Heroes of old fairy tales. Heroes of Russian fairy tales - description, origin and interpretation
If you regularly read our blog, you probably remember the post about the creation of a little dog, a character in the mobile game “Evolution”. It was drawn (and the post was written) by the leading artist of the project, Roman Amokrus Papsuev. However, like all talented people, Roman creates not only at work, but also in free time- for the soul. One day he came up with the idea of redrawing well-known characters from Russian fairy tales and epics in a modern fantasy gaming style. The result is a whole series of wonderful pencil drawings, executed with great attention to detail. The novel was not guided by the characters of any specific game; the images turned out to be collective. However, it is better to see a hundred times than to read once.
Welcome to the cut, his story is waiting for you there (also see the second part). Lots of pictures inside!
As a CG artist, I sometimes amuse myself by remembering how to draw with a pencil. I once spent a lot of time on a sketchbook that I called Monsta Panopticum - it was a collection of various monsters, a kind of exercise for the imagination. But the sketchbook ended, but the ideas remained, and then it occurred to me that in Slavic mythology and in Russian folk tales full of cool characters, and games based on our legends - one or two and miscalculated. Since I have been working in game development for quite a long time, I have a fairly good understanding of the basic visual cliches (I may disappoint someone, but I have never played Warhammer, Allods Online, Dota, Elder Scrolls, Dark Souls or even World of Warcraft, which is not prevents me from knowing what they look like).
The idea of the project is this: develop and develop one topic, try to look at it from different angles. It occurred to me that we should try to make our characters, but in the standard modern fantasy game style (you shouldn’t try to identify the specific game that inspired the pictures, everything will be from everywhere).
At first it was just an exercise in imagination, then, when I began to carefully study the primary sources and look at reference literature, the project became much more interesting for me, since it allowed me to interpret “in a playful way” not only the stereotypes that have stuck in everyone’s heads since childhood, but also primary sources are Russian folk tales and epics. You will see for yourself how the descriptions of the pictures vary: the longer the description, the more time I spent studying the sources.
I don’t invent characters, they are all in mythology, I just interpret their descriptions in my own way, try to find common features in these descriptions and at the same time try to maintain a single style so that it looks like the game world.
What makes me most happy is that some people who look at my pictures begin to re-read epic fairy tales, learn a lot of new things for themselves and understand why Vasilisa the Beautiful has a doll in her bag, why Vodyanoy is on a catfish, why Ilya Muromets has a sword in his hands, and not a mace, etc. This return to origins through my modest project pleases me as an author most of all.
I often hear that the characters turned out to be “not Russian”, they say, remove the signatures - and it’s not clear who is where. I would like to say right away that, firstly, I consciously tried to get away from stereotypes and interpretations of individual authors, and secondly, I would like to know where the canon is by which you can EXACTLY determine what Baba Yaga looked like, for example. After all, all we know about the heroes of fairy tales are images from childhood, images given to us by the brilliant Ptushko, Rowe, Vasnetsov, Bilibin. That is, the author's interpretations. So, my pictures are also interpretations, and in a very specific style. Just keep in mind that this project has nothing to do with realism and historical authenticity. And these are fairy tales that have found their way into the world of games. My goal is not to erase our great heritage, but only to try to look at it from a different point of view.
Thank you for making it through the introduction. Now the actual pictures.
Ilya Muromets. I started, of course, with him. By the way, he has a bottle of dead water hanging on his belt to treat his wounds. And with a shield he is quite capable of destroying his enemies. I drew this picture from my head, just based on the types from my childhood, but later, after checking with the sources, I came to the conclusion that I completely fell into the image.
Dobrynya. What is known about him (in parentheses - how I played it out). A relative of the prince (the armor must be rich), the second most popular hero after Ilya (smaller in size, but still cool), a snake fighter (a magical shield, upholstered in fiery dragon skin, shooting fire), a seven-tailed whip, with which he whipped his horse so that trampled baby snakes, and all that. It’s hard to depict diplomatic skills, education and politeness in a picture, but I put a scroll in a tube on his belt, like he’s reading in his spare time. He also has living water, it complements the set of Ilya, who, let me remind you, has dead water on his belt. Well, the sun motif, like Ilya’s, serves one prince.
Popovich. Well, it’s obvious that he should be a witch hunter, right?
A sudden turn slightly to the side, towards Finistu.
It was the girls' turn. I'll start with Vasilisa the Beautiful(not to be confused with Vasilisa the Wise, aka the Frog Princess). A battle mage, there’s nothing to even think about, one skull that incinerates enemies (mentioned in a fairy tale), that’s worth it. And of course, the doll is in the bag, everything is as it should be. A small note: it may not be so clearly visible, but her kokoshnik is made of steel, part of a half-helmet.
Vasilisa the Wise (Frog Princess). It turned out to be not so simple with her. There are already three common versions of the fairy tale (in one of them she is generally called Elena the Beautiful), so I decided to try to collect everything that is known about her into one image. So, witch. Conjures and with the help own strength, and with the help of mother-nannies (grandmother-nanny, mother-nanny, etc.). I decided that the nannies would be plump flying fairies in my version. The magic of nanny mothers individually is not that strong, but if they start doing something together, just hold on.
I did not find confirmation in fairy tales that Vasilisa is the daughter of Koshchei the Immortal (although there is such a version, and it is quite logical), so I did not make obvious necromantic paraphernalia. But the Wise One, it seems to me, could also dabble in dark magic, her character is like that... I completely forgot to mention - she has an arrowhead hanging on her chest in the form of a pendant. The same one.
