Misplaced Pages

#563436

53-408: Baba Yaga is an enigmatic or ambiguous character from Slavic folklore (or one of a trio of sisters of the same name) who has two opposite roles. In some motifs she is described as a repulsive or ferocious-looking old woman who fries and eats children, while in others she is a nice old woman who helps out the hero. She is often associated with forest wildlife. Her distinctive traits are flying around in

106-407: A bagpipe -playing bald man has been identified as a merrier depiction of the home life of Peter and Catherine. Some other scholars have interpreted these lubki motifs as reflecting a concept of Baba Yaga as a shaman . The "crocodile" would in this case represent a monster who fights witches, and the print would be something of a "cultural mélange" that "demonstrate[s] an interest in shamanism at

159-471: A Cloud, Moon, Death, Winter, Snake, Bird, Pelican or Earth Goddess, totemic matriarchal ancestress, female initiator, phallic mother , or archetypal image". Baba Yaga appears on a variety of lubki (singular lubok ), wood block prints popular in late 17th and early 18th century Russia. In some instances, Baba Yaga appears astride a pig going to battle against a reptilian entity referred to as "crocodile". Dmitry Rovinsky interpreted this scene as

212-492: A Jewish woman living in an Eastern European shtetl in 1919, during a time of civil war and pogroms ." Sophie Anderson 's book The House With Chicken Legs , which received various accolades, features Marinka, the granddaughter of Baba Yaga. Here "Yaga" is not a name, but a title for the guardian who guides the dead into the afterlife, and Marinka is being trained for this role. Yagas are reimagined as kind and benevolent. Slavic folklore Slavic folklore encompasses

265-424: A focus on epithet as a smear word,' writes David Binder, my longtime Times colleague, 'which was still a synonym for 'delineation' or 'characterization' in my big 1942 Webster's but now seems to be almost exclusively a synonym for 'derogation' or 'smear word.' ... In the past century, [epithet] blossomed as 'a word of abuse,' today gleefully seized upon to describe political smears." Descriptive bynames were given to

318-485: A modifier from the animate to the inanimate; for example, "cheerful money" and "suicidal sky". Orators take special care when using epithets so as to not use them as smear words. Orators could be accused of racial or abusive epithets if used incorrectly. American journalist William Safire discussed the use of the word in a 2008 column in The New York Times : "'I am working on a piece about nationalism with

371-520: A person to distinguish them from other people of the same name. In England bynames were used during the period when the use of surnames had not been extensively adopted. As an example the Domesday Book of 1086 identifies 40 individuals with the given name of "Richard". Most (40%), such as "Richard of Coursey" are identified with a locational byname, indicating where they came from, or in some cases where they lived. Others (25%), such as "Richard

424-459: A person's name or appear in place of their name, as what might be described as a glorified nickname or sobriquet , and for this reason some linguists have argued that they should be considered as pronouns . It has also been argued that epithets are a phenomenon with the syntax–semantics interface , because they have components of both, and also a pragmatic dimension. An epithet is linked to its noun by long-established usage. Not every adjective

477-422: A persuasive tactic. Orators have a variety of epithets that they can employ that have different meanings. The most common are fixed epithets and transferred epithets. A fixed epithet is the repetitive use of the same word or phrase for the same person or object. A transferred epithet qualifies a noun other than the person or thing it is describing. This is also known as a hypallage. This can often involve shifting

530-528: A political parody . Peter the Great persecuted Old Believers , who in turn referred to him as a crocodile. Rovinsky notices that some lubki feature a ship below the crocodile, interpreted as a hint to the rule of Peter the Great, while Baba Yaga dressed in a Finnish dress ("chukhonka dress") is a hint to Peter the Great's wife Catherine I , sometimes derisively referred to as the chukhonka ('Finnish woman'). A lubok that features Baba Yaga dancing with

583-467: A reference to the mythological place of birth or numinous presence at a specific sanctuary: sacrifice might be offered on one and the same occasion to Pythian Apollo ( Apollo Pythios ) and Delphic Apollo ( Apollo Delphinios ). A localizing epithet refers simply to a particular center of veneration and the cultic tradition there, as the god manifested at a particular festival, for example: Zeus Olympios, Zeus as present at Olympia, or Apollo Karneios, Apollo at

