forests with picturesque lakes
   attract citizens.
4. 
   White clouds, the forest stretching along the sides of the road - everything was pleasing to the eye.
5. 
   In the evenings, grandfather watched TV or read, or went to the theater, or to a neighbor’s house to play chess.

10. Yellow acacia and lilac, growing in our forests, are ornamental shrubs.

Homogeneous members of the sentence

Option 2
Find sentences that have punctuation errors.

1. 
   The earth is somehow quiet and bare without wheat, rye, or oats.
2. 
   I began to visit museums and theaters and read books.
3. 
   Elks and bears, wolves and foxes, and many other animals are found here.
4. 
   May decorates the forests and invites summer to visit.
5. 
   Gymnastics, rubbing with cold water all this strengthens and tempers a person.
6. 
   Storm, blizzard, and cold delayed our progress.
7. 
   This mill, and the bushes, and the smell of the leaves - everything was new, unusual.
8. 
   Shots rained down from all sides: from behind the fences, from the gate and from all corners.
9. 
   And it seems that everything: iron, stones, water - is full of protest against life without the sun.

10. She knew languages ​​well: German, French and English and taught this to her children.

Answers

Option 1	4, 5, 6, 9
Option 2	2, 3, 5, 8, 10

Control dictation on the topic “Minor members of a sentence”
Minerals

One percent of all known insect species are true pests. But these few species can reproduce in huge numbers, and man has always fought and will fight with them. The remaining insects must be preserved.

Eighty percent of all flowering plants that produce seeds and fruits do so only with the help of pollinating insects. If these pollinators disappear, these plants will disappear. Soil-forming insects mix, loosen and fertilize the soil, increasing its fertility. Some insects are like orderlies. They clear forests, fields, and pastures. Most animals, birds, and fish live by feeding on insects.

So let the beautiful butterflies, as before, drink the nectar of flowers. Let ground beetles scurry across the ground. Let life boil in the anthills. Let the bumblebee fly to its nest. Whether or not beneficial insects live on the earth is a problem whose solution depends on us.

(According to P. Pleshakov)

Grammar task

1. 
   Write out a sentence in which the conjunction HOW

1 option

Included in the predicate;

(Some insects are like insects.)

Option 2

Included in comparative turnover.

(So ​​let the beautiful butterflies, as before, drink the nectar of flowers.)

1. 
   Make a diagram of a complex sentence, indicating graphically the subject and predicate.

1 option

From the first paragraph.

Option 2

From the second paragraph

3. Write out single applications that are written with a hyphen.

1 option

From the second paragraph.

(Pollinating insects, soil-forming insects.)

Option 2

From the last paragraph

(Beautiful butterflies, ground beetle flies.)

4.Make a diagram of a simple sentence with a dash between the subject and the predicate, indicating how its main members are expressed.

1 option

From the last paragraph

Option 2

From the first paragraph

5. Do a complete parsing of the sentence.

1 option

Most animals, birds, and fish live by eating insects.

Option 2

Let ground beetles scurry across the ground.

Control dictation on the topic “One-part sentences”
A clearing on a hill, on the fuller side - a hut...