Princess Nesmeyana. First I wanted to make my face open, then I decided to immediately show off the visor mask. Kokoshnik is part of a helmet. Observant viewers will notice the waterskin and horn on her belt. Why? Because due to an eternally bad mood, he constantly drinks alcohol. By the way, when she laughs (and she laughs extremely rarely), it means that she has an attack and she becomes a berserker - a very scary ability.
Marya Morevna. Everything is clear here. The only note is that since the fairy tale indicates that she is a steppe warrior, I slightly added Asian elements.
Varvara-beautiful. Mound Raider. Strictly speaking, this is a movie character; it seems that Varvara the Beauty did not exist in mythology. But, firstly, everyone probably knows Roe’s film, and secondly, her name is too famous, I couldn’t pass it by. I think it's clear who the reference was. A few comments: the hatchets are attached to the sheath on the hips, amulets-amulets dangle from the belts, the kokoshnik, as always, is metal. When there are a lot of enemies, she attacks by spinning like a top and mows down the enemies (haha). The braid itself may well be made of leather, like a whip, i.e. it is not collected hair, but part of a helmet.
Baba Yaga. V. 1.0.
Koschey. Feeds on the souls of victims. I also drew this one, based on stamps from my head, then I carefully studied the sources and came to the conclusion that I would change Koshchei’s head. So later there will be Koschey Mark 2. :)
Nightingale the Robber. Part one. Upper. I'll have to explain some things. In fairy tales, the Nightingale sits on nine oak trees, sits high, looks far away, whistles like a nightingale, screams like an animal. I thought for a long time about how to play it all out (“sitting on nine oak trees” was the biggest problem - a giant, or what? Or are the oak trees small?), in the end I came to the conclusion that the Nightingale would be a monster rider. He will ride on an oak tree. His scream-whistle is a sonic weapon. A whistle is a targeted blow, a scream is a wave with a wide range of action. He will also have a magical staff to control the oak tree. And notice the acorn necklace around his neck. It is not without reason, it is a solution to the problem with nine oaks. Yes, many have strange associations with his mouth, I advise you to go to the mirror and try to make “chicken lips” - you will be surprised. :)
Nightingale the Robber. Part two. Riding on an oak tree. In general, he lives in a tree, this is his storage and fortress. Chests (trophies) and shields are hung on the branches, which move if something threatens the Nightingale. The oak tree also has chains with hooks, with which it pulls the victim towards itself in order to eat it.
The oak tree moves both like a spider and like a centipede, that is, it supports the trunk with large branches and finely moves with its roots. It moves slowly, but if it gets there, screw the hero. Now about the problem of nine oaks. Acorns are magical. When Nightingale throws one acorn on the ground, an oak minion quickly grows from there, ground support, so to speak. I drew one of them on the left. They are faster and more aggressive than the fortress oak. They run up to the hero and hit him. There are eight acorns on the necklace plus the fortress oak, for a total of nine. Oaks themselves are pretty creepy trees, but when nine oaks plus a Nightingale with his sonic weapon are moving towards the hero, the hero should feel uncomfortable.
Yes, and the scale here is a little arbitrary (otherwise it wouldn’t fit), but roughly guide yourself by the skulls on the branch, these are the skulls of adults. That is, the Nightingale is slightly larger ordinary person. Yes, and in the picture he just screams like an animal.
Tugarin Zmey. This is probably the last picture where I use complex frames - they take too much time, the characters are more important, so then the frames will be very conventional.
Lesovik. Owner of the forest. I will separate the forest spirits, this one is the most important. He is, in principle, kind, but stern and fair, if anything happens, he can punish harshly.
Visually, I decided to start from zooanthropomorphic descriptions, with elements of phytoanthropomorphism; for each forest spirit I will choose the main animal and will dance from it.
Goblin. I tried to embody in this handsome man the main thing that is known about goblin in the generally accepted (and most importantly - evil) sense. Leshy's character, to put it mildly, is not very pleasant. One eye is normal (left), the right one is usually larger than the left and “dead”, motionless. The beard and hair are gray. They often write about a cone-shaped head, in my interpretation - because of the hair collected in a bun. He wraps his clothes to the left and wears them inside out (it turned out not so easy to show with a pencil that it was the wrong side). The arms and legs are covered with fur. In some versions of the legends it is belted, in others it is necessarily not. On the belt hang trophies and essential things: the skulls of defeated lost and impolite travelers, a horn for drinking, and bast shoes, because my Leshy just likes bast shoes, he collects them. In the legends, the classic Leshy also has some kind of fixation on bast shoes. But considering that he is often described as having hooves, the question is how did he wear them? The logical answer is that he did not wear them on his feet, he simply carried them around with him as souvenirs.
As for the general appearance, the justifications are as follows.
- Firstly, legends indicate that Leshy often appears in a zooanthropomorphic form, in particular in the form of a bear. There is a saying: “The goblin is not his brother - he will break all the bones no worse than a bear.”
- Secondly, there are beliefs that he goes into hibernation (preved, bear).
- Thirdly, which animal is considered the most ferocious and personifies Russian nature?
- Fourthly, as friends from LiveJournal suggested to me - according to many researchers (in particular, Dmitry Zelenin), Leshy can be considered the personification of Veles, whose basic hypostasis is just a bear.
Since he is still a forest spirit, I also added phytomotives. Leshy are often associated with aspen trees (aspen trees seem to indicate demonicity), so he is hung with the leaves of this tree. On the chest hang the cut cores of magical aspen trees, in the center of which magical stones grow (this is a fairy tale, let me remind you). These cuts on the chest are the magical protection of Leshy. Well, the roots and branches hold the skin on the shoulders.
