A folk tale is a message from our ancestors, passed down from time immemorial. Through magical stories, sacred information about morality and spirituality, traditions and culture is conveyed to us. Heroes of Russians folk tales very colorful. They live in peace full of wonders and dangers. There is a battle between light and dark forces, as a result of which good and justice always win.
Ivan the Fool
Main character Russian fairy tales - seeker. He sets out on a difficult journey to get a magical object or a bride, and to deal with the monster. In this case, the character may initially occupy a low social position. Typically this is peasant son, the youngest child in the family.
By the way, the word “fool” in ancient times did not have a negative meaning. Since the 14th century, it has served as a talismanic name, often given to the youngest son. He did not receive any inheritance from his parents. Older brothers in fairy tales are successful and practical. Ivan spends time on the stove, since he is not interested in living conditions. He does not seek money or fame, and patiently endures the ridicule of others.
However, it is Ivan the Fool who is ultimately lucky. He is unpredictable, able to solve non-standard riddles, and defeats the enemy with cunning. The hero is characterized by mercy and kindness. He helps out those in trouble, releases the pike, for which he is awarded magical help. Having overcome all obstacles, Ivan the Fool marries the Tsar's daughter and becomes rich. Behind unsightly clothes hides the image of a sage serving good and wary of falsehood.
Bogatyr
This hero was borrowed from epics. He is handsome, brave, noble. It often grows “by leaps and bounds.” He has enormous strength and is able to saddle a heroic horse. There are many stories where a character fights a monster, dies, and then is resurrected.
The names of the heroes of Russian fairy tales can be different. We meet Ilya Muromets, Bova Korolevich, Alyosha Popovich, Nikita Kozhemyaka and other characters. Ivan Tsarevich can also be classified in this category. He enters into battle with the Serpent Gorynych or Koshchei, saddles Sivka-Burka, protects the weak, and rescues the princess.
It is significant that the hero sometimes makes mistakes (responds rudely to the grandmother he meets, burns the skin of a frog). Subsequently, he has to repent of this, ask for forgiveness, and correct the situation. By the end of the tale, he gains wisdom, finds the princess and receives half the kingdom as a reward for his exploits.
Wonder Bride
By the end of the story, an intelligent and beautiful girl becomes the wife of a fairy-tale hero. In Russian folk tales we meet Vasilisa the Wise, Marya Morevna, and Elena the Beautiful. They embody the popular idea of a woman standing guard over her family.
The heroines are distinguished by their resourcefulness and intelligence. Thanks to their help, the hero solves ingenious riddles and defeats the enemy. Often a beautiful princess is subject to the forces of nature, she is able to turn into an animal (swan, frog) and create real miracles. The heroine uses powerful forces for the benefit of her lover.
There is also an image of a meek stepdaughter in fairy tales, who achieves success thanks to her hard work and kindness. Common qualities for all positive female images are loyalty, purity of aspirations and readiness to help.
Which hero of Russian fairy tales is the most beloved and popular among children and adults? The first place rightfully belongs to Baba Yaga. This is a very controversial character with a terrifying appearance, a hooked nose and a bone leg. In ancient times, “Baba” was the name given to the mother, the eldest woman in the family. "Yaga" may be related to the Old Russian words "yagat" ("to shout loudly, swear") or "yagaya" ("sick, angry").
An old witch lives in the forest, on the border between our world and the other world. Her hut on chicken legs is surrounded by a fence made of human bones. Grandma flies on a mortar, makes friends with evil spirits, kidnaps children and keeps many magical objects from uninvited guests. According to scientists, it is associated with the kingdom of the dead. This is indicated by the loose hair that was unbraided for women before burial, the bone leg, and also the house. The Slavs made wooden huts for the dead, which they placed on stumps in the forest.
