According to a long tradition, a water spirit is a water spirit, a creature that lives in rivers and ponds, swamps and lakes, that is, wherever there is fresh water. He is also called a water man, a water man, a water jester, a water devil, a water man, a water man, a hair man, a navnoy, etc. The people of the water are represented in the form of a naked old man overgrown with mud, with a fish tail and huge eyes. Other sources describe the aquatic as a little grandfather with a green mustache and a waist-length beard. The merman prefers to settle near old mills, in pools and whirlpools, or at the bottom of water bodies. It is assumed that the appearance of the merman changes depending on the phase of the moon. When the night star is in a growing phase, the water one appears as a young man, when it decreases, it turns into a gray-haired old man.
In fact, the water one, like the devil, can take on any form. Often he is dressed in fish scales, he has a cow's tail, webbed duck paws. Like all creatures from another world, he may have some inconsistencies: for example, he is hunchback or has an overly large head, or even hooves instead of legs. He appears to be half-human, half-fish, whose features are vague and, as it were, rippled. Either this is a long-bearded old man with tangled duckweed between his hair, covered with mud and mud, with a large belly, or, conversely, excessively thin. The merman can also take the form of a very large fish, a drowned person, a log or a child. And if he looks like an ordinary person, then you can recognize him by wet hair and the edges of his clothes. There are no problems with the water one with a change of sex: he can pretend to be both a woman and a man; may look like an animal, bird or fish;at the same time, it is often blue, or rather cyanotic. One of the versions: blue is the definition of belonging to the old pagan deities, which it originally was.
Since ancient times, our ancestors have composed many different legends about the aquatic and firmly believed in its existence. If the peasants led the cattle to a watering place, they tried not to leave them unattended: near the reservoir, the water could take the animals to itself. One old man told a story that happened in their village shortly before the war. Then they lived with their family in the Smolensk region, in a small village, not far from which there was a deep lake. The water in it was as cold as in a spring, but to the great delight of the villagers, there was a lot of fish. Nevertheless, the locals were a little afraid: there were rumors that a bad spirit had settled in this lake for a long time.
Once, as the old man said, they went with the shepherds to water the cows, it was in July, it was hot. The shepherds decided to bring the cows into the water so that they would be at least a little cooler. The cows are standing in the water, saving themselves from the heat. There was a forest near this lake, and the peasants said: they say, why should we sit here, let's go, it's better to parrot snakes in the holes. One of the shepherds says: “Where are we going, our cows alone will stay here! As if, tea, nothing happened to them. " - "Come on, where are they going, we'll be back soon." The man shook his head, thought and decided to go along with everyone. We returned from the forest two hours later, looked and were stunned: two cows disappeared, the rest are peacefully standing in the water. And that little man, who at first did not want to go, was afraid of the herd, whispers: "God knows, there was no need to leave, a water truck dragged them to the bottom, apparently, he was very angry." Nothing to do,no cows were found, they returned to the village after dark with the remaining herd. Grieved, but what can you do! We went to bed long after midnight.
On this night, grandfather has a dream: he stands at night on the shore of this lake, silence is around, only the moonlight is reflected in the water. Suddenly, the water in the lake became agitated, some ugly old man comes out, all overgrown with algae and something else incomprehensible. He says: "I will release your nurses, but only if you give me a red maiden in return." He said and slowly went into the depths. My grandfather then did not tell anyone about his dream, after a while he and his family left that village. And a year later I learned that the boat had turned over on the lake, one young girl drowned, she was never found. The next day, in the forest where they were looking for snakes, they found two grazing cows, it is not clear where they came from. Everything happened as he said to his grandfather in a water dream.
According to some reports, aquatic ones rarely come out of the water. Most of all, they like to while away the time in the pools located near the watermills. In the old days, everyone knew that if a water mill is located in the wilderness of the forest, far from a village or city, then this place is unclean and dangerous. The miller himself is like a sorcerer, but he creates conspiracies and spells not by himself, but at the instigation of an unkind spirit, who was just called a water spirit, classifying him as an evil spirit.
At the bottom of the reservoirs, the aquatic go about their business - graze schools of fish, command kikimors, mermaids and other inhabitants there. It damages the water one by luring people and animals into the water and drowning them. For example, in Ukraine, it is believed that he punishes people if they float over his home. The Poles believe that he attacks the foul-mouthed, working on Sunday and not observing the fast. The Eastern Slavs and Serbs have a belief that the water one drags away those who, entering the water, did not cross; and according to Slovak beliefs - those who laughed at him.