And finally, he has woodpecker skulls hanging from him. Since Leshy has a violent and bad temper and at the same time he loves to sleep, he is terribly annoyed by the knocking woodpeckers. That's why he destroys them. Well, he exterminates rats simply because they are rats. Leshy is afraid of their bare tails. On this basis, the Leshis often quarrel with the Lesoviks. Although they are relatives, they are, in fact, Greenpeace members and, in general, protect any forest life. And the Leshis believe that some forest dwellers are disgusting and must-have.
Swampman. A vile creature living in the swamps pretends to be a hummock and eats everyone. Throws “swamp lights” from the bracelet to paralyze the victim. Poisonous.
P.S. I would also like to add a decoy, like that of an angler fish. The decoy is long, telescopic, in fact a symbiote, i.e. a separate creature, lures and hypnotizes travelers, leading them straight into the quagmire to the Bolotnik.
Spirits of the forest. Part 1. It was impractical to draw a separate picture for each small spirit of the forest, so I decided to divide them into groups. All these guys are Lesovik’s retinue. I tried to do it according to the descriptions that I could find, but it was not without arbitrariness.
Vodyanik, for example, is like one of the names of Vodyanoy. But I decided that small ponds, streams and small rivers should also have their own spirits, so I singled out the name “Vodyanik” into a separate group of small spirits. All forest spirits are quite neutral, but if you anger them, they can attack.
The most aggressive of this group is Mokhovik; according to legend, he could eat children, if anything.
Berryberry, for all its outward harmlessness, can also cause damage (with poisoned berries).
Derevyanik - combined Derevyanik and Kornevik in one character - stupid, awkward, but quite strong, he can entangle himself with roots and drink the juices from the victim with them.
Spirits of the forest. Part 2. Mushroom picker, Leaf picker, Herbal picker, Kustin. I call this picture “Russula is late for the meeting.” Concluding the topic of forest spirits and Lesovik’s retinue, let’s quickly go over the characters and abilities.
The mushroom picker is not a very kind character (in mythology mushrooms are generally not very popular, there is a lot about genitals and excrement), not very strong, but very tenacious and touchy (he believes that people slander him). Can infect offenders with rapidly growing fungi. His dream is to conquer the whole world.
The herbalist is a hippie. In case of danger, he can fool the offender and even kill him if he gets very angry.
Leaflet (combined with Steblevik, so as not to produce entities) - the most harmless of all, usually acts as a support group for Derevyanik and Kustin, giving them additional strength and protection.
Kustin (Kushchanik) is Derevyanik’s younger brother, they are very similar in character and usually work in pairs. Kustin can remotely entwine the offender with branches, paralyzing him.
Vodyanoi on catfish. For this picture, I will simply list the main characteristics with explanations of why this is so, and we’ll talk about the details of Vodyanoy’s character in the next picture. I’ll say right away: I tried to incorporate into the image everything that the Internet knows about Vodyanoy, while at the same time proposing some of my own solutions. Please, immediately forget the song of Vodyanoy from “The Flying Ship”. So, let's go.
It is known that Vodyanoy is a fat old man with a big belly (done), he is often seen in a red shirt (for me it’s chain mail made of scarlet gold), he has a thick beard and a green mustache (here I cheated and made him a CATFISH mustache, part of the beard - also catfish probes, hence the greenish color). Among the northern peoples of Russia, Vodyanoy is often represented with a club. In general, Vodyanoy is a serious evil spirit, and his character is very bad (quote: “The embodiment of the element of water as a negative and dangerous principle”). And the main quote for the picture, from which, in fact, the image itself was born. “He is credited with catfish as his favorite fish, which he rides on and which brings him drowned people. For this reason, the catfish is popularly called the “devil’s horse.” This is where the idea of making a mount boss came to mind. Since Vodyanoy is sometimes seen on land, I made the catfish not quite a catfish. In fact, there is a whole mix of animals (they all live quite well in Russia, by the way), whoever identifies them all has a pie.
I paid special attention to the harness, harness and saddle; I had to use my imagination, of course, but fighting pack catfish do not exist in nature, so I apologize if anything happens. This is not the last picture of Vodyanoy: here he is too small and the details are not visible, so I will make him separately, as I did Nightingale.
Vodyanoy and Vodyanitsa. Sorry for the many letters, but it's necessary. I present to your attention family photo, because of which I spent a sleepless night at work, it hit me like that. Let's start with Vodyanitsa, because it's a new character. There is very little information about Vodyanitsa (where to put the emphasis, I prefer to put on and); it is known that she is NOT a mermaid, she is dressed in a torn sundress, she has large breasts, she is a prankster, but in general she does not offend anyone much, i.e. .is quite a positive character. I painted her wearing a magpie (the headdress of married women) to emphasize her marital status. And this character also has a key feature that really stuck with me. “Vodyanitsa is a drowned woman from the baptized, and therefore does not belong to the undead.” Do you understand, right? The baptized drowned woman is the wife of Vodyanoy, who is actually an evil spirit (undead). There is a huge scope for imagination, of course. And this is what I imagined.
As I wrote earlier, Vodyanoy has an extremely bad character. He seems to be neutral, but with a greater bias towards evil. He constantly needs to be cajoled, otherwise he will play dirty tricks, and drown, and wave his club. However, he can provide a catch and save, if anything - and in my version, all his good deeds are directly related to Vodyanitsa. Since his wife is essentially kind, but young, mischievous and foolish, she plays with the old man as she wants. And she often forces her hubby to do good deeds, although this contradicts his unclean nature. And vice versa, when they quarrel, Vodyanoy goes on a hike and rages even more, letting off steam. Vodyanitsa herself is not particularly visible to people, and in my interpretation she is not even a separate character, but simply an addition to the image of Vodyany. She buffs (increases the strength) of the Vodyanoy when she yells at him.
Now a little about the images themselves.
