- Part one -
Stone instead of a building
Gomsin stone is known in Belarus. According to legend, he appeared like this: during a thunderstorm, Perun hit Gomsin's house and it burned down, and a large stone appeared in its place. Only according to this legend, in general, it cannot be argued that the house has turned into stone. It would be more accurate to say that there was some unusual situation involving supernatural forces, and as evidence of this event a stone appeared. In the cultural-historical region of Latgale, several legends about stones are recorded, where the storyline with their origin is similar to the appearance of Gomsin stone. A legend from the Baltinava region (KhLF 1400.581) is about a man who fell asleep in a bathhouse and saw a huge soldier of the Russian army entering. Frightened, he began stabbing the soldier with a pitchfork. The soldier turned into horse droppings, which the man threw into the furnace on the coals. By morning, a large stone appeared on the site of the bath. In the Barkavskaya volost of the Madona region, on the shore of Lake Lubansky, there was an Apinkalta tavern. There devils danced with witches at night in the attic. Once they burned a tavern, and now there is a large stone (ХЛФ 878.29). In the city of Karsava, a legend about the Preya stone is recorded. The hay barn of a certain owner of Preya burned down. A large black stone rose in its place. The devil lives under the stone and burns candles at night (ХЛФ 1237.5). Unfortunately, the stones mentioned in this section were not identified by us in the indicated areas. It is interesting that in our time, when examining stones in Latgale, in the Stabulnieki parish of the Riebi region, we came across a stone called Bolshoy Kamen or Kontor Devil. It can be assumed that the name Office is rather new. But the original traditionswho belonged to the stone and could have influenced the appearance of such a name, are not known to us.
From the legends it follows that both individuals and couples, groups and even entire settlements could be petrified. According to legend, people of both sexes and of different ages turned into stone. But still, they often feature petrified adolescents, boys and girls. Perhaps this indicates the connection of the plot about petrified people with age and gender initiations and the violation of certain taboos. In rare cases, a person turned into stone and, along with him, some mythological character, such as a robber and a devil, a girl and a toad. The last two examples also show that two different characters can turn into one stone. If we are talking about two stones, then both representatives of the same sex (two robbers, two landowners) and different (old man and old woman) sexes could be turned into them. Animals and mythological characters in an anthropomorphic or zoomorphic image, and even objects and buildings, could also have been petrified.
The reasons for the fossilization are very different, in many ways similar, but different from the corresponding motives in the legends of neighboring countries. In Belarus, Lithuania and the Prussian lands, the motive of the parental, especially the maternal, curse is most pronounced. It is almost absent in the Latvian material. Sometimes the reason for the transformation is the violation of a number of common human norms of behavior (cruelty, greed, theft, laziness, dishonor) and even Christian morality (apostasy). But even these motives in Latvian folklore are much less pronounced than in neighboring countries. In Latvia, the most ancient layer of mythology, which has felt the least influence of syncretic perception of the world, comes to the fore. Perhaps this is due to the fact that in Latvia, with the exception of Latgale, the main religion was Lutheranism,which compromised less with paganism than with Orthodoxy and Catholicism.
In a significant part of Latvian legends, the metamorphoses under consideration took place at the point of convergence of two spaces (real and mythical) and in time, rather mythical than real. People who found themselves in this space and in this time are partly mythologized personalities - girls and adolescents of adolescence, shepherds, thieves, rulers. The shepherdesses and old women turned to stone after they visited the palace that had sunk into the ground, took something from there or tasted it there, and then blabbed about what they saw.
This is the mythical time of the first creation, when the lakes traveled through the air in search of a place where they could stop. In Belarusian folklore, by the way, the same motive can be traced, only in a more changed form under the influence of the Christian faith - a lake appears on the site of a settlement that went underground "for sins". The reason for the petrification of a person could be a meeting with a mythological character of another world, and, conversely, the devil and objects associated with him petrify after violating the time allotted to him (after the crowing of the rooster, which announces the coming of the day) and spatial boundaries. In an inappropriate place for himself and in an inopportune time, the devil finds himself when he meets God or Percons, as a result of which he or a part of his body becomes petrified.
In two cases, the cause of petrification was curiosity: a person spied on a feast of the devil with witches or a gathering of dwarfs. Who knows if the underlying reason for these stories is a ban on observing what you should not see, for example, the actions of a sorcerer or secret initiations?
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In neighboring countries, stones of this category are found both in their natural form and in those processed by human hands. In Lithuania, these are specially installed stones, in Belarus - old stone crosses, in the Prussian lands - stone statues. In our opinion, the question of such stones in Latvia is open. In the legends about stones from the cultural and historical region of Kurzeme, it was repeatedly emphasized that the stone looked like a person, had a silhouette of a person or features of a human face. Most of these stones were destroyed, but knowing that human features in legends were often attributed to natural stones, it is impossible to say for sure that they were processed. Even the popular, but now lost (drawing has been preserved) stone from the Puishu kalns settlement, according to J. Urtans, is only a natural stone of an unusual shape. It seemsthat Spitsakmens in the forest of Antsenskaya volost was once specially staged.
