Baba Yaga
Baba Yaga is an enigmatic or ambiguous character from Slavic folklore (or one of a trio of sisters of the same name) who has two opposite roles. In some motifs she is described as a repulsive or ferocious-looking old woman who fries and eats children, while in others she is a nice old woman, who helps out the hero.[1] She is often associated with forest wildlife. Her distinctive traits are flying around in a mortar, wielding a pestle, and dwelling deep in the forest in a hut standing on chicken legs.
Etymology
Variations of the name Baba Yaga are found in many
Yaga is more etymologically problematic and there exists no clear consensus among scholars about its meaning. In the 19th century,
Attestations
The first clear reference to Baba Yaga (Iaga baba) occurs in 1755 in
In the narratives in which Baba Yaga appears, she displays a number of distinctive attributes: a turning, chicken-legged hut; and a mortar, pestle, and/or mop or broom. Baba Yaga may ride on the broom or, most recognizably, inside a mortar, using the broom to sweep away her tracks.[1] Russian ethnographer Andrey Toporkov explains Baba Yaga's selection of tools by numerous pagan rituals involving women. He suggests that the pestle was first to be used by Baba Yaga, because it may be used as a weapon (as such, it was used in a number of rituals) and the mortar was added later by an association.[5]
Baba Yaga often bears the epithet Baba Yaga kostyanaya noga ('bony leg'), or Baba Yaga s zheleznymi zubami ('with iron teeth')[6] and when inside her dwelling, she may be found stretched out over the stove, reaching from one corner of the hut to another. Baba Yaga may sense and mention the russkiy dukh ('Russian scent') of those that visit her. Her nose may stick into the ceiling. Particular emphasis may be placed by some narrators on the repulsiveness of her nose, breasts, buttocks, or vulva.[7]
Sometimes Baba Yaga is said to live in the Faraway or Thrice-ninth Tsardom: "Beyond the thrice-nine kingdoms, in the thirtieth realm, beyond the fiery river, lives the Baba Yaga."[8] In some tales, a trio of Baba Yagas appears as sisters, all sharing the same name. For example, in a version of "The Maiden Tsar" collected in the 19th century by Alexander Afanasyev, Ivan, a handsome merchant's son, makes his way to the home of one of three Baba Yagas:[9]
He journeyed onwards, straight ahead ... and finally came to a little hut; it stood in the open field, turning on chicken legs. He entered and found Baba Yaga the Bony-legged. "Fie, fie," she said, "the Russian smell was never heard of nor caught sight of here, but it has come by itself. Are you here of your own free will or by compulsion, my good youth?" "Largely of my own free will, and twice as much by compulsion! Do you know, Baba Yaga, where lies the thrice tenth kingdom?" "No, I do not," she said, and told him to go to her second sister; she might know..
Ivan walks for some time before encountering a small hut identical to the first. This Baba Yaga makes the same comments and asks the same question as the first, and Ivan asks the same question. This second Baba Yaga does not know either and directs him to the third, but says that if she gets angry with him "and wants to devour you, take three horns from her and ask her permission to blow them; blow the first one softly, the second one louder, and third still louder." Ivan thanks her and continues on his journey.
After walking for some time, Ivan eventually finds the chicken-legged hut of the youngest of the three sisters turning in an open field. This third and youngest of the Baba Yagas makes the same comment about "the Russian smell" before running to whet her teeth and consume Ivan. Ivan begs her to give him three horns and she does so. The first he blows softly, the second louder, and the third louder yet. This causes birds of all sorts to arrive and swarm the hut. One of the birds is the firebird, which tells him to hop on its back or Baba Yaga will eat him. He does so and the Baba Yaga rushes him and grabs the firebird by its tail. The firebird leaves with Ivan, leaving Baba Yaga behind with a fistful of firebird feathers.
In Afanasyev's collection of tales, Baba Yaga also appears in "Baba Yaga and Zamoryshek", "By Command of the Prince Daniel", "
Depiction on lubki
Baba Yaga appears on a variety of
According to the Ph.D. dissertation of Andreas Johns, "Neither of these two interpretations significantly changes the image of Baba Yaga familiar from folktales. Either she can be seen as a literal evil witch, treated somewhat humorously in these prints, or as a figurative 'witch', an unpopular foreign empress. Both literal and figurative understandings of Baba Yaga are documented in the nineteenth century and were probably present at the time these prints were made."[12]
Generally, Johns describes Baba Yaga as "one of the most memorable and distinctive figures in eastern European folklore", and observes that she is "enigmatic" and often exhibits "striking ambiguity".
