LIZARD - A DEITY OF THE ANCIENT SLAVS
THE MYSTERIOUS CREATURE AND THE SLAVIC CULT "LIZARD-CROCODILE"
AUTHOR: A. KOMOGORTSEV
Lizard-Crocodile - a denizen of the "lower world" and a deity of ancient Slavs. The lizard, a creature that swallows people and dwells underground, is a well-known theme in Ugric Urals-Obsky folklore. Among the Ugric-Samoyedic peoples of Siberia, the lizard is also known as the mammoth beast, most often dwelling underground.
LIZARD IN THE PERM ANIMAL STYLE
Judging by the finds at the settlement of Volodin Kamien I, in the Perm Animal Style, the image of the lizard was associated with the underground world (as its master) and, according to the prominent Perm historian and archaeologist, Doctor of Historical Sciences A.M. Belavin, it may also be considered as an embodiment of the spirit protecting metallurgists.
In A. Spitsyn's atlas "Shamanic Images" (1900), there are over a hundred drawings of "miraculous figures" depicting lizards.
Distinguished Russian anthropologist, ethnographer, and archaeologist, Academician D.N. Anuchin (1890) writes:
"Among the trans-Ural chuds, there was a widespread belief in some mythical beast with certain snake-like features, a horned elongated head partly resembling a crocodile or rhinoceros, with an elongated body covered with scales along its back and ending in a more or less short tail. This animal was believed to live on the ground."
Typically, lizards serve as the base for humanoid figures (sulde), forming complex compositions at times.
On an artifact found near the Kama River close to the village of Nyrgynda, there is depicted a "huge, very typical lizard, long, curved, with a short fluffy tail and short legs; the lower jaw is strongly twisted and the neck and upper jaw are hairy while the upper jaw is serrated."
A man with outstretched arms-wings sits on the lizard, his head and hands transitioning into elk heads, which in turn transition into birds.
This work dates back to the dawn of the Perm Animal Style (8th-9th centuries).
In some cases, the lizard is given a prominent place in the composition. Let's look at the images found in the village of Podbobike in the Nyrsky district of the Perm region, on the left bank of the Kolva River. One of them F. Teplyukhov described as follows: "This animal is something between a beast and a fish, generally resembling a large lizard or crocodile. The body of this monster, as well as the shape of its head, makes it look like a fish, but the eyes and nostrils are more like those of a beast. In addition, the lower jaw is longer than the upper jaw and has the shape of a horn curved upwards. Another such horn is placed on the occiput. The legs are short, resembling human hands, and the tail is fish-like, standing vertically."
D. Anuchin noted the following important "ideological detail" in the lizard, which helps to understand the essence of this ritual image: "This creature was depicted either as separate figures or at the base of anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures - small figures, thereby replacing the Earth... Nevertheless, the lizard appeared capable of carrying other, more or less anthropomorphic beings on itself."
CROCODILE IN THE NOVGOROD CHRONICLES
Reconstructing the ancient cult of the underwater-subterranean lizard, Academician B.A. Rybakov (1987) pays special attention to the North of Europe: it is on the lake-rich North where the image of the lizard is often and quite stable. Traces of this cult are also found in Novgorod. This circumstance is noteworthy because it was precisely here, at the source of the Volkhov River, that the indigenous Chud tribes once interacted with the recent Slavic colonists.
Associated with these places is the following legend recorded in the "Mazyrin Chronicle" ("The Book, said to be the chronicle of the great land of Russia, of the great Slavic language, from when and in which years the princes began to rule", 31st volume of the Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles):
"Veliky Knyaz Sloven set the city of Sloven, now called Veliky Novgorod. Since then, the newcomers, the Scythians, began to be called Slovenes, and they named the river flowing into Lake Ilmen after the wife of Sloven, Sheloni. They named the Backwater Channel after his youngest son, Volkhovets, which flows from the Volkhov and later flows back into it. However, the elder son of Sloven was a sorcerer and a wizard, and with his demonic tricks, he transformed into a fierce beast, a crocodile, blocking the waterway of the River Volkhov and devouring those who did not submit to him, overturning and drowning them."
