Baba Yaga is the archetype of the Slavic witch present in Russian folklore and throughout Eastern Europe. She is a much deeper and more intricate character than the witches in the myths of Western Europe, a figure who inspires contradictory feelings of fear, respect, and hope.
Her name is a testament to its identity, as the many legends that surround her. The Russian term "Baba" is generally considered offensive among the Slavs. It serves to designate a kind of vindictive woman, who lives complaining, who is grossly disheveled, a true matron who has never married or been truly loved throughout her existence. It would be the equivalent of a spinster, an old woman who is consumed by the envy of all who are happy and who is becoming more bitter, perverse and cruel over the years. "Yaga" is more often translated as "witch," but has several other meanings, such as "sorceress," "wicked," "treacherous," and even "serpent," sometimes the word is also used to describe a situation of danger, of fear or even fury.
In legends, Baba Yaga lives in the depths of a wild forest almost inaccessible. The vegetation in this place grows in an unusual, unnatural way. The canopy of trees prevents sunlight from entering, the trunks are taken from poisonous fungi and even the bushes are full of thorns. Weed and nettle grow wild. Wild animals avoid this evil forest; where there would be the song of birds and the buzz of insects, lies only a sepulchral silence.
In general, there is only one way leading into this wild forest, which offers itself as a safe route. This dirt road leads to a ruined wooden hut. It is a rustic construction, a typical peasant home, with slats of wood engendered one over the other and a brick chimney always spitting smoke. Through the dirty windows can be seen a yellowish light of lamp. The tiles on top look old, in need of repair, everything is old and with a look of flagrant abandon.
Around the house, there is an indication of the danger that lies in that dwelling. A low fence made of bones surrounds the entire estate, human skulls serve as lookouts on the top of the macabre wall, and at night, empty orbits glow with a phosphorescent glow. The entrance gate is made up of arched ribs hanging on poles erected with long, yellowish bones. The lock is in the mouth of a skull amid its pearly teeth. The bell is a rattle with phalanxes hanging on a rope of hair that when shaken emits a tinkling noise
For some reason, the entrance door of the cabin is always facing the opposite side of the road. Anyone who wishes to enter needs to clap or call the owner's attention inside. In fact, Baba Yaga is always aware when there are visitors on her porch, she decides if she wants visitors. According to legend, if that is the case, the entire cabin shudders rising arthritically from the dirt floor. Enormous chicken legs that serve as a support base for the hut are in charge of positioning it correctly, causing the door to be in front of anyone who plans to enter. If for some reason the visitor behaves disrespectfully at the door, the witch simply commands the hut to trample the tresspasser crushing every bone of his body. But in general, Baba Yaga grants the visitor the right to enter her dreadful lair.
The witch itself is a ghastly sight, a lean old woman with a long, hook-shaped nose, plucked from warts and a pointed chin. Long greyish gray hair, not washed for years, runs down shoulders and shriveled backs. Her spine is so bent that she walks down, giving the impression that her nose will touch the ground. But this is a trick to hide her sinister smile composed of rows of extremely sharp teeth. The witch's body is so thin that the patched rags she wears hang loose in her squalid silhouette. Although it seems extremely fragile, Baba Yaga is fast and extremely strong, being able to subdue an adult man with her own hands.
Some legends mention that she has servants who protect her hut. They are a large and ferocious hunting dog, a black cat with extremely evil green eyes and a kind of tree (fed with blood) that grows in front of his house and whose branches extend like tentacles. These creatures are created magically and therefore endowed with intelligence, obeying with murderous intent all the orders of their master. In some stories they carry out tasks like sending messages, follow victims or protecting the house in the absence of the witch. There are still horrible hands cut off from corpses that are buried at the entrance to the witch's house and serve as guardians against invaders. When someone tries to force the entrance, these hands erupt from the ground to grab feet and ankles stopping the advance. There would still be three enigmatic riders who ride ghostly mounts and serve the witch in all tasks.
Baba Yaga rarely leaves her hut, most of the time she waits patiently (like a spider in the center of her web) for some prey. She is able to disguise her lair through a very real mystical enchantment, making the sinister appearance give way to a comfortable and inviting home. The witch herself can take on two more pleasant human forms. The first is a young woman with black hair and very pale skin who walks barefoot on the snow, protected only by a cloak of fox fur. She is chosen when the witch wishes to attract a man by lust. The other form is of a middle-aged woman in peasant clothes and the comforting look of a mother full of candor. When using this aspect, the house exudes an inviting odor of freshly prepared food, bread and broth. Of course, these two forms conceal the true face of the witch who amuses herself by showing her decrepit appearance before capturing her victims.