SECTION 10

#1732772219564

636-525: A small hut identical to the first. This Baba Yaga makes the same comments and asks the same question as the first, and Ivan asks the same question. This second Baba Yaga does not know either and directs him to the third, but says that if she gets angry with him "and wants to devour you, take three horns from her and ask her permission to blow them; blow the first one softly, the second one louder, and third still louder." Ivan thanks her and continues on his journey. After walking for some time, Ivan eventually finds

689-461: A stove, being intended as storehouses and not for living. The Karelian figure Syöjätär has some aspects of Baba Yaga, but only the negative ones, while in other Karelian tales, helpful roles akin to those from Baba Yaga may be performed by a character called akka ('old woman'). Mussorgsky 's 1874 suite Pictures at an Exhibition has a movement titled "The Hut on Hen's Legs (Baba Yaga)". The rock adaptation of this piece recorded by

742-416: A wooden mortar , wielding a pestle, and dwelling deep in the forest in a hut standing on chicken legs. Variations of the name Baba Yaga are found in many Slavic languages . In Serbian , Macedonian , Croatian , Bosnian , and Bulgarian , baba means 'grandmother' or 'old woman'. In contemporary Polish and Russian, baba / баба is also a pejorative synonym for 'woman', in particular one that

795-450: Is " Apollo , [as] leader of the Muses " and therefore patron of the arts and sciences, while Phoibos Apollo is the same deity, but as shining sun-god. " Athena protects the city as polias , oversees handicrafts as ergane , joins battle as promachos and grants victory as nike ." Alternatively, the epithet may identify a particular and localized aspect of the god, such as

848-469: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Epithet The word epithet also may refer to an abusive, defamatory, or derogatory word or phrase. This use is criticized by Martin Manser and other proponents of linguistic prescription . H. W. Fowler noted in 1926 that " epithet is suffering a vulgarization that is giving it an abusive imputation." Epithets are sometimes attached to

901-687: Is also sometimes called antonomasia , as a Cicero for an orator. The use of a father's name or ancestor's name, such as "Pelides" in the case of Achilles, or "Saturnia" in the case of the goddess Juno in Virgil's Aeneid , is specifically called a patronymic device and is in its own class of epithet. In William Shakespeare 's play Romeo and Juliet , epithets are used in the prologue, such as "star-cross'd lovers" and "death-mark'd love." Epithets were in layman's terms glorified nicknames that could be used to represent one's style, artistic nature, or even geographical reference. They originated to simply serve

954-443: Is an epithet. An epithet is especially recognizable when its function is largely decorative, such as if "cloud-gathering Zeus" is employed other than in reference to conjuring up a storm. "The epithets are decorative insofar as they are neither essential to the immediate context nor modeled especially for it. Among other things, they are extremely helpful to fill out a half-verse", Walter Burkert has noted. Some epithets are known by

1007-600: Is mentioned twice among other figures largely from Slavic tradition. The second of the two mentions occurs within a list of Slavic gods and beings next to their presumed equivalence in Roman mythology (the Slavic god Perun , for example, appears equated with the Roman god Jupiter ). Baba Yaga, however, appears in a third section without an equivalence, highlighting her perceived uniqueness even in this first known attestation. In

1060-454: Is old, dirty or foolish. As with other kinship terms in Slavic languages, baba may be used in other ways, potentially as a result of taboo ; it may be applied to various animals, natural phenomena, and objects, such as types of mushrooms, cake or pears. In the Polesia region of Ukraine, the plural baby may refer to an autumn funeral feast. The element may appear as a means of glossing

1113-576: The epitheton Comes as companion of another (usually major) divinity. An epithet can even be meant for collective use, e.g., in Latin pilleati , "the felt hat-wearers" for the brothers Castor and Pollux . Some epithets resist explanation. Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, and Christians of other churches practice the use of epithets in the veneration of Jesus (e.g., "Christ"; " Prince of Peace "; " The Good Shepherd "), of Mary, Mother of Jesus (e.g., " Mother of God "; " Panagia "), and of

SECTION 20

#1732772219564

1166-565: The folklore of the Slavic peoples from their earliest records until today. Folklorists have published a variety of works focused specifically on the topic over the years. There are few written records of pagan Slavic beliefs; research of the pre-Christian Slavic beliefs is challenging due to a stark class divide between nobility and peasantry who worshipped separate deities. Many Christian beliefs were later integrated and synthesized into Slavic folklore. This folklore -related article

