Images of men and women in the tales of the British Isles. Russian folk tales - heroes and characters What are the fairy-tale heroes of folk tales
Russian heroes folk tales create a mythical, and sometimes even mystical reality of Russian folk tales, because these heroes are a separate part of the life of our ancestors. All those magical powers that they owned and in which the ancient inhabitants believed have come down to us, although they are described in a more modern language, but at the same time they have not lost each of their uniqueness and type.
They are familiar to all of us, as well as their heroes, characters, destinies. Let's see if you know all the characters and if all of them are familiar to your children. Here are pictures of the heroes of Russian folk tales, so that it is easier for you to remember and imagine them. Maybe you can even decide who your favorite hero of Russian folk tales is.
Ivan Tsarevich, who is also Ivan the fool and Ivan the peasant's son. His main qualities are always described as kindness and nobility. In all fairy tales, Ivan Tsarevich helps other people and, in the end, lives happily. The character of Russian folk tales, Ivan the Fool, teaches us to listen to our heart and listen to intuition, to go through all the difficulties with honor and not lose heart. Often we meet in such tales a gray wolf or a horse loyal to Ivan. The wolf usually symbolizes intelligence and cunning, and the horse, for example, Sivka-Burka, symbolizes devotion and loyalty, helping the hero in all his adventures.
The next familiar character in Russian folk tales is 
Snow Maiden. This heroine is a symbol of female tenderness and vulnerability, a bright soul and purity. Tales about her show that a person can create whatever he wants, that his potential is unlimited, but what he created has no heart and therefore disappears sooner or later, goes into oblivion.
You can find one of the most beautiful versions of the fairy tale with the Snow Maiden in the section. And the Snow Maiden is like a white snowflake, her eyes are like blue beads, a blond braid to the waist ...
Not only kind and positive heroes occupy our children. They also like bad guys fairy tales, for example, Baba Yaga or sometimes Yaga-Yaginishna. This character of Russian folk tales is the most ancient and most multifaceted. She lives in a big scary forest that needs to be bypassed and God forbid to get into her hut on chicken legs. Baba Yaga is a Russian mythical creature, she knows how to conjure and tell fortunes, and the heroes of fairy tales often harm than help. Baba Yaga is depicted most often with a big nose, in a mortar and with a broom. This is how we all remember her.
“A ball rolls along wide valleys, along deep ravines…” Fairy tales, tales, stories… In ancient times, people did not invent fairy tales. People simply talked about what surrounded them, about what they knew and what their ancestors knew. And these stories have existed for thousands of years. In fact, just imagine, because some fairy tales are seven to ten thousand years old (or maybe much more?)!
Fairy tales are filled with metaphors and images. You just need to be able to understand them. But more often than not, we can only guess what is behind these images. Probably, thanks to this, in fairy tales, the original that was laid down in them is preserved. Not fully understanding the meaning of the images, people who tell fairy tales did not add their thoughts to them, but simply conveyed everything as it was.
Therefore, each well-known fairy tale has several levels or layers at once, knowledge about the structure of the world and man, about the foundations of life, deeply hidden and not immediately revealed. There is not a single random empty word or event in a fairy tale. Everything is harmonious and harmonious .. And it will take us a very long time to reveal its secrets.
Among the ancient Slavs, life seemed endless, in the form of a vicious circle, where there was neither beginning nor end. There was no death .. Fairy tale heroes in search of what they wanted went to distant lands to the thirtieth kingdom, not afraid of either time or space, wearing out three pairs of iron boots along the way, grinding down three iron staffs ....
They went so far and so easily ... Why? What is there - in this distant uncertainty ..? Far away lands, the farthest kingdom .. Probably, some secret is hidden in these numbers.
Russian people have always been attracted by everything unknown, mysterious. And although fairy tales had their origins in reality, real life, there is no doubt that people believed in miracles. The characters of fairy tales were creatures similar to humans, but possessing magical powers. They could become invisible or change shape, often appearing as animals or birds. They could predict the future. Some were immortal, others lived for hundreds of years.
“And in the old days everything was. Are old people going to lie? Old people told the truth, they will not lie. And the dead were raised, and the beasts spoke."
So the famous storyteller Agafya Zaitseva said: “But it seems to me that fairy tales have been preserved not thanks to this belief in miracles and magic, but thanks to their faith in a person - his mind, nobility, selflessness, wisdom and selflessness.”
