You probably remember the wonderful Soviet cartoon "Brownie Kuzya". "Trouble, trouble, grief." And who was the brownie really? How did he get to us? According to Slavic mythology, he showed his obstinate character and was evicted from the heavenly pantheon by the god Svarog to our earth. Exiled, so to speak. Since then, he has been registered in our homes.
As a rule, it is customary to represent him as a gray-haired old man, but sometimes he could appear in the form of a dog, cat, snake, or a deceased ancestor. Figurines of the spirit of the house were in every Slavic family.
Ovinnik. Sculpture by Anton Shipitsa.
It was believed that he loves the dark corners of the house, he especially likes to live near the stove (now the stove). But they did not specifically look for a meeting with him, because his appearance symbolized the imminent death of the owner. Other signs of sad events could be terrible screams and dying lights. Today, before thinking about the brownie, make sure that this is not a planned power outage:)
Such situations are rare. Basically, he treated family members well. Especially if all the household members were hardworking and respectful. The brownie could move things around the house, rustle, knock, laugh, in general, show in every possible way how pleased he is to be with you.
Cat and Brownie. Artist V. Alatyrsky.
It has long been believed that the brownie does not like it when they scandal and tries in every possible way to teach the instigator a lesson. If the owner does not follow the housing, then he will definitely have sleepless nights. Thus, the bearded friend warns not to go to bed until the business is over. But if the family continues to persist in laziness, he leaves home with good luck and happiness. And the brownie doesn't like it when they throw out garbage late at night.
The Slavs believed that the spirit of the house protects the home from fires, floods, lightning strikes, and tried in every way to appease it with gifts. They put milk, leftover bread, tobacco next to the stove.
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The tradition of sitting in front of the walkway is also associated with the brownie. It was a respectful way to say goodbye for a while before a long journey. When moving to a new house, Russian peasants, especially the owner of the house, always invited a brownie with them.
"Brownie". Ivan Bilibin.
In this case, the cooked chicken and the first slice of bread always went to the brownie. They were buried in the yard, saying: “Our guardian, come to a new home, there is always bread and shelter for you. Obey your new master. After they called the brownie, they invited an Orthodox priest, and he blessed the new house.
The word "brownie" has Indo-European roots. Historians compare the Slavic domovoy with the Roman penates - the guardians of the family, patrons of the clan.
Helmold (c. 1120-1177) in the "Slavic Chronicle" referred to the widespread worship of family spirits among the Slavs of the Elbe. In the Czech Chronicle of Kozma Prazhsky (1045-1125) it is written that Cech, one of the three mythical forefathers of the Slavs, brought statuettes of brownies to the new land and, stopping on Mount Rzip, said to his brothers:
"Stand up, good friends, and feed your brownies, give them gifts, because it was their help that brought us to this new beautiful land, destined by fate many centuries ago."
"Bannik". Ivan Bilibin.
It was believed that the brownie protects the family in all respects: takes care of the health of household members, especially children and pets. Sometimes he fights with the brownies of neighboring houses in order to increase the well-being of his wards. In such a struggle, the winning brownie takes over the home of a defeated opponent.
A brownie may have a wife. Her name is Domakha, or Domikha. Her main task is to help her husband with his housekeeping. Besides them, there are other household deities. The courtyard is the guardian of the courtyard, the bannik is the spirit of the bath, the barn is the patron saint of the barn, the kikimora is the female household deity, among some Slavic peoples is considered the wife of the brownie. Ratainitsa is the keeper of the stables.
In the Slavic languages, the brownie is called differently. In the Czech Republic, he is uncles, in the Ukraine - didko, in Belarus - a damavik, in Croatia - a domach.
The names are different, but the essence is the same, if you treat your loved ones with respect and love, then the same attitude will be from the forces guarding the house..
Pavel Romanutenko