The legend recorded in the "Tsvetnik" of 1665 narrates the further fate of the "Prince of Volkhov": "Therefore, the people, who were ignorant at that time, named him a false god... They speak fabulously about this sorcerer, saying, 'He has become a god'... Our true Christian word... How this cursed sorcerer and wizard was defeated and strangled by demons in the Volkhov River and his cursed body was carried up the river Volkhov and cast ashore opposite the town of Volkhov, which now is called Perynya. With much lamentation, the cursed one was buried with great heathen sorrow. A very high mound was raised over him, as it is done for the heathen. And after three days, the earth opened during his cursed lamentations and swallowed the loathsome lizard's body. His grave collapsed over him into the depths of Hades, which even now, as they say, the sign of that pit remains unfilled."
According to B.A. Rybakov, the main religious center of Novgorod was the sanctuary at Perynya (at the confluence of Lake Ilmen and the Volkhov River), established as early as the 9th century. During the pagan reform of 980, Dobrynya established the cult of a new all-Russian state deity - Perun, replacing a certain Jassa, Jesse at the old sacred place, whose Latin transcription clearly shows the connection with the Slavic designation of a snake (jaze) or lizard. The lizard - the master of waters, fish, and waterways, was apparently important for the Novgorodians, who addressed their agricultural prayers predominantly to the fertility goddesses, while their prayers for fishery wealth and waterways - which played a significant role in their lives - were directed to the god Jassa, the king of waters, appearing in two aspects: as the god of Ilmen and Volkhov ("Sorcerer of Volkhov" - lizard-cordwainer), and the god of the "blue salty sea" - the sea king."
CROCODILE IN THE NOVGOROD CYCLE OF EPICS ABOUT SADKO
The Novgorod cycle of epics about Sadko is closely linked to the crocodile. B.A. Rybakov leads us to the idea that the most archaic layer of legends narrating the tale of the wise gusli player ("He was clever and cunning, Sadko played his gusli by the lake for a good fish catch...") was part of an ancient ritual performed at the sacred place, named Perynya after 980, and dedicated in earlier times to the river god, the "unfathomable sorcerer" Volkhov, who "blocked the waterway" and "transformed into the fierce beast, a crocodile."
This is supported by the fact that the authentic ornamentation of gusli from the first half of the 12th century discovered in Novgorod excavations prominently features the same Crocodile in a composition that unites both dimensions of the instrument thanks to its three-dimensional sculpture. In other words, the ornamentation on Novgorod gusli from the 11th to 14th centuries directly points to the connection of this undoubtedly cultic instrument with the water element and its ruler, the king of the underwater realm - the crocodile.
The Crocodile on Novgorod gusli allows the ritual play of the gusli on the shores of Lake Ilmen and the ship's delay by Sadko with the Sea King (whose anthropomorphism is assumed but not definitively confirmed!) due to many years of unpaid tribute to him to be united. "The sea king demands not the customs, but the human head."
Here, we clearly encounter echoes of ancient rituals that included human sacrifice to a water deity, later replaced by a horse sacrifice. This is confirmed by numerous folklore sources that decisively indicate that a live horse or a horse's skull is offered as a sacrifice to the "water spirits".
A.N. Afanasyev describes in detail the horse offering to the water master: "Peasants buy a horse at peace, feed it with bread for three days, then attach two millstones, cover its head with honey, weave red ribbons into its mane, and at midnight lower it into a hole or drown it in the river." However, "other cases are known: in ancient times, they would push a belated traveler into a whirlpool."
In the epic about Sadko, there is another recurring detail that, in comparison with folklore data, possibly explains the constant mention of Saint Nicholas, to whom Sadko builds a one-day church as a thanksgiving for his deliverance from the depths of the sea. In connection with this, a particularly interesting record is made about a ritual that imitates the offering not to the Water Spirit, but to Christian Saint Nicholas. This ritual called the "appeasement of Lake Onega" took place on December 6th: "Every year on the eve of Winter Nicholas before Vespers, the elders of each fishing family gather at a certain location. They make a human effigy on the shore and send it out into the lake in a leaky boat, where, of course, it sinks. Two or three elders sing a song asking Onego (the lake) to take the straw effigy... And for greater persuasiveness, they invoke the name of Sea Nicholas."