“The thought of ordinary blessings is lost there ...” said the extremely talented, but, unfortunately, now almost forgotten, Russian storyteller Stepan Pisakhov. Now few people remember this name. And he was a real storyteller.
Reading his writings, you begin to understand how a fairy tale is born and then leaves to live its own life. How, moving from place to place, from person to person, leaving behind years and centuries, it turns into an eternal and imperishable treasure..
Here is how Pisakhov himself wrote about himself: “I started writing and telling fairy tales a long time ago, rarely wrote down. My grandparents and grandmother on my mother's side come from the Pinezhsky district, near Arkhangelsk. My grandfather was a storyteller. His name was the storyteller Leonty. It never occurred to anyone to write down the fairy tales of grandfather Leonty. They talked about him: he was a great inventor, he told everything to the word, everything to the point. Grandfather Leonty was taken to the fishing industry as a storyteller.
In bad weather, they stuffed themselves into a fishing hut. In cramped conditions and in the dark: a smoke lamp shone in a bowl of animal fat. They did not take books with them. There was no knowledge of the radio. The storyteller begins a long tale, or he will start a story with a story. He speaks for a long time, stops, asks: - Friends, comrades, are you sleeping? Someone will respond in a sleepy voice: - No, we are not sleeping yet, tell me.
The storyteller continues to weave a fairy tale. If no one gave a voice, the storyteller could sleep. The storyteller received two shares: one for fishing, the other for fairy tales. I did not find grandfather Leonty and did not hear his fairy tales. Since childhood, I have been among the rich northern word-creation. In working on fairy tales, memory restores individual phrases, sayings, words.
For example: - "How hot you are, touch you - you will burn your hands." The maiden, a guest from Pinega, spoke about her life: “Wash mama, she wakes me up, but I’m in a hurry to sleep!” At the meeting, the old woman asked: - “What have you not been seen for a long time - neither in a sheaf, nor in a handful?”
They asked me where I get themes for fairy tales? The answer is simple: After all, rhymes easily live with me, two will come by themselves, they will bring the third. I often write fairy tales from nature, almost from nature. Much is remembered and much asks for a fairy tale. It would take a long time to list what gave rise to this or that fairy tale. I will say for example. One visitor asked me since when I have been living in Arkhangelsk. The secret is not great.
I said: - "Since 1879."
"- Tell me, how many houses were there before in Arkhangelsk?"
There was something carelessly condescending in the tone, in the question. I answered the visitor in tone: “There used to be one pole, on the pole there was a board with the inscription: A-r-x-a-n-g-e-l-l-s-k. The people huddled around the pillar. There were no houses, they were not known about. Some were covered with coniferous branches, others were buried in the snow, in winter in animal skins wrapped up. I had a bear. In the morning I shook the bear out of the skin, climbed into the skin myself. It is warm to walk in a bearskin, and frost is an extraneous matter. I gave the skin to the bear for the night.
It was possible to weave a fairy tale. And the visitor is ready to believe. He went to the "wild north". He wanted polar impressions .. I left the visitor to think: what was the city without houses.
Somehow an old Nenets man comes. He talked about this and that, drank tea and asked: “Tell me, artist, do you know why those people, a hundred come, two truths, and we have one? I'm trying .. I don't understand:. Like two truths.
They talked a lot, and whether in that year or in 1907, when they lived again before the autumn flight, they told me fairy tales. Two of them, I think, I remember. He kept it in himself like an expensive gift. Now many years have passed, and it is possible to convey, as it was then recorded. I like the dream of a happy land more, where there is no malice, enmity, where only love:
“If you go through the ice, going all the way to the north, and jump over the walls of the whirling winds, then you will get to people who only love and know neither enmity nor malice. But those people have one leg each, and each separately they cannot move, but they love and walk around embracing, loving. When they hug, they can walk and run, and if they stop loving, they immediately stop hugging and die. And when they love, they can work wonders. If you need to chase an animal or escape from an evil spirit, those people draw sleighs and deer in the snow, sit down and ride so fast that the east wind cannot catch up.
And here is the second tale: “The hero of the tale found a grave log cabin in the forest: four low pillars driven into the ground and rounded with boards, like a box. Near the sleigh with a cart, overturned, and reindeer in harness. The hero looked around, there was no one, he began to call:
- Is there anyone here? A voice from the grave responded: - Here I am, a girl, buried.
Why are you buried?
- Yes, I'm dead.
