Fairy tales are inextricably linked with ancient rites and customs. Their original versions tend to directly reflect what our ancestors did. You may have noticed some oddities in the behavior of fairy tale characters, which often contradict logic and common sense. We found explanations for such actions.
The dead princess slept because she was getting ready to marry
One of the frequent fairy tales is a temporary death. The girl puts on forbidden clothes, pins herself with a pin, or eats an apple and falls dead, and comes to life only after the kiss of love. In reality, there was a similar custom: before giving a girl in marriage, it was necessary to kill her for fun.
The main part of the ceremony was dedicated to just this: the girl had to die as an innocent girl and be reborn as a woman. They did it playfully: they pricked the bride with a needle or pin, after which she fell to the ground like a dead one. They usually "revived" the heroine with songs and dances.
Baba Yaga actually guards the entrance to the realm of the dead
On the border between the realm of the living and the dead, there is a hut in which Baba Yaga lives - a kind of Charon in the Russian way. The task of the hero who got here is to name the magic word or make a sacrifice so that the hut turns to him "in front, and back to the forest." When the character gets inside, the first thing he hears is:
Promotional video:
In fact, in the original versions of the tale, the word "Russian" was not here. Instead, Baba Yaga said "smells alive". To get rid of this aroma, the hero had to eat local food, and then the other dead would recognize him as their own. This detail is closely related to such a ceremony as a commemoration. The character, as it were, arranges a commemoration for himself and says goodbye to his living half, turning into a dead man.
In general, researchers distinguish three types of Yaga: the giver (gives Ivanushka a magic ball, a magic horse, etc.), the kidnapper (steals children and tries to fry them in the stove) and the warrior (attacks the heroes and cuts belts out of their skin). Any of them can be associated with the realm of the dead.
Sometimes Baba Yaga is literally the hero's mother-in-law
In some cases, the tale of Baba Yaga goes back to the initiation rite before the wedding. It is known that the oldest tradition assumed that the ceremony should be performed by the immediate relative of the bride, often mother or aunt. Before marriage, she subjected her son-in-law to various tests.
Interestingly, the tradition goes back to the matriarchal past, when the wife's lineage was dominant, not the husband's. Sometimes the ceremony was slightly transformed: the initiate groom had to dress up as a woman and for some time do typical “female” work. The wedding could take place only if the groom adequately coped with his task.
The girl who lives in a house with heroes and runs the entire household is not their sister
The girl gets to the house of the heroes in two ways: either she comes voluntarily (her stepmother kicked out, got lost, etc.), or she was kidnapped and brought. The heroine is respected and runs a household in a house where several brothers live - earlier this was called a men's house. These details reflect historical reality. The third detail - that the girl lives with them as a sister - is not historical.
In reality, a girl or several girls were always present in the men's house. They were engaged in the household and at the same time were wives to all members of the community. As a rule, for girls it was “temporary work”. Parents often sent their daughters themselves to serve in men's homes, because it was considered honorable. The most famous romantic variations of this tradition are the Russian fairy tale "About the dead princess and the seven heroes" and the European "Snow White".
A hero saving a girl from a dragon is not a hero at all
In the old days, there was a custom to sacrifice an innocent girl: she was drowned in the river, on which the harvest depended. It was believed that then the river would favor people and would not dry up, which means that the local tribe would not die of hunger. In fairy tales, this custom was transformed into dragons and other monsters that steal maidens. The dragon in this case personifies the rite itself, and his evil incarnation proves that people did not really agree with this alignment of affairs.
Therefore, a brave youth appears in the legends, who stabs the monster with a sharp sword and saves the girl. If in that distant reality there was such a hero among the people, he would be instantly sent after the girl into the river. Based on such fabulous transformations of plots, researchers study how the attitude of peoples to the customs that they had changed changed.
In the original version of the tale "Turnip" there were father and mother
The meaning of this tale lies in the correct relationship between generations. In the original version of the text, the father and mother were present, which symbolized protection and care, respectively. There are two possible explanations for why these characters were removed from the tale:
- With the advent of Christianity, the number 7 became sacred, and until that time, the number 9. Without a mother and father, exactly 7 characters appear in the fairy tale, which corresponds to the new symbolism.