In Rus' they always respected their ancestors and turned to them for advice. That’s why good fellows come to Baba Yaga, and she tests them. To those who pass the test, the witch gives a hint, points the way to Koshchei, gives a magic ball, as well as a towel, comb and other wonders. Baba Yaga doesn’t eat children either, but she puts them in the oven and performs the ancient ritual of “over-baking.” In Rus' it was believed that in this way a child could be healed of an illness.
Koschey
The name of this fairy-tale hero of Russian fairy tales could come from the Turkic “koschey”, which translates as “slave”. The character was chained and kept prisoner for three hundred years. He himself also likes to kidnap beautiful girls and hide them in prison. According to another version, the name comes from the Slavic “kostit” (to scold, to harm) or “bone”. Koschey is often depicted as a skinny old man, more like a skeleton.
He is a very powerful sorcerer, lives far from other people and owns countless treasures. The death of the hero is in a needle, which is securely hidden in objects and animals nested inside each other like a nesting doll. The prototype of Koshchei may be the winter deity Karachun, who was born from a golden egg. It covered the earth with ice and brought death with it, forcing our ancestors to move to warmer areas. In other myths, Koshchei was the name of the son of Chernobog. The latter could control time and commanded the army of the underworld.
This is one of the most ancient images. The hero of Russian fairy tales differs from foreign dragons by having several heads. Usually their number is a multiple of three. The creature can fly, breathes fire and abducts people. It lives in caves, where it hides captives and treasures. Often appears before positive hero coming out of the water. The nickname “Gorynych” is associated either with the character’s habitat (mountain) or with the verb “to burn.”
The image of the terrible Serpent is borrowed from ancient myths about the dragon who guards the entrance to underground kingdom. To become a man, a teenager had to defeat him, i.e. accomplish a feat, and then enter the world of the dead and return back as an adult. According to another version, the Serpent Gorynych is a collective image of the steppe nomads who attacked Rus' in huge hordes. At the same time, they used fire shells that burned wooden cities.
Forces of nature
In ancient times, people personified the Sun, Wind, Moon, Thunder, Rain and other phenomena on which their lives depended. They often became heroes of Russian fairy tales, married princesses, and helped good heroes. There are also anthropomorphic rulers of certain elements: Moroz Ivanovich, the goblin, the water one. They can play both positive and negative characters.
Nature is depicted as spiritual. The well-being of people largely depends on her actions. Thus, Morozko rewards the meek, hardworking daughter of an old man, whom her stepmother ordered to abandon in the forest, with gold and a fur coat. At the same time, her selfish stepsister dies from his spell. The Slavs worshiped the forces of nature and at the same time were wary of them, tried to appease them with the help of sacrifices, and made requests.
Grateful animals
In fairy tales we meet a talking wolf, a magical horse and cow, a goldfish, and a pike that grants wishes. And also a bear, hare, hedgehog, raven, eagle, etc. They all understand human speech and have unusual abilities. The hero helps them out of trouble, gives them life, and in return they help defeat the enemy.
Traces of totemism are clearly visible here. The Slavs believed that each genus descended from a specific animal. After death, the soul of a person moves into the beast and vice versa. For example, in the fairy tale "Burenushka" the soul of a deceased mother is reborn in the form of a cow to help her orphaned daughter. Such an animal could not be killed, because it became a relative and protected from harm. Sometimes the heroes of a fairy tale can themselves turn into an animal or a bird.
Firebird
Many positive heroes of fairy tales try to take possession of it. The wonderful bird dazzles the eyes like the golden sun and lives behind a stone wall in rich lands. Freely floating in the sky, it is a symbol of the heavenly body, which bestows luck, abundance, and creative power. This is a representative of another world, who often turns into a kidnapper. The firebird steals rejuvenating apples that bestow beauty and immortality.
Only those who are pure in soul, believe in the dream and are closely connected with their deceased ancestors can catch it. Usually this is the youngest son, who had to take care of his old parents and spent a lot of time near the family hearth.