- How did you know, or who told you that you are dead?
“I was dead all my life, I didn’t have a soul, but I didn’t know about it and lived like all living things. And when I was a bride and sat with the groom and relatives by the fire on the eve of the wedding, coal jumped out of the fire and fell on me. My family and I, and the groom found out that I had no soul, but only one appearance. They buried me, and with me everything that was mine. Hero said:
- If you want, I will break the grave and you will live. No, I don't have another soul. But I will give you half of my soul, you will be my wife!
The girl agreed. The hero of the fairy tale broke the grave block, freed the girl and took him away with him.
Throw a crumb into the forest, you'll go and find it. They don’t call me stingy, but can I remind you of something new?
He asked the old man: “Why didn’t you come in for a long time? - There was no backlog. Pomor came - the captain alone. Why didn't your wife come? - Not in a hurry.
Do not take offense that sayings are some and go somehow. By the way, they run to a place, line up ... They are easy to bow, quick to say a word, lead round dances, weave a pattern with words. Just have time to write down: where they take it from, where they put it! So are fairy tales: I’m sitting writing ... And it also happened that a fairy tale would not let go! What if I flew to the moon in my grandmother's skirt with two samovars? That's no stopping! We must fly, have a look and return home!
Don't think that I'm talking - I'm talking ... You can't put a ban on thoughts. Let it fly, curl. They say: a person cannot think of something that cannot be.”
It can’t… A person can’t come up with something that can’t be…
So maybe the strength and immortality of fairy tales is not that they created an amazing Magic world- a world in which you can hide from reality, forget about the dullness and dullness of life with its monotonous feelings and desires. And in the fact that it gives a person hope for his humanity, in that it keeps in itself an absolute, inexhaustible faith in a person and in the best that is in him. She has no doubt that Good will overcome Evil, that loyalty and nobility will be rewarded with love and happiness. And if you are for justice, for the truth, if you are real, then you find your true value in this world, for which you are called to this world. And then everything is achievable..
We now live in the world of an enchanted fairy tale, in the world of some kind of accursed space, in a draw, as the ancient Slavs said - a world where everything has a retroactive value, where the meaning of such concepts as honor, justice, conscience, knowledge is lost. Maybe that same offended, evil fairy from a fairy tale touched us with her magic wand and we all fell asleep ..? And you just need to shake off this dream and wake up .. Maybe a fairy tale will help? After all, she lives, she has not left, she is simply patiently waiting for her time, her turn, when people will need her again.
There are questions that are asked and will always be asked .. Because the answer to them is very important, sometimes it is the most important in a person's life. Here is one of them - do you believe in fairy tales? Apparently this question still worries people. In any case, on the Internet, in various forums and discussions, you come across amazing words and thoughts that people share with each other. Here are just a few of them:
“I do not believe in a fairy tale - I live in it. I see the unusual in the ordinary and the fairy tale in everyday life. In the morning I meet the sunrise - it rises from behind the trees. For me, we are one with the sun - it captures the spirit, it rises from me. Then the birds come to festive table- the sky is filled with many wings, but first the Raven flies, my friend. He is the first. When He flies away, the air explodes from the hubbub of birds: magpies chirp, sparrows chirp, ... - this is how birds observe the hierarchy, the order that exists in nature. Cats, dogs, birds, plants in my garden - this is all I am, only in other guises. And at night I sleep under my favorite birch - I open my eyes - fantastic!!! Life is a mystery!!! Mystery!!! I dance with the moon, with the stars. Once I saw a fireball on the grass, it was alive.
It pulsated, and then slowly floated on the grass and disappeared. When you do not separate yourself from nature, from the existence of what is, then you live in a fairy tale ... "
“I believe, I believe with all my heart in fairy tales, I believe in magic, I believe in true love.. I'm almost sixteen years old and I believe in a magical world .. and I'm not ashamed. I believe in the best, that peace and balance will soon reign on earth, that the most worthy of the most worthy will rule the world. But every day, I understand what the adult world is. I don't want to go there, there's no place for me there, why? I don't want to go to this kingdom.. Everything there is overgrown with selfishness, there are so few normal people, people who have not succumbed to this world of imaginary pleasures, have not forgotten what truth, honor and dignity are. But there are so few of them."
