There are miracles: there the devil wanders,
The mermaid sits on the branches;
From the poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila".
And none of you wondered how a mermaid with such a tail climbed trees? Did you climb on your hands? Usually we imagine mermaids swimming in the sea and luring sailors into their depths. And then suddenly Pushkin writes about a mermaid on a tree!
But there is an explanation for this …
Mermaids, or water maidens (Mavki, Navka, Loskotukhi, Shagmatki, Shutikh, Kupalka, Vodyanitsa, Leshachikha, Maid-Volosatikhi, Beregini), are known in many cultures. Creatures that live under water, have an unusual appearance, have a certain connection with the other world, are known in the history and mythology of almost all countries of the world. Yet, for some reason, mermaids from one culture are very different from mermaids from another culture. For example, in Europe, there was a belief that mermaids were maidens with fish tails. In our culture, traditions and mythology of the Slavs, mermaids are spirits, souls of the hostages of the dead, that is, those who died not by their own death. Unlike ordinary ghosts and ghosts, our mermaids, although they are spirits, still have very real features, are quite tangible and it is rather difficult to distinguish them from ordinary people.
Actually, our ideas about mermaids have developed under the influence, first of all, of Andersen's fairy tale "The Little Mermaid", as well as the Disney cartoon of the same name. Therefore, most citizens (and not only minors) do not doubt that mermaids live in the water, splash fish tails and enter into complex relationships with a person.
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However, a great connoisseur of Russian folklore Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, of course, did not plant his mermaid on a tree for nothing. He already knew that the Russian mermaid had little in common with her overseas Undine friends. And she has no trace of a fish tail.
Mermaids live not only in water. From Trinity Day to Petrov's Day (S. B. Rusalnaya week), they go out and, scattering, until autumn, through fields, copses and groves, they choose for themselves a spreading willow leaning over the water or a weeping birch, where they live. At night, with the moon, which shines brighter for them than usual, they swing on the branches, hunt among themselves and lead merry round dances with songs, games and dances. Where they ran and frolicked, there the grass grows thicker and greener, and there bread will be born more abundantly.
The holiday of Slavic mermaids is Kupala Week and, in fact, the apogee of the holiday, its peak is Kupala. On this night they have fun and go to their pools until next summer. Judging by the research of ancient beliefs and myths, in the old days water was represented as a gateway to another world, to the underworld.
As mentioned, there are mermaids in many cultures around the world. In different forms, with different names and titles. In some myths they are gods, in other myths they are beings and spirits. Many researchers consider the first mention of the mermaids of the Babylonian god Oannes, who changed his form and became a creature with a man's head and torso and a tail instead of legs. In Syria, this is the goddess Atargate, who also has a fish tail and is the patroness of fishermen. In Central Asia - Vedyava (Mother of Water). In Central Asia, it is Su-kz (half virgin, half fish). In Ireland - Murrow. In ancient Greece, women with fish tails were called Sirens, and men with Tritons. The siren of mermaids is still called in many European countries - France, Italy, Spain, etc. Also, tailed creatures in Greece were called Nereids, but similar to our mermaids,living in rivers and lakes, they were called - Nymphs. We can say that it is the Greek Nymphs that are closest to our mermaids-coastal ones. The Germanic Undine also has no tail. In South Slavic mythology, mermaids were called - Pitchfork. Forks are inhabitants of waters, they own springs, rivers, lakes, ponds and wells. It was believed that it was the pitchfork that locked the waters for the winter with a layer of ice.
In Slavic antiquity, mermaids were called Mavki. In ancient times, the spirits of dead children were also called Mavkami. They were represented as beauties with hair green from algae, or as ugly old women. An ugly old woman, often shaggy, with sagging breasts, a large belly, a hump on her back, a terrible face and habits, apparently, originated from an older belief in Vodyanikha or the Water Devil. It is possible that in ancient times there was a place in water bodies for both the Water and Vodyanikha and the mermaids themselves, but later these concepts were mixed. Also, Mavki are presented as companions of Vodyanoy - the king of the reservoir.
Most often, the mermaid is still presented as a beautiful, simple-haired girl who walks either without clothes or in a shirt without a belt. When meeting with such spirits, they should throw clothes or a scarf to avoid misfortune.
The ancient Slavs also believed in mermaid children. Surprisingly, but spirits, it turns out, can also have their own children. Most often, mermaid children are the children of the mermaids themselves, who were born after the mermaids had a relationship with their husbands from the underwater world or with husbands from the human world, or with Vodyanoy himself, the owner of the backwater. However, sometimes mermaid children were presented as the spirits of drowned children.
The legends of the ancient Slavs and about the abilities of mermaids are amazing. They are credited with truly fantastic miracles. So mermaids can turn into a cart of hay, a red cow, a horse, a calf, a dog, a mouse, a bird, a hare. However, these transformations often relate to one or another mythical story, where a mermaid, for some need, turns into one or another animal or thing. In classical folk beliefs, the mermaid remains herself.
Another surprising fact is that in many cultures, both in those where mermaids are presented as wondrous creatures with fish tails, and in those where mermaids represent spirits and people from another world, mermaids are engaged in combing their hair. The reason for this belief of different peoples is not known for certain. But in fairy tales and myths of the whole world, mermaids are seen precisely for this occupation - sitting by a creek, on a stone or a tree, and invariably combing their hair. Many researchers consider combing long hair with a comb an ancient witchcraft rite that was used by ordinary people. Most likely, the ceremony of combing long hair with a special comb was timed to magically influence the weather - causing rain.