Thus, the heroes of Russian fairy tales teach us to respect our ancestors, listen to our hearts, overcome fear, pursue our dreams despite mistakes, and always help those asking for help. And then the divine radiance of the magical firebird will fall on a person, transforming him and bestowing happiness.
A folk tale is a message from our ancestors, passed down from time immemorial. Through magical stories, sacred information about morality reaches us...
From Masterweb
16.04.2018 19:01A folk tale is a message from our ancestors, passed down from time immemorial. Through magical stories, sacred information about morality and spirituality, traditions and culture is conveyed to us. The heroes of Russian folk tales are very colorful. They live in a world full of wonders and dangers. There is a battle between light and dark forces, as a result of which good and justice always win.
Ivan the Fool
The main character of Russian fairy tales is a seeker. He sets out on a difficult journey to get a magical object or a bride, and to deal with the monster. In this case, the character may initially occupy a low social position. As a rule, this is a peasant son, the youngest child in the family.
By the way, the word “fool” in ancient times did not have a negative meaning. Since the 14th century, it has served as a talismanic name, often given to the youngest son. He did not receive any inheritance from his parents. Older brothers in fairy tales are successful and practical. Ivan spends time on the stove, since he is not interested in living conditions. He does not seek money or fame, and patiently endures the ridicule of others.
However, it is Ivan the Fool who is ultimately lucky. He is unpredictable, able to solve non-standard riddles, and defeats the enemy with cunning. The hero is characterized by mercy and kindness. He helps out those in trouble, releases the pike, for which he is awarded magical help. Having overcome all obstacles, Ivan the Fool marries the Tsar's daughter and becomes rich. Behind unsightly clothes hides the image of a sage serving good and wary of falsehood.
Bogatyr
This hero was borrowed from epics. He is handsome, brave, noble. It often grows “by leaps and bounds.” He has enormous strength and is able to saddle a heroic horse. There are many stories where a character fights a monster, dies, and then is resurrected.
The names of the heroes of Russian fairy tales can be different. We meet Ilya Muromets, Bova Korolevich, Alyosha Popovich, Nikita Kozhemyaka and other characters. Ivan Tsarevich can also be classified in this category. He enters into battle with the Serpent Gorynych or Koshchei, saddles Sivka-Burka, protects the weak, and rescues the princess.
It is significant that the hero sometimes makes mistakes (responds rudely to the grandmother he meets, burns the skin of a frog). Subsequently, he has to repent of this, ask for forgiveness, and correct the situation. By the end of the tale, he gains wisdom, finds the princess and receives half the kingdom as a reward for his exploits.
Wonder Bride
By the end of the story, an intelligent and beautiful girl becomes the wife of a fairy-tale hero. In Russian folk tales we meet Vasilisa the Wise, Marya Morevna, and Elena the Beautiful. They embody the popular idea of a woman standing guard over her family.
The heroines are distinguished by their resourcefulness and intelligence. Thanks to their help, the hero solves ingenious riddles and defeats the enemy. Often a beautiful princess is subject to the forces of nature, she is able to turn into an animal (swan, frog) and create real miracles. The heroine uses powerful forces for the benefit of her lover.
There is also an image of a meek stepdaughter in fairy tales, who achieves success thanks to her hard work and kindness. Common qualities for all positive female images are loyalty, purity of aspirations and readiness to help.
Baba Yaga
Which hero of Russian fairy tales is the most beloved and popular among children and adults? The first place rightfully belongs to Baba Yaga. This is a very controversial character with a terrifying appearance, a hooked nose and a bone leg. In ancient times, “Baba” was the name given to the mother, the eldest woman in the family. "Yaga" may be related to the Old Russian words "yagat" ("to shout loudly, swear") or "yagaya" ("sick, angry").
An old witch lives in the forest, on the border between our world and the other world. Her hut on chicken legs is surrounded by a fence made of human bones. Grandmother flies on a mortar, makes friends with evil spirits, kidnaps children and keeps many magical objects from uninvited guests. According to scientists, it is associated with the kingdom of the dead. This is indicated by the loose hair that was unbraided for women before burial, the bone leg, and also the house. The Slavs made wooden huts for the dead, which they placed on stumps in the forest.
