The role of animals in Russian folk art is extremely large and varied. Almost all fairy tales feature some kind of animal. Among them, one can single out a fox, a bear, a wolf, a hare, a hedgehog, a magpie and others. With these well known bright characters adults tell their children about what is good and what is bad. The first fairy tales in history appeared long before the invention of books and writing and were passed from mouth to mouth, from generation to generation. That is why they are called folk. Let's consider the most popular animals appearing in fairy tales and compare how much their "fabulous" characteristics coincide with their description in real life.
“Fox-sister”, “Fox-beautiful in conversation”, “Fox Patrikeevna”, Lisafya, Fox gossip - this is how the Fox is affectionately called in Russian folk tales. This red-haired cheat is definitely a favorite character of all time. And invariably she is cunning, smart, quick-witted, prudent, vindictive and insidious. So, only she was able to outwit and eat the poor Kolobok, lead the stupid wolf, whose tail was frozen to the hole, and even deceive the peasant by pretending to be dead. The main idea of these fairy tales is to tell children that what matters in life is not strength, but cunning. Despite this, the fox is still negative character. In some fairy tales, the peaceful little animals affected by this red cheat have to work hard to outwit and teach the Fox herself a lesson.
But is the fox really so cunning and smart? The German zoologist Alfred Brehm, in his book Animal Life, argues that the cunning of the fox in Russian fairy tales is greatly exaggerated, but the mind of the wolf, on the contrary, is underestimated. Otherwise, the real common fox is in many ways similar to the "fabulous" one: red hair, a beautiful fluffy tail, the fox often hunts a hare or visits nearby chicken coops.
"Bear clumsy", "Mikhail Potapych" or simply Mishka in its popularity, does not lag behind the Fox. This character is often presented in the tale as lazy, fat and clumsy. Big and clumsy, he is slow, stupid and dangerous. Often he threatens the weak with his strength, but in the end he always loses, because it is not strength that matters, but speed, dexterity and intelligence - this is the meaning of fairy tales involving Mishka. Most popular fairy tales- "Three Bears", "Masha and the Bear", "Tops and Roots". However, in real life, the brown bear is not as slow as one might think. He can run very fast and, besides, he is not particularly stupid. Otherwise, his "fabulous" image has a lot to do with him. common features: he is really big, dangerous and a little clubfoot: when walking, his socks look a little inward, and his heels look outward.
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“Running Bunny”, “Cowardly Bunny” or “Slanting” is also a very common hero of Russian fairy tales. His main feature- cowardice. In some fairy tales, the Hare is presented as a cowardly, but at the same time boastful, cocky and stupid hero, and in some - on the contrary, as a moderately cautious and intelligent forest animal.
For example, in the fairy tale “Hare-Bouncer” or “Fear has big eyes”, the cowardice of the Hare is ridiculed, main idea these tales - you must always be brave. At the same time, in the fairy tale "Zayushkina's hut", the Bunny appears before us positive character who needs support and protection.
In real life, the hare, like his "fairytale" character, is long-eared, fast, agile, cautious and attentive. Due to the special position of the eyes, the hare can look not only forward, but also backward. While chasing, the hare may "squint" its eye to calculate the distance to its pursuer. For this ability, the hare was nicknamed Oblique. Main enemy a hare, as in fairy tales, is a fox.
"The gray wolf - with his teeth", "The wolf-wolf - from under the bush", "The wolf-fool" is presented in most cases as a negative character, stupid, angry, hungry and dangerous. But, in most cases, he is so stupid that, in the end, he is left with nothing. For example, "The Tale of the Fox and the Wolf" or "The Wolf and the Seven Kids". In these fairy tales, the wolf is the embodiment of evil, and the main message for children is that good always triumphs over evil. However, in some fairy tales, the wolf appears to us as a wise and true friend a person who is always ready to help, an example of this is the fairy tale "Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf."
In real life, the wolf can indeed be extremely dangerous. Often he is hungry and wanders through the forest in search of food. But his intelligence is grossly underestimated. The wolf is an intelligent and organized animal, a clear structure and discipline can be traced in the wolf pack. Wolves create incredibly strong couples, their unions are strong, and the wolves themselves are a real personification of loyalty and love for each other. A tamed wolf can indeed become faithful and devoted friend for a person.
Prickly Hedgehog - has long appeared before us in the form of a kind, quick-witted old man, wise in life. Despite his small stature and small legs, he always comes out the winner thanks to his extraordinary mind and cunning. So, for example, in the fairy tale “The Hare and the Hedgehog”, the hedgehog outwitted and killed the poor Hare, with whom they allegedly ran a race, and in the fairy tale “The Magic Wand”, the Hedgehog taught the Hare various life tricks, explaining what is needed first to survive just think with your head.