1219-918: The Bulgarian gorska maika (Горска майка', 'Forest Mother', also the name of a flower ); the Hungarian vasorrú bába ('Iron-nose Midwife'), the Serbian Baba Korizma , Gvozdenzuba ('Iron-tooth'), Baba Roga (used to scare children in Bosnia , Croatia , Montenegro , North Macedonia and Serbia ), šumska majka ('Forest Mother'), and the babice; and the Slovenian jaga baba or ježibaba , Pehta or Pehtra baba and kvatrna baba or kvatrnica . In Romanian folklore, similarities have been identified in several figures, including Mama padurii ('Forest Mother') or Baba Cloanța referring to

1272-542: The English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer includes a two-part track "The Hut of Baba Yaga", interrupted by "The Curse of Baba Yaga" (movements 8 to 10). Animated segments telling the story of Baba Yaga were used in the 2014 documentary The Vanquishing of the Witch Baba Yaga , directed by American filmmaker Jessica Oreck . GennaRose Nethercott's first novel, Thistlefoot , "reimagines Baba Yaga as

1325-617: The Fair ", " Marya Moryevna ", "Realms of Copper, Silver, and Gold"  [ fr ] , " The Sea Tsar and Vasilisa the Wise ", and "Legless Knight and Blind Knight" (English titles from Magnus's translation). Andreas Johns describes Baba Yaga as "one of the most memorable and distinctive figures in eastern European folklore", and observes that she is "enigmatic" and often exhibits "striking ambiguity". He characterizes Baba Yaga as "a many-faceted figure, capable of inspiring researchers to see her as

1378-514: The Heavenly & Zeus the Protector of Guests" all the way to " Johnny Football & King James". American comic books tend to give epithets to superheroes , such as The Phantom being "The Ghost Who Walks", Superman called "The Man of Steel", and "The Dynamic Duo" Batman and Robin , who are individually known as "The Dark Knight" and "The Boy Wonder". Additionally, epíteto ,

1431-668: The Latin term epitheton necessarium , as they are required to distinguish the bearers, as an alternative to numbers after a prince's name—such as Richard the Lionheart ( Richard I of England ), or Charles the Fat alongside Charles the Bald . The same epithet can be used repeatedly joined to different names, such as Alexander the Great as well as Constantine the Great . Other epithets can easily be omitted without serious risk of confusion and are therefore known as epitheton ornans . Thus,

1484-640: The Olympian Gods with Zeus . But in specific cults there may be a different equation, based on one specific aspect of the divinity. Thus, the Greek word Trismegistos ("thrice grand") was first used as a Greek name for the Egyptian god of science and invention, Thoth , later as an epitheton for the Greek Hermes and, finally, the fully equated Roman Mercurius Mercury (both were messenger of

1537-545: The Spanish version of epithet, is commonly used throughout poems in Castilian literature. In many polytheistic religions, such as those of ancient India and Iran (the most ancient of which go back to a common Indo-Iranian period), Greece and Rome, a deity's epithets generally reflected a particular aspect of that god's essence and role, for which their influence may be obtained for a specific occasion: Apollo Musagetes

1590-647: The Spartan Carneian festival . Often the epithet is the result of fusion of the Olympian divinity with an older one. Poseidon Erechtheus and Artemis Orthia reflect intercultural equations of a divinity with an older one that is generally considered its pendan. Thus, most Roman gods and goddesses, especially the Twelve Olympians , had traditional counterparts in Greek, Etruscan, and most other Mediterranean pantheons, such as Jupiter as head of

1643-609: The argument had been stated at length." With persuasion being a key component of rhetoric, it is rational to use epithets. The use of persuasive wording gives leverage to one's arguments. Knowledge along with descriptive words or phrases can be a powerful tool. This is supported in Bryan Short's article when he states, "The New Rhetoric derives its empiricist flavor from a pervasive respect for clarity and directness of language." Rhetoricians use epithets to direct their audience to see their point of view, using verbal forms of imagery as

Baba Yaga - Misplaced Pages Continue

1696-403: The butler" and "Richard the bald" are identified with an occupational or a personally descriptive byname. Some of the individuals, such as Richard Basset , made use of what would now be recognized as a surname. The distinction between a byname and a surname is that the byname is not usually heritable, and may change for any given person as his circumstances change. Richard the Bald, for example,

1749-519: The chicken-legged hut of the youngest of the three sisters turning in an open field. This third and youngest of the Baba Yagas makes the same comment about "the Russian smell" before running to whet her teeth and consume Ivan. Ivan begs her to give him three horns and she does so. The first he blows softly, the second louder, and the third louder yet. This causes birds of all sorts to arrive and swarm

1802-546: The classical Roman author Virgil systematically called his main hero pius Aeneas , the epithet being pius , meaning religiously observant, humble and wholesome, as well as calling the armsbearer of Aeneas fidus Achates , the epithet being fidus , which means faithful or loyal. Epithets are characteristic of the style of ancient epic poetry , notably in that of Homer or the northern European sagas (see above, as well as epithets in Homer ). When James Joyce uses

1855-563: The element iaga has been linked to Lithuanian engti ('to abuse (continuously)', 'to belittle', 'to exploit'), Old English inca ('doubt', 'worry", 'pain'), and Old Norse ekki ('pain', 'worry'). Vladimir Propp wrote that depictions of Baba Yaga taken from various fairy tales do not create a coherent image. The first clear reference to Baba Yaga ( Iaga baba ) occurs in 1755 in Mikhail V. Lomonosov 's Russian Grammar  [ ru ] . In Lomonosov's grammar book, Baba Yaga

1908-457: The fiery river, lives the Baba Yaga." In some tales, a trio of Baba Yagas appears as sisters, all sharing the same name. For example, in a version of "The Maiden Tsar" collected in the 19th century by Alexander Afanasyev , Ivan, a handsome merchant's son, makes his way to the home of one of three Baba Yagas: He journeyed onwards, straight ahead ... and finally came to a little hut; it stood in

1961-527: The forest" plainly resembles huts raised on one or several stilts using stump with roots for the stilts, in popular use by Finno-Ugric peoples and also found in forests rather than villages. The stumps with roots may be uprooted and laid in a new place as in the example exhibited in Skansen, or in ground where it was felled. Like Baba Yaga's hut, these are normally cramped for a person, though unlike Baba Yaga's house they do not actively walk and also do not contain

2014-508: The gods). Among the Greeks, T.H. Price notes that the nurturing power of Kourotrophos might be invoked in sacrifices and recorded in inscription, without specifically identifying Hera or Demeter . Some epithets were applied to several deities of the same pantheon rather accidentally if they had a common characteristic, or deliberately, emphasizing their blood or other ties. Thus, in pagan Rome, several divinities gods and heroes were given

2067-469: The hut to another. Baba Yaga may sense and mention the russkiy dukh ('Russian scent') of those that visit her. Her nose may stick into the ceiling. Particular emphasis may be placed by some narrators on the repulsiveness of her nose, breasts, buttocks, or vulva. Sometimes Baba Yaga is said to live in the Faraway or Thrice-ninth Tsardom : "Beyond the thrice-nine kingdoms, in the thirtieth realm, beyond

2120-476: The hut. One of the birds is the firebird , which tells him to hop on its back or Baba Yaga will eat him. He does so and the Baba Yaga rushes him and grabs the firebird by its tail. The firebird leaves with Ivan, leaving Baba Yaga behind with a fistful of firebird feathers. In Afanasyev's collection of tales, Baba Yaga also appears in "Baba Yaga and Zamoryshek", "By Command of the Prince Daniel", " Vasilisa

2173-615: The limited Slavic area—East Slavic nations, Slovakia, and the Czech lands —in which references to Ježibaba are recorded. Jędza  [ pl ] , another figure related to Baba Yaga, appears in Polish folklore. Similarities between Baba Yaga and other beings in folklore may be due to either direct relation or cultural contact between the Eastern Slavs and other surrounding peoples. In Central and Eastern Europe, these figures include

Baba Yaga - Misplaced Pages Continue

2226-442: The narratives in which Baba Yaga appears, she displays a number of distinctive attributes: a turning, chicken-legged hut; and a mortar, pestle , and/or mop or broom. Baba Yaga may ride on the broom or, most recognizably, inside a mortar, using the broom to sweep away her tracks. Russian ethnographer Andrey Toporkov  [ ru ] explains Baba Yaga's selection of tools by numerous pagan rituals involving women. He suggests that