In Rus' they always respected their ancestors and turned to them for advice. That’s why good fellows come to Baba Yaga, and she tests them. To those who pass the test, the witch gives a hint, points the way to Koshchei, gives a magic ball, as well as a towel, comb and other wonders. Baba Yaga doesn’t eat children either, but she puts them in the oven and performs the ancient ritual of “over-baking.” In Rus' it was believed that in this way a child could be healed of an illness.
Koschey
The name of this fairy-tale hero of Russian fairy tales could come from the Turkic “koschey”, which translates as “slave”. The character was chained and kept prisoner for three hundred years. He himself also likes to kidnap beautiful girls and hide them in prison. According to another version, the name comes from the Slavic “kostit” (to scold, to harm) or “bone”. Koschey is often depicted as a skinny old man, more like a skeleton.
He is a very powerful sorcerer, lives far from other people and owns countless treasures. The death of the hero is in a needle, which is securely hidden in objects and animals nested inside each other like a nesting doll. The prototype of Koshchei may be the winter deity Karachun, who was born from a golden egg. It covered the earth with ice and brought death with it, forcing our ancestors to move to warmer areas. In other myths, Koshchei was the name of the son of Chernobog. The latter could control time and commanded the army of the underworld.
Dragon
This is one of the most ancient images. The hero of Russian fairy tales differs from foreign dragons by having several heads. Usually their number is a multiple of three. The creature can fly, breathes fire and abducts people. It lives in caves, where it hides captives and treasures. Often appears in front of a positive hero after emerging from the water. The nickname “Gorynych” is associated either with the character’s habitat (mountain) or with the verb “to burn.”
The image of the terrible Serpent is borrowed from ancient myths about the dragon who guards the entrance to the underworld. To become a man, a teenager had to defeat him, i.e. accomplish a feat, and then enter the world of the dead and return back as an adult. According to another version, the Serpent Gorynych is a collective image of the steppe nomads who attacked Rus' in huge hordes. At the same time, they used fire shells that burned wooden cities.
Forces of nature
In ancient times, people personified the Sun, Wind, Moon, Thunder, Rain and other phenomena on which their lives depended. They often became heroes of Russian fairy tales, married princesses, and helped good heroes. There are also anthropomorphic rulers of certain elements: Moroz Ivanovich, the goblin, the water one. They can play the role of both positive and negative characters.
Nature is depicted as spiritual. The well-being of people largely depends on her actions. Thus, Morozko rewards the meek, hardworking daughter of an old man, whom her stepmother ordered to abandon in the forest, with gold and a fur coat. At the same time, her selfish stepsister dies from his spell. The Slavs worshiped the forces of nature and at the same time were wary of them, tried to appease them with the help of sacrifices, and made requests.
Grateful animals
In fairy tales we meet a talking wolf, a magical horse and cow, a goldfish, and a pike that grants wishes. And also a bear, hare, hedgehog, raven, eagle, etc. They all understand human speech and have unusual abilities. The hero helps them out of trouble, gives them life, and in return they help defeat the enemy.
Traces of totemism are clearly visible here. The Slavs believed that each genus descended from a specific animal. After death, the soul of a person moves into the beast and vice versa. For example, in the fairy tale "Burenushka" the soul of a deceased mother is reborn in the form of a cow to help her orphaned daughter. Such an animal could not be killed, because it became a relative and protected from harm. Sometimes the heroes of a fairy tale can themselves turn into an animal or a bird.
Firebird
Many positive heroes of fairy tales try to take possession of it. The wonderful bird dazzles the eyes like the golden sun and lives behind a stone wall in rich lands. Freely floating in the sky, it is a symbol of the heavenly body, which bestows luck, abundance, and creative power. This is a representative of another world, who often turns into a kidnapper. The firebird steals rejuvenating apples that bestow beauty and immortality.
