Post by Joanna on Sept 15, 2014 17:24:51 GMT -5
Beware the Baba Yaga
There are many supernatural or weird creatures in folklore that are represented by strange and feared entities that live in the wilderness or deep within the woods. Whether they are real or imaginary is unknown, but these creatures exist in legends and stories in every part of the world.
Sometimes these unusual beings are believed to be purely evil, while others are a puzzling combination of both good and bad. The interesting thing about the legends regarding these creatures is that there is a moral or reason for the creature or the story itself. Such is the legend of “Baba Yaga,” a wild old woman from the world of spirits, a witch-like creature in Russian folklore.
In Slavic (regions of Eastern and Central Europe, the Balkans, Central Asia and North Asia) stories of ancient times, she is depicted as a nature spirit, commanding other spirits with her magic and she is to be respected as much as the natural world around her. It is said that parents used the stories about this feared witch of the wilderness, to scare children into not straying too far from home while they were away from their families and also to instil an awareness regarding the natural world as being worthy of awe and respect.
In the mythical stories that differ from culture to culture, there are several versions of Baba Yaga’s behavior and character. Some tales speak of her helpful nature toward those who approach her with respect and “good preparation,” meaning that one should know the correct answers to her questions and behave accordingly. On the other hand, if you ask too many questions or give the wrong answers, she can be quite dangerous and punish or capture you. But if one has a pure heart, faith and respects her as an elder and wise entity, the meeting might prove beneficial.
In some Slavic and Polish literature, the name also refers to an old, grandmotherly type woman. Perhaps this how she wants to be treated! Russian folktales speak of Baba Yaga as an old and wrinkled woman flying around in a mortar, and a pestle as her rudder and a branch of the silver birch tree as a broom to remove her tracks.
However, the most interesting thing is her house or the place where she lives, which is said to be a hut or log cabin that stands on chicken leg stilts. The front door has a keyhole that is like a mouth with sharp teeth and the fence around the house is made with poles topped with human skulls. Just one pole is left without a skull, giving the onlooker the impression the missing skull might be that of the person approaching. There is also a legend that claims the house has no door but when these magical words are spoken: “Turn your back to the forest and your front to me,” voila! the door is visible. There are also servants inside her house, but they are invisible and if one dares ask about them, the old woman might resort to violence.
Some folktales speak about Baba Yaga as helpful, guiding those who are on a quest or who are in need of some sort of guidance, while in some stories, she is as an evil old woman who kidnaps children and threatens to eat them. In one of the tales, “Vasilissa the Beautiful,” by Ivan Bilibin, a young woman is enslaved by Baba Yaga when she is sent on an errand to meet her. Luckily, the old hag’s servants, a dog, a cat, a tree and a gate set the young woman free – all because the girl had treated the servants with kindness.
In the Polish version of Baba Yaga, her house stands on a single chicken leg, however, her cabin is quite similar to the traditional storehouses constructed to store grain and foodstuff by the hunter-gatherer tribes who were often away on their travels and had to keep animals from getting into their storehouses. But the bases of these huts stood on trunks or stumps and they did not have any windows or doors and the entrance was through a trapdoor in the center. In one version of the tale, Baba Yaga has three riders on horses guarding her house. One is white depicting day, one is black as night and the third is red depicting the sun.
All over Russia, folk tales of Baba Yaga are included in several legends. But the interesting question is: was she a nature spirit invented for the purpose of instilling wisdom and fear, or does the legend of Baba Yaga have any truth to it? Beware!
Source: Fatima Sajid, Dawn, September 12, 2014.