Traditions of Ancient Rus. Part 6

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Fragments of the book by Y. Medvedev "Traditions of Ancient Rus"

Div

Div is one of the incarnations of the supreme god Svarog (possibly the same as Dy).

Some old Russian legends speak of the worship of the god Diva.

The memory of this fabulous, incredible creature was preserved for us by the words "miracle", "surprise": that is, something that causes amazement. Nobody could keep the look of Diva in memory, different people even saw him differently! Reviews about him converge in one thing: this is a whirlwind-man, sparkling like lightning, who suddenly appeared on the path of an army going on a campaign, to a battle, and cried out prophecies: now terrible, now favorable. Remember, in "The Lay of Igor's Campaign":

"Div is calling at the top of the tree …"

The cowardly would like to think that this is just an unkind bird, a crow croaks, the wind roars, a storm is roaring, but Divu knew the fate of those who were doomed to near death, and he tried to forestall people about danger. But fate cannot be deceived, no one can escape it … and therefore the Diva's prophecies, just like the Greek Cassandra, remained unheard, misunderstood - and did not bring good luck and happiness to anyone.

In the midst of the battle, he blew his wings over those who were doomed to defeat, and his cries seemed like funeral lamentation, the last farewell to life, to a white light.

It was also believed that if a person hears the voice of the Diva, he can forget about what he was going to do, especially if the intention was criminal, or even lose his memory altogether, or even worse - forever lose his mind.

Dog cave

Long ago, the dogs suddenly appeared near the Medveditsa River. There were few of them - two or three dozen geeks - and they did a lot of damage. Either a lonely traveler will be betrayed by fierce death, or a handsome young woman will be snatched away. The peasants will rush in pursuit, and those hound heads are gone, as if they had sunk through the ground. And there was a decrepit, decrepit healer Svetun in the village. From time to time he died and lay motionless, and when he came to himself, he wonderfully talked about the light where his soul was. And then Svetun came to his senses again and said:

- Good people, you should know: these beasts, dog-heads, settled in the caves on the right bank of the Medveditsa, near the oak grove. There I saw them during my prophetic dream. And our three girls were stolen - in the same place, in the caves.

- Go-ka sunsya into these caves, - one of the men muttered in fear. - They'll interrupt one by one. In addition, there are about a dozen and a half inputs and outputs, no less. Here you need to think about everything thoroughly …

- And we will outwit the dogs of the head. It is necessary at some distance from the caves to equip three or four of our girls in military attire, with bows, swords and shields. Let one pretend to be dead, with an arrow that seems to be sticking out of her throat, and let her girlfriends shout in every way at the murdered woman and curse the dog-heads. Those greedy for a woman's spirit - no save! They will certainly leave the caves.

But some doubted:

- Where can our girls stand against the dog-headed geeks? Our doves are not used to fighting.

- So, we must choose those girls that are stronger and braver. And in a month or two, teach them the bloody warfare.

The next day the whole village gathered for a council. Judged, judged how to be. Finally, it was decided, closer to noon: to fulfill everything as Svetun had planned. And five young women themselves volunteered for a mortal cause.

And after all, Svetun's plans came true, soon came true! The peasants killed two dogs in a battle, and captured one prisoner. At first he was silent, like a fish, and when they dragged him to the sharpest iron stake in order to put his ass on the stake, he squealed, squirmed - and from fear of fierce pointed out all the secret passages and exits from the caves.

It was then that the witch doctor amazed everyone again: he ordered to light combustible sulfur at all holes and manholes at once. The smoke crept inside the caves - and soon the howling dog-heads began to creep out from there. They killed them, of course, every single one. And then the girls of the prisoner jumped out, barely alive from fear. Already they didn’t want to see the white light!

They told a lot about the life of the cursed dog-headed dogs at the feast that they settled in the village after the victory over the evil spirits. It’s a pity that the centenary old man Svetun didn’t feast with everyone: he again fell into deceit.

And the caves that are near the oak grove on the other side of the Bear have since been called the Dog Caves.

Tailed dog-heads, freaks with huge ears in which they wrapped themselves like in a blanket, one-eyed cyclops with a face on their chest - what wild people did ancient travelers tell about when returning from distant and dangerous wanderings!

According to some later folk legends, Divya people still live near the Volga, in the Snake Cave, together with the robber ataman Stenka Razin, chained there to the wall, who is being sucked by a flying serpent by the heart.

Crying brownies

Once little Chuiko woke up from the fact that he heard someone's thin cry in the yard.

The boy crawled off the stove and stealthily climbed onto the porch. The yard is empty, the moon is shining in the sky. And crying comes from the outskirts.

Chuiko stepped barefoot into the dewy grass and rushed out of the yard. He ran to the outskirts - and so he froze when he saw some short people crying bitterly. Wiping their tears with their fists, they looked at the sky, and a rider on a white horse appeared in the sky. The rider's face was distorted with martyrdom, because an arrow pierced him. He urged the tired horse, trying to get away from the pursuit, and now Chuiko saw the fur hats of the steppe dwellers, saw their long spears. He also recognized the dying horseman. It was Will, his father!

Chuiko shouted and fell to the ground without memory. Early in the morning, his mother found him, who got up to milk the cow and missed her son. Somehow they brought the boy to consciousness - and he told about the night vision.

By that time, half of the village had gathered around, and the adults, having listened to him, silently looked at each other. They immediately realized that they saw Chuiko brownies, heard their lamentations. It is known that if a brownie cries at night, it always portends trouble, and maybe the death of the owner. What is the cry of all the village houses broadcasting?

- The boy saw the steppe inhabitants - shouldn't you be afraid of them? - said Will.

“This is a dream and nonsense,” yawned the shepherd Mushka.

“A fool is he who does not honor old signs and does not heed reasonable advice,” Will answered severely. - Let's get ready for the defense, fellow villagers.

All undertook to clean weapons and prepare ammunition. For the night along the outskirts of the guard stood up … and what? The steppe inhabitants attacked the village!

They were just waiting to find sleepy, unarmed people, but they stumbled upon arrows and spears, and spears. A hard fight ensued, it lasted for a whole day. The steppe inhabitants left with great damage, but the village was defended. Volya was wounded in the shoulder with an arrow.

Enduring the pain steadfastly, he smiled at his frightened son:

- It's all empty. There is no warrior in the world who has not been wounded at least once. But when, if you didn’t hear the crying of brownies, everything could be much worse!

They say that the brownie still lives in every village hut, but not everyone knows about it. They call him grandfather, master, neighbor, home-lived, demon-monstrous man, but all this he is - the keeper of the hearth, the invisible helper of the owners. Of course, he can tickle in a dream, and rattle dishes at night, or knock behind the stove, but he does it more out of mischief. But his main business is the inspection of the household. If he likes housing, then he serves this family, as if he went into bondage to her. On the other hand, he willingly helps the lazy and careless to run the farm, tortures people to the point that he crushes almost to death at night or even throws them out of bed.

Traditions of Ancient Rus. Part 2

Traditions of Ancient Rus. Part 3

Traditions of Ancient Rus. Part 5