Only those who are pure in soul, believe in the dream and are closely connected with their deceased ancestors can catch it. Usually this is the youngest son, who had to take care of his old parents and spent a lot of time near the family hearth.
Thus, the heroes of Russian fairy tales teach us to respect our ancestors, listen to our hearts, overcome fear, pursue our dreams despite mistakes, and always help those asking for help. And then the divine radiance of the magical firebird will fall on a person, transforming him and bestowing happiness.
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Artist Roman Papsuev created a series of drawings in which he reinterpreted the images of fairy tale heroes Ancient Rus'. In the author's interpretation, such heroes as Ilya Muromets, Vasilisa the Beautiful, Kashchei the Immortal and many others. others may well look like characters from a fantasy world.
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 quite fit into the image.
The author of the project in no way distorts the history of the great heritage of our ancestors. He is only trying to make his own vision of famous heroes. “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.” - explains Roman.
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 Finist.
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. He casts spells both with the help of his own power and with the help of nannies (grandmothers, nannies, mothers, 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 is 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 than an 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
Leshy. 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.
Bolotnik. 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.
Water 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 a family photo, because of which I spent a sleepless night at work, I was so overwhelmed. 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. . quite a positive character. I drew her in a magpie (headdress married women) to emphasize 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 often makes hubby commit 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.
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:
1. Ivanushka became a little goat.
2. Alyonushka was drowned.
3. 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”, dust, decay, hopelessness, that’s all).
4. There is a witch-witch who organized this whole drowning mess.
5. 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.”
6. In all versions of the fairy tale, where Ivanushka turned into a little goat, he remained one. Well, you understand what I mean, right?
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.
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Cheerful, kind, brave, resourceful, greedy, curious, evil, harmful, simple-minded, sympathetic, courageous, fearless, courageous, mystical... Male image in a fairy tale teacher of GBOU secondary school No. 1637 Nikitushkina G.V.
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Leshy The goblin is also called a forester, a forester, a leshak, a forester, a woodsman. The place of residence of the goblin is a remote forest slum, but sometimes also a wasteland. However, this spirit lives in the forest only in the warm season. At the beginning of October, he falls through the ground and spends the winter somewhere in the underworld, and in the spring he jumps out of the ground again and settles in his old lair. Before wintering, the goblin usually goes berserk, raises a storm, breaks trees, and drives animals into holes and lairs. According to Polish belief, the goblin loves old dry trees, especially willows; he often sits on these trees, taking on the appearance of an owl. Poles-villagers avoid cutting down such trees, so as not to incur some kind of trouble on themselves by angering the devil. According to Russian belief, the goblin also loves old trees, but prefers to turn gray in their hollows. We have a saying: “Out of an empty hollow is either an owl, an owl, or Satan himself.”
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Vodyanoy Vodyanoy (Vodyanik, Vodovik) – an ancient character Slavic mythology, lord of reservoirs and lord of the water element. The merman, like other higher elemental spirits (Leshy, Brownie), is not an isolated character. Our ancestors believed that each body of water, be it a river, lake or stream, has its own guardian, or Vodyany, who performs a purely administrative function - monitoring the balance and harmony of the ecosystem entrusted to him. However, in emergency situations, Vodyanoy can act as the head of the power structures of a reservoir, that is, for example, when trying to capture a forest lake by dark forces (swamping), Vodyanoy gathers mermaids and other water spirits around him and leads them into battle. Vodyanoy does not live in swamps, so our ancestors considered swamps to be extremely negative places
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Brownie January 28 - Kudesy - day of treating the brownie. Brownie - baker, joker, cricket protector. The name of the holiday - kudesy (tambourines) - indicates that our ancestors communicated with the brownie or simply had fun, delighting the ears with music: Grandfather-next-door! Eat the porridge and take care of our hut! The brownie is none other than one of the children of the god Veles, the original protector of the Slavs. And his children settled closer to people in order to help them in everything. Those who lived behind the stove were called brownies, those who went into the forest were called goblins, the good spirits of rivers and lakes were called water spirits, and those who were ready to help a person in the field were field workers. According to one legend, this spirit came from among the rebellious celestials thrown to earth. Having settled down close to people, he acquired good nature and a penchant for jokes, which, frankly speaking, were distinguished by a fair amount of originality.
