User:GreenwoodTree7/sandbox/russianfolklore

History
=== Folk Tradition of Pre-Christian Rus' (Pre-987 CE ) === Slavic culture is thought to have originated around 3000-2000 BCE, although we have little information on pre-Christian Rus'. The organization of early Slavic society seems largely to have been based in small towns run by a group of people rather than a single leader, and had a strong emphasis on one's family unit. The area proposed as the homeland of Slavic peoples is roughly around modern-day eastern Poland, and is thought to have been heavily forested until the nineteenth century. Nature played an essential role in early Slavic culture.

One early Russian object of worship was the "Moist Mother Earth", and a later, possibly related deity was called Mokosh, whose name means "moist" and may have Finnish origins. Mokosh was the goddess of women, children, and animals, and was worshiped for her connection with fertility. Russian soil is generally too thin for robust agriculture, rainfall is infrequent and inopportunely timed in much of the area, and the growing season is relatively short. Fertility and moisture are therefore particularly essential to the success of Russian agriculture. Because from early times the Rus' had an agricultural rather than hunting or herding basis for their food production, and were not on good terms with neighboring peoples, the success of Russian society was largely dependent on the success of its agriculture.

Additionally, there is thought to have been a notable focus on the feminine element in early Slavic culture, with a subsequent shift to a more patriarchal society as Christianity got a foothold in the area. Ancestor worship was another central aspect of tribal life, and served as a link between past and future generations. Animism was also a common belief, and nature and house spirits played a central role in daily tribal life.

=== Folk tradition in Christian Rus' (987 - 1917/1922 CE ) === Vladimir I (or "Vladimir the Great", "Saint Vladimir") converted to Christianity in 987 CE, and subsequently mandated it as the state religion of the Kievan Rus'. Just beforehand, he had pushed for worship of a pagan pantheon not native to the Russian people, but that proved largely unsuccessful. Because Christianity had already existed in the area, it caught on more easily than the foreign pagan tradition. Idols were destroyed at Kiev and Novgorod, two cities where Vladimir I had previously put particular attention into establishing a pagan pantheon. Despite the superficial eradication of pagan belief, animism and ancestor worship survived in rituals, stories, charms, and practices in peasant life. Certain pagan deities and objects of worship became inducted into the ranks of Christian saints. Other times, pagan holidays remained in practice but were called by new names, such as Trinity Day, during which peasant girls would honor the nature spirit rusalka, commemorate past ancestors, and practice divination rituals. Another such holiday is St. John's day, which was devoted to "seeing off the spring" and performing rituals to encourage springtime to come again soon. The coexistence of pagan and Christian beliefs in Russian culture is called "duality of religion" or "duality of belief", and was salient in much of Russian peasant culture.

Certain pagan rituals and beliefs were tolerated and even supported by the Church. In these instances, rites were reinterpreted as essentially Christian. For instance, the wintertime ritual of spreading hay on the floor became associated with celebrating the birth of Jesus at Christmastime. When the Church condemned a practice, it typically did not dismiss it as made-up, but instead acknowledged its power and attributed it to the devil.

Folktales
Evidence of Russian folktales exists as early as the 12th century, and indicates it had been around for some time earlier. Not much content from early folktales exists today, however, largely due to suppression of non-Christian narratives by the Church. Telling folktales was strictly forbidden at least as early as the 12th century, and in some cases transgression led to death. It was only by the 16th century that Russian folktales began getting recorded, and only by the 19th century with Bogdan Bronitsyn's "Russian Folk Tales" (1838) that a compilation of genuine Russian folktales was published. Study of folklore gained particular popularity in the late 20th century (around the 1960's).

There have been several attempts to classify European folklore, and one notable system was begun by Finnish folklorist Antti Arne, and later developed by Leningrad professor N. P. Andreyev. This system identified 915 main types of folktales (categorized by themes, plots, characters, and other story elements). Of these, about one third (317 types) were found in both Eastern and Western European tales, one third (302) types were found exclusively in Western European tales, and one third (296 types) were found exclusively in Eastern European tales.

Folk Magic
There were two primary types of magic in ancient and peasant Russian culture: (1) "unclean", or evil magic, and (2) productive, or good magic. The former is associated with the devil, and is generally considered hostile. The latter is protective against evil magic or seeks to produce good for the user. Some magic practices, such as divination, which were traditionally considered productive magic, were largely reassigned as unclean magic by the Christian church once it was in power. Most productive magic was "homeopathic", meaning that a symbolic action was performed with the hope of evoking a related response from reality. For example, a springtime ritual of carrying around branches with artificial birds (or cookies representing birds ) on them was thought to help bring about the bird flight associated with the coming of spring. Folk magic traditions have been recorded as persisting as late as 1648 in Moscow.