2279-529: The nose as a bird's beak. In neighboring Germanic Europe, similarities have been observed between the Alpine Perchta and Holda or Holle in the folklore of Central and Northern Germany, and the Swiss Chlungeri . Some scholars have proposed that the concept of Baba Yaga was influenced by East Slavic contact with Finno-Ugric and Siberian peoples . The " hut on chicken legs deep in

2332-585: The open field, turning on chicken legs. He entered and found Baba Yaga the Bony-legged. "Fie, fie," she said, "the Russian smell was never heard of nor caught sight of here, but it has come by itself. Are you here of your own free will or by compulsion, my good youth?" "Largely of my own free will, and twice as much by compulsion! Do you know, Baba Yaga, where lies the thrice tenth kingdom?" "No, I do not," she said, and told him to go to her second sister; she might know.. Ivan walks for some time before encountering

2385-521: The orator. "It will generally happen, that the Epithets employed by a skillful orator, will be found to be, in fact, so many abridged arguments, the force of which is sufficiently conveyed by a mere hint; e.g., if any one says, 'We ought to take warning from the bloody revolution of France,' the Epithet suggests one of the reasons for our being warned; and that, not less clearly, and more forcibly, than if

2438-426: The pestle was first to be used by Baba Yaga, because it may be used as a weapon (as such, it was used in a number of rituals) and the mortar was added later by an association. Baba Yaga often bears the epithet Baba Yaga kostyanaya noga ('bony leg'), or Baba Yaga s zheleznymi zubami ('with iron teeth') and when inside her dwelling, she may be found stretched out over the stove, reaching from one corner of

2491-401: The phrase "the snot-green sea" he is playing Homer's familiar epithet "the wine-dark sea". The phrase "Discreet Telemachus " is also considered an epithet. The Greek term antonomasia , in rhetoric, means substituting any epithet or phrase for a proper name, as "Pelides", signifying the "son of Peleus", to identify Achilles . An opposite substitution of a proper name for some generic term

2544-429: The purpose of dealing with names that were hard to pronounce or just unpleasant. It from there went to something that could be very significant assigned by elders or counterparts to represent one's position in the community, or it could be a representation of whomever one wanted to be or thought he was. The elegance of this movement was used throughout history and even modern day, with many examples ranging from "Aphrodite

2597-545: The saints (e.g., " Pope Saint John Paul the Great , Saint Theophan the Recluse "). " Our Lady of Lourdes " is essentially periphrasis , except where some aspect of the Virgin is invoked. An epithet is an adjective or adjectival phrase that characterizes a place, a thing, or a person that helps make the characteristics of this thing more prominent. These descriptive phrases can be used in a positive or negative way that benefits

2650-959: The second element, iaga , with a familiar component or may have also been applied as a means of distinguishing Baba Yaga from a male counterpart. Yaga is more etymologically problematic and there exists no clear consensus among scholars about its meaning. In the 19th century, Alexander Afanasyev proposed the derivation of Proto-Slavic * ož and Sanskrit ahi ('serpent'). This etymology has been explored by 20th-century scholars. Related terms appear in Serbian and Croatian jeza ('horror', 'shudder', 'chill'), Slovene jeza ('anger'), Old Czech jězě ('witch', 'legendary evil female being'), modern Czech jezinka ('wicked wood nymph', ' dryad '), and Polish jędza ('witch', 'evil woman', 'fury'). The term appears in Old Church Slavonic as jęza/jędza ('disease'). In other Indo-European languages

2703-520: The time these prints were made." Ježibaba  [ cs ] , a figure closely related to Baba Yaga, occurs in the folklore of the West Slavic peoples . The two figures may originate from a common figure known during the Middle Ages or earlier; both figures are similarly ambiguous in character, but differ in appearance and the different tale types they occur in. Questions linger regarding

SECTION 50

#1732772219564

2756-426: The time". According to Andreas Johns, "Neither of these two interpretations significantly changes the image of Baba Yaga familiar from folktales. Either she can be seen as a literal evil witch, treated somewhat humorously in these prints, or as a figurative 'witch', an unpopular foreign empress. Both literal and figurative understandings of Baba Yaga are documented in the nineteenth century and were probably present at

2809-455: Was presumably not always bald, and Richard of Brampton may not have always lived at Brampton. The use of bynames did not end with the adoption of surnames. In some cases, before the adoption of middle names, government records, such as taxes lists, included people with both the same given name and the same surname. This led to the use of bynames to further distinguish the person. For example, one "John Smith" might be described as "John Smith of

#563436