All river spirits in Slavic mythology are distinguished by a passion for combing their hair (all of them must have long and flowing hair). Vodyanitsa is no exception. In one of the sources I saw that she combs her hair with fish bones, but I decided to give her a cool comb (hanging on her belt). This is a gift from the Sea King, a distant relative of Vodyanoy (Bolotnik, by the way, is also a relative, but feral, “there’s a black mark in the family,” as they say). Vodyanitsa's hair is green, she herself is very pale. Her jewelry is mostly pearls and all sorts of things with shell and water motifs. On the belt, in addition to the comb, there are amulets, but they do not affect Vodyanoy, because he is a husband. The merman does not object to amulets (he even hangs all sorts of moonlights on his fighting catfish), but he does not wear them himself, because he sincerely believes that he does not need them and he does not care at all.
More about Vodyanoy. As I mentioned, he has chain mail made of scarlet gold, underneath it is a shirt made of nets, a shell plate to protect his stomach, well, you can see for yourself. But he took off his shoulder pads because he was at home. He has a whip on his side, because he “grazes herds of his cows - catfish, carp, bream and other fish - at the bottom of rivers and lakes.” He has short legs because he usually rides a catfish, and they are not particularly developed. I would especially like to mention the “crown”. The merman is also described as having a horn on his head; I replaced the horn with a crown - in the form of catfish probes sticking out of his head.
As for Vodyanoy’s abilities, he draws his strength, of course, from water and from the screams of his wife. He is a boss mount (meaning he is very tough and rides a horse), and together with the fighting catfish they make a formidable fighting unit. The merman uses mainly brute force, and can magically summon only lower water spirits (akin to Kelpies from Celtic mythology) - stupid, but aggressive. There may be other magical abilities, but I haven't thought about them yet.
What a sweet couple they turned out to be. In general they have happy marriage, live and live, make good. Not without quarrels and swearing, of course. But it’s the same for everyone, probably, right?
Sister Alyonushka, brother Ivanushka
Another sweet couple. I understand that I shock many people with this picture, but before you judge, please re-read the fairy tale. However, I will briefly explain everything to you. There are several key points in the fairy tale (in its many iterations) that are the same for all versions. So, the facts:
- Ivanushka became a little goat.
- Alyonushka was drowned.
- In almost all versions there is a “fierce snake” that sucked out Alyonushka’s heart (and there is also a “heavy stone” on her neck, “a white fish ate her eyes out”, “yellow sands lay on her chest”, “silk grass on her hands”, ashes, decay, hopelessness, that's all).
- There is a witch-witch who organized this whole drowning mess.
- They took Alyonushka out of the river, “dipped her, rinsed her in clean water, wrapped her in white linen, and she became even better than she was.”
- In all versions of the fairy tale, where Ivanushka turned into a little goat, he remained one. Well, you understand what I mean, right?
Ten years have passed. The little goat has grown up...
He became her bodyguard and instrument of brute force. Both characters are creatures tied to magic. Both are generally positive and on the side of good, but they do not hesitate to use black magic, unlike Popovich, who is all correct. They are professionals high quality, merciless with evil spirits, unsurpassed masters melee combat: Ivanushka takes with force, Alyonushka with dexterity. Ivanushka is generally as strong as a bull (ha-ha), so he carries all his and his sister’s belongings, plus a huge hammer, which he naively calls the “Witches Hammer.” Ivanushka has complexes about his appearance and can kill if someone suddenly calls him an asshole.
Now for the images. The idea of a little girl and a big companion is not new; in the same Juggernaut we have Una, for example. Here this scheme simply suggested itself. So it turned out like this. Well, some details, just for information.
Alyonushka:
- the wreath is woven from water lilies (in fact, a drowned woman), poppy (a flower against witches), leaves and branches of aspen (a magic tree);
- a cross on the neck - protection of the immortal soul. The fairy tale did not say whether Alyonushka was baptized, I believe that she was baptized;
- Witches are afraid of all piercing and cutting weapons, including scythes. Alyonushka has a damask scythe-sickle, created specifically for fighting evil spirits;
- Alyonushka’s costume is partially and very loosely based on the clothing of the Krivichi and Drevlyans;
- on the belt hang the necessary things against witches - a bottle of spring water (a bonus for the one who tells you why spring water), a bag of poppy seeds, obligatory amulets and a bag with all sorts of things. Well, half-drowned women also love combs.
Ivanushka:
- in addition to a two-handed war hammer, he carries with him a large damask knife on his side (one of those with which they wanted to stab him), a cleaver strapped to the “backpack”, and an aspen stake in the same place. Not a peg, as usual with everyone (for the same Popovich), but a really hefty stake. Can string several unclean enemies onto him at once;
- all his armor is painted with the sign of witch hunters, so that it is immediately clear who he is and why he came;
- on his belt dangles a tooth, torn out from the first werewolf he killed (his skin is on his shoulders), and the collarbone of the very witch who drowned Alyonushka;
- bells-amulets hang on the shoulder pads;
- well, in the end, before you say that goats have only two horns, google “goat with four horns”, you will see everything for yourself, I was also surprised by the variety of genetic mutations.
Now about the runes. I was not lazy and nevertheless compiled my “dictionary of runes”. They are, of course, fictitious, based on the Scandinavian and those scribbles that he dug up in the pre-Christian writing of the Slavs. Moreover, I came up with the meanings of the runes myself, without really looking at the real ones. My version, my runes, I move whatever I want. There will be an additional game for the audience - reading what the characters have written on their clothes. And here are the runes themselves:
I also have
A fairy tale is not only entertainment for children. It contains instructive stories that reflect the beliefs of an entire people. The heroes are endowed with rather conventional hyperbolic characters; their motives and actions are a reflection of ancient Slavic rituals.
