There are legends and traditions in every area where people live. This is invaluable material not only for ethnographers, but sometimes for historians, because in the people's memory, albeit in a distorted form, sometimes information about events that are significant not only for the local territory, but also for the entire region, or even the whole region is preserved … And the comparison of these legends with written sources can lead to very curious thoughts.
Rays around the sun
An example of such a "significant legend" is the legend about the death of Rurik near the Peredolsky churchyard. You understand that Rurik is not some local warrior. This, one might say, is the cornerstone of the history of the entire vast territory of the present Northwest. The countdown of many historical constructions depends on whether this prince (or king, as many call him) existed in reality, whether he had brothers, where and how he died, and even who and when he was buried.
Shum-mountain is a colossal hill, considered to be the largest unexplored burial ground in Northern Europe, and stands in the upper reaches of the Luga practically on the border of the Luga district of the Leningrad region and the Batetsky district of the Novgorod region. Historic villages on both banks of the shallow Luga are simply darkness. And in them even some inhabitants remained from the previous, pre-war times, the descendants of the indigenous population, to whom the ancestors passed on local legends and just village tales, extremely curious, since they reflect the life and customs of the Upper Semi-Upper Region.
And almost every old-timer - from the words of grandmothers, grandfathers, other long-dead relatives - will tell you about "Tsar Yurik". It is not necessary to suspect not very literate old women that they have read violent fantasy, and they watch TV only about what is understandable - serials or news from the fields. In addition, the records of ethnographers of the 60s-70s of the XX century, made from the words of older, now dead informants, also contain these legends, and then the fantasy genre did not exist for the villagers. That is, the legends are completely honest, without falsification.
It says literally the following. In late autumn there was a great battle on Luga (so long ago that the present villages had not even begun to be built). And the enemies killed "Tsar Yurik", however, they did not win. And already the cold came, the earth grabbed, it was impossible to bury. And 12 nearby soldiers remained with the body of the king: they threw stones at it to protect it from being pulled away by beasts and birds, and they themselves began to guard. When spring came, the wars rolled away the stones, freed the body, crossed the river with him, buried him. And other subjects of the king carried out the order of 12 soldiers: they cut off their heads and put their bodies around Yurik's body, like rays around the sun. These warriors were supposed to accompany the king in the afterlife - such an honor was given to them. A stone crypt was built around them. A huge hill was poured from above so that it could be seen from afar.
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Underground bells
Indeed, Shum Mountain is visible from everywhere. Why is it called that? And then the second legend comes in - from the group of famous legends "about the failed churches". Like, when they began to build churches around, a temple was also erected on Shum-mountain - both a good place, and honor and respect for the great dead. And when his bells rang, it was heard in the whole neighborhood. And then other enemies came up - either Lithuanians, or Swedes, or Germans. The Orthodox gathered in the church, looking for protection, and the church with them went underground. Now you can hear the ringing of bells from under the ground - sometimes it is heard on a holiday. Some even see a cross on the top of the mountain, especially from the opposite bank of the Luga.
Failed churches are told in our area wherever there are hills and settlements, that is, an anthropogenic relief. Indeed, a church or chapel was often erected on an elevated site. This was done not so much out of love for beautiful views, but with the aim of "christening" a pagan place, to interrupt the old one with a new faith. So the history of Shum-mountain fits well into the overall concept. But next to each such place there are own legends, and near this hill there are more of them than others by right.
Noise Mountain is so called not only because of the ringing of underground bells. They say that on rainy evenings the mountain "sings" - gloomily and mournfully. Archaeologists who have explored the hill by geolocation method claim that it is heterogeneous: in the depths there is a pillar (or well lining) made of material much denser than the earth. Perhaps this is the same stone sarcophagus - only with a vertical exit almost to the surface. This can explain the origin of the sounds for which the Shum-mountain is so famous - the echo is reflected from the stone well and "walks" along the body of the hill. Those who have been to those places have seen another effect: when a heavy truck or a tractor moves on a dirt road going past the mountain along the bank of the Luga, the hill emits a low hum with a whistle, similar to the sound of a landing plane. But you can hear this only on the middle part of the hill - on its "belt". Neither above nor below this effect will be.
Trees grow on Shum-mountain - rather large birches, but no shrubs. Locals say that it is supposedly not growing by itself, but perhaps it is simply being cut down. At the same time, in the surrounding villages, there is a widespread belief that whoever chops down a tree on Shum Mountain will be punished, and in confirmation they will immediately tell about two or three local peasants who cut down a tree and died in torment a strange death. Colored ribbons can often be seen on the birches of the hill - offerings to the spirit of the place. This rite is quite compatible with folk traditions, but the official religion rejects it. Moreover, in places of most frequent worship, especially if there is an Orthodox church or chapel, there is usually a paper written by a local priest, who strictly or almost sincerely (depending on the degree of intolerance to paganism) informs about the sinfulness of this rite.
Rurik was here
The environment of the Shum-mountain is also conducive to myth-making. Almost opposite the hill there is a settlement - a classic medieval fortification on a promontory near the Luga River. Nearby there is a dilapidated church from the pre-Petrine period. The area around was called the Peredolsky Pogost and was considered very populated - in any case, this is confirmed by both written sources and archaeological finds. Near Shum-mountain there are other hills - smaller in size, but also very picturesque, and on the banks of the river granite boulders of rather impressive sizes are fancifully laid out. Local residents associate their legends with these boulders: on many stones they see magic signs of either the "Tsar Yurik" himself, or his immediate entourage. Some stones seem to people like the heads of warriors, others like fabulous birds. Of course, each such stone is considered sacred. It is curious that there are no “common” sacred stones - each group of families, relatives or neighbors prefers to worship their own boulder. At the same time, old legends are supplemented by quite modern examples. Of course, it is impossible to check them, but in this case it is not necessary.
In the surrounding villages there were also revered springs, but, unfortunately, not all of them have survived to this day. Diligent post-war construction, unbridled land reclamation and just garbage destroyed a significant part of the natural outflows of water. And such legends have survived. Supposedly there were keys that helped with eye diseases. The blind will wash - and almost will see. But filthy lithuania came (filthy - in the sense of the Catholics), found out about the key, decided to wash out her Basurman eyes - and she was completely blind. Ethnographers believe that the basis of such a legend is the belief that shrines help only their own, and they punish strangers by aggravating their problem.
In general, the entire complex of the Peredolsky Pogost, studied by ethnographers and archaeologists for more than a dozen years, has been "deciphered" by hardly a few percent, including "Tsar Yurik" himself.
So there are many secrets and mysteries here, but, unfortunately, after a few years in the surrounding villages there may not be a single old-timer - only summer residents and new settlers. Therefore, further work will have to rely on information collected by previous ethnographic and archaeological expeditions..
Tatiana Khmelnik