In real life, the Hedgehog is not distinguished by an outstanding mind, but he is not stupid either. When in danger, the hedgehog curls up into a prickly ball, which makes it inaccessible to predators, as stated in fairy tales.
The protagonist of "Tales about the brave hare Long-Ears-Slanting-Eyes-Short-Tail" by D.N. Mamin-Sibiryak from the collection "Alyonushka's Tales" is an ordinary hare who lived in the forest along with other hares. He, like all his relatives, was afraid of everything and everyone - forest rustles, a flying bird and, of course, a wolf. Time passed and one day the hare got tired of being afraid. He loudly announced to all the inhabitants of the forest that he was not afraid of anyone now.
Other hares gathered - both wise by life experience, and young hares, and hares. And everyone listened incredulously to the newly-minted brave man. And when they understood what he was talking about, they began to make fun of him, his words were so ridiculous. Where is it seen that the hare is not afraid of anyone? And the hero of the tale was so brave that he threatened to eat the wolf himself! The wolf at that time was just passing by and, having heard the speeches of the braggart, decided to come closer, see who was so brave there, and even eat him.
Seeing the wolf, the emboldened hare first froze in fright, and then, trying to escape from the predator, jumped sharply, and quite by accident landed right on the wolf's head, after which he asked the goad and for a long time could not stop from fear. He thought that the wolf was chasing him, and at that time the wolf was running in a completely different direction. The blow to his head was very strong, and the wolf decided that he had been shot at.
When the hares remaining in the clearing came to their senses, they went in search of a brave man. They hardly found him and began to praise him for his bravery. The hare realized that the wolf ran away from him and from that time began to believe that he really was not afraid of anyone. Takovo summary fairy tales.
The main meaning of the tale about the brave hare is that life largely depends on own attitude anyone to the outside world. If you are constantly afraid and afraid of various troubles, then these troubles will always spin in your head and interfere with life. And if you find the strength to overcome fear, then luck will be on your side. The fairy tale teaches not to be afraid of dangers, but to try to overcome them, to actively fight against far-fetched fears.
I liked the fairy tale main character, Brave Bunny. He was tired of being afraid of something all the time and he decided to become brave, and soon and in practice he managed to prove his courage by scaring the wolf.
What proverbs fit the story?
Fear has big eyes.
Courage surpasses strength.
Is it possible to speak of a hare as a cowardly animal?
Cowardice is rather human trait character. But zoopsychology is a relatively young science, and people tend to attribute to animals what is characteristic of themselves.
How does a hare behave in natural conditions? In order not to fall into the teeth of a predator, the hare hides, and if the predator nevertheless finds it, it abruptly takes off and runs. A person who hides from danger may be considered cowardly. An alternative behavior is to face danger head-on, "in combat". These stereotypes can also be discussed, to find out their history.
But from the point of view of nature, the behavior of a hare is extremely rational. He knows how to disguise himself well - that's why he hides. And so, by the way, ensures the survival of their offspring. He runs very fast for short distances, so it makes sense for him to run for his life. This is how many herbivores behave. For example, fallow deer, deer. Remember the cycle of fairy tales by Felix Salten about the deer Bambi. There are hares with deer in good relations. They consider each other "theirs". Of course, this is a fairy tale, and it ideologizes these relations: they say that deer and hares are “friends”, because neither one nor the other kills anyone.
But in general, a real hare is not such a small and weak animal. The length of his body is 60-70 cm. And if he stands on his hind legs, then his “height” can reach 80 cm. This is without taking into account the length of the ears. He has on the front and hind legs there are claws, and in some cases he is able to fight back a predator. If the hare is standing, it will kick with its front paws. If he tipped over on his back, he will beat with his hind legs, which are much stronger than his front ones. He can even rip open the belly of a fox. Therefore, the fox does not always dare to attack the hare.
The common notion that the hare "constantly trembles with fear" is associated with the peculiarities of its sense of smell. Hares have a very keen sense of smell, and they constantly sniff the air: if a predator has appeared nearby, if there is suitable food nearby. When the hare sniffs, he quickly, quickly moves his nose, and from this he also moves upper lip. From the outside, it may look like a hare is trembling.
Another "popular" misconception concerns hare "strabismus". The hare's eyes are located not like a person's, but different sides heads. And the hare looks differently: a person has a field of view different eyes intersect, and a single image appears in the brain. And the hare's fields of view do not intersect. Each eye "sees its own". Horses, sheep, cows, goats, mice, squirrels and many other animals look at the world in exactly the same way. They, too, could be considered "oblique". Actually, it is often said about a horse that it “squints with its eye”.