Holiday Rituals
Practices associated with many holidays have their origin as magic rituals. Yuletide and New Year's caroling was initially an opportunity for households to show generosity at the start of the new year, thus ensuring they would have a prosperous year. Similarly, copious feasting and carousing at Shrovetide was thought to encourage a plentiful harvest. On the first night after a wedding, sometimes the couple's bed would be set near the livestock, so that they might influence the fertility of their animals. Other wedding traditions, like eating eggs, singing bawdy songs, and throwing grain over the newlyweds were originally intended to secure fertility and prosperity for the couple in the years to come.

Charms
(Also, "incantations", "precautions", or "whisperings" )

Charms are magic words used to accomplish a variety of tasks. Some charms might be used to banish a leshy, like saying "Sheep's mug, sheep's wool". Others might be used to imbue an action with magic, so that a ritual will be effective. One common structure for a charm is for it to describe an action and its intended significance, so that the person will then go perform that action and achieve the described result. For instance, one love charm begins: "I will rise, Lord's humble servant (name stated), I will come from the house into the doorway, from the doorway into the gate, ..." It is common as well for a charm to invoke God or saints. A charm against toothaches reads:"'Three paths, a tree stands by the road, under the tree a corpse lies, past the corpse goes St. Anthony and says: 'Why do you, corpse, lie here? Do your teeth ache? Do your ribs hurt? Do worms eat you away? Does the blood flow out of you' 'Nothing hurts.' Grow numb you too, teeth of God's humble servant (name stated), like in a corpse; make him strong, Lord, stronger than a stone.'"One of the oldest recorded references to Russian charms lies in the Russian Chronicle, dating to the 10th century.

Nature and House Spirits
Spirits were most frequently seen as the masters of their domains, whether that was forest, water, field, or home. Often they are portrayed as old men, reflecting the age-based familial hierarchy in tribal communities. Originally, nature spirits were thought to protect humans, but over time they came to be seen as neutral or malevolent forces, sometimes associated with the devil. They are also frequently associated with an "unclean" force, connected to unnatural death and improper burial. Most accounts that we have today of nature spirits were collected after the end of the 19th century and are told as second-hand tales. Run-ins with nature spirits have been reported to have been more frequent in the distant past, and less frequent nowadays.

Leshy
(Also, "leshii" , "wood demon" ) A leshy is a forest spirit who has mastery over the woods. His appearance varies across stories, but he is consistently male. Generally the leshy is pictured as human-like, but can also appear in the form of an animal or, in one case, a mushroom. Sometimes he is depicted with wings and a tail, like the devil. Sometimes he is described as looking like someone familiar to the viewer. His size is also variable, a power which has been attributed to his role as reflecting his environment. Depending on the height of the plant life in the forest he inhabits, he would fit in with his surroundings. Some stories about the leshy describe him as having a wife and children, mimicking a typical peasant household. Some accounts attribute multiple leshie to a given forest, and describe them as having a hierarchical society, again similar to local society.

Some say the leshy cannot speak, but only makes sounds like clapping or wilderness noises (birds, rustling leaves, growls, etc.). Others say he can mimic voices of people you know.

In general, he is thought to be mischievous or evil, and has been said to make people get lost in the woods, cause people to fall ill, steal women, and even eat people. His traditional weaknesses include fire and the sign of the cross, indicative of later association between leshy and the Christian devil.

Vodyanoy
(Also, "vodianoi" , "water devil" , "water-sprite" ) A vodyanoy is a male water spirit. He is thought to inhabit a given body of water, sometimes having a dwelling place at the bottom of it. Like the leshy, the vodyanoy's appearance varies from story to story. He is generally pictured as an old, bearded man, sometimes blue, white, or green sometimes covered in slime, sometimes bloated with water. Often he is described as having fish-like elements, such as scales or a fish's tail. Like the leshy, the vodyanoy was sometimes pictured with a wife.

The vodyanoy's main function is drowning people. Other stories about the vodyanoy include him mimicking voices or corrupting someone to change their appearance. Some stories about amicable relations between humans and a vodyanoy describe millers and fishermen who made offerings to a vodyanoy to secure good fortune from his waters.