Baba Yaga- the most famous character of Russian folklore. Meanwhile, this is not just a collective image of an ugly old woman with a quarrelsome character and ferocious deeds. Baba Yaga is essentially a guide. The forest in which she lives is a conditional border between worlds. She needs the bone leg so that the spirits will consider it theirs. The obligatory condition for “heating the bathhouse” is ritual ablution, a joint meal in one form or another - a funeral feast, a memorial among the Slavs. And the indispensable dwelling - a hut on chicken legs - is precisely the place of transition to the afterlife. By the way, chicken legs have nothing to do with the hut. “Smoke” means “to fumigate” - to pour smoke into a person’s new shelter “without windows, without doors.” And Baba Yaga did not actually put children in the oven - this is again an image of the initiation of children among the Slavs, during which the child was placed in the oven to protect him from evil spirits.
Water- an unpleasant-looking water spirit that lives in whirlpools and watermills. His wives are drowned girls, and his servants are fish. The merman will not miss the chance to pull an unlucky diver to the muddy bottom. So that he would not act outrageously, they brought him gifts; the spirit of water was especially happy with the delicious goose. The merman is always ready to defend his home, as soon as a fisherman recklessly encroaches on his domain.
Firebird- an analogue of the Phoenix reborn from fire and ashes. As a rule, she (or her pen) is the goal of the main characters’ searches and wanderings. It is believed that she personifies light and warmth, so she dies every autumn and appears again in the spring. Also found in fairy tales Sirin- half woman, half bird. She has heavenly beauty and an angelic voice, but everyone who hears it is doomed to troubles and suffering.
Dragon- a fire-breathing dragon that can fly. In Slavic folklore, he guards the Kalinov Bridge - access to the afterlife, where to the common man the path is closed. The number of his heads is always a multiple of three (the sacred number of the Slavs), which indicates his vitality; you cannot defeat him at once.
Goblin- Forest spirit. He is sometimes huge and powerful, sometimes small and absurd, sometimes clumsy, sometimes dexterous. They try to avoid him, because Leshy has a harmful character and can lead him into the thicket of the forest - then get out of there. You can escape if you wear your clothes inside out - this way he won’t recognize his victim. At the same time, they appease him by leaving gifts at the edge of the forest, because he is the Master of the forest, without whom human life is impossible.
- a good keeper of the house. He is born an old man and dies a baby. He is happy to help around the house if you don’t offend him and feed him milk, but he can misbehave and hide the necessary things. The complete opposite is Kikimora- the evil spirit of the deceased, tormenting the family. However, she does nasty things to those who do not keep their home in order, so she is quite fair. Another home prankster - Bannik. He is capable of scaring a person who comes to take a steam bath by throwing hot stones at him or scalding him with boiling water.
Koschei the Immortal- an evil sorcerer who kidnaps brides. This is a prototype of the powerful priest Koshchei Chernobogovich, the son of Chernobog. He owned the kingdom of Navi ( underground kingdom, the afterlife among the Slavs).
Well, what would a fairy tale be without Ivan the Fool? This is a collective positive image for which a long path is destined, but he goes through it with valor and in the end receives a princess as his wife. So the Fool is not a curse, but a kind of amulet against the evil eye. Ivan solves the problems posed by life thanks to his own ingenuity and unconventional approach.
Listening to stories from heroes of Russian folk tales, children from childhood learned to be persistent in spirit, fair, courageous, honoring and recognizing the power of good (after all, it always wins). The Slavs believed that any fairy tale is a lie only for our visible world, but the truth for the world of spirits. And no one will argue that it contains a lesson that everyone has yet to learn during their lives.
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ETNOMIR, Kaluga region, Borovsky district, Petrovo village
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ETNOMIR is the largest ethnographic park-museum in Russia, a colorful interactive model of the real world. Here, on an area of 140 hectares, architecture, National cuisine, crafts, traditions and life of almost all countries. Each country is allocated a kind of “cultural reserve” - an ethno-yard.
– comprehensive exhibition. It is formed by the building of the world's largest Russian stove and nine huts from different regions of the European part of Russia.
In its layout, the architectural ensemble recreates the structure of ancient Slavic settlements, when residential buildings surrounded the central square.
The main exhibitions of the Museum are located in the huts - these are stoves of different structures, shapes, designs, and household items of the 19th-20th centuries, and an exhibition of irons, and a collection of traditional Russian patchwork dolls, and various wooden toys...
The most popular Russian fairy-tale hero is Ivanushka the Fool, however, this image does not always represent exclusively positive traits. In the fairy tale "Ivan peasant son and Miracle Yudo” the image of the Russian Ivan is presented most beautifully and unambiguously. A hard-working hero fights with a sword and bare hands, with cunning and ingenuity, against the monsters that have infested the Russian land. He is kind and handsome, brave and courageous, strong and smart, undoubtedly, this is the most positive image of a Russian fairy tale.Another Ivan in “The Tale of Vasilisa the Golden Braid” also saves all the people and his own from the terrible snake that captivated the beauties and his own sister. Ivan Gorokh is a strong and formidable hero, ready to deal with any evil, to protect native land and defend my sister's honor. But in the fairy tale “Ivan Tsarevich and Gray wolf“The wolf is a more positive character; Ivan Tsarevich was only lucky to meet such a faithful and devoted friend. The same trend can be observed in the fairy tales “The Little Humpbacked Horse”, “Po pike command"and many others.
Russian people for the most part believed that “the grave will correct the hunchbacked one,” therefore, Russian fairy tales are not characterized by the transformation of the hero from negative character in positive.
