There was one week in the old days, starting with the holiday of Trinity, which our ancestors called Trinity, Rusalnaya or Zelenaya. According to legend, it was on this week that those who died with the “wrong” death, or, as they were also called, the “mortgaged” dead, appeared “from the other world”.
"Beware, you will meet a mermaid!" - so old people said. In our time, we are rather skeptical about these superstitions, but what if our ancestors knew more than we think?
Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin in the poem "The Lukomorye has a green oak" did not invent the image of a mermaid who sits on an oak. The people believed that on Rusal Week they come to the forest, sit in trees, and dance in circles in the fields. According to ancient legends, trees connect the other world and ours, which is why mermaids love vegetation so much. The trouble is, if a young man sits down to swing with an otherworldly beauty on a tree, he will surely die. Any person who was killed by a mermaid became a mermaid himself.
The Eastern Slavs believed that suicides, unbaptized people, those who were cursed by their parents, who made friends with evil spirits, died a “wrong” death. Their souls did not fall on "that" light, but remained between two worlds and were very dangerous for the living. Such "wrong" deceased and became mermaids, ghouls and all kinds of evil spirits.
There were many beliefs and acceptance of how to protect oneself from imminent death and escape from the mermaid. Ancestors advised to carry a talisman with you: wormwood, garlic, nettle, pins and needles. You could also buy off the mermaid by handing her fabric or ready-made clothes. For this, she could even reward: a supernatural ability or a magical item.
Young girls were especially afraid of meeting with "pawns". It was considered dangerous to walk alone in the forest, rinse clothes in the river, or work alone in the field. Mermaids could lure people into bodies of water, drown, choke, tickle to death. The children were also warned not to be allowed to walk alone. Mermaids could lure them into the forest with berries and nuts, and then ruthlessly kill them.
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But the "evil spirits" could somehow appease, protect themselves and their home. People left food for the mermaids for the night, and hung out some clothes in the yard. Throughout Trinity week, people did their best so as not to inadvertently offend unwanted guests, it was impossible: sweep the floor, wash, weave and sew. It was believed that if you accidentally sew on a mermaid, then expect trouble, she will harm the house all year round.
Our ancestors believed that mermaids could still be beneficial. Water dwellers could share, unless of course they get angry, moisture with the earth, giving it life and fertility. Therefore, the peasants believed very much that the mermaids would help them with a good harvest. But the main thing was to have time to return them to where they came from. All the people took part in the funeral procession, they were driven out conscientiously: with songs and crying, with games and lamentations. The role of the mermaid was played by the most daring girl, she was dressed up in a white dress and a wreath of flowers.
East Slavic image of a mermaid: white (the color of mourning in ancient Russia) clothes, long loose green hair and a flower wreath on her head. They don't have a tail like a fish - this detail refers to the description of mermaids in Western European legends.
Their image is complemented by: beauty, a pale face, cold hands, eyes closed like a corpse, and an almost transparent body. Some beliefs say that they are as tall as a tree.
The less common image of a mermaid clearly indicates her relationship to evil spirits: disgusting, overgrown with coarse hair, humpbacked, with long claws. Their place of residence is at the bottom of reservoirs, but just in case, the children were told not to approach the wells.
The people called mermaids in different ways: "kupalka", "mavki", "navki" (from the word "nav" - deceased), "vodynitsa". The origin of the word "mermaid" itself is a rather controversial issue. The most widespread opinion is that this name comes from the ancient holiday - rosalia, which was dedicated to the souls of the dead.
Author: DarSie