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Damn Damn, Devil (Russian “devil”, “devil”, Ukrainian, Belarusian, devil, Slovenian crt, Czech, Slovakian cert, Polish czart, probably from Proto-Slavic *cьrt, “cursed” ), in Slavic mythology an evil spirit. The image of Ch. is of pre-Christian origin, but Christian ideas about the devil had a decisive influence on his later appearance: in folklore and folk pictures, Ch. are anthropomorphic creatures covered with black fur, with horns, tails and hooves. “The devil is drawn, and so terrible: black, with horns, a tail and hooves” - this is how this representative of evil spirits is described in one of the Russian fairy tales. Its hooves can be those of a goat, a cow or a horse - the character and malignancy of the devil’s offspring do not depend on this. All Slavic peoples know devils. They were called differently everywhere, especially since it was never recommended to directly remember the devil - he would appear in an instant! Usually they used substitute nicknames and euphemisms: undead, enemy, evil one, unclean, unwashed, gamer, cursed.
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Koschey the Immortal The naming of this character deserves attention. Storytellers called him “Kashchey”, “Kashch”, “Kashcha”. In Ukrainian fairy tales, the name Koschey has such vowels as “Kostey” and is especially consonant with the word “bones,” which, probably, along with the obvious connection of this character with the idea of death, served as the basis for later depictions of this character, for example, in film adaptations of fairy tales, in the form of a thin, skeletal-like man. It is also significant that in Russian folk dialects the word “Koshchey” means “a thin, skinny person, a walking skeleton.” However, most likely, it is of foreign language origin. In the monuments of ancient Russian writing, the word “koschey” is found with the meaning “adolescent, boy”, “prisoner, slave”
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Petrushka Oddly enough, Petrushka is not a native Russian character puppet theater. Its prototypes can be found in different countries. In Italy - this is Pulcinella, in Germany - Kasper, or Gansvut, in France - Polichinelle, in England - Mr. Punch, Turkey - Karagöz, Hungary - the knight Laszlo, India - Vidushaka. That’s why Petrushka’s clothes are foreign: a red cap with a tassel, the same red shirt, a cloak and canvas pants. And the appearance of the doll cannot be called Slavic. It is believed that it was from the Italian Pulicinella (translated as “cockerel”) that she received such an unusual appearance: large almond-shaped eyes, a huge hooked nose, exaggeratedly large arms and head, and a hump on the back. Even the face itself was dark, and the eyes were black. A wide-open mouth is by no means a smile, it’s a real grin, because Petrushka was not initially a positive hero. In addition, he had only four fingers on his hands, which perhaps hinted at a dark essence.
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jester Jester 1. A wit and joker, specially kept at a palace or at a rich manor house to entertain gentlemen and guests with funny antics. Court sh. Barsky sh, 2. Comic character in farce shows, clown. 3. transfer The one who jokes makes faces for the amusement of others (colloquial disapproved).. Jesters and fools were “constant, fixed in ordinary (i.e., not carnival) life, bearers of the carnival principle.” They completely got used to their comedic “mask”; the role and existence of the buffoon coincided. The type of jester contains universal comedy, extending to the asociality and intemperance of the trickster himself (self-parody), to his fooled victims, high rituals, etc.