In general, a hare, like any other animal, is an incredibly interesting creature. Well, the fact that, while reading fairy tales, children sympathize with the hare and feel sorry for him is good. Perhaps someday they will see a live hare and be very surprised - it will be so different from a fairy-tale hare. But it's good to be surprised.
The hare in Russian folk tales represents goodie, but it is shown in two ways. In some stories, this is a victim, a weak and helpless hero who is afraid of everything. In others, he appears as a clever trickster who, despite fear, is capable of brave deeds.
Hare in Russian folk tales
Why is cowardice and agility attributed to the hare in fairy tales?
The hare in nature eats cabbage, tree bark and root crops. He is completely harmless as long as nothing threatens him. But for predatory animals, it is a real delicacy, so the hare once again resorts to disguise and running. From the fact that its main defensive reactions- to hide and run away, he was considered a coward. But the opinion of people eventually dissipated when they saw how the beast can stand up for itself in an inevitable battle with a predator. In a collision, it can hit the attacker hard with its hind legs and even rip open the belly of the attacker with its strong nails. Most likely, for this reason, the image of a hare in fairy tales changed over time, when the stereotypes came to naught.
He was endowed with cunning and dexterity by hunters who, according to own experience to catch the beast, they know how skillfully he can confuse tracks and hide.
The nickname of the hare in fairy tales
A hare in fairy tales is always called with tenderness, in a diminutive form - Bunny, Bunny, Hare, with an emphasis on the cuteness and harmlessness of the character. The only coarser nickname that can be found in folk tales is oblique. There are several explanations for its occurrence:
- Firstly, because of the peculiarity of the location of the eyes and its range of vision. Because of what, he always turns his head to examine the oncoming one with his peripheral vision.
- Secondly, the hare constantly confuses tracks, moving in different directions lest he be hunted down by predators. This is a deliberate maneuver, not just an inability to move straight.
False nickname cowardly bunny is also quite easy to explain. His trembling is associated with constant muscle tension. This, as well as constant sniffing, is necessary in order to quickly respond to danger. That is, in fact, he is not afraid, he is simply in constant readiness. And yet, if he senses danger, he will immediately run away. Which in human behavior would be regarded as cowardice.
But running is, indeed, one of the strengths animal, especially at short distances. Therefore, it was not in vain that in fairy tales he was given another nickname - runaway bunny.
The image of a hare in folk tales
In some tales about hares, the story is about the animal. They explain why his lip is split and his fur coat changes (For example, "Snow and the Hare"). And others show human relations in this image, where an animal means a kind, but cowardly and defenseless person.
- "Hare coward"- demonstrates cowardice, fight against fear and ingenuity of this animal;
- "Hare and Bear"- shows the kindness of the character, his altruism, the ability to keep his word, responsibility. Here are these positive traits which prevail over timidity.
- "Hare-boast"- in this tale, the courage of the hero is manifested when necessary to help others.
- "Fox and Hare"- the traditional role of the victim, the defenseless poor fellow, whose kindness is used by negative characters.
Fairy tales in which the hare is cunning and brave are mostly authored. But the work was in the spirit common people and became part of the folklore.
December 13th, 2014Hare - in many ways unsolved character world folklore. In Russian fairy tales, he is often a defenseless character with a rather modest mythological rank. (Although beliefs have been preserved with negative sign: it was believed that a hare that ran across the road like a black cat marks trouble.)
Not so in the legends of other peoples, where the hare sometimes acts as a cosmic creature. In the beliefs of the North American Iroquois, he creates a world out of water, in the legends of another Indian tribe- winnebago - he competes with the sun and catches him in snares. Among the Eurasian peoples, the hare, on the contrary, is associated with the moon.
*** The symbolism of the sun and moon has turned into the mythologemes of "gold" and "silver" in world folklore. In the popular world view, they, as a rule, were conjugated, coexisting as part of some integral unity. Thus, numerous cosmic heroes and heroines of Russian fairy tales, whose "knee-deep legs are in gold, elbow-deep in silver," just symbolize such a symbolized solar and lunar symbolism. Perhaps, in the distant Hyperborean past, the bearers of these qualities were ordinary solar-lunar deities.
Until the introduction of Christianity, pagan Lithuanians even had a hare god, which is mentioned in the Ipatiev Chronicle. It is also impossible to discount the fact that the hare is the only character in oral folk art, to which the name of the Russian people itself was transferred: we are talking about a hare.