Similar versions were also expressed about two stones in Vidzeme - Badakmens (Stone of Hunger) and the not mentioned by us Triya skrodera akmens (Stone of three tailors). Were they installed by man or did they take this shape thanks to the glacier? Was the smaller stone (his head) lying next to Badakmens on top of the large stone or not? In our opinion, there are no definite answers.
In Belarus, the worship of such stones has survived to this day. In Latvia, if the veneration of these objects was once developed, then today this is not observed. There is also little information about their veneration in the literature. An exception is the stone from Puishu Kalna. The above legend claims that sacrifices were made to him in winter and summer. There are also ethnographic records that at the beginning of the 19th century, girls brought him gifts in order to get married safely. About the veneration of the stone near the settlement of Dignaya, the legend testifies that young people had fun there during the holidays.
According to legend, these stones cry, bleed, have a heart, grow, once could move, and when certain conditions are met, they can regain human form.
According to folklore data, their connection with ancient settlements (especially in Kurzeme) and sanctuaries can be traced. Also important is their binding to boundaries, which indicates the role of boundary stones not only as markers of real space, but also their mythological significance. It should be noted that there are certain differences between the east and west of Latvia (eastern and western balts). In Latgale, plots with petrified people are almost never encountered, with the exception of a couple of notes about petrified weddings in the volosts bordering on Belarus. Most of the stones of this type are found in Kurzeme. On the other hand, for Latgale, legends about buildings that have turned into stones are typical, in which, on the eve of the transformation, a certain supernatural event took place. In the central regions of Vidzeme, the most colorful legends about a petrified mythological character are recorded. Also, in our opinion, the most intriguing facts about the connection of stones with poverty, hunger (Badakmens and Staburags) and, conversely, with wealth and fertility (the cow of Mari or Laima) are connected with the Vidzeme region. This, one way or another, indicates the connection of stones with the theme of fertility of livestock and fertility of the land.
For farmers and pastoralists, water has always been relevant. Many of our stones are somehow connected with water. They are located either in the reservoirs themselves, or in the immediate vicinity of them. The sources of springs and rivers are associated with these stones. A spring formed from Staburadze's tears. One priestess turned into stone, the other into a spring. In Belarus, Stepan turned to stone, and a river formed from Ulyana's tears. The commonality of motives is also striking on a broader scale. For example, such a mythological character of the Eastern Romanic peoples as Baba Dokiya is known, which turns into a stone block and from which a spring flows, which is explained by the fact that "Baba wet herself" or "Baba disgraced herself." Also, a plot with a petrified woman who did not want to fall into the hands of robbers is present in Georgian mythology. She turned to stone by the river bankand the women of the village use this stone to control the weather. During a drought, the stone is pushed into the river, and when there is an excess of rain, it is dragged away from the shore. The last examples illustrate the striking similarity of the motives of the legends of different peoples. They also show how important these stones played in the interaction between nature and man. The more materials will be published in different regions and countries, the clearer the perception of the ancient man will become to us. The mythological perception of reality still lives in the subconscious of a modern person, being reflected in works of literature and art. An example of this is the sculptures of sea cows in the park of the city of Ventspils (Fig. 19).and when there is an excess of rains, they are dragged away from the coast. The last examples illustrate the striking similarity of the motives of the legends of different peoples. They also show how important these stones played in the interaction between nature and man. The more materials will be published in different regions and countries, the clearer the perception of the ancient man will become to us. The mythological perception of reality still lives in the subconscious of a modern person, being reflected in works of literature and art. An example of this is the sculptures of sea cows in the park of the city of Ventspils (Fig. 19).and when there is an excess of rains, they are dragged away from the coast. The last examples illustrate the striking similarity of the motives of the legends of different peoples. They also show how important these stones played in the interaction between nature and man. The more materials will be published in different regions and countries, the clearer the perception of the ancient man will become to us. The mythological perception of reality still lives in the subconscious of a modern person, reflected in works of literature and art. An example of this is the sculptures of sea cows in the park of the city of Ventspils (Fig. 19). The more materials will be published in different regions and countries, the clearer the perception of the ancient man will become to us. The mythological perception of reality still lives in the subconscious of a modern person, reflected in works of literature and art. An example of this is the sculptures of sea cows in the park of the city of Ventspils (Fig. 19). The more materials will be published in different regions and countries, the clearer the perception of the ancient man will become to us. The mythological perception of reality still lives in the subconscious of a modern person, reflected in works of literature and art. An example of this is the sculptures of sea cows in the park of the city of Ventspils (Fig. 19).
Figure: 19. Sculptures of cows in the Renka garden in Ventspils. Photo - M. Zeltinsh
Author: Lilia Jakubenoka, Master of Historical Sciences, specialist of the Aizkraukle Museum of History and Art (Latvia)
- Part one -