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The image of Ivan Tsarevich Ivan - Tsarevich - Russian hero fairy tales. Main actor in many fairy tales (for example, “The Frog Princess”, “Ivan the Tsarevich and Gray wolf", "Rejuvenating apples", "Finist - a clear falcon", "Dead Princess", "One-Eyed, Two-Eyed and Three-Eyed"). Many researchers consider Ivan the Tsarevich to be ideal fairy-tale hero. Indeed, in fairy tales, Ivan the Tsarevich is always portrayed as a young, handsome, active and brave hero. N.V. Novikov believes that the image of Ivan the Tsarevich was formed under the influence of the heroic epic. Traces of such influence are manifested in such motives as the acquisition of heroic strength, fights with monsters, and the return to life of a deceased hero. V. Ya. Propp correlated the image of Ivan the Tsarevich with the most ancient mythological characters who die and are resurrected every year, starting new life(Osiris, Yarila).
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The image of Ivanushka the Fool Ivanushka the Fool is a character in everyday life and fairy tales of the late tradition of folk tales. The emergence of this image is associated, first of all, with lexical associations: vyunosh, vyunets, bindweed, vansha, vanyok “young man, youth, yunak, well done”; vanka "doll, blockhead"; vanzha, vanzya, vanka "fool, stupid", "simpleton, simpleton." Latest values the words vanka appear relatively recently - at the final stage of the transition of the processes of social development in Rus' into the phase of sustainable degeneration of the traditional foundations of the primordial civilization.
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The image of a soldier A Russian soldier can be loved or hated, he can be captured and even defeated in battle, but the enemy will never be able to find out the mystery of the soul of a Russian warrior. The most popular hero of Russian fairy tales, along with forest animals and the kolobok. As a rule, in the plot of a fairy tale, the soldier is either demobilized or AWOL. He is distinguished by his wisdom and ingenuity, as well as his cooking abilities: one porridge from an ax is worth something.
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The image of an old man In almost every fairy tale there is an old man who suddenly appears in front of the main character and gives him helpful advice and also suddenly disappears. In the fairy tale “The Frog Princess” he is also there: “: He was walking, whether close, or far, or briefly, an old old man came across him: We read in the fairy tale “Two Ivans - Soldiers’ Sons”: “They walk along the road, but towards they are a gray-haired old man; They forgot that their mother was punishing them and walked past without saying hello...<...>There is nothing to do, the good fellows went home and hung their heads; They are walking along the road, and they meet that old man again." The Myths say who this old man is: ": They (heavenly warriors Evening with Midnight) suddenly met on their way a little old man with a gray beard. And that old man began to beckon them to follow him - he would lure them in one direction, then lead them in another, then turn back: And the old man disappeared, as if he had never been. This is the kind of power this old man possessed, and all because he was Time itself: “That is why the old man knows everything about Vasilisa the Wise: “Vasilisa the Wise was born more cunning, wiser than her father; That’s why he got angry with her and ordered her to be a frog for three years,” and about where Tsarevich Ivan should go to find her: “Here’s a ball for you, where it will roll - follow it.”
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Internet resources: http://www.gp.dn.ua/?p=16313 http://www.liveinternet.ru/use... http://elvenpath.epot.biz/view... http://vdnews. ru/news/2831 http://komkultura.ru/?p=6538 Http://www.ruskid.ru/audioskaz… http://pryahi.indeep.ru/histor… http://my-dictionary.ru /word/38682/shut/ http://mp3sort.biz/viewtn.php? http://moeimja.kz/tolkovanie-s... http://tsivin.narod.ru/content... http://procanvas.ru/shop/repro... http://russian7.ru/2012/02/7- http://felbert.livejournal.com/825553.html http://photo.qip.ru/users/dank http://www.sayanogorsk.info/attach/id/24673/skazki_russkogo_lesa.jpg
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 Great Soviet Encyclopedia, which reads:
"Vasilisa the Wise is a character in 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. The 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 ruler of the 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 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 the Fool or Ivan the Fool or some other central fairy-tale character 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 feminine character: is he good enough to connect his 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 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. The tasks and threats show 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 quite, 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 all. - 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...