This little-known ethnographic record, extracted by B.A. Uspensky (1982), is a key to the entire complex of epic references and archaeological facts mentioned earlier. It clearly indicates that "Winter Nicholas," also known as "Wet Nicholas," "Sea Nicholas," demanding human sacrifices for the lake, is a direct descendant of the archaic Water Spirit, the Subaqueous Prince, or, if you prefer, the Crocodile, who "demands a live head in the blue sea."
In this connection, it is worth mentioning that up until the 20th century, fishermen passing by a small hillock between Lake Ilmen and the Volkhov would throw money into the water, as if reviving ancient sacrifices to the "subaqueous king."
THE THEME OF THE CROCODILE IN ANCIENT RUSSIAN APPLIED ART
In the beliefs of the residents of the Kiev Dnieper region, the cult of the crocodile as the ruler of the "lower world" mainly dominated in the 6th-7th centuries. In the Novgorod land, this cult was evidently in full bloom and continued much later, in the 10th-13th centuries, as evidenced by the abundance of crocodile images in Novgorod applied art. For example, among the ancient Novgorod artifacts from the 10th-11th centuries are handles of wooden ladles, meticulously carved into the shape of a crocodile. The crocodiles had large muzzles with huge mouths and well-defined teeth. Various forms of water ideograms were depicted on the necks of the crocodiles, such as circular zigzag lines, droplet rows, or complex ornamental braids.
The muzzles of crocodiles adorned the roofs of houses, further connecting this creature with the theme of water, specifically rainwater in this case. N.A. Krinichnaya points out that in the north, the ends of roof beams were given fantastical serpent-like forms with gaping mouths or some sort of monster with horns.
In Russian hoards of women's items from the 11th-12th centuries, long silver chains with intricate weaving are found, worn around the neck and cascading below the waist, forming the lowest row of adornments. These chains were fastened with two crocodile heads linked by a small ring. The placement of the crocodile heads in the overall ensemble of the costume perfectly matches the concept of the ruler of the "lower world." There are two crocodile heads here, reminding us of the mythical two-headed crocodile that swallowed the evening sun as it set underground with one head and regurgitated the morning sun rising from the opposite end of its body with the other head.
A compelling argument supporting the idea that medieval Russians considered crocodiles an integral part of the overall cosmological system is the bronze arches found by Russian archaeologist Count A.S. Uvarov in the altar of a church from the mid-12th century in the appanage city of Vshchizh. These arches represent the structure of a "parecclesion," erected during solemn liturgical ceremonies above the altar and sacred items on the altar. The centerpiece of the system once again is the semi-subterranean crocodiles or a single crocodile, visually divided into two images to simultaneously represent the setting and rising sun. The master incorporated a series of pagan details into the composition, revealing not so much an understanding of the world picture by Christian cosmographers, but the ancient, deep-rooted belief in a world where the central figure was an archaic crocodile, controlling the movement of the sun itself. These arches demonstrate that even much later than the period under consideration, in Russia's church art, the crocodile was an essential element in the understanding of the cosmos.
The crocodiles of the Vshchizh arches materialize the mythological characters from the epics about Sadko and legends of the "god-crocodile," aligning them with Polish medieval references to the cult of Yasha or Yashe and with a children's archaic round dance game of the 19th century in Yashu (Crocodile), reenacting human sacrifices to the Crocodile on the shore of a river or lake (B.A. Rybakov, 1987).
THE LIZARD-CROCODILE IN MEDIEVAL RUSSIA: HISTORICAL EVIDENCE
In light of all the above, a reasonable question arises about the possible real prototype of the sacred lizard-crocodile. Let us turn to the memories of the Ambassador of the Holy Roman Emperor in Russia, Sigismund von Herberstein, written in the first half of the 16th century: "This region (Samogitia - A.K.) abounds in groves and forests, where one can sometimes see apparitions... There are still many idolaters there who keep in their houses (like household gods) certain snakes with four (short) limbs, resembling lizards, with black fat bodies, no more than three feet long; they are called giwoites... On established days, they perform purification rituals in their homes, and when the snakes crawl to the food provided, the entire family reveres them with fear until they return to their place satiated. If any misfortune befalls them, they attribute it to not feeding and treating the domestic deity (snake) well." Such a creature likely served as the prototype for the monster depicted on the shield placed in the portrait of Vasily III, which we find in Sigismund von Herberstein's book "Rerum moscoviticarum commentarij..." (1556).
