New Year's Eve evokes a fabulously magical mood. Now under the snow-covered fir trees pulls for a walk, then for starry sky watch. And then go to the bathhouse, wash off the “sins” of the outgoing year. Bath is a sacred place for every person. But it was the Russian banya and Russian people that most often amazed foreigners.
Yes, in XVII century English diplomat Giles Fletcher wrote: “You will often see how they (to reinforce the body) run out of the baths in soap and, smoking from the heat, like a pig on a spit, throw themselves naked into the river or cold water, even in the most severe frost.
In Russia, to this day - this is one of the most popular ways to improve health. But in the distant past, baths were afraid. Rather, the owner of the bath - "bannik", or "bathhouse neighbor" - that's what they called him in the century before last in the Surgut region.
The attitude towards domestic neighbors (and there were two more besides the “bathroom” - “hut” and “bestial”) is described by the political exile Ivan Neklepaev in his work “Beliefs and Customs of the Surgut Territory”. He notes that in the view of the Surgut people, the “neighbour” is a female creature. The people of Surgut addressed her as "mother-neighbor". Interestingly, in a conversation, Surgut residents could equate only women with neighbors. That is, it was as if there was no unclean spirit, only an unclean "spirit".
"Izbnaya duhinya" lived in huts. It was believed that she is the supreme mistress of both people and the entire household routine, and animals that were temporarily placed in the hut. This neighbor loves some tenants, not others. The first are accompanied everywhere by luck and success, and the second - one continuous bad luck.
Neklepaev writes: “To those whom the hut neighbor loves, she, as a sign of her disposition, braids braids at night. These braids are carefully preserved by their happy owners, and under no circumstances are combed or cut. In Surgut, we ourselves had the opportunity to see people with thick pigtails behind their ears, not braided, but simply knocked down like felt. In the event that the neighbor dislikes someone, she torments him at night: he shakes the sleepy man to sweat.
In the descriptions of the Surguts, the neighbor had different kind. “Grandma said that she was round, like a ball, with human face, shaggy, with red, coarse hair, without arms and without legs, ”recalls Anna Lenz. "No, she's like Small child, with small hands, but very heavy,” Zoya Sviridova contradicts Anna.
Surgut residents tried to appease their neighbor. For example, when laying a new house, when the first longitudinal logs are laid, then in the “nests” cut down in these logs, small depressions are made in all corners, and a piece of bread is placed in them, according to small stone and some money. This is a tribute to the neighbor, so that she favors the owners. Then in the front corner they put a small, whole, with a root, cedar tree and sentenced: “Here, you, mother-neighbor, warm house and shaggy cedar. Then a priest was invited and a prayer service was served.
The “bestial spirit” lives in the countryside, and not every animal loves. Braids braids for horses at night. In general, people coaxed this neighbor as well as they could. Bread with salt was served, and even special round loaves were baked. But with the "bath" it was more difficult ...
Sausedka bathhouse
The people of Surgut were very afraid of her. She appeared to them as an evil being. In the bathhouse, in all its “glory”, it was necessary to appear before her, which is why it was more terrible. Well, if she appeared before you, but there was nothing at hand. In general, whatever one may say, but it is necessary to appease her. For this, the last one who washed was not allowed to pour all the water on himself. You need to leave at least a little in the tub. This water is intended for the bathhouse neighbor, and is left with the usual rhyme: “Here you are, mother-neighbor, water, wash and steam in a warm bathhouse.” It was believed that if you do not leave this water, then the next time the neighbor, angry, can steam the owner to death.
The neighbor did not like the “third couple”. You go to steam in the third run, then she will steam you to death, or even scald you with boiling water. “Once in the village Lokosovo, in the bath, - writes Neklepaev, - three people washed - two Surgu Cossacks and a local priest. The Cossacks washed up earlier and went out into the dressing room, the priest remained. Suddenly they hear wild groans and mooing of the priest, run into the bathhouse and see that someone shaggy is sitting on top of him. One Cossack started to run, but the other did not become timid, threw off his neck cross, dipped it into a bucket of water, and splashed this water into the hairy one ... A terrible “rattling” rose in the bathhouse, and the “bathhouse” instantly disappeared, and the priest was raised barely alive in insensibility." Moving away, the priest said that the “bathhouse” pounced on him from behind the stove and, leaning on him, began to choke him. In general, the Surgut people were afraid of baths. But this fear did not prevent them from arranging Christmas divination there.