Related figures and analogues
Similarities between Baba Yaga and other beings in folklore may be due to either direct relation or cultural contact between the Eastern Slavs and other surrounding peoples.[
Some scholars have proposed that the concept of Baba Yaga was influenced by East Slavic contact with
Adaptations
Mussorgsky's 1874 suite Pictures at an Exhibition has a movement titled "The Hut on Hen's Legs (Baba Yaga)". The rock adaptation of this piece recorded by the English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer includes a two-part track "The Hut of Baba Yaga", interrupted by "The Curse of Baba Yaga" (movements 8 to 10).[19]
Animated segments telling the story of Baba Yaga were used in the 2014 documentary The Vanquishing of the Witch Baba Yaga, directed by American filmmaker Jessica Oreck.
See also
- Babay, a night spirit in Slavic folklore
- Child cannibalism
- Despoina / Persephone
- Hansel and Gretel
- Hecate
- Izanami
- Lawn Dogs, a movie which uses the story of Baba Yaga as its central motif
- Morana (goddess)
- The Morrígan
- Yama-uba, a cannibalistic ugly crone in Japanese folklore
Citations
- ^ a b Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (in Russian). 1906. .
- ^ a b Johns 2004, p. 9.
- ^ Johns 2004, p. 10.
- ^ Johns 2004, p. 12.
- ^ Andrey Toporkov, "Откуда у Бабы-Яги ступа?" ["Where Did Baba Yaga Get the Mortar?]
- ^ "Baba Yaga – Old Peter's Russian tales". 1916.
- ^ Johns 1998, p. 21.
- ^ Afanasyev, Alexander, ed. (1907). Crowell – via Wikisource. . . New York:
- ^ Afanasyev 1973, p. 231.
- ^ Afanasyev 1916, pp. .xiii–xv.
- ^ Johns 2004, p. 15.
- ^ a b Johns 2004, pp. 15–16.
- ^ Johns 2004, p. 1–3.
- ^ Johns 2004, p. 61–66.
- ^ Hubbs 1993, p. 40.
- ^ Johns 2004, pp. 68–84.
- ^ Johns 2004, p. 61.
- ^ Johns 2004, pp. 80–82.
- ^ "Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Pictures at an Exhibition", AllMusic, retrieved 27 March 2023
- ^ Hoad, Phil (29 September 2016). "The Vanquishing of the Witch Baba Yaga review – bewitching nature documentary". The Guardian. Guardian News & Media Limited. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ^ Yu, Mallory (8 October 2022). "GennaRose Nethercott uses folklore to explore a painful, and personal, history". NPR. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- ^ "The House With Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson". Junior Library Guild. Archived from the original on 29 November 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- ^ "The House with Chicken Legs (Paperback)". Waterstones. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- ^ "The House with Chicken Legs", book review at Goodreads.
- ^ "The House with Chicken Legs", book review at Kirkus Reviews.
Sources
- Afanasyev, Alexander (1916). Magnus, Leonard A. (ed.). Russian Folk-Tales. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co.
- ISBN 978-0-394-73090-5.
- Henry, C. (2022). Ryan, L. (ed.). Into the Forest: Tales of the Baba Yaga. Black Spot Books. ISBN 978-1-64548-123-2.
- Johns, Andreas (1998). "Baba Yaga and the Russian Mother". The Slavic and East European Journal. 42 (1). JSTOR 310050.
- Johns, Andreas (2004). Baba Yaga: The Ambiguous Mother and Witch of the Russian Folktale. New York: ISBN 978-0-8204-6769-6.
- Hubbs, Joanna (1993). Mother Russia: The Feminine Myth in Russian culture (1st Midland Book ed.). Bloomington: Indiana University Press. OCLC 29539185.
- Ness, Mari (13 August 2021). "Chicken Feet and Fiery Skulls: Tales of the Russian Witch Baba Yaga". Tor.com. Retrieved 29 September 2023.