The most positive female characters In Russian fairy tales, Vasilisa the Beautiful and the Wise appear. A Russian beauty is primarily distinguished by her intelligence and kindness; she helps her chosen one to defeat evil with cunning and ingenuity, get a magic object or guide him to the wise. Oddly enough, in some fairy tales even Baba Yaga can be positive, providing the traveler with parting words, ancient knowledge and providing material assistance in the form of magical objects: a scarf, a comb, a ball of thread or a mirror.
Positive heroes of foreign fairy tales
The heroes of European fairy tales are radically different from Russians; they are physically weak, intelligence and cunning are not glorified in them as in folklore. Such qualities as kindness, humility, and hard work come first. Snow White and Cinderella are downtrodden beauties, born for love and luxury, but, by the will of evil people, they are obliged to play the role of maids. They do not make any effort to change their fate, they are submissive to it and are freed from shackles only by chance. Moreover, the main idea of such fairy tales is the idea that for the triumph of justice, only virtue and hard work are necessary, and God or the good fairies will generously reward the heroine for all deprivations.Pinocchio is a fairy tale by an Italian writer about the transformation of a stupid, naughty and, at times, cruel wooden doll into a kind and caring boy. Pinocchio or Pinocchio are one of the most positive children's characters.
Heroes-warriors are presented quite rarely in foreign fairy tales; Cipollino is considered one of the few such characters, although this is more an image of a revolutionary fighting dictators against the bourgeoisie and slavery. Another one stands apart positive hero- medieval revolutionary Robin Hood. The collective image of the noble robber-warrior is romanticized and spiritualized. He fights evil in the form of cruel feudal lords, lawlessness and injustice.
Eastern fairy tales are closer in their ideas to Russian ones, for example, Aladdin is an analogue of Ivan the Fool or Emelya. Eastern characters, like Russians, are often helped by cunning, dexterity and resourcefulness; the most popular hero is the “Baghdad thief,” a criminal who managed to deceive dozens of moneybags and was never caught. In almost every Arabian fairy tale there is also a guiding hand - as in the Russian tradition, this is a woman. The smart and cunning wife of Ali Baba, Sakine, Scheherazade, like Vasilisa in Russian fairy tales, personify such intelligence and ingenuity that is inherent only in women.
We are talking about the main character's bride. Whether he is Ivan the Tsarevich or Ivan the Fool, he will certainly find Vasilisa the Wise or Vasilisa the Beautiful. The girl is supposed to be saved first, and then married - everything is honorable. But the girl is not easy. She can hide in the form of a frog, have some kind of witchcraft abilities, be able to speak with animals, the sun, wind and moon... In general, she is clearly a difficult girl. At the same time, it’s also kind of “secret”. Judge for yourself: it is much more difficult to find information about her than about any other fairy-tale character. In encyclopedias (both classic, paper, and new, online ones) you can easily find lengthy articles about Ilya Muromets and Dobrynya Nikitich, about Koshchei the Immortal and about Baba Yaga, about mermaids, goblin and merman, but there is almost nothing about Vasilisa . On the surface lies only a short article in the Bolshoi Soviet encyclopedia which reads:
"Vasilisa the Wise - a character of Russian folk fairy tales. In most of them, Vasilisa the Wise is the daughter of the sea king, endowed with wisdom and the ability to transform. Same female image acts under the name of Marya the Princess, Marya Morevna, Elena the Beautiful. Maxim Gorky called Vasilisa the Wise one of the most perfect images created by folk imagination. The destitute orphan, Vasilisa the Beautiful, in Afanasiev’s unique text, is different in nature.”
Let's start, perhaps, with Vasilisa the Elder, with the one whom Gorky identified with Marya the Princess, Marya Morevna and Elena the Beautiful. And there was every reason for that. All these characters are very similar, for example, in that nothing is really said about them in fairy tales. Like, a beautiful maiden, the likes of which the world has never seen - and that’s all. No detailed description of appearance, no character traits. Just a woman-function, without which a fairy tale will not work: after all, the hero must conquer the princess, and who she is is the tenth matter. Let there be Vasilisa.
The name, by the way, hints at high origin. The name "Vasilisa" can be translated from Greek as "royal". And this royal maiden (sometimes in fairy tales she is called the Tsar Maiden) begins to subject the hero to tests. That is, sometimes it is not she who does this, but some fairy-tale villain like Koshchei the Immortal or the Serpent Gorynych, who kidnapped the princess and is holding her captive (at best) or is going to devour her (at worst).
Sometimes the father of the potential bride plays the role of the villain. In the fairy tale, where Vasilisa appears as the daughter of the water king, the lord sea waters puts obstacles in the way of the hero to destroy him, but loses because the enemy suddenly turns out to be dear to his daughter’s heart, and no amount of witchcraft can defeat him. But here everything is more or less clear: there is some evil force (a dragon, a sorcerer, or the girl’s evil parents), and the hero must fight the enemy. In fact, this is how he becomes a hero. And a princess, princess or princess (it doesn’t matter) is a reward for the hero.
However, it also happens that Ivan Tsarevich or Ivan the Fool or some other central fairy tale character He is forced to undergo trials not because of dragons or sorcerers - he is tormented by the bride herself. Either the hero needs to jump on horseback to the windows of her little room and kiss the beauty on the sugar lips, then he needs to recognize the girl among twelve friends who look exactly like her, then he needs to catch the fugitive - or demonstrate enviable cunning in order to hide from the princess so that she didn’t find him. At worst, the hero is asked to solve riddles. But in one form or another, Vasilisa will test him.
It would seem that what is unusual about the tests? Testing a man is generally a matter of a woman’s character: is he good enough to connect her life with him or give birth to offspring, does he have the strength and intelligence to be a worthy husband and father? From a biological point of view, everything is absolutely correct. However, there is one small detail. If unfortunate Ivan does not complete the task, then death awaits him - and this is repeatedly emphasized in dozens of Russian fairy tales.