“When I was little, I was scared to death by Russian cartoons and Russian fairy tales. My heart ached for the poor grandfather from the “golden fish”, I cried for Ivanushka, who turned into a goat, and when the fox ate the kolobok, it was a shock for me, like a sudden lightning ... there was a bun and bang! ate! I was madly worried, I watched the fairy tale as if this sinister story was actually happening to my mom or dad, who were in danger .... Is it foreign business! It is easy and simple to watch, even the most turbulent fairy tale with unpredictably tragic events arouses interest and desire to know “what will happen next?” powerful and inscrutable idea…”
“It seems to me that the hero of a Russian fairy tale is not looking for a house at all. And not yourself. The hero is looking for a WORLD in which he is needed and useful. Not your place in the existing world, not your home. And the whole world for itself ... Russian fairy tale is a search better world for myself. Search for the city of Kitezh, Heavenly Russia, Kingdom of Far Far Away, Communism, Half a Day, Kingdom of Kashchei. I think so…”
“When you read fairy tales, you involuntarily begin to believe in them. And then it is very difficult to return to a gray and boring reality. But when the moment comes to return, you just need to find a way to color and change this very reality. Make it the way you want it! After all, everything is possible in this life, you just need to try a little! ... The main thing is to understand that a fairy tale is beautiful not with locks and magic wands, but with PEOPLE, ordinary people who love, hate, fear, rejoice....just live...just like us... We can't fly on broomsticks, we can't turn cups into mice, but we can live and be happy! Live, create, create, know how to appreciate the beautiful, know how to LOVE, know how to FORGIVE and BE HAPPY!”
“If you take a closer look at every moment of life, then they are all a bit like the chapters of one big fairy tale)) so until it ends, I can’t answer .., but I know one thing for sure, it is very interesting!”
“A fairy tale is born right in ourselves… When we allow it to be born…. But sometimes she breaks out herself .. right from our soul ... And then the world becomes fabulously beautiful.
In the country of the Russian fairy tale, everything is possible - happiness, fidelity, love.. And good always triumphs over evil.. And evil, which almost always helps good. Like the one who once said to himself “I am part of that force that always wants evil and always does good…”. Because both good and evil in this country are, as it were, parts of one whole, and everything is done there according to some unknown, incomprehensible to us, but surprisingly fair rules .. Where everything knows its place and time, and everything seems to be created for this to tell you about something very, very important...
In this country you can live thousands of lives, go everywhere, see and feel everything - ride tirelessly and fearlessly on a wonderful horse, cross seas and oceans, climb to the stars. Monsters, giants, sorcerers appear before you - but you are not afraid, you cannot be afraid, because you know that you are invincible, and nothing threatens you - as long as you are honest and fair, as long as you remain yourself .. And it's not hard, it's not hard at all. One has only to want to .. And behind everything that happens in this country there is another innermost meaning invisible to the ordinary eye, an amazing mystery .. And it must be unraveled ..
And one more thing I would like to say - Russian fairy tale and Russian folk art. It is impossible to imagine how one could exist without the other. Probably many thousands of years ago ancient master gave the first visible forms to those images that lived next to him, excited his soul and heart.
For thousands of years, fairy tales lived, and for thousands of years people lived, were born and died, who kept their secrets in the creations of their imagination and their own hands. Times changed, styles and forms changed, but the main thing remained unchanged - deep, continuous love and devotion to everything that our history and culture has created and conveyed to us through the centuries.
Take a look at the work of today's masters. They are so different. But all of them keep secret knowledge and thoughts. They can tell a lot. You just have to listen.
The characters invented in Russia are symbols of the childhood of each of us, while in different countries world they are perceived differently. For example, if in Russian mythology Baba Yaga is evil spirits, then among the Scandinavians a similar character is the goddess of the kingdom of the dead, Hel.
Female images: "my light, mirror, tell me ..."
Vasilisa the Wise, Elena the Beautiful, Mary the Artisan, the Frog Princess, the Snow Maiden, Alyonushka - female images who possessed not only stunning female logic, but also kindness, wisdom, beauty, sincerity. The brightest of them are:
1 A fragile, little girl, Santa Claus's helper is a favorite New Year's guest, a role model for naughty children. From the middle of the 19th century, the image of a little granddaughter was replaced by a young beauty, with an obligatory kokoshnik or a fur hat, the preferred headwear of Russian women.