In the 13th volume of the Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles, we can find the following entry dated 1582: "That same year, fierce crocodiles emerged from the river and blocked the path; they devoured many people. The people were terrified and prayed to God throughout the land. They hid away again, and some were killed. In the same year, Prince Ivan Ivanovich appeared in the Settlement on the 14th day of December." It is worth noting that this is not about the "domesticated" deified "giwoites," but about a real invasion of crocodile-builders.
Here is another record from that time, made by the agent of the English Trading Company, Jerome Horsey. In 1589, in Poland on the way to Russia, he witnessed the following event, recorded in his diary: "I left Warsaw in the evening, crossed the river, where a venomous dead crocodile lay on the shore, and my men speared its belly. The stench spread so much that I was poisoned by it and lay sick in the nearest village, where I received such sympathy and Christian help that I miraculously recovered."
The mysterious crocodile-builder, this time named the "Arzamas Monster," reappeared in Russia in the early 18th century. Evidence of this event was found in the archive of the city of Arzamas: "Year 1719, June 4th. A great storm occurred in the district, with a whirlwind and hail, and many cattle and all sorts of wildlife perished... A serpent fell from the sky, burnt by God's wrath, and smelled disgustingly. And, remembering the Decree by the Grace of God of our All-Russian Sovereign Peter Alexeevich from the year 1718 about Kuntshtkamor and the collection of various oddities, monsters, and deformities, heavenly stones, and various wonders, they threw this serpent into a barrel of strong double wine." The paper is signed by the rural commissar Vasily Shtykov. The package apparently never reached the Petersburg Museum. The nature of the "monster" remained unresolved.
SUIS IN INDIA. ACCOUNTS OF CONTEMPORARIES
Now we have a very modern testimony from three Orthodox Orientalists - the sinologist Priest Dionysius Pozdnyaev, the indologist Priest Vitaly Zubkov, and N. R. Lidov, a member of the executive committee of the Society for Cultural Ties with India, who visited India: "On February 18, 1998, at 8:30, we headed to the most revered Hindu sacred city of Varanasi, where Hindus cremate their deceased on the banks of the Ganges. The city is dedicated to the god-destroyer Shiva... We approached the site of the cremations. Our boatman became nervous. The atmosphere around was oppressive and alarming. Then we saw in the water the back of a huge animal or fish the size of a large buffalo with a bony fin. Next, a head appeared resembling a gharial crocodile with a high forehead, a long elongated snout, and a thickening at the tip of the nose resembling an elephant trunk. After a minute, we saw a snake-like tail, resembling a very large python with a fin on the tail. The creature was a gray-steel color. The boatman was greatly frightened and in response to our question, he chattered his teeth, saying that it is a dolphin that eats unburned and half-burned bodies, and sometimes takes and carries away living people who perform ablutions in the Ganges. He also informed us that these "dolphins" have been living here for many centuries. When we asked him if these creatures were related to the cremations on the bank, he spoke like a person in a somnambulistic trance. Here are his words: "The burning of the deceased on the banks of the Ganges changes the karma of a person, and not only a person but also the karma of the country. The more people are cremated on the banks of the Ganges, the more energy India receives. If the cremations on the banks of the Ganges cease, India will disappear. Men should be burned so that the bone on the hand or leg is visible. And women should be burned so that the bone on the back or rib is visible. Then everything that remains is thrown into the Ganges. This makes us stronger, we all live because these bodies are thrown into the Ganges." He spoke all this like a memorized formula, without emotions and intonations. At the hotel, we inquired about the "dolphins." A young man told us that they are not dolphins, but "suis." He fairly accurately described what we saw but then hurriedly remarked that they are not found here. And when I tried to find out whether it was a fish or an animal, he replied "no" and quickly changed the subject... What we saw was by no means a dolphin but bore the Indian name "suis" or "susamar" (which translates from Sanskrit as "one to whom death is offered as a gift" or "evil demon to whom offerings are made"). In the Central Museum of Calcutta, on one of the reliefs of an ancient Buddhist stupa, we found an image of this creature" (Orthodox Missionaries in India, 1998).