Ivan Ioakimovich (Yakimovich) Neklepaev was born in Smolensk in the family of a priest. Graduated from the Theological Seminary. During his studies, he joined revolutionary movement. Organized a self-education circle. He was in charge of the library, got illegal revolutionary literature. In the circle, he organized the release of five issues of the handwritten newspaper Pisarev.
By the highest royal command, he was exiled to Siberia. On August 29, 1885, he served a link in Kondinsk, then in Surgut. Corresponded with the exiles of the Arkhangelsk province, Siberia and Kazakhstan. In 1888 it was subjected to a search in connection with the discovered letters in Arkhangelsk. The letters reported that he obtained passports for two exiles who had successfully escaped from Surgut. In January 1890 the link was extended for a year, in May he was transferred to Barnaul.
After the end of his exile in 1891, he settled in Perm. He served in the management of the railroad. For participation in the public movement "People's Right" he was again arrested. From April 1896 he was exiled to Ust-Sysolsk (now Syktyvkar). He did a lot to systematize documents on the history of the Komi region, published in newspapers. Signed under the pseudonym Z.
Six years of exile in Surgut gave Neklepaev extensive material on the culture of the local Russian population. Based on conversations with the population and observations, he created one of the best ethnographic descriptions of the Russian population of Surgut and its environs - Beliefs and Customs of the Surgut Territory. The book contains unique information about traditional medicine, church calendar, rituals, customs and beliefs of the Russian population.
In 1888-1890. Neklepaev and politically exiled Vasily Kazakov handed over to the Tobolsk Provincial Museum the lower jaw of a mammoth "with very minor damage and completely preserved teeth." In 1899-1900. donates books to the library of the Tobolsk Provincial Museum.
In 1900 he went abroad, where he received an agronomic education. At the beginning of the twentieth century. settled in the city of Totma, Vologda province, where he served as an agronomist.
Sources:
Beliefs and customs of the Surgut region/ I. Neklepaev // Rituals, customs, beliefs / [comp. Yu. L. Mandrika]. - Tyumen, 1997. - S. 7-214.
Traditional medicine in the Surgut region/ I. Ya. Neklepaev // Tobolsk North through the eyes of political exiles of the 19th–early 20th century / [compiled by L. P. Roshchevskaya, V. K. Beloborodov]. - Yekaterinburg, 1998. - S. 301-330.
Ogryzko, V.V. Northernists of Russia: materials for biogr. dictionary / Vyacheslav Ohryzko; [after the words. Alexander Trapeznikov]. - M.: Lit. Russia, 2007. - S. 312.
Beloborodov, V. K. Scientists and local historians of Ugra: biobibliogr. words. / V. K. Beloborodov, T. V. Purtova; Khanty-Mans. env. b-ka. - Tyumen: SoftDesign, 1997. - S. 191-192.
Demonological representations of Surgut people/ I. Ya. Neklepaev // Yugra. - 1993. - No. 2. - S. 29-36.
omen belief superstition originality
“Schiller said: “Sometimes deep meaning is hidden in children’s play,” and Shakespeare: “There are many things in heaven and on earth that your wise men have not seen even in a dream.” This can be applied to mysterious object which we want to talk about. The spirit of doubt is the property of a conscientious prospector; but in itself and certainly, this quality is fruitless and even destructive. If this is joined by an arrogant contempt for the subject, which often serves as a mask for ignorance of a special kind, then doubt, or disbelief, is very often hypocritical. Most of those who consider it a duty of decency to publicly and contemptuously mock all popular prejudices, indiscriminately, themselves believe them secretly, or at least as a precaution, just in case, do not leave the yard on Monday and do not greet through the threshold.
On the other hand, if we look at the beliefs of the people, in general, as superstition, then they no less deserve our attention, as a significant particle folk life; these are the fetters that a person has put on himself - whether through his own fault, or out of necessity, out of great intelligence, or out of stupidity - but in which he must live and die if he cannot shake them off and be free. But where and when this or that can or should be done, this cannot be determined without analyzing in all detail the meaning, source, meaning and strength of each belief. And the most stupid and harmful superstition cannot be resisted if you do not know it and are not familiar with the spirit and life of the people.