No country in the world can boast such a magical and romantic biography as the Russian Snegurka. In Italy, this is the fairy Befana, an old woman with a hooked nose, who flies to the kids on a broomstick, giving gifts. A kind of "Santa Claus" in a skirt. The Mongols call their Snow Maiden Zazan Ohin, the girl Snow. The heroine, by tradition, makes riddles and gives gifts only after she hears the answer. In the USA, Santa has only deer from his assistants, but there is no Snow Maiden.
It is curious that if you try to translate the word Snow Maiden into English using the Google translator service, the result will always be different. Yesterday, the Snow Maiden was translated as "Snow - boy" (literally - a snow boy). Today, the Snegurochka in the database of the service is translated as Snow-maiden (Made of snow).
2 Masha, a restless companion of the Bear, a naughty character of a 3D cartoon breaking all records.
The green-eyed fidget is fluent in hand-to-hand combat, loves to be capricious and hooligan, asks questions that are difficult to answer. The prototype of the animated series was the folklore heroine of the Russian folk tale. Director O. Kuznetsov borrowed character traits from the hero of O. Henry's story "The Leader of the Redskins". The team of creators of the series does not adapt native Russian characters for broadcast in various countries.
3 baba yaga- a witch, the heroine of Slavic mythology, endowed with magical powers. A negative character lures good fellows into his hut on chicken legs, without fail gives the heroes a fairy-tale horse and a magical navigator of those times - a ball of thread. The Russian witch is not always friendly, but if you are gifted with eloquence, she can help.
4 Firebird, a fabulous bird that heals the sick and restores sight to the blind, is the sister of the Western European bird Phoenix, which knew how to revive from the ashes. The father of the two fiery heroines, most likely, was Peacock.
Each heroine is an individual, embodying good or evil, her actions and deeds are directly related to her character and mission.
Male images: “the heroes have not yet died out on the Russian land!”
The top of positive male images is no less colorful, vividly conveying the spirit of a Russian person. The main images are always antagonistic: in contrast to the beautiful, there is sure to be a bad one. Without which male images Russian fairy tales are inconceivable:
1 Santa Claus.
In the Russian version - Morozko, Studenets, the mighty lord of the winter blizzard. The character, adored by the children, rides on a troika of horses, fetters reservoirs and rivers with the sound of a staff, sweeps cities and villages with cold breath. IN New Year together with the Snow Maiden gives gifts. During Soviet times, Grandfather was dressed in a red coat, the color of the country's flag. The image of the popular Grandfather, who "wanders through the forests and meadows" is played in different ways in different countries: Santa Claus, Joulupuki, Jouluvana.
This is interesting:
According to the most conservative estimates of scientists, Santa Claus is more than 2000 years old. For two thousand years, Santa Claus has repeatedly appeared in different images. First - in the guise of the pagan god Zimnik: an old man of small stature, with white hair and a long gray beard, with an uncovered head, in warm white clothes and with an iron mace in his hands. And in the fourth century, Santa Claus was reminiscent of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, who lived in Asia Minor in the city of Patara.
Grandfather began to come to the house with gifts with the beginning of the celebration of the New Year in Russia. Previously, he gave gifts to the obedient and smart, and beat the mischievous with a stick. But the years made Santa Claus more compassionate: he replaced the stick with a magic staff.
By the way, Santa Claus first appeared on the pages of books in 1840, when Vladimir Odoevsky's "Children's Tales of Grandpa Iriney" were published. In the book, the name and patronymic of the winter wizard, Moroz Ivanovich, became known.
In the twentieth century, Santa Claus almost disappeared. After the revolution, it was considered that celebrating Christmas is harmful for the people, because this is a real “priestly” holiday. However, in 1935, the disgrace was finally removed, and soon Father Frost and Snegurochka first appeared together for the Christmas tree holiday at the Moscow House of Unions.
2 Three heroes. Strong, courageous, cheerful heroes have long become a symbol of Russia, thanks to a series of full-length adventures by Alyosha Popovich, Dobrynya Nikitich and Ilya Muromets. In fact, the brave fellows never met in life, according to the epics, they even lived in different centuries.
This is interesting:
In 2015, the 6th part of the saga, released on the screens - "Three Heroes: The Knight's Move" collected 962,961,596 rubles. Almost 1 billion rubles! Thus, the picture became the highest grossing animated film of the year. Although it all started modestly: the box office of the first part - "Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin the Serpent" (2004) - amounted to 48,376,440 rubles. Since then, fees have steadily increased.