- For Christians, the church traditionally represents the father's protection and support, and Jesus Christ represents the mother's care. Therefore, the need to include mother and father in the fairy tale disappeared by itself.
The Tale of Kolobok is nothing more than a lesson in astronomy
According to one version, the original version of the Kolobok is nothing but the Moon. And the text of the tale itself is a lunar cycle:
- Cooking Kolobok is a full moon.
- Then the month wanes, and each of the animals that the protagonist met takes a bite of it.
- The fox eats Kolobok, and the moon disappears completely in the sky. A new cycle begins.
Vasilisa the Beautiful is none other than a witch
At a young age, Vasilisa loses her mother and acquires a magical artifact - a doll: she can be fed, and she will give good advice. Researchers believe that the doll is a typical magical attribute of a witch, and the kiss of a daughter and mother on her deathbed not only conveys a parental blessing to the girl, but also a magical legacy. However, this does not make Vasilisa a full-fledged sorceress, and trials await her ahead of her, which are comparable to the ancient initiation rites for witches:
- Physical separation from parents - after the death of her mother, the main character goes to live with her evil stepmother.
- Activation of the "secret" life - with the help of a doll, Vasilisa copes with all her stepmother's orders and feels like a stranger to this world, but gradually joins the magical world.
- Test - the heroine gets into the house of Baba Yaga and successfully completes all her tasks.
- Bringing the witch's skills to the highest level - the cloth woven by Vasilisa randomly gets to the king, which is certainly followed by a wedding.
The Tale of Ryaba Chicken actually tells us about the fear of death and reincarnation
It is believed that the plot of this fairy tale is based on the ancient motive of the world egg, from which life and our whole world originated. The golden egg, laid by the chicken, symbolizes the coming death, so the grandfather and grandmother cry. The promise of a chicken to lay an ordinary egg is a promise of a coming rebirth, that is, a new life. The mouse in the plot is considered a representative of the underworld, or, more simply, death itself.
Koschey steals girls because he is against matriarchy
Maternal cults were strong in the society of our ancestors: the most important decisions were made with the consent of the main woman of the tribe, the “mother”. The name Koshchei probably comes from the word "kosh", which means "the lord who seized power." Therefore, the researchers assume that this character is none other than a man who stole her social function from a woman.
If this is true, then it becomes clear why Koschey is inclined to kidnap and enslave girls. And his negative role in the fairy tale can be explained as simply: he was the embodiment of the force that destroyed the ancient orders of tribal equality. In the eyes of people, the first "koshchei" were none other than the enslavers.
The serpent Gorynych is a symbol of terrible forest fires
The character's middle name - Gorynych - comes from the word "mountain", but in the past, the mountain was also understood as a forest. Therefore, the hero's nickname can be translated as "forest". Probably, in the minds of the ancient Slavs, the Serpent was the embodiment of forest fires that caused lightning. Indirect evidence is the description of the appearance of the Serpent:
The same thoughts of folklorists are prompted by a small detail in the fairy tale "Ivan Bykovich": the main character forbids his brothers to sleep before meeting the Serpent. Perhaps these are echoes of the memory of ancestors who should not have fallen asleep by the fire.
Ivan Tsarevich burns the skin of the Frog Princess, because he has typical masculine qualities that are not suitable for creating a strong family
The princess is in the form of a frog not of her own free will, but because of witchcraft. To stop these transformations, the heroine needs outside help. Of course, the betrothed is the savior.
From an everyday point of view, Ivan Tsarevich, who married a frog, does not experience any inconvenience: his wife bakes bread, weaves carpets and looks the best at the ball. However, the prince burns the frog's skin, despite the ban on doing so. It is believed that the hero in this case is driven by ordinary male straightforwardness.
As a result, Ivan is punished: he is forced to follow the princess to the far distant lands. This path is symbolic in a social sense: the hero must grow spiritually, abandon male stubbornness and naked rationality. Only in this case is a happy marriage possible.
We managed to open for you the world of Russian fairy tales from a new side? If you have heard about other interesting meanings that underlie fairy texts, tell us about them.