The question is, why does the beautiful princess demonstrate bloodthirstiness, which is more suitable for the Serpent Gorynych? Because in reality she doesn’t want to get married at all. Moreover, she is the enemy of the hero, believes the famous researcher of Russian folklore Vladimir Propp in his book “Historical Roots of a Fairy Tale”:
“The task is set as a test of the groom... But these tasks are also interesting to others. They contain a moment of threat: “If he doesn’t do it, he will have his head cut off for his offense.” This threat reveals another motivation. In the tasks and threats one can see not only the desire to have the best groom for the princess , but also a secret, hidden hope that such a groom will not exist at all.
The words “I guess I agree, just complete three tasks in advance” are full of deceit. The groom is sent to his death... In some cases this hostility is expressed quite clearly. It manifests itself outward when the task has already been completed and when more and more new and more dangerous tasks are asked.”
Why is Vasilisa, aka Marya Morevna, aka Elena the Beautiful, against marriage? Perhaps in fairy tales, where she constantly intrigues the main character, she simply does not need this marriage. She either rules the country herself - and she does not need a husband as a rival in power, or she is the daughter of a king who will be overthrown by her potential husband in order to seize the throne. Quite a logical version.
As the same Propp writes, the plot about the machinations that the future father-in-law perpetrates on the hero together with his daughter or in defiance of her could well have had a real basis. According to Propp, the struggle for the throne between the hero and the old king is a completely historical phenomenon. The tale here reflects the transfer of power from father-in-law to son-in-law through a woman, through a daughter. And this once again explains why fairy tales say so little about the appearance and character of the bride - this is a character-function: either a prize for the hero, or a means of achieving power. Sad story.
Meanwhile, in the Russian tradition there is a fairy tale that tells about Vasilisa’s childhood, adolescence and youth. It was Gorky who mentioned her, saying that she was not like the usual image of a princess whom the hero is trying to win. In this fairy tale, Vasilisa is an orphan girl. It's not a fact that this is the same character. However, this Vasilisa, unlike other fairy-tale namesakes, is an absolutely full-blooded heroine - with a biography, character, and so on.
I'll sketch it out in dotted lines. storyline. A merchant's wife dies, leaving him with a little daughter. The father decides to marry again. The stepmother has her own daughters, and this whole new company begins to tyrannize Vasilisa, loading her with backbreaking work. In general, it is very similar to the fairy tale about Cinderella. It seems, but not entirely, because Cinderella was helped by a fairy godmother, and Vasilisa was helped by a creepy witch from the forest.
This is how it turned out. The stepmother and her daughters said that there was no more fire in the house, and they sent Vasilisa into the forest to Baba Yaga, of course, hoping that she would not return. The girl obeyed. Her path through the dark forest was scary - and strange: she met three horsemen, one white, one red, and the third black, and they were all riding towards Yaga.
When Vasilisa reached her abode, she was greeted by a high fence made of stakes planted with human skulls. Yaga's house turned out to be no less creepy: for example, instead of servants, the witch had three pairs of hands that appeared out of nowhere and disappeared to God knows where. But the most terrible creature in this house was Baba Yaga.
The witch, however, received Vasilisa favorably and promised that she would give her fire if Vasilisa completed all her tasks. Completing difficult tasks is an indispensable path of the hero. Unlike the fairy tales mentioned above, in this one it is a woman who goes through it, and therefore her tasks are female, there are simply too many of them: to clean the yard, and sweep the hut, and wash the linen, and cook dinner, and sort the grains, and that’s it. - for one day. Of course, if the tasks were completed poorly, Baba Yaga promised to eat Vasilisa.
Vasilisa washed Yaga's clothes, cleaned her house, prepared food for her, then learned to separate healthy grains from infected ones, and poppy seeds from dirt. Afterwards, Yaga allowed Vasilisa to ask her a few questions. Vasilisa asked about the three mysterious horsemen - white, red and black. The witch replied that it was a clear day, a red sun and a black night, and all of them were her faithful servants. That is, Baba Yaga in this fairy tale is an extremely powerful sorceress.
Afterwards she asked Vasilisa why she didn’t ask further, about dead hands, for example, and Vasilisa replied that if you know a lot, you will soon grow old. Yaga looked at her and, narrowing her eyes, said that the answer was correct: she doesn’t like people who are too curious and eats them. And then she asked how Vasilisa managed to answer her questions without errors and how she managed to do all the work correctly.
Vasilisa replied that her mother’s blessing helped her, and then the witch pushed her over the threshold: “I don’t need blessed ones here.” But in addition she gave the girl fire - she removed a skull from the fence, whose eye sockets were blazing with flame. And when Vasilisa returned home, the skull burned her tormentors.
A creepy tale. And its essence is that Vasilisa the Beautiful, while carrying out the tasks of Baba Yaga, learned a lot from her. For example, while washing Yaga’s clothes, Vasilisa literally saw what the old woman was made of, the famous fairy tale researcher Clarissa Estes writes in her book “Who Runs with the Wolves”:
"In the symbolism of the archetype, clothing corresponds to the persona, the first impression that we make on others. A persona is something like a camouflage that allows us to show others only what we ourselves want, and no more. But... a persona is not only a mask behind which you can hide, but there is a presence that eclipses the usual personality.
In this sense, the persona or mask is a sign of rank, dignity, character and power. This is an external indicator, an external manifestation of mastery. By washing Yaga’s clothes, the initiate will see with her own eyes what the person’s seams look like, how the dress is cut.”
And so - in everything. Vasilisa sees how and what Yaga eats, how she makes the world revolve around her, and makes the day, sun and night walk as her servants. And the terrible skull, blazing with fire, which the witch hands to the girl, in this case, is a symbol of the special witchcraft knowledge that she received while being a novice with Yaga.