In general, we call belief any opinion or concept that has taken root in the people, without a reasonable account of its solidity. From this it follows that a belief may be true or false; in the latter case it is called superstition proper, or, after latest expression, prejudice. There is little difference between these two words; prejudice is a closer concept and refers mainly to cautionary, superstitious rules about what, how and when to do or not to do. From this is seen, still in the third sense, the importance of the subject we are talking about; he gives us complete picture life and life famous people". About beliefs, superstitions and prejudices of the Russian people / Dal V.I - p. 259-261
All peoples have beliefs and signs, for many they are similar to each other, this indicates one common source and the beginning, which can be of three kinds: or a belief that arose in antiquity, before the separation of the two peoples, was preserved according to tradition in both; or, having been born in one people, spread to others; or, finally, belief, according to its properties and relations to man, arose here and there independently of one another.
“Our North has always been famous for its a large number and a variety of beliefs and superstitions about witchcraft of various kinds. Hardly most of this did not pass to us from the Chud tribes. The sorcerers and healers of the northern strip are also distinguished by their malice, and all the stories about them bear this imprint. In the south we see more poetry, more coherent, fabulous and amusing legends and superstitions, in which malicious warlocks appear only as a necessary embellishment, for a striking contrast. We have beliefs - a remnant or monument of paganism; they persist only because habit turns into nature, and the abolition of the old custom has always and everywhere met with resistance. Here you can also include all the beliefs of Russian fables, which, in all likelihood, in connection with the distant times of paganism. Other beliefs are invented by chance, in order to force the small and stupid, in a roundabout way, to do or not to do what it would be much more difficult to get from him in a direct way. By frightening and enslaving the minds, one can force them to obey, while lengthy arguments and proofs, neither small nor stupid, will not convince and, in any case, allow tedious refutations. Beliefs and customs of the Surgut region / Neklepaev I.Ya. Notes ZSO RGO. - Omsk, 1903, - Prince. 30. - S.77-78.
Ivan Ioakimovich (Yakimovich) Neklepaev was born in Smolensk in the family of a priest. Graduated from the Theological Seminary. During his studies, he joined the revolutionary movement. Organized a self-education circle. He was in charge of the library, got illegal revolutionary literature. In the circle, he organized the release of five issues of the handwritten newspaper Pisarev.
By the highest royal command, he was exiled to Siberia. On August 29, 1885, he served a link in Kondinsk, then in Surgut. Corresponded with the exiles of the Arkhangelsk province, Siberia and Kazakhstan. In 1888 it was subjected to a search in connection with the discovered letters in Arkhangelsk. The letters reported that he obtained passports for two exiles who had successfully escaped from Surgut. In January 1890 the link was extended for a year, in May he was transferred to Barnaul.
After the end of his exile in 1891, he settled in Perm. He served in the management of the railroad. For participation in the public movement "People's Right" he was again arrested. From April 1896 he was exiled to Ust-Sysolsk (now Syktyvkar). He did a lot to systematize documents on the history of the Komi region, published in newspapers. Signed under the pseudonym Z.
Six years of exile in Surgut gave Neklepaev extensive material on the culture of the local Russian population. Based on conversations with the population and observations, he created one of the best ethnographic descriptions of the Russian population of Surgut and its environs - Beliefs and Customs of the Surgut Territory. The book contains unique information about folk medicine, the church calendar, rituals, customs and beliefs of the Russian population.
In 1888-1890. Neklepaev and politically exiled Vasily Kazakov handed over to the Tobolsk Provincial Museum the lower jaw of a mammoth "with very minor damage and completely preserved teeth." In 1899-1900. donates books to the library of the Tobolsk Provincial Museum.
In 1900 he went abroad, where he received an agronomic education. At the beginning of the twentieth century. settled in the city of Totma, Vologda province, where he served as an agronomist.
Sources:
Beliefs and customs of the Surgut region/ I. Neklepaev // Rituals, customs, beliefs / [comp. Yu. L. Mandrika]. - Tyumen, 1997. - S. 7-214.
Traditional medicine in the Surgut region/ I. Ya. Neklepaev // Tobolsk North through the eyes of political exiles of the 19th–early 20th century / [compiled by L. P. Roshchevskaya, V. K. Beloborodov]. - Yekaterinburg, 1998. - S. 301-330.
Ogryzko, V.V. Northernists of Russia: materials for biogr. dictionary / Vyacheslav Ohryzko; [after the words. Alexander Trapeznikov]. - M.: Lit. Russia, 2007. - S. 312.
Beloborodov, V. K. Scientists and local historians of Ugra: biobibliogr. words. / V. K. Beloborodov, T. V. Purtova; Khanty-Mans. env. b-ka. - Tyumen: SoftDesign, 1997. - S. 191-192.
Demonological representations of Surgut people/ I. Ya. Neklepaev // Yugra. - 1993. - No. 2. - S. 29-36.