Thus, we have significant grounds to believe that the figure of the lizard-crocodile is not merely a symbolic form of folk mythology.
The toponyms of many lakes and rivers in the Northwest are associated with the lizard-crocodile, for example: the Yashera River, Lake Yashino, populated areas Yashera, Malaya Yashera, and others. In the vicinity of Moscow, we can point out the Spas-Crocodile Monastery near Klin (now the village of Spas-Krokodilino).
PAGAN REFORM OF 980 - THE SHIFT OF CULTS SNAKE-LIZARD-CROCODILE AND FIGHTING OF SNAKES
Returning to the question of the true content of the pagan reform of 980, during which the cult of the new pan-Russian deity Perun was established, replacing the cult of the underwater (reptilian) deity (lizard-crocodile), it should be noted several important circumstances that may shed some light on the possible cause of what happened.
Firstly, unlike the folk cult of Veles, the cult of Perun - the princely-warrior cult of the Kiev Igorovic - that is, a military cult.
Secondly, this leading cult was distant from both the Slavs and the Finno-Ugric tribes of the northeast. Here, there were their own traditions, going back, as emphasized by B. A. Rybakov, to a deeper historical layer of beliefs than Slavic agricultural paganism.
And the third circumstance - Adam Olearius, who visited Novgorod in 1654, describes the idol of Perun, set up by Dobrynya, as follows: "This deity had the appearance of a human with flint in hand, resembling a thundering arrow (lightning) or ray. In worship of this deity, an indelible fire was maintained, made from oak wood, that never went out, day or night. And if the attendant allowed the fire to go out inadvertently, he was punished by death." Thus, we are talking about a thunder god - a traditional "opponent" of the snake-lizard-dragon.
From this, we can assume that we are dealing with a manifestation of the ancient antagonism between two purely archaic cults, one of which is associated with the image (or, if you will, the persona) of the "snake-lizard-crocodile," while the other may be linked to the tradition of tribal (dynastic) struggle against snakes or fighting with dragons, rooted in the figures of divine heroes, subsequently legitimized in a new (Christian) religious paradigm through the image of Saint George the Victorious.
SOURCE: https://www.alpha-omega.su/index/0-384
Lizard-Crocodile - a denizen of the "lower world" and a deity of ancient Slavs. The lizard, a creature that swallows people and dwells underground, is a well-known theme in Ugric Urals-Obsky folklore. Among the Ugric-Samoyedic peoples of Siberia, the lizard is also known as the mammoth beast, most often dwelling underground.
LIZARD IN THE PERM ANIMAL STYLE
Judging by the finds at the settlement of Volodin Kamien I, in the Perm Animal Style, the image of the lizard was associated with the underground world (as its master) and, according to the prominent Perm historian and archaeologist, Doctor of Historical Sciences A.M. Belavin, it may also be considered as an embodiment of the spirit protecting metallurgists.
In A. Spitsyn's atlas "Shamanic Images" (1900), there are over a hundred drawings of "miraculous figures" depicting lizards.
Distinguished Russian anthropologist, ethnographer, and archaeologist, Academician D.N. Anuchin (1890) writes:
"Among the trans-Ural chuds, there was a widespread belief in some mythical beast with certain snake-like features, a horned elongated head partly resembling a crocodile or rhinoceros, with an elongated body covered with scales along its back and ending in a more or less short tail. This animal was believed to live on the ground."
Typically, lizards serve as the base for humanoid figures (sulde), forming complex compositions at times.
On an artifact found near the Kama River close to the village of Nyrgynda, there is depicted a "huge, very typical lizard, long, curved, with a short fluffy tail and short legs; the lower jaw is strongly twisted and the neck and upper jaw are hairy while the upper jaw is serrated."
A man with outstretched arms-wings sits on the lizard, his head and hands transitioning into elk heads, which in turn transition into birds.
This work dates back to the dawn of the Perm Animal Style (8th-9th centuries).
In some cases, the lizard is given a prominent place in the composition. Let's look at the images found in the village of Podbobike in the Nyrsky district of the Perm region, on the left bank of the Kolva River. One of them F. Teplyukhov described as follows: "This animal is something between a beast and a fish, generally resembling a large lizard or crocodile. The body of this monster, as well as the shape of its head, makes it look like a fish, but the eyes and nostrils are more like those of a beast. In addition, the lower jaw is longer than the upper jaw and has the shape of a horn curved upwards. Another such horn is placed on the occiput. The legs are short, resembling human hands, and the tail is fish-like, standing vertically."
D. Anuchin noted the following important "ideological detail" in the lizard, which helps to understand the essence of this ritual image: "This creature was depicted either as separate figures or at the base of anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures - small figures, thereby replacing the Earth... Nevertheless, the lizard appeared capable of carrying other, more or less anthropomorphic beings on itself."
CROCODILE IN THE NOVGOROD CHRONICLES
Reconstructing the ancient cult of the underwater-subterranean lizard, Academician B.A. Rybakov (1987) pays special attention to the North of Europe: it is on the lake-rich North where the image of the lizard is often and quite stable. Traces of this cult are also found in Novgorod. This circumstance is noteworthy because it was precisely here, at the source of the Volkhov River, that the indigenous Chud tribes once interacted with the recent Slavic colonists.
Associated with these places is the following legend recorded in the "Mazyrin Chronicle" ("The Book, said to be the chronicle of the great land of Russia, of the great Slavic language, from when and in which years the princes began to rule", 31st volume of the Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles):
"Veliky Knyaz Sloven set the city of Sloven, now called Veliky Novgorod. Since then, the newcomers, the Scythians, began to be called Slovenes, and they named the river flowing into Lake Ilmen after the wife of Sloven, Sheloni. They named the Backwater Channel after his youngest son, Volkhovets, which flows from the Volkhov and later flows back into it. However, the elder son of Sloven was a sorcerer and a wizard, and with his demonic tricks, he transformed into a fierce beast, a crocodile, blocking the waterway of the River Volkhov and devouring those who did not submit to him, overturning and drowning them."
The legend recorded in the "Tsvetnik" of 1665 narrates the further fate of the "Prince of Volkhov": "Therefore, the people, who were ignorant at that time, named him a false god... They speak fabulously about this sorcerer, saying, 'He has become a god'... Our true Christian word... How this cursed sorcerer and wizard was defeated and strangled by demons in the Volkhov River and his cursed body was carried up the river Volkhov and cast ashore opposite the town of Volkhov, which now is called Perynya. With much lamentation, the cursed one was buried with great heathen sorrow. A very high mound was raised over him, as it is done for the heathen. And after three days, the earth opened during his cursed lamentations and swallowed the loathsome lizard's body. His grave collapsed over him into the depths of Hades, which even now, as they say, the sign of that pit remains unfilled."
According to B.A. Rybakov, the main religious center of Novgorod was the sanctuary at Perynya (at the confluence of Lake Ilmen and the Volkhov River), established as early as the 9th century. During the pagan reform of 980, Dobrynya established the cult of a new all-Russian state deity - Perun, replacing a certain Jassa, Jesse at the old sacred place, whose Latin transcription clearly shows the connection with the Slavic designation of a snake (jaze) or lizard. The lizard - the master of waters, fish, and waterways, was apparently important for the Novgorodians, who addressed their agricultural prayers predominantly to the fertility goddesses, while their prayers for fishery wealth and waterways - which played a significant role in their lives - were directed to the god Jassa, the king of waters, appearing in two aspects: as the god of Ilmen and Volkhov ("Sorcerer of Volkhov" - lizard-cordwainer), and the god of the "blue salty sea" - the sea king."
