This conclusion was made on the basis of a study carried out among eighth-graders of the Novovarshavskaya gymnasium, carried out within the framework of the All-Russian competition. IN AND. Vernadsky
To find out whether adolescents believe in the existence of a certain spirit of the hearth, how they imagine it and how their ideas relate to the folklore image, 31 schoolchildren aged 14-15 were interviewed.
When asked if they knew anything about the spirit of the home, 24 people answered in the affirmative. However, they "know" him under different names: 48% call him brownie, 23% - Kuzey, 9% - ram. In addition to the brownie, derivatives of this naming are popular: the brownie, the brownie. Other names included the owner, grandfather, Kuzmich, father, and even a poltergeist.
All respondents are sure that the brownie has a small stature, almost half (45%) imagine him as a bearded old man, 29% think that he is hairy, 13% see him as unkempt. The spirit of the hearth appears, according to adolescents, mostly at night (50% of respondents), and also in the evening (25%) or when no one is at home (13%). But there were also those who are sure that the drum is in the house around the clock.
The majority of eighth-graders (84%) reported that events related to the brownie took place with them or with their relatives and friends. Moreover, 50% stated that they faced such cases themselves or in their home, family, 42% indicated events that happened with relatives, neighbors, acquaintances.