3 Ivan the Fool(third son) - a character who embodies a special "magic strategy": the hero acts contrary to common sense and always succeeds! The fool solves riddles admirably, wins evil spirit and valiantly saves the main character.
Pinocchio, Crocodile Gena, Dr. Aibolit, Barmaley, Winnie the Pooh, Leopold the Cat and Matroskin the Cat are also some of the most popular and beloved heroes of Russian cinema, who rightfully occupy high positions in the rating of fairy-tale characters.
Undead: guardians of forests, swamps and houses
The largest group of Russian folk epic is made up of mythical creatures. Vodyanoy, Kikimora, Goblin, mermaids, Brownie, Baba Yaga are magical images that appeared along with inexplicable forces of nature. By their actions and character, these are more negative characters, but at the same time, they are charming and charismatic in modern films and cartoons, these include:
1 Koschei the Deathless. A character with supernatural powers. According to legend, this is an insidious old man who kills pets. The sorcerer often kidnaps the protagonist's bride in the hope of "mutual love".
This is interesting:
In Soviet cinema, Koshey was brilliantly played by actor Georgy Millyar. Basically, he played all sorts of evil spirits and had to put on complex makeup. But for the role of Koshchei the Immortal, makeup was practically not needed, since the actor himself resembled a living skeleton (after suffering from malaria, the actor's weight was only 45 kg).
Koschey the Immortal - Georgy Millyar - Article
Another Ivan in "The Tale of Vasilisa the Golden Spit" also saves all the people and his own from a terrible snake that captivated the beauties and his own sister. Ivan Peas is a strong and formidable hero, ready to deal with any evil, protect his native land and defend the honor of his sister. But in the fairy tale “Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf”, the wolf acts as a more positive character, Ivan Tsarevich was only lucky to meet such a faithful and devoted friend. The same trend can be observed in the fairy tales "The Little Humpbacked Horse", "By the Pike's Command" and many others.
The Russian people for the most part believed that “the hunchbacked grave would fix it,” therefore, the transformation of the hero from a negative character into a positive one is not typical for Russian fairy tales.
The most positive female characters Vasilisa the Beautiful and the Wise act in Russian fairy tales. The Russian beauty is primarily distinguished by intelligence and kindness, she helps her chosen one defeat evil with cunning and ingenuity, get a magical item or direct it to the wise. Oddly enough, but in some fairy tales even Baba Yaga can be positive, which supplies the traveler with parting words, ancient knowledge and provides material assistance in the form of magic items: a scarf, a comb, a ball of thread or a mirror.
Positive heroes of foreign fairy tales
The heroes of European fairy tales are radically different from Russian ones, they are physically weak, intelligence and cunning are not sung in them like in folklore. Such qualities as kindness, humility, and diligence come to the fore. Snow White and Cinderella are downtrodden beauties, born for love and luxury, but, by the will of evil people, they are obliged to play the role of servants. They make no effort to change their fate, they are submissive to it and freed from the shackles only by chance. Moreover, the main idea of such fairy tales is the idea that only virtue and diligence are necessary for the triumph of justice, and God or good fairies will generously reward the heroine for all hardships.Pinocchio is a fairy tale by an Italian writer about the transformation of a stupid, naughty and sometimes cruel wooden doll into a kind and caring boy. Pinocchio or Pinocchio are one of the most positive children's characters.
Warrior heroes in foreign fairy tales presented quite rarely, one of the few such characters is Cipollino, although this is more of a revolutionary character fighting dictators against the bourgeoisie and slavery. Another stands out positive hero- Medieval revolutionary Robin Hood. The collective image of the noble robber-warrior is romanticized and inspired. He fights evil in the face of cruel feudal lords, lawlessness and injustice.
Oriental tales in their ideas are closer to Russian ones, for example, Aladdin is an analogue of Ivan the Fool or Emelya. Oriental characters, like Russians, are often helped by cunning, dexterity and resourcefulness, the most popular hero is the “Baghdad thief”, a criminal who managed to fool more than a dozen moneybags around his finger and was never caught. In almost every Arabian fairy tale there is also a guiding hand - as in the Russian tradition, this is a woman. The smart and cunning wife of Ali Baba, Sakine, Scheherazade, like Vasilisa in Russian fairy tales, personifies such quick wit and ingenuity that is inherent only in women.