The sorceress, by the way, might have continued her studies if Vasilisa had not turned out to be a blessed daughter. But it didn’t work out. And Vasilisa, armed with strength and secret knowledge, set off back into the world. In this case, it is clear where Vasilisa got her magical skills, which are often mentioned in other fairy tales. It is also clear why she can be both good and evil.
She is still a blessed child, but Baba Yaga’s school is also here to stay. Therefore, Vasilisa ceased to be a meek orphan: her enemies died, and she herself married a prince and sat on the throne...
Fairy tales play a significant role in a person’s life. This is one of the first things he hears after birth; she also accompanies him in the next stages of growing up. Not only children, but also adults love fairy tales. Their deep philosophical meaning gives you the opportunity to look at ordinary things differently; understand the principles of good and evil; learn to believe in miracles and not forget about your own role.
Moral values are conveyed through characteristic characters, each of which has its own folk prototype.
Hare
Runaway bunny, gray bunny, scythe - as they name the animal in Russian folk tales. He is endowed with a cowardly, but at the same time friendly character. The fairytale hare has cunning, dexterity and resourcefulness. A striking example is the fairy tale “The Fox and the Hare,” where a small animal turns from a cowardly animal into a savvy hero who managed to deceive even the evil wolf and help his friends.
In nature, hares do have cautious habits that help them avoid the teeth of predators. Our ancestors also knew this feature of the animal.
Fox
Cunning, resourceful, smart, insidious, vindictive...What traits are not given to a fox in fairy tales? She deceives animals, seeks profit everywhere, and is not afraid of people. The fox makes friends with the strong, but only for its own benefit.
The image of the animal embodies cunning. The folk prototype can be considered dishonest, thieving, but at the same time smart person. The fox is feared, despised and respected at the same time. This is evidenced by the appeal to her in fairy tales as Fox Patrikeevna, Little Fox-Sister.
Wolf
The wolf in Russian fairy tales embodies anger. He preys on weaker animals; doesn't always act cunningly. Other characters take advantage of the wolf's shortsightedness. In the fairy tale “Little Fox Sister and the Gray Wolf,” a formidable predator was deceived by a red-haired cheat, and in “The Three Little Pigs”
He was tricked by harmless pigs.
Our ancestors also associated the wolf with death. Indeed, in nature, this predator is considered a kind of forest orderly who hunts weak and sick animals. And the human prototype of a wolf can be considered one who is too angry, greedy and vindictive.
Bear
The fairytale bear is the owner of the forest. He is strong, rude, clumsy and not entirely smart. It is believed that the common people wanted to show the landowners in the image of a bear. Therefore, in fairy tales this animal is often deceived by weaker animals with which ordinary people are associated.
At the same time, in fairy tales you can find another image of a bear: kind, calm, honest and freedom-loving. It is enough to remember how the bear helped the lost girl Masha in the work of the same name.
Man (peasant)
The image of a man in fairy tales has different meanings. In some works, he appears as the personification of the working people: he is somewhat simple-minded, works all the time, does not put up with the injustice of rich employers. On the other hand, traits such as wisdom and cunning were embodied in the man. He is hardworking, not rich, but much more cunning and resourceful than the landowners and generals.
Baba Yaga
A hut on chicken legs, a black cat, a mortar and a broom are the main attributes of any fairytale Baba Yaga. This old woman is both evil (her threats are worth it) and kind (she helps in difficult situations). She is wise, strong-willed, purposeful. She can be an advisor, or she can be a threat.
The image of Baba Yaga in Russian fairy tales is one of the most controversial and controversial. She personifies matriarchal traits. Among our ancestors, Baba Yaga was closely connected with the clan.
Koschei the Deathless
In fairy tales, his image can be seen in three forms: a sorcerer with special powers, the king of the underworld, and an old man who may be the husband of the Snake or a friend of Baba Yaga. Has unusual abilities: turns heroes into animals and birds. You can defeat him only through certain rituals (using a magic horse, a club, burning). Despite his name, he is not at all immortal, because his death is at the tip of a needle (or, as an option, in an egg), which are securely hidden.
The folk prototype of Koshchei is a powerful, evil, cunning and vile person endowed with magical properties.
Ivan the Fool
Despite the ambiguous name, Ivan is not at all the personification of stupidity, even if he is called a fool in the work. In fairy tales, he is the youngest of the sons, who often does nothing, is lazy, but achieves a lot in life, thanks to cunning and luck. This is a positive hero who embodies the characteristics of what people would like to have. A kind of dream where, without much effort, by chance, everything works out: to become rich and to marry a princess. Our ancestors, in the image of Ivan the Fool, wanted to show a successful person.
Ivan Tsarevich
Unlike Ivan the Fool, who gets everything simply and effortlessly, Ivan Tsarevich, in order to achieve his goal, must overcome many obstacles, showing his strength, intelligence and skills. He becomes a prince not only by the fact of birth, which he is not even aware of, but by merit. Like Ivan the Fool, he is most often the youngest of the brothers, only of royal blood.
Kikimora
Kikimora in fairy tales can appear in the form of an ugly creature of indeterminate age (this is a girl, an old woman, and even a man). Is the personification of evil spirits. She tries to hide from people, but lives near residential buildings or in a swamp. Her job is to cause mischief and frighten.
The mythological meaning of kikimora among our ancestors is a person who died in an unrighteous way. Therefore, his soul finds no peace.
Water
The merman is the master of water. This is half old man, half fish. Lives near mills, in pools and wormwood. Scares people and drags them to the bottom; breaks mills and drowns cattle. But a merman can be deceived and defeated by cunning.
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