On the rare occasions when she leaves the safety of her cabin, she uses a kind of flying wood pestle to propel her through the air as she maneuvers it with a straw broom that gives directions. In Slavic cultures, nothing can be a sign of greater misfortune than knocking down a grinding pestle on the floor, as it was said that such a thing could attract Baba Yaga's rage. In the same way, a broom used to sweep a person's two feet at the same time act as a kind of curse, marking the individual to find the terrible witch sooner or later.
[NOTE: I do not know if that's where comes from the superstition, that sweeping a person's feet causes her to be unable to find someone to marry.]
Visitors who enter the hut, willingly or otherwise deceived, are destined to end up in the large oven of the witch. At least that's the end of most people. These unhappy ones can be attacked by surprise, simply shoved into the oven or make unconscious after ingesting some potion, having a supper or sharing the witch's bed (when she takes the form of the young woman).
As in all fables, there are some rules that can save the person from becoming food of the cannibal witch. Offering to crack firewood, sweep the house, grind grain or prepare some meal can save the person from certain death. In some circumstances showing kindness, cleverness or bravery, sufice. Unfortunately, ask inconvenient questions, act rudely or defy the mistress of the house is a sure way to perdition.
Present throughout Eastern Europe and Russia, Baba Yaga has always been (and still is) an extremely popular entity that dominates local folklore. Even during the strictest years imposed by the communist regime of the Soviet Union, the old myths surrounding the witch were not entirely forgotten. During the pogroms imposed by the regime, many women were spared being evicted from their huts, not for the sudden goodness of the Soviet commissioners, but because many feared that the hut might be the witch's abode. Likewise, reports of soldiers who allegedly encountered or even ventured into Baba Yaga's hut, became recurrent in both the First and Second World War. The Red Army itself spread a rumor to contain a wave of defections that Baba Yaga attacked solitary soldiers in the forests. Faced with the prospect of facing the Nazi war machine or the hungry witch, many soldiers preferred to try their luck against the German army.
Baba Yaga is the archetype of the Slavic witch present in Russian folklore and throughout Eastern Europe. She is a much deeper and more intricate character than the witches present in the myths of Western Europe, a figure who inspires contradictory feelings of fear, respect, and hope.
Her name is a testament to its identity, as the many legends that surround her. The Russian term "Baba" is generally considered offensive among the Slavs. It serves to designate a kind of vindictive woman, who lives complaining, who is grossly disheveled, a true matron who has never married or been truly loved throughout her existence. It would be the equivalent of a spinster, an old woman who is consumed by the envy of all who are happy and who is becoming more bitter, perverse and cruel over the years. "Yaga" is more often translated as "witch," but has several other meanings, such as "sorceress," "wicked," "treacherous," and even "serpent," sometimes the word is also used to describe a situation of danger, of fear or even fury.
In legends, Baba Yaga lives in the depths of a wild forest almost inaccessible. The vegetation in this place grows in an unusual, unnatural way. The canopy of trees prevents sunlight from entering, the trunks are taken from poisonous fungi and even the bushes are full of thorns. Weed and nettle grow wild. Wild animals avoid this evil forest; where there would be the song of birds and the buzz of insects, lies only a sepulchral silence.
In general, there is only one way leading into this wild forest, which offers itself as a safe route. This dirt road leads to a ruined wooden hut. It is a rustic construction, a typical peasant home, with slats of wood engendered one over the other and a brick chimney always spitting smoke. Through the dirty windows can be seen a yellowish light of lamp. The tiles on top look old, in need of repair, everything is old and with a look of flagrant abandon.
Around the house, there is an indication of the danger that lies in that dwelling. A low fence made of bones surrounds the entire estate, human skulls serve as lookouts on the top of the macabre wall, and at night, empty orbits glow with a phosphorescent glow. The entrance gate is made up of arched ribs hanging on poles erected with long, yellowish bones. The lock is in the mouth of a skull amid its pearly teeth. The bell is a rattle with phalanxes hanging on a rope of hair that when shaken emits a tinkling noise.
For some reason, the entrance door of the cabin is always facing the opposite side of the road. Anyone who wishes to enter needs to clap or call the owner's attention inside. In fact, Baba Yaga is always aware when there are visitors on her porch, she decides if she wants visitors. According to legend, if that is the case, the entire cabin shudders rising arthritically from the dirt floor. Enormous chicken legs that serve as a support base for the hut are in charge of positioning it correctly, causing the door to be in front of anyone who plans to enter. If for some reason the visitor behaves disrespectfully at the door, the witch simply commands the hut to trample the trespasser crushing every bone of his body. But in general, Baba Yaga grants the visitor the right to enter her dreadful lair.
