Baba Yaga: The Ancient Origins of the Famous ‘Witch’ | Monstrum
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ม.ค. 2021
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One of the most beloved (and feared) figures in Russian and East Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga is more than just a witch. She’s a rumored cannibal who lives in a strange rotating house and flies around in a magical mortar and pestle--but she’s also a helpful grandmotherly figure.
Who is Baba Yaga really? Pagan goddess? Evil witch? Scary old lady? Find out in this episode, which takes a look at traditional gender roles in Slavic history, pagan deities, burial practices of Neolithic Central Europe, and why this monstrous woman continues to endure. #BabaYaga #SlavicFolklore #mythology #MonstrumPBS
Written and Hosted by: Dr. Emily Zarka
Director: David Schulte
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Illustrator: Samuel Allen
Editor: Sara Roma
Produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios.
The world is full of monsters, myths, and legends and Monstrum isn’t afraid to take a closer look. The show, hosted by Emily Zarka, Ph.D., takes us on a journey to discover a new monster in each new episode. Monstrum looks at humans' unique drive to create and shape monster mythology through oral storytelling, literature, and film and digs deep into the history of those mythologies.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Armknecht, Megan, Jill Terry Rudy, and Sibelan Forrester. “Identifying Impressions of Baba Yaga: Navigating the Uses of Attachment and Wonder on Soviet and American Television.” Marvels & Tales: Journal of Fairy-tale Studies, vol. 31, no. 1, 2017, pp. 62-79.
Baba Yaga: The Wild Witch of the East in Russian Fairy Tales. Ed. and Trans. Sibelan Forrester. University Press of Mississippi, 2013.
Johns, Andreas. Baba Yaga: The Ambiguous Mother and Witch of Russian Folktale. Peter Lang, 2004.
Oleszkiewicz-Peralba, Malgorzata. Fierce Feminine Divinities of Eurasia and Latin America: Baba Yaga, Kali, Pombagira, and Santa Muerte. Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.
Ralston, W.R.S. Russian Fairy Tales: A Choice Collection of Muscovite Folk-lore. Hurst & Co.
Rudy, Jill Terry and Jarom Lyle McDonald. “Baba Yaga, Monsters of the Week, and Pop Culture’s Formation of Wonder and Families through Monstrosity.” Humanities, 5(2), 2016.
Scielzo, Caroline. “An Analysis of Bába Yága in Folklore and Fairy Tales.” American Journal of Psychoanalysis, vol. 43, is. 2, 1983.
Warner, Elizabeth. Russian Myths. University of Texas Press, 2002.
In Serbian “Baba” means Grandmother. And my Grandmother would joke that she would turn into Baba Roga (Yaga), if we would misbehave
Baba Yaga has the coolest house of any monster covered so far. A fence made of bones with a skull lock?! So rad
Fun fact: “Chicken legs” is a misnomer, the Russian words for chicken and smoking are quite similar: куриных - курьих. The correct meaning was “smoked legs”, as mentioned in the video the house looked like a burial house placed on tree stumps. there was a practice of burning the tree stumps to preserve them from rot.
It's a monster of focus, commitment, and sheer f*ing will.
I have read quite a lot books with old slavic tales. In majority of stories Baba Jaga is as you said old witch living in or near the forest and her house is full of magic things. She often help main character (young girl or young man or prince) and give him powerful magic gift (magical sword, axe, box, potion or flute) or advice but it's in exchange for some manual labor. So she is fair and wise character, but only to people who are fair, good and deserve it. I think she is cool character, because in many stories witches are evil, but baba Jaga is more neutral, she helps good people and punish bad people. Evil character in slavic tales is more often male like Koschei, which is immortal powerfull very skinny wizard (sometimes almost skeleton) riding magical horse. Sometimes he abducts princesses. Baba Jaga help hero to defeat koschei and save his lady.
I too was utterly confused by the use of "Baba Yaga" as a code name for John Wick....
I laughed so hard the first time I watched "John Wick".
She also shows up and plays a major role in the movie “Bartock the Magnificent” which was a precursor to the “Anastasia” movie by the same studio. She set up as an evil witch but
"Elemental Goddess? Dark Sorceress? Terrifying Granny?"
Fun fact: in Polish translation of Hansel and Gretel, the witch is sometimes referred as Baba Yaga.
As a Bulgarian, she was absolutely the most prominant folklore figuire that we thought of and feared as kids, maybe the strongest counterpart from Eastern Europe to America's Boogeyman
I find it fascinating that so many cultures have a "Cinderella" narrative like Vasilisa's. There's even a Japanese variant, though in that one, the "evil stepmother" is eventually redeemed and becomes a loving mother figure to the heroine.
I hear you on John Wick! Thought that was so weird when I first heard it I was like, "What? You're calling the most feared hitman in the world 'Evil Old Lady'? Ooookay."
Emily's little Wick rant at the end was delightful haha
Maybe it's regional, but Baba can also just mean grandmother. My step mom is Russian and her grandkids call her Baba and my dad "Baba Bill" (his name is Bill). The grandkids adore both of them, so it's definitely a term of endearment like "Nana"
I’m reading “Women who run with the wolves: myths and stories of the wild woman archetype” from Clarrisa Estés, which includes an interpretation of Vaselisa the Wise. Totally recommend it!
Baba Yaga has her South Slavic counterpart - Baba Roga (meaning: Horned Grandma). She is also a very ambiguous character, her depictions and characterization varying from tale to tale, but a couple of things are in common: she has a horn (or two horns) on her head and hides in dark places to prey on children (old forests, huts, caves...). Some stories also depict her with bugs and snakes in hair, large nose, warts on face etc. The moral of Baba Roga stories is often to not be afraid of her, because though she is very ugly and frightening, she will play fair if you show her respect and keep your end of the bargain.
I had to pause watching Ant Man when they were talking about how "you don't find Baba Yaga, she finds you" because the whole point is that YOU HAVE TO GO FIND HER!
Thank you so much for wearing my Baba Yaga sweatshirt! I'm honored! --Moon Brat Studio
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