On Rusnaya Week, people often left offerings to the Mavkas, so that they would not be angry with people and bypass them with their amusements. These offerings, as a rule, are scraps of clothing, clothes for mermaid children, threads, balls (mermaids are considered to be lovers of sewing, embroidery and spinning, and they often steal yarn and threads from housewives who hung them on the street). Some researchers believe that initially the Rusnaya Week was not a commemoration of water maidens, but of people who died not by their own death. The spirits of such people were considered restless and dangerous, so they tried to appease them on these holidays. Then the already dead became mermaids, not by their own death. Moreover, it should also be said that mermaids, mainly being girls, pose a particular danger to young guys and men, as they can drag them to the bottom of their reservoir and make them their husbands. We escaped from them in a variety of ways. In addition to the fact that certain protective spells were pronounced, it was possible to protect from mermaids with the help of garlic, as well as wormwood. Wormwood is used in Kupala rites to this day. Wormwood is hung on their home and inside, carried with them all week, and also thrown into the Kupala bonfires. Bad perfumes do not tolerate the smell of wormwood and go home without causing any harm to people. It is also considered a good remedy for mermaids to look away from them. When the mermaids pester, you need to look not at them, but at the ground. To ward off the attacking Mavok rags, you can prick one of them with a needle or pin. In this case, all the mermaids will immediately run away.as well as wormwood. Wormwood is used in Kupala rites to this day. Wormwood is hung on their home and inside, carried with them all week, and also thrown into the Kupala bonfires. Bad perfumes do not tolerate the smell of wormwood and go home without causing any harm to people. It is also considered a good remedy for mermaids to look away from them. When the mermaids pester, you need to look not at them, but at the ground. To ward off the attacking Mavok rags, you can prick one of them with a needle or pin. In this case, all the mermaids will immediately run away.as well as wormwood. Wormwood is used in Kupala rites to this day. Wormwood is hung on their home and inside, carried with them all week, and also thrown into the Kupala bonfires. Bad perfumes do not tolerate the smell of wormwood and go home without causing any harm to people. It is also considered a good remedy for mermaids to look away from them. When the mermaids pester, you need to look not at them, but at the ground. To ward off the attacking Mavok rags, you can prick one of them with a needle or pin. In this case, all the mermaids will immediately run away. It is also considered a good remedy for mermaids to look away from them. When the mermaids pester, you need to look not at them, but at the ground. To ward off the attacking Mavok rags, you can prick one of them with a needle or pin. In this case, all the mermaids will immediately run away. It is also considered a good remedy for mermaids to look away from them. When the mermaids pester, you need to look not at them, but at the ground. To ward off the attacking Mavok rags, you can prick one of them with a needle or pin. In this case, all the mermaids will immediately run away.
In addition to the fact that the mermaids were represented as people who died not by their own death, they took on even greater features from the ancient goddesses or spirits, whom they called - Beregini. Beregini are closely associated with the cult of water. There are two opinions about who Beregini are. Some believe that "Bereginya" - comes from the word "protect" and these creatures protected people, forests, animals, and so on. Others believe that "Bereginya" - came from the word "Coast" and these mythical creatures lived along the banks of the rivers. Although it is quite possible, and this is also not denied by anyone, that both of these decryptions are correct and took place in antiquity. It was Beregini who were previously the prototype of mermaids, their predecessors. This does not mean that some have been forgotten and others have been glorified. A new word "mermaid" just appeared, which came into use, into colloquial speech and slowly replaced Bereginya. It is believed that the very word "mermaid" appeared in Slavic culture and language relatively recently. The first literary mention dates back to the 18th century. Before that, the water maidens were called by other names - Mavka, Loskotukha, Vodyanitsa, Bereginya and others.
Mavk mermaids are also credited with a real sense of humor. They like to walk, laugh, arrange various intrigues, jokes. For example, mermaids can wrap their wings one after another for the sake of fun for the geese sleeping on the water, so that when they wake up, they cannot spread their wings and, accordingly, take off. Mermaids are great hunters for entertainment. Folk fantasy imagines them either dancing around a fire, or playing various games, whirling in round dances on land or right in the water. They love to sing and constantly laugh, either at their own jokes, or at human stupidity. It is believed that where mermaids dance, dance, play and have fun, the grass grows thicker and juicier. In every possible way, people tried to welcome mermaids into their fields so that the Vodyanitsy would make their harvest abundant. After all, mermaids are also considered the patroness of fertility!The most formidable joke of mermaids is tickling. When they catch a person in a forest, field, or near their pond, they can tickle him to death. After this, the person can be dragged to the bottom, or left in place and led round dances around him. There is a belief that the body of such a person will not decompose until the moment people find it.
Mermaids are also called dashing, because they are constantly splashing in the water, dancing dashingly. A special place in the beliefs about mermaids is given to their songs. In the Kursk province, there was even a belief that all the songs and melodies that people have were overheard and adopted in ancient times from the water maidens.
Mermaids are poetically sung goddesses of rivers, lakes and bodies of water. They are wonderful, beautiful, cheerful, perky, playful. Many beliefs, myths, amazing stories and stories are associated with them. Holidays were dedicated to mermaids. They were feared, but loved and appreciated in their own way.
This is how mermaids are often shown incorrectly: here legends of different nationalities are combined in one character.
And here is how to correctly portray the Russian "Pushkin" mermaid.
Well, or like this:
