The Frog Princess”is one of the most mysterious fairy tales. It is unlikely that we will know all her secrets to the end.
The beginning is especially interesting in it.
Since the later versions of the tale are greatly reduced, we will consider an earlier version - it is called "The Tale of the Frog and the Bogatyr" (published in 1787).
So, the brothers, obeying the order of their father to find wives, go to the reserved meadow and shoot them into the air with an arrow.
Choosing a bride through archery looks, of course, impressive, but still strange. We are talking about the continuation of the royal family, and the future wives of the heirs should be, if not noble and rich, then at least young and healthy. How can you rely on chance in such a delicate matter?
As a result, the two elders quickly find brides, and Ivan the hero wanders around for three days, trying to find, if not the other half, then at least an arrow.
In which the frog was waiting for him.
Entering the hut and confiscating an arrow from the amphibian, Ivan suddenly realizes that he is a sorceress: the frog, having skillfully performed several somersaults, turns his modest dwelling into a "painted gazebo", where a table with delicacies awaits a hero who has been starving for three days of wandering.
Promotional video:
It is worth remembering here that folk tales do not give any details just like that.
Other fabulous Ivans - both fools and princes - regularly eat at Yaga's. This is not an ordinary, but a ritual, magical meal (see Propp's works).
So: a secret place in the swamps - a beautiful (unusual) building - a meal - an omnipotent female deity (or priestess). We see absolutely the same scheme as in the tales about Babu Yaga. Only the scenery has changed: there is a forest, and here is a swamp.
And let's add here the "reserved meadow" on which the test began, and the archery itself: it all looks like a ritual. Note that arrowheads are often found during excavations of Slavic pagan sanctuaries.
They are also associated with wedding ceremonies.
But back to the frog's residence, the “hut in the swamp”.
In the twenties of the XX century, archaeologist A. N. Lyavdansky discovered a number of settlements in the Smolensk region, located in a marshy area.
They are circular platforms surrounded by ramparts and a moat.
There are no traces of permanent life in them, there are no reliable defensive fortifications, so scientists concluded that the settlements were intended for religious ceremonies.
Archaeologist L. D. Pobol has identified over 250 such swamp sanctuaries
As you can see, religious life in the swamps was in full swing. The tribes inhabiting these lands were called "Dregovichi", swamp people.
And after Christianization, the rituals in the swamps continued. In the message of Metropolitan John of Russia, it is reported that the Slavs who do not want to submit to the new faith "are devouring the hedgehog with a devil and a swamp and wells."
It is difficult to say what these rituals were and whether frogs were involved in them.
Who knows, maybe the frog was his wife. Or at least a court lady …
PS Women from the Finno-Ugric tribe Merya used to wear zoomorphic pendants with frog legs (No. 7) in ancient times.
From the book by E. A. Ryabinin. * Zoomorphic jewelry of ancient Russia *.