The witch itself is a ghastly sight, a lean old woman with a long, hook-shaped nose, plucked from warts and a pointed chin. Long greyish gray hair, not washed for years, runs down shoulders and shriveled backs. Her spine is so bent that she walks down, giving the impression that her nose will touch the ground. But this is a trick to hide her sinister smile composed of rows of extremely sharp teeth. The witch's body is so thin that the patched rags she wears hang loose in her squalid silhouette. Although it seems extremely fragile, Baba Yaga is fast and extremely strong, being able to subdue an adult man with her own hands.
Some legends mention that she has servants who protect her hut. They are a large and ferocious hunting dog, a black cat with extremely evil green eyes and a kind of tree (fed with blood) that grows in front of her house and whose branches extend like tentacles. These creatures are created magically and therefore endowed with intelligence, obeying with murderous intent all the orders of their master. In some stories they carry out tasks like sending messages, follow victims or protecting the house in the absence of the witch. There are still horrible hands cut off from corpses that are buried at the entrance to the witch's house and serve as guardians against invaders. When someone tries to force the entrance, these hands erupt from the ground to grab feet and ankles stopping the advance. There will still be three enigmatic riders who ride ghostly mounts and serve the witch in all tasks.
Baba Yaga rarely leaves her hut, most of the time she waits patiently (like a spider in the center of her web) for some prey. She is able to disguise her lair through a very real mystical enchantment, making the sinister appearance give way to a comfortable and inviting home. The witch herself can take on two more pleasant human forms. The first is a young woman with black hair and very pale skin who walks barefoot on the snow, protected only by a cloak of fox fur. She is chosen when the witch wishes to attract a man by lust. The other form is of a middle-aged woman in peasant clothes and the comforting look of a mother full of candor. When using this aspect, the house exudes an inviting odor of freshly prepared food, bread and broth. Of course, these two forms conceal the true face of the witch who amuses herself by showing her decrepit appearance before capturing her victims.
On the rare occasions when she leaves the safety of her cabin, she uses a kind of flying wood pestle to propel her through the air as she maneuvers it with a straw broom that gives directions. In Slavic cultures, nothing can be a sign of greater misfortune than knocking down a grinding pestle on the floor, as it was said that such a thing could attract Baba Yaga's rage. In the same way, a broom used to sweep a person's two feet at the same time act as a kind of curse, marking the individual to find the terrible witch sooner or later.
[NOTE: I do not know if that's where comes from the superstition that sweeping a person's feet cause her to be unable to find someone to marry.]
Visitors who enter the hut, willingly or otherwise deceived, are destined to end up in the large oven of the witch. At least that's the end of most people. These unhappy ones can be attacked by surprise, simply shoved into the oven or make unconscious after ingesting some potion, having a supper or sharing the witch's bed (when she takes the form of the young woman).
As in all fables, there are some rules that can save the person from becoming food of the cannibal witch. Offering to crack firewood, sweep the house, grind grain or prepare some meal can save the person from certain death. In some circumstances, showing kindness, cleverness or bravery, is suffice. Unfortunately, ask inconvenient questions, act rudely or defy the mistress of the house is a sure way to perdition.
Present throughout Eastern Europe and Russia, Baba Yaga has always been (and still is) an extremely popular entity that dominates local folklore. Even during the strictest years imposed by the communist regime of the Soviet Union, the old myths surrounding the witch were not entirely forgotten. During the pogroms imposed by the regime, many women were spared being evicted from their huts, not for the sudden goodness of the Soviet commissioners, but because many feared that the hut might be the witch's abode. Likewise, reports of soldiers who allegedly encountered or even ventured into Baba Yaga's hut, became recurrent in both the First and Second World War. The Red Army itself spread a rumor to contain a wave of defections that Baba Yaga attacked solitary soldiers in the forests. Faced with the prospect of facing the Nazi war machine or the hungry witch, many soldiers preferred to try their luck against the German army.
Despite being an essentially evil creature, Baba Yaga is sometimes willing to help those who seek her, especially if the person has suffered injustice or persecution. It's not rare for her to know about some problem or affliction, trying to solve dilemmas, offering some talisman, amulet or miraculous spell. Relying too much on the old woman however can be fatal, her mood is as fickle as the weather, and a friend may sudden find himself in the oven.
Few things are able to hurt Baba Yaga: she is immune to guns and most physical attacks simply do not result in any damage in her body. However, cold iron is able to injure and perhaps even kill her. Spells can also be an asset, although she knows how neutralize or nullify enchantments.
Like many figures in folklore, Baba Yaga is more a force of nature than a symbol of death, evil or destruction. Although she is a creature of unpredictable behavior, she is a good judge of character and when she perceives some attribute or virtue worthy of note in a potential victim, she prefers to listen to what she has to say before simply devour her. Although she is always hungry, the Slav people see in Baba Yaga a source of great wisdom and knowledge.