A fairy tale is not only entertainment for kids. It contains instructive stories that reflect the beliefs of an entire people. The heroes are endowed with rather conditional exaggerated characters, their motives and actions are a reflection of ancient Slavic rituals.
baba yaga- the most famous character of Russian folklore. Meanwhile, this is not just a collective image of an ugly old woman with a quarrelsome character and ferocious deeds. Baba Yaga is essentially a conductor. The forest in which she lives is a conditional border between the worlds. She needs a bone leg so that the spirits consider her theirs. A prerequisite for “heating a bathhouse” is a ritual bath, a joint meal in one form or another - a feast, a commemoration among the Slavs. And the indispensable dwelling - a hut on chicken legs - is just the place of transition to the afterlife. By the way, chicken legs have nothing to do with the hut. "Smoke" means "to fumigate" - to pour smoke over a new haven of man "without windows, without doors." And in fact, Baba Yaga did not put children in the oven - this is again the image of the initiation of babies among the Slavs, during which the child was placed in the oven to protect him from evil spirits.
Water- an unpleasant-looking water spirit that lives in whirlpools and water mills. He has drowned girls in his wives, and fish in his servants. The waterman will not miss the chance to drag an unlucky diver to his muddy bottom. So that he would not act outrageously, they brought him gifts, especially the spirit of water rejoiced at the appetizing goose. The water man is always ready to protect his home, as soon as the fisherman recklessly encroach on his possessions.
Firebird- an analogue of the Phoenix reborn from fire and ashes. As a rule, she (or her pen) is the goal of the search and wanderings of the main characters. It is believed that she personifies light and warmth, so every autumn she dies, and reappears in the spring. Also found in fairy tales Sirin- half woman half bird. She has heavenly beauty and an angelic voice, but everyone who hears it is doomed to trouble and suffering.
Zmey Gorynych- a fire-breathing dragon that can fly. In Slavic folklore, he guards the Kalinov Bridge - access to the underworld, where common man path booked. The number of his heads is always a multiple of three (the sacred number of the Slavs), which indicates vitality, you cannot defeat him at a time.
Goblin- Forest spirit. He is either huge and powerful, then small and absurd, then clumsy, then dexterous. They try to avoid him, because Leshy has a harmful character and can lead him into the thicket of the forest - then get out of there. You can save yourself if you wear clothes inside out - so he does not recognize his victim. At the same time, they appease him, leaving gifts at the edge, because this is the Master of the forest, without whom human life is impossible.
- a good guardian of the house. He is born old and dies as a baby. He is happy to help in the household, if he is not offended and fed with milk, or he can misbehave and hide the necessary things. Its complete opposite is kikimora- the evil spirit of the deceased, tormenting the family. However, she does dirty tricks to those who do not keep their home in order, so it is quite fair. Another domestic prankster - Bannik. He is able to scare a person who has come to take a steam bath by throwing hot stones at him or scalding him with boiling water.
Koschei the Immortal- an evil sorcerer who kidnaps brides. This is a prototype of the powerful priest Koshchei Chernobogovich, the son of Chernobog. He owned the kingdom of Navi ( underworld, the afterlife among the Slavs).
Well, what is a fairy tale without Ivan the Fool? This is a collective positive image, which is destined for a long way, but he passes it with valor and at the end receives the princess as his wife. So the Fool is not a curse, but a kind of amulet from the evil eye. Ivan solves the tasks set by life thanks to his own ingenuity and non-standard approach.
Listening to stories from heroes of Russian folk tales, children from childhood learned to be persistent in spirit, fair, courageous, revering and recognizing the power of good (after all, it always wins). The Slavs believed that any fairy tale is a lie only for our visible world, but true for the world of spirits. And no one will argue that it contains a lesson that everyone has yet to learn during their lives.
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ETHNOMIR, Kaluga region, Borovsky district, Petrovo village
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ETNOMIR is the largest ethnographic park-museum in Russia, a colorful interactive model of the real world. Here, on an area of 140 hectares, architecture, national cuisine, crafts, traditions and life of almost all countries are presented. Each country is assigned a kind of "cultural reserve" - an ethno-yard.
- complex exposure. It is formed by the building of the largest Russian stove in the world and nine huts from different regions of the European part of Russia.
In its planning, the architectural ensemble recreates the structure of ancient Slavic settlements, when residential buildings surrounded the central square.
The main expositions of the Museum are located in the huts - these are stoves of various structures, shapes, designs, and household items of the 19th-20th centuries, and an exhibition of irons, and a collection of traditional Russian patchwork dolls, and various wooden toys ...