Breams, carps, crucians, catfish and other river animals serve the underwater ruler either as buffoons and buffoons, or in order to drag the fisherman into the water, or as a vehicle when examining remote corners of river and lake possessions. But human souls fell into his net when children and adults, driven by the summer heat, went into river or lake water to swim and wash off the dust and sweat accumulated over a long hot day. Such a person swam into the middle of the reservoir, frolicked in the water, enjoyed the coolness and did not suspect that the cold eyes of the underwater ruler were looking at him from the depths.
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But not all the waterman dragged into his kingdom. He gave preference to young girls, young adolescents, as well as drunken men in years. Of course, if there were no such people for a long time, then he dragged other representatives of the human race to the bottom. A mature lady, a little girl, and a young man could have gotten into the drowned … in a word, anyone who, at a fatal inopportune hour, was on the water surface, dangerously close to evil spirits. The doomed victim was dragged into the deepest place of a river or lake. Here he patiently waited for the man to die at last. He grabbed the soul that had flown out of the dead body and put it in a gilded cage, letting the mortal flesh itself go on all four sides. She, as a rule, fell into the mouths of fish, but what was left - floated up and was called by people a drowned man or a drowned woman.
The underwater ruler gave the souls of young virgins his appointments, turning them into beautiful mermaids. Everything they had was like people, except for the lower limbs. Instead of legs, they received a fishtail, and as a sign of compensation, they were endowed with clear and strong voices. The Spirit made them servants, and took the most intelligent and diligent to wife. However, all young mermaids dreamed of marrying a mermaid. In this case, they got all the treasures and considerable power over the aquatic inhabitants.
On a bright moonlit night, the mermaids would get out on the shore and sing songs. The singing was so beautiful that if a person heard it, he would go to this place. And finding himself very close to the beautiful maidens, he generally lost his head. If it was a romantic young man, then he immediately fell madly in love with one of the servants of the merman and could no longer leave her. The same fate awaited the mature widower. But a married man, but loving to cheat on his wife, was seized by a terrible lust, which in some cases is stronger than love torments.
The underwater ruler appointed the souls of young youths as fornicators. These are swamp and water spirits in the form of wandering lights that confused people who wandered to a swamp or a pond. A man walked or swam to the light, and he kept moving away, away and finally escaped. As a result, the unfortunate person could find that he was in an impenetrable bog or on a surface of water hidden from the shore by high reeds. The lost one was either sucked into the swamp, or he drowned, trying to get to the shore. The river ruler either took the souls of the drowned into his service, or sent them straight to the hellish heat to Satan. The same terrible fate befell the souls of drowned drunkards, who were not suitable for any useful activity in the underwater kingdom.
The water spirit loved to ride on catfish. This fish is large, reliable, solid, swims slowly, does not differ in mischief and playfulness. The water one will sit on it, get comfortable and go through the deep-water expanses. It will turn into one channel, then into another, then it will stick to the shore, or even go to the very bottom - to check its economy. True, the underwater owner did not always use the services of large fish. Sometimes, in order to somehow diversify the boring reality, he turned into a huge pike and already in this guise he swam and dived in the spaces belonging to him, terrifying the fish and embarrassing the fishermen, who out of inexperience took him for an ordinary river predator and even tried drive into their networks.
Such attempts of the unlucky villagers were unusually amused and amused by the waterman. He swallowed the bait, fell on the hook, but instead of being in the already set up cage, he threw the fisherman into the water, beat him on the head with a pike tail, and stunning him, sometimes took him to him. But more often he knocked him to the shore so that the person would not drown - everything depended on the mood.
But what the merman never liked was nets. If fishermen come out on such a catch, then they will not be happy. In the best case, they will lose their gear, and in the worst case, they may perish themselves, entangled in the nets they have placed. But it is not in vain that a person is distinguished by quick wit and quick wit. He found ways to negotiate with the spirit of rivers and lakes. It was a monthly tribute to the waterman. If the fishing was successful, then the largest fish was given to him. People did not spare the well-fed fat geese: they cut off the head of such a handsome man without regret and threw the well-fed carcass into the water. After these gifts, fishing was calm and free, and there were fewer drowned people.
The waterman usually placed his main residence under the wheel of a mill. Here the water never stagnated, and a large depression was washed out in the river bottom. The underwater ruler built luxurious chambers in this place, which were not inferior to the royal ones. A stone bed was set up in the huge hall, it was covered with mud and decorated with lilies.
In the summertime, there was no night, so that the water did not appear over the water surface. Since he could turn into a bird, even a beast or a fish, and even a man, no one knew who he would introduce himself that night. Sometimes the waterman himself, depending on his state of mind, was determined with the image only before leaving the chambers. He loved to swim on a moonlit night, to frolic in the water. At that time no one saw him, and therefore he did not need a catfish as a rider: he did not play solidity with himself and did not portray the royal greatness. Here the water showed its true essence, becoming a dashing and desperate conqueror of waters.
The life of the merman was closely associated with certain seasons. In the fall, when cold winds began to blow, when the first snow covered the ground, he settled down to rest on his comfortable bed, since in winter there was nothing to do on the territory under his jurisdiction. Lakes, rivers, ponds and swamps are covered with a layer of ice, and snow also falls on top. It is difficult to break into the light of day from the underwater world, and it is useless. He was wrapped in water mud and fell asleep until spring. All the spirits under his control did the same, but expanse came for the fish. They frolicked without strict supervision until March-April, when the warm sun rays began to melt the ice crust.
At this time, the waterman opened his eyes, stretched and threw off the mud. He stood up to his full height and clapped his hands loudly. Then the spring ice was cracking, walking along the river, freeing the water element from the strong ice shell. The people, guessing that the water man had woken up, dragged various gifts and gifts to the water, realizing that the ruler was hungry and angry after hibernation. There were chickens, ducks, and pigs. Some owners especially interested in patronage led cows and horses. All this was mercilessly cut and thrown into the water as a sign of respect for the ruler of the underwater world. He did not refuse anyone - he accepted gifts, but was in no hurry to show mercy and show favor. In order to obtain a tacit consent to a rich fish catch and safe swimming in the water, a person was obliged to leave gifts to the waterman every month. Otherwise, he could get angry and deny his sympathy and favor.
Summer was the peak of the undivided dominion of the aquatic. During this period of the year, he led the underwater world strictly - any of his orders were carried out without question. On the day of Ivan Kupala (July 7), the lord of the depths of water was gaining such strength that, perhaps, he could plug the devil in his belt. On a moonlit night, he sometimes met with this spirit, tried with it by force. Then the forest rustled, the trees crackled, the crests of waves rose on the river and lake surface. The rulers fought, but closer to the morning they still dispersed in peace, and did not find out who was more powerful and powerful.
On Peter's day (July 12), the mercantile again accepted gifts from fishermen. Anyone who did not show due respect could find himself without a boat and without nets the very next day. But the omnipotent spirit did this not out of greed or capriciousness, but only in order not to lower its authority in the eyes of subjects and mere mortals.
Towards October, his ardor and ferocity gradually subsided, he became more calm and flexible. Even the fish at this time ceased to be afraid of Vladyka - he had no time for them these autumn days. He summed up the results of his work for the summer period, solved the issues of improving his subjects for the winter, and he prepared his place carefully and scrupulously. Well, by the end of October, the underwater ruler was sinking into a long and calm winter sleep.
Among the closest assistants of the aquatic, a special role was assigned to anchutka, also closely associated with water and swamps. He was unusually ferocious and cruel. If a swimmer suddenly has a convulsion, he should know that it was a water anchut who grabbed him by the leg and seeks to drag him to the bottom. That is why, since ancient times, every swimmer has been advised to have a pin with him: evil spirits are afraid to death of iron. It is noteworthy that as soon as a person remembers about anchutka, he immediately appears to the call. Therefore, it is best to keep quiet about him, otherwise you can expect all sorts of pranks and jokes. Anchutka knows how to swim and fly perfectly. Often he, like a bird, sweeps across the sky, dives into the water and observes his possessions from under a water lily leaf.
With the advent of Christianity, anchutka was turned into a terrible devil, an implacable demon, a swamp monster, created only to frighten children with it. In fact, this is far from the case. Even if you just say his name, you can immediately see a strange face with an incredibly roguish expression. However, we must not forget that anchutka is still a Naval spirit and faithfully serves its masters - Chernobog, Marena and Viy.
In addition to the power functions, prophetic abilities were also attributed to the waterman. As the master of the omnipresent waters, he knew everything that was happening in the world and could show the future in the mirror of water. It is no coincidence that the girls went to the ice-hole for Christmas fortune-telling, trying to make out the face of their betrothed in it. The merman could heal, give health and beauty. The main thing is to respectfully treat the possessions of the master spirit, without forcing him to enter into a struggle for survival.
