Imagine a fiery river, on the banks of which human bones and skulls lie, and the waters themselves not only boil terribly, but also exude an intolerable stench. This almost insurmountable barrier often appears in legends, fairy tales, epics and conspiracies of ancient Russia. Since real cities, historical figures and battles are often mentioned in oral folk art, it can be assumed that the Smorodina River also has its own geographical coordinates. So where does it run?
What is this river?
Currant (another name Puchai-river) is a mythical border between the world of the living and the kingdom of the dead. As you know, our ancestors called the objective reality Reality, and the abode of otherworldly forces - Navu. So, Smorodina was a kind of border between them. Being pagans, the inhabitants of Ancient Russia believed that the souls of the dead pass through this river, and only a real hero with a pure heart and thoughts can get into another world and get out of there safe and sound.
In different epics and legends, the description of Currant differs among themselves. Some sources call it a black river with fetid waters, identifying them with corpse decomposition and decay that occurs with bodies after death. Other legends and traditions speak of a fiery river seething with pure flame, which makes Smorodin an almost insurmountable obstacle on the way of the Russian heroes.
The berry of the same name has nothing to do with the name of the river. This hydronym, according to most scientists, comes from the Old Russian word "currant" (stench) - a suffocating stench, a strong unpleasant odor. This version is also confirmed by those epics where Currant is called a fetid river.
However, there is another hypothesis, according to which the name of the river comes from the word "native", since the disappearance of vowels is a characteristic feature of the Old Russian language, noted by many linguists. In this case, hydronym denotes a native (primordial) river, such an original stream that arose from the ancient forces of being.
An alternative name for Currant is Puchai River, although not all folklorists believe that this is the same thing. Perhaps the two mythical rivers merged over time in the popular mind. Or so they called Currant, because its waters swell. That is, they are constantly seething.
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According to legends, Kalinov Bridge is located above this mythical river. And here the berry has nothing to do with it either. The bridge is called so because it is heated to the limit by the fiery waters of the Currant. It is impossible for an ordinary person to walk through it. And the epic hero, as a rule, is forced to sacrifice something to the river. At the same time, Smorodina often speaks in a woman's voice, letting only the most worthy travelers pass through herself and severely punishing those who have sinned in any way or allowed themselves to mock the river, which in itself is unacceptable. The border between Yavi and Navi aroused sacred awe among the people.
Epics and legends
In Russian epics, despite a fair amount of fiction and the fantastic nature of the plots, there are also historically reliable facts. For example, no one will doubt the existence of the capital city of Kiev, Prince Vladimir I Svyatoslavich (popularly nicknamed the Red Sun), and the village of Karacharovo, where Ilya Muromets is from, is actually located not far from the city of Murom.
If we take the legend about the legendary hero, then the Smorodina River is the third obstacle that Ilya met on the way from Chernigov to the capital Kiev-grad. The first two, which were impenetrable forests and black swampy mud, the hero successfully overcame. The villain Nightingale the robber sat by the mythical river, only after defeating him was Muromets able to pass through the Currant.
In various epics and fairy tales, the passage between the world of the living and the kingdom of the dead - Kalinov Bridge - is guarded by a certain mythical creature: the Serpent Gorynych, the miracle Yudo or the Nightingale the Robber. The hero needs to prove that he is worthy to go through Currant, defeating his antagonist. In a sense, the opponent of the Russian hero symbolically coincides with Cerberus, a huge three-headed dog that guards the gates of Hades (the ancient Greek kingdom of the dead). And Currant itself can be compared with the Styx River, through which the souls of the dead were transported by the legendary boatman Charon.
However, Old Russian legends are no less figurative. Our ancestors believed that the goddess of winter and death, Mara (Morena), who is the wife of Kashchei the Immortal himself, rules in the afterlife. Therefore, epic heroes often had to fight with him in the kingdom of the dead. And the role of the carrier of Charon among the Slavs was played by the god Veles, who, among other things (like taking care of the offspring of livestock and a bountiful harvest), transferred the souls of the dead to the world of Navi.
Where does Currant flow?
If we consider Currant as a mythical border between the real and the other world, then it can hardly be found on the map of Russia. But if you look for the river that Ilya Muromets crossed on the way to Kiev, then such a task is quite feasible. The most reliable candidate for the role of an obstacle encountered by the hero is the Smorodina River (the same name), flowing through the territory of the Bryansk Region near the city of Karachev.
However, in our country several rivers at once have similar names. So, the hydronym Smorodin is found in the Leningrad, Smolensk and Nizhny Novgorod regions, and Smorodinka flows in the Troparevsky forest park (Moscow region), Vladimir, Kursk and Tver regions, in Transbaikalia. There is the Smorodinovaya river in the Northern Elbrus region.
If we recall the second name - Pochay-river, then it was very similar to the name of a small channel that flows into the Dnieper between the Desna and Vyshgorod (Kiev region of Ukraine). The Pochayna River was only 8 kilometers long. According to legend, it was in this reservoir that the first mass baptism of the people in Kievan Rus took place, which took place in 988. At the beginning of the 18th century, Pochayna disappeared from the map, becoming part of the Dnieper after the construction of a navigable canal.
It is interesting that the name of the Sestra River, which flows through the Leningrad Region, in Finnish sounds like "Siestar-joki", which translates as "Currant River". However, there are researchers who consider the Neva or even the Moskva River to be the legendary border between the worlds.
Of course, the search for the mythical Currant is a fascinating activity, to which various folklorists, historians and geographers have devoted a lot of time. It is possible that someone will be able to reliably prove where the epic river is. After all, once Troy was considered just a myth.
Orynganym Tanatarova