In Russian folk image Hare also preserved vague memories of even more distant times - Hyperborean. So, in an innocent children's rhyme, which many people probably know, a vital worldview meaning was originally laid.
- The hare is gray [or white], where did you run?
- Into the green forest...
- What did you do there?
- Lyko fought ...
- Where did you put it?
- Under the deck...
- Who stole it?
- Rodion *...
- Get out!...
*** Rodion is both an understandable and incomprehensible name. Although it is included in Christian saints, its origins are clearly non-Christian and pre-Christian. In the Slavic pagan pantheon there was both the god Rod and the goddess of childbirth - the patroness of women in labor and newborn babies. An attempt to derive Russian from the Greek rodon - "rose" is acceptable only if a single lexical and semantic source of both concepts is recognized.
However, in more archaic versions of this children's counting rhyme, recorded by folklorists back in the 19th century, it is often not "gray hare", but "Hare-Month"! What does this mean? And here's what: the indicated mythologeme, which identifies the hare and the month (moon), is contained in the most ancient layers of culture different peoples peace. According to archaic cosmogonic ideas, the spots on the moon depict a hare, which God revived after self-immolation. According to the Vedic-Hindu tradition, this first god and the lord of the Vedic pantheon is Indra. Observing the laws of hospitality, the hare, in order to feed the divine thunderer who came to him, prepared a roast out of himself. The god Indra appreciated the act of this self-sacrifice and placed the hare on the lunar disk. Why is one of the names of the moon in Sanskrit - "shashanka", that is, "having the sign of a hare."
In Mongolia and China there were the same legends. So, the Chinese Taoists said that the moon spots are "a hare that tramples a potion in a mortar to prepare a drink of immortality, and whoever wants to taste the divine drink can go to the moon even now."
The belief about the "lunar" hare was so widespread in China that it became the most popular pictorial plot. Even on the robes of high dignitaries and Bogdykhans, a month with a hare sitting under a tree was embroidered with silk.
At the same time, the tree was nothing more than the universal "tree of life", and symbolized longevity and immortality. This ancient pictorial tradition has survived to this day: the scene of preparing the drink of the gods and the lunar hare is depicted on special bread or gingerbread, which are baked during the annual lunar holidays (the baked products are called “lunars”). By the way, the culture of Russian and Chinese gingerbread (up to the creation of carved gingerbread boards), apparently, has common source origin.
Buddhism adopted and developed ancient Vedic and Taoist beliefs. The legend of the hare's self-immolation has acquired additional details. A Buddhist parable tells how one day the Lord of Heaven himself came to visit a fox, a monkey and a hare, disguised as an old man, and asked him to feed him. The fox quickly caught a fish, the monkey picked sweet fruits from the tree, and only the hare could not find anything. It was then that he rushed into the oven so that the old man could eat it fried. The old man (and it turned out to be the Buddha himself in the form of one of his many incarnations!), touched by such self-sacrifice, took the hare out of the oven and placed it on the moon so that it would forever serve as a symbol of hospitality and mercy.
So this is where she comes from - a Russian counting rhyme with the Hare-Moon ...
The cosmic functions of the hare and its former power are also seen in the ancient Indo-Aryan collection of fables and parables, known under the Sanskrit name "Panchatantra" (literally - "Pentateuch"; almost like in the Old Testament, only completely different).
For example, around the world and among different peoples, a fairy tale-parable about a Lion is widespread, which a wiser Hare forced to jump into a well in order to deal with his own reflection in the water. Although the earliest surviving written version of the famous literary monument refers to no earlier than the 3rd century AD *, it is based, no doubt, on oral stories, which existed in the Aryan environment for many millennia, starting from that Hyperborean era, when the Aryans still lived in the North.
*** "Panchatantra" was translated first into Persian, and then into Arabic under the name "Kalila and Dimna" (after the jackals acting in the book). The literal translation of the names of these jackals - Straightforward and Sly - served as the basis for subsequent translations into other languages and, in particular, into Greek. Byzantine lists ancient monument under the name "Stephanit and Ikhnilat" received circulation throughout Orthodox world, including Old Russian translations, thanks to which the book became one of the favorite readings of our ancestors. On European languages the fables of the ancient Aryans were translated indirectly - through a Hebrew translation from Arabic. Many plots of the "Panchatantra" have inspired poets-fabulists for centuries, and one of them has turned almost into a folk Russian fairy tale: this is the parable about the frog-traveler processed by Vsevolod Garshin (with the difference, however, that in the ancient Indian source frog and turtle).
From this, some assumptions and analogies suggest themselves. They just concern the "moon hare" - a mythology included in the form of a fairy tale in the "Panchatantra".
