The Russian bath is more than a place to wash. For many centuries, it has been an integral part of people's lives, and in many ways played a sacred role.
Black log cabins
It is believed that the first baths appeared even among the ancient Slavs, and they were heated in black. As a rule, the black bathhouse was a small log house with a tiny window, a low entrance door and a threshold high so that the heat could be kept on the floor. Inside the log house, most often to the right at the entrance, there was a stove made of large boulders or "wild" stone. Small cobblestones were poured on top, which over time began to be mixed with cast iron ingots. This hearth was heated with wood until the stones were heated, as they used to say in the old days - to red stones.
Since there was no chimney, everything in the hut was black with soot, hence the name - smoke sauna. When the stove was heated, the door was slightly opened to expel smoke and carbon monoxide. The stove was sprayed with various herbal infusions - mint, thyme, horseradish, pine needles. In an hour and a half you could go to wash.
There was no dressing room in such a bathhouse. Clothes were simply left outside, on the street, or hung inside on special poles to "fry" from parasites. Inside the bathhouse, they lay down to steam with their feet to the stove on the shelves - a wide bench in human height. There were benches or low benches in the black bathhouse, all hewn to avoid splinters. In the log or plank floor, during the construction process, gaps were necessarily left so that the water flowed down, or they made a slope towards the door. The floor was covered with spruce or pine branches, hay, and straw. At the stove and under it, the floor was made of earthen to avoid fires.
The main attributes of washing were brooms (they brushed off the soot and steamed) and tubs. The latter were usually used two - for cold and hot water. To heat the water, they put hot stones there, which had to be taken with blacksmith tongs.
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The bathhouse in the old days served not only as a place for washing. Various ceremonies were held there, christenings, funerals, and weddings were celebrated. We bathed in smoke baths twice a week. In winter, jumping out of the bathhouse into the street, rubbed themselves with snow or rolled on it, especially young people. If bath procedures were required by a sick person (and in Russia they were often treated with steam), then the bathhouse could be heated daily.
Baths in white
Over time, the internal structure of the baths changed. So, they began to install the stove not opposite the front door, as before, but in the back of the room. The stones from which the hearth was laid were fastened with clay, and the boulder covering the mouth was replaced by a cast-iron damper. Now the stoves smoked less. The stones were no longer placed in a tub of water, replacing it with a tub, which was placed directly on the stove. But most importantly, they began to build chimneys in the baths, it became clean and bright in the interior. So the black baths turned into white ones.
In addition, the baths now consisted of two rooms - a steam room and a dressing room. In the dressing room you could undress, leave your clothes. Firewood was also stored there for kindling.
Perfume for washing
Since the bathhouse was considered an "unclean" place, despite its purpose, certain rules had to be followed during its construction. So, the bathhouse was usually placed on the outskirts, at the very edge of the yard, or even outside it. It was very important to choose the right place for construction, otherwise an angry bannik could send a fatal illness to the owners. For a cure to occur, the structure had to be disassembled and put back in the "right" place.
Bannik could sometimes be seen by people. He looked like a tiny, naked old man with a long, musty beard. The malevolent grandfather could scald with boiling water, bring to a swoon with heat, split boulders in the oven and throw splinters at people … And sometimes he dragged the people who were somling into the hot stove mouth and there tore off the skin of the unfortunate ones alive!
In order to appease the "bath owner", it was customary to leave steam in the bath after washing, in the corner - a fresh broom and a tub with clean water. In the process of washing it was impossible to give too much heat and rush each other. If, nevertheless, the bathhouse began to play tricks, one should run out into the street and seek help from other local spirits - for example, the barnman or the housekeeper. Those, as a rule, were more loyal to people and often helped.
The main condition was not to go to wash alone and, entering the bath, be sure to ask the "owner" for permission. Those who violated these unwritten rules could seriously not be good … One guy went to the bath alone, and even in the first heat. He began to whip with a broom, and suddenly hears - a dog is screeching somewhere. A squeal was heard now under the shelf, now in the corner. The guy decided that it was downstairs, under the bathhouse, he even began to pick the earthen floor - no one … And then the rake that stood at the ceiling began to fall on him by itself. Only then did he realize that the matter was unclean.
A certain old man was going to wash for the night, looking, which, according to ancient beliefs, is not allowed. The old woman was waiting for him, she was waiting, but she did not wait. I sent my grandson to see how my grandfather was there. The boy ran into the bathhouse and saw the old man lying with his head in the mouth of the heater. All the skin on his face was ripped off …
In one village they told such a story. It was time for the peasant Evdokia to relieve herself of the burden at Christmas itself. The first time she gave birth, she was afraid, so they equipped her with the midwife in the bathhouse.
The birth went quickly. The midwife missed that they did not have time to bring cold water, and ran with the ladle into the wormwood, and the woman in labor was left alone in the bath. He lies and hears - under the regiment, someone rustles. The woman became afraid, she wanted to jump up, but it was as if someone had crushed her to the bench - she could not move her hand or foot. He sees no one, but senses - someone is climbing on her: soft, like a pillow, icy, slippery fingers, rummage over the body, they are already approaching the throat. Heart froze … And then the whole body was pulled together like iron hoops, and milk spurted from the breast. From somewhere Evdokia took strength - she moaned, screamed, threw this Herod off her - and into the dressing room. The midwife came back. She gasped over Evdokia's story, and they decided not to say anything to anyone - maybe it will cost.
As prescribed by custom, the women spent three days in the bathhouse, on the fourth they returned home. Evdokia was surprised that the baby hardly cried, only whimpered quietly, as if rustling.
It was time to baptize the little boy, they called God uncle Gregory, and he was a knowledgeable man. He just glanced at his nephew - and saw: something was wrong with him. He made Evdokia and the old woman tell the truth. Grigory listened to everything and said: - They replaced the boy for you. A broom was put in instead. It is dry, so it rustles. Give it to me, I'll try to pick it up from the bathhouse Vanyusha.
Three times Grigory went to the bathhouse and three times came back covered in sweat. He said that the owners of the bathhouse did not want to give the baby away - they slip him a piglet, a puppy, or a dairy pig … Only for the fourth time did they agree to give the boy. Gregory returned to the hut with him in his arms and fell as if dead. They forced him to retreat. And the baby sucked milk and fell asleep.
A fairy tale is a lie, but there is a hint in it
Of course, the author cannot vouch for the veracity of all these stories. But, most likely, there is no smoke without fire. Perhaps the bath space has a special atmosphere that can influence the mental and physical state of people.
Just in case, when going to take a steam bath, be careful!