CROCODILE IN THE NOVGOROD CYCLE OF EPICS ABOUT SADKO
The Novgorod cycle of epics about Sadko is closely linked to the crocodile. B.A. Rybakov leads us to the idea that the most archaic layer of legends narrating the tale of the wise gusli player ("He was clever and cunning, Sadko played his gusli by the lake for a good fish catch...") was part of an ancient ritual performed at the sacred place, named Perynya after 980, and dedicated in earlier times to the river god, the "unfathomable sorcerer" Volkhov, who "blocked the waterway" and "transformed into the fierce beast, a crocodile."
This is supported by the fact that the authentic ornamentation of gusli from the first half of the 12th century discovered in Novgorod excavations prominently features the same Crocodile in a composition that unites both dimensions of the instrument thanks to its three-dimensional sculpture. In other words, the ornamentation on Novgorod gusli from the 11th to 14th centuries directly points to the connection of this undoubtedly cultic instrument with the water element and its ruler, the king of the underwater realm - the crocodile.
The Crocodile on Novgorod gusli allows the ritual play of the gusli on the shores of Lake Ilmen and the ship's delay by Sadko with the Sea King (whose anthropomorphism is assumed but not definitively confirmed!) due to many years of unpaid tribute to him to be united. "The sea king demands not the customs, but the human head."
Here, we clearly encounter echoes of ancient rituals that included human sacrifice to a water deity, later replaced by a horse sacrifice. This is confirmed by numerous folklore sources that decisively indicate that a live horse or a horse's skull is offered as a sacrifice to the "water spirits".
A.N. Afanasyev describes in detail the horse offering to the water master: "Peasants buy a horse at peace, feed it with bread for three days, then attach two millstones, cover its head with honey, weave red ribbons into its mane, and at midnight lower it into a hole or drown it in the river." However, "other cases are known: in ancient times, they would push a belated traveler into a whirlpool."
In the epic about Sadko, there is another recurring detail that, in comparison with folklore data, possibly explains the constant mention of Saint Nicholas, to whom Sadko builds a one-day church as a thanksgiving for his deliverance from the depths of the sea. In connection with this, a particularly interesting record is made about a ritual that imitates the offering not to the Water Spirit, but to Christian Saint Nicholas. This ritual called the "appeasement of Lake Onega" took place on December 6th: "Every year on the eve of Winter Nicholas before Vespers, the elders of each fishing family gather at a certain location. They make a human effigy on the shore and send it out into the lake in a leaky boat, where, of course, it sinks. Two or three elders sing a song asking Onego (the lake) to take the straw effigy... And for greater persuasiveness, they invoke the name of Sea Nicholas."
This little-known ethnographic record, extracted by B.A. Uspensky (1982), is a key to the entire complex of epic references and archaeological facts mentioned earlier. It clearly indicates that "Winter Nicholas," also known as "Wet Nicholas," "Sea Nicholas," demanding human sacrifices for the lake, is a direct descendant of the archaic Water Spirit, the Subaqueous Prince, or, if you prefer, the Crocodile, who "demands a live head in the blue sea."
In this connection, it is worth mentioning that up until the 20th century, fishermen passing by a small hillock between Lake Ilmen and the Volkhov would throw money into the water, as if reviving ancient sacrifices to the "subaqueous king."
THE THEME OF THE CROCODILE IN ANCIENT RUSSIAN APPLIED ART
In the beliefs of the residents of the Kiev Dnieper region, the cult of the crocodile as the ruler of the "lower world" mainly dominated in the 6th-7th centuries. In the Novgorod land, this cult was evidently in full bloom and continued much later, in the 10th-13th centuries, as evidenced by the abundance of crocodile images in Novgorod applied art. For example, among the ancient Novgorod artifacts from the 10th-11th centuries are handles of wooden ladles, meticulously carved into the shape of a crocodile. The crocodiles had large muzzles with huge mouths and well-defined teeth. Various forms of water ideograms were depicted on the necks of the crocodiles, such as circular zigzag lines, droplet rows, or complex ornamental braids.
The muzzles of crocodiles adorned the roofs of houses, further connecting this creature with the theme of water, specifically rainwater in this case. N.A. Krinichnaya points out that in the north, the ends of roof beams were given fantastical serpent-like forms with gaping mouths or some sort of monster with horns.
In Russian hoards of women's items from the 11th-12th centuries, long silver chains with intricate weaving are found, worn around the neck and cascading below the waist, forming the lowest row of adornments. These chains were fastened with two crocodile heads linked by a small ring. The placement of the crocodile heads in the overall ensemble of the costume perfectly matches the concept of the ruler of the "lower world." There are two crocodile heads here, reminding us of the mythical two-headed crocodile that swallowed the evening sun as it set underground with one head and regurgitated the morning sun rising from the opposite end of its body with the other head.
A compelling argument supporting the idea that medieval Russians considered crocodiles an integral part of the overall cosmological system is the bronze arches found by Russian archaeologist Count A.S. Uvarov in the altar of a church from the mid-12th century in the appanage city of Vshchizh. These arches represent the structure of a "parecclesion," erected during solemn liturgical ceremonies above the altar and sacred items on the altar. The centerpiece of the system once again is the semi-subterranean crocodiles or a single crocodile, visually divided into two images to simultaneously represent the setting and rising sun. The master incorporated a series of pagan details into the composition, revealing not so much an understanding of the world picture by Christian cosmographers, but the ancient, deep-rooted belief in a world where the central figure was an archaic crocodile, controlling the movement of the sun itself. These arches demonstrate that even much later than the period under consideration, in Russia's church art, the crocodile was an essential element in the understanding of the cosmos.
The crocodiles of the Vshchizh arches materialize the mythological characters from the epics about Sadko and legends of the "god-crocodile," aligning them with Polish medieval references to the cult of Yasha or Yashe and with a children's archaic round dance game of the 19th century in Yashu (Crocodile), reenacting human sacrifices to the Crocodile on the shore of a river or lake (B.A. Rybakov, 1987).
THE LIZARD-CROCODILE IN MEDIEVAL RUSSIA: HISTORICAL EVIDENCE
In light of all the above, a reasonable question arises about the possible real prototype of the sacred lizard-crocodile. Let us turn to the memories of the Ambassador of the Holy Roman Emperor in Russia, Sigismund von Herberstein, written in the first half of the 16th century: "This region (Samogitia - A.K.) abounds in groves and forests, where one can sometimes see apparitions... There are still many idolaters there who keep in their houses (like household gods) certain snakes with four (short) limbs, resembling lizards, with black fat bodies, no more than three feet long; they are called giwoites... On established days, they perform purification rituals in their homes, and when the snakes crawl to the food provided, the entire family reveres them with fear until they return to their place satiated. If any misfortune befalls them, they attribute it to not feeding and treating the domestic deity (snake) well." Such a creature likely served as the prototype for the monster depicted on the shield placed in the portrait of Vasily III, which we find in Sigismund von Herberstein's book "Rerum moscoviticarum commentarij..." (1556).
In the 13th volume of the Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles, we can find the following entry dated 1582: "That same year, fierce crocodiles emerged from the river and blocked the path; they devoured many people. The people were terrified and prayed to God throughout the land. They hid away again, and some were killed. In the same year, Prince Ivan Ivanovich appeared in the Settlement on the 14th day of December." It is worth noting that this is not about the "domesticated" deified "giwoites," but about a real invasion of crocodile-builders.
Here is another record from that time, made by the agent of the English Trading Company, Jerome Horsey. In 1589, in Poland on the way to Russia, he witnessed the following event, recorded in his diary: "I left Warsaw in the evening, crossed the river, where a venomous dead crocodile lay on the shore, and my men speared its belly. The stench spread so much that I was poisoned by it and lay sick in the nearest village, where I received such sympathy and Christian help that I miraculously recovered."
The mysterious crocodile-builder, this time named the "Arzamas Monster," reappeared in Russia in the early 18th century. Evidence of this event was found in the archive of the city of Arzamas: "Year 1719, June 4th. A great storm occurred in the district, with a whirlwind and hail, and many cattle and all sorts of wildlife perished... A serpent fell from the sky, burnt by God's wrath, and smelled disgustingly. And, remembering the Decree by the Grace of God of our All-Russian Sovereign Peter Alexeevich from the year 1718 about Kuntshtkamor and the collection of various oddities, monsters, and deformities, heavenly stones, and various wonders, they threw this serpent into a barrel