A hut on chicken legs is a very deep image that does not have an unambiguous interpretation.
We know that it has the ability to rotate.
And in different ways: sometimes she just stands motionless and unfolds only after the command of the protagonist, but in some fairy tales she constantly turns.
But why? In the first case, it is still clear: the hut is facing the other world with its front part, and Ivan needs to turn it, like a pinwheel at the entrance, in order to get into this world.
But why should she spin without interruption?
But why:
That is, the hut is likened to a spindle, hence the "incessant turning".
And the spindle is a metaphor for time.
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Time in the minds of the ancients does not arise out of nowhere. In order for it to appear, it must be hidden or woven.
Let us recall three lovely old women from ancient Greek mythology: Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos, spinning and cutting the thread of human life.
Roman parks, again. No, this is not in the sense of a place to walk. And the same three ladies, busy with fateful needlework.
Well, we have a backyard grandmother who can do it herself, and the hut helps her.
The result is the very ball that is handed to Ivan or Marya. Isn't it a teleport? Will take you anywhere in time and space.
Sometimes, instead of a ball, the old woman gives the suffering hero "a silver spinning wheel and a spindle."
Isn't it strange? Maryushka has lost her fiancé, but they propose to shake her up to calm her nerves?
No, it's just that these objects are perceived as magical, controlling time and space. With the help of them you can get anywhere.
The very word time, faith is what revolves. The connection with the word "spindle" is obvious. The word day is what is woven.
Hence, a lot of superstitions and taboos associated with needlework. Craftswomen - they are also involved in the process of making time. It’s not a sin to help the old backyard woman in the revolving hut.
It is curious that one of the female names in the Novgorod birch bark letters is "Nedelka".
Quote and facts are taken from the book by Neonila Krinichna "Russian mythology: the world of folklore images"