Unlike the leshy, the vodyanoy is seen as unequivocally evil. In many cases, he is thought of as equivalent to the devil.

Polevoi and Poludnitsa
A polevoi is a male field spirit. Like the other nature spirits, the polevoi's appearance generally reflects his environment. Sometimes he is described as having dark skin, like the soil; sometimes with grass for hair; sometimes dressed in white and surrounded by wind. Like the leshy, the polevoi has variable size based on his surroundings, and might be tall as the uncut grass in the summer and tiny as the field stubble after the harvest.

The polevoi seems generally less sinister than other spirits, the worst of his shenanigans being to make people get lost in the field. He is generally seen as a bad omen, though, and might accidentally run someone down on his horse, so people tried to avoid him by staying out of the fields at noon, when he was most likely to be about. The polevoi was thought to have a family and children.

A poludnitsa is a female field spirit, and is largely spoken of as fictitious. Her appearance varies primarily with regard to age; she has been described as a girl or an elderly woman. She is thought to protect the grain, and also to harm anyone working in the fields at noon.

Rusalka
(Also, "water fairy" , undine )

The rusalka is a female spirit, often associated with the water. She is usually thought to look like a young, beautiful woman. Accounts have placed rusalki in forests, in fields, and by rivers. She is typically thought to live underwater, like the vodyanoy, and to walk about on land playing tricks on unsuspecting passersby. In some places rusalki are thought to be the souls of still-born or unbaptized children, or of those who died by drowning.

Sometimes her mischief is as harmless as leading people astray, like the leshy or polevoi; other times she is thought to tickle people to death or drown them. Rusalka's connection with the unclean dead makes her a bearer of the unclean force associated with other nature spirits. Sometimes she is associated directly with the devil. Like other nature spirits, she is thought to be weakened by the sign of the cross and certain magic words.

There is a springtime festival called Rusalia, Rusal'naia Week , or Trinity Week where rusalki are thought to wander farther from their watery homes. The name for the festival might come from the Roman festival of roses, Rusalii , or rosalia, dies rosarum . During this week, villagers commemorated past ancestors and invoked the name of rusalki during springtime rituals like decorating homes with fresh-cut birch branches  or leaving fried eggs by designated birch trees. The role of the rusalka in this holiday is somewhat unclear. Some believe she is associated with ancestor worship, but others believe she is only associated with unclean dead (i.e., those who died not of natural causes and did not receive a proper burial). Additionally, the unclean force is generally associated with corrupting a place to make it dangerous and blighted, but while the rusalka is "unclean" she is also thought to promote plant growth.

Domovoy
(Also, "domovoi ") The domovoy is a spirit of the house, and is somewhat different in character from the nature spirits. While mischievous, the domovoy was seen as the benign protector of a household. He was not averse to Christian symbols (like the sign of the cross), and did not make a place dangerous like other spirits. He was likely a holdover of ancestor worship practices, as one nick-name to refer to him was "grandfather", and he was often said to appear in the form of a current or past head of the household. Typically the domovoy was perceived not by sight, however, but by sound. He might cause walls to creak or bang pots or sing. A domovoy was usually thought to live alone, but some accounts mention him having a wife and children.

The domovoy's function was largely to look after a household. One way he did this would be by offering omens of future events, such as good or bad fortune, weddings, or a death in the family. One responsibility of a household was to please its house spirit, whether that was by managing the house well, following social customs, or even selecting livestock in a domovoy's preferred color. Having the assistance of one's domovoy was considered essential to the proper functioning of a household.

The transfer of a domovoy was an important business as well. For instance, when a woman got married it was customary for her to leave her family and join that of her husband. When she left her home, it was necessary for her to perform rituals to separate her from her family's house spirits and acquaint her with those of her husband's family. When a family moved houses, they would specifically invite their domovoy to come with them to ensure it would remain with the household.

Animals
Animals occur alongside human characters, as well as alongside other animals. Some of the most common animals found throughout many folktales are foxes, sheep, goats, roosters and wolves. These animals are sometimes given human qualities, including the ability to speak both with other animals as well as human characters. They have the same emotions as human characters as well. They are given human qualities such as wit, humor, slyness and even stupidity. Foxes, for example, are usually female and are very witty and like to trick their counterparts. This can be adult humans or wolves, roosters and bears. Wolves, on the other hand, are usually male and are not very smart. They are often susceptible to being led into traps and being tricked out of food or prey by foxes.

The characteristics of these animals have persisted through time, though the slyness and wittiness of foxes has remained constant.