The ancient Indian parable of the "moon hare" is long enough. Its essence lies in the fact that the cunning hare Vijaya (which means Winner in Sanskrit) decided to teach the elephants a lesson, which went to the Moon Lake to drink water and constantly trampled many hares and destroyed their homes. Vijaya went to the King of the Elephants and announced that he was sent by the Moon herself and was her authorized representative. The night luminary is offended by the behavior of the elephants and tells them to leave Moon Lake alone. To prove his omnipotence, the hare asked the King of Elephants to move his trunk along the lake surface.
As a result, the water in the lake stirred, the reflected disk of the moon moved back and forth in the disturbed water, and instead of one reflection of the moon, at least a thousand appeared in the waves. The king of elephants was seriously scared. As it is further narrated in the Panchatantra:
“And turning to him [the hare], the King of the Elephants, with drooping ears and head bowed to the ground, propitiated the blessed Moon with bows and then again said to Vijaya: “Dear! Fulfill my request and always bow the blessed Moon to mercy on me, and I won't come here again."
The question is whether such a fairy tale could have appeared long ago. earlier than the Indo-Aryans, in their long and difficult advance from North to South, finally did not reach the Hindustan peninsula (this happened no earlier than the 3rd millennium BC), did not finally settle here? After all, elephants never spawned in the North! How to say - there were no elephants, but there were mammoths! Were they not discussed in the most ancient and original version of the tale?
By the way, in world folklore, a lot of stories are connected with a hare. sexual in nature(which in itself testifies to the antiquity of such texts or ritual traditions, because with the adoption of Christianity, all pagan free-thinking was ruthlessly eradicated and severely punished). Russian oral is no exception. folk art. This is evidenced by at least such a girl's song in which the totem hare is called for intercourse:
Hare, gray,
Don't walk in the canopy
Don't stamp your foot.
I will lie with you...
And here is the result:
- Zayushka, with whom did you sleep and spend the night?
- I slept, I slept, my sir,
I slept, I slept, my heart [so!]
Katyukha has it on her arm,
Maryukha - on her chest,
And Dunka has a widow - all over his stomach ...
In Slavic ritual folklore many wedding and after-wedding songs about a hare are associated with the loss of a bride's virginity. Folklorists scrupulously collected, systematized and summarized quite a variety of "hare" erotic themes and symbols. Particularly popular in Rus' was the obscene tale written in many versions about the participation of a hare (albeit mostly as a passive observer) in a mating between a bear and a woman. In some areas, it was generally believed that a stork brings newborn babies in summer, and a hare in winter.
In this regard, one cannot fail to note the indisputable fact that in a number of Russian fairy tales the hare acts as a symbol and personification of the victory of patriarchy over matriarchy. For example, the well-known folklore text from the collection " cherished fairy tales"A.N. Afanasyev. In the original, the text is so replete with obscenities and obscene language that it simply cannot be reproduced. However, most Russian readers (in this particular case, viewers) know him from an episode from Sergei Eisenstein's film "Alexander Nevsky". In the film, this tale about a fox and a hare is told to Prince Alexander and other warriors by the chain mail master Ignat just before Battle on the Ice. The plot of the parable is that the hare, escaping from the fox, showed Russian ingenuity and jumped so that the fox was tightly stuck between two birch trees. Having mocked the fox in words to the full, the hare carried out a ritual act of retribution - "violated her maiden honor" (as the film modestly says and to which in the original fairy tale the people did not regret either savory colors or strong expressions). Thus (if we consider the entire episode from a symbolic point of view), the triumph of patriarchy over matriarchy was demonstrated.
Another well-known Russian tale about a fox that drove a hare out of a bast hut also contains an unambiguous allusion to the struggle between matriarchy and patriarchy.
Here, the bearer of the matriarchal ideology, the fox, initially wins. However, her impudent triumph and confidence in permissiveness are temporary. The hare - the bearer of the patriarchal ideology - is trying to defend his rights and achieve justice with the help of other (male!) totems - a bull, a wolf and a bear, but to no avail. Only the bearer of the new sun-worshipping ideology - the rooster - managed to turn the tide in favor of patriarchal values and finally establish the triumph of patriarchy over matriarchy.
Here the traditional female deceit, personified by a fox, is opposed by the patriarchal male brotherhood in the person of totems, which in the end wins.
In Indo-European mythology, the rooster represents the sun. The scythe on his shoulder in the archaic worldview was an attribute of time and death. Suffice it to recall symbolizing the time allegorical images the god Saturn with a scythe on his shoulder.
