Baba Yaga

Mythology: M. Vasmer traces the name Yaga to Old Slavic *(j)egа, the reflexes of which are Serbo-Croatian jeзa "horror", jeziv "dangerous", Slovenian jezа "anger", jeziti "to be angry", Old Czech jeze "lamia", Czech jezinka "forest witch, evil woman", Polish jędzа "witch, Baba Yaga, evil woman", jędzić się "to be angry", etc. However, in Russian there is a cognate to all of the listed examples from Slavic languages: ulcer. Which calls into question the existence of a connection between the name Yaga and the given examples from Slavic languages. It is also possible that the ancient borrowed name was reinterpreted by the Slavs and brought closer to derivatives from the Proto-Slavic *(j)egа (folk etymology), which explains the fluctuation expressed in the presence of variants with -z- and -ž- in the West Slavic languages ​​(the name is reinterpreted) and the presence of a variant with -г- in the Russian language (not reinterpreted). Vasmer brings the word closer, in addition to the Slavic languages, also to the Baltic, English, Icelandic. Rejecting the connection with the Turkic, Indian, Albanian, Latin languages. Etymologists bring the Proto-Slavic yaga (*ęga) closer to the designation of snakes, reptiles, which indicates the chthonic origins of the image. A written mention of Baba Yaga was made in 1588 by the English traveler Giles Fletcher in his book "On the Russian State". He read about the worship of the idol "golden or yaga-baba", having arrived in the Perm region to the Samoyeds, he discovered that this was "an empty fable". There is also an assumption that Yaga is the goddess of death. This is indicated by her appearance (bone leg) and place of residence (earlier, the dead were buried in huts on poles). And in the West, they believe that Yaga is a female ogre. Appearance = Baba Yaga is usually depicted as a large hunchbacked old woman with a large, long, humped and hooked nose. Sometimes they say about her "her nose has grown into the ceiling". Her bone leg is also often mentioned. But what this means is not entirely clear, but it may indicate her connection with the underworld. In a popular print, she is dressed in a green dress, a lilac kichka, bast shoes and trousers. In another picture, Baba Yaga is dressed in a red skirt and boots. In fairy tales there is no emphasis on Baba Yaga's clothes, but she usually dresses in the Russian style. Role in the plot = Most often, she plays the role of an advisor and assistant to the hero. However, there are fairy tales ("Vasilisa the Beautiful") where she is an unambiguous villain. Abilities = Baba Yaga is a good magician - she flies in a mortar, lives in a hut on chicken legs. Commands forest spirits and kikimoras (or just befriends them). She is able to turn people into different things and animals. Yaga also knows about potions. Abilities = Baba Yaga is a good magician - she flies in a mortar, lives in a hut on chicken legs. Commands forest spirits and kikimoras (or just befriends them). She is able to turn people into different things and animals. Yaga also knows about potions. Character=She can be mean and kind at the same time, rebel and humble. She often does not act as expected: she does not do "nasty things" to guests, but on the contrary, gives them advice. Baba Yaga preserves the tradition and has access to ancient knowledge. Healers, herbalists have always existed in the world in all states. And people did not always understand the sacred meaning of their actions. where does she live = In fairy tales, Yaga lives in a hut on chicken legs. The origins of this original architectural solution are interpreted in different ways. Some researchers believe that chicken legs are an echo of the era of totemism, when animals were credited with magical powers. Others believe that huts on chicken legs were special log buildings on piles where the Finno-Ugric peoples buried their dead. Yaga's hut usually stands on the edge of the forest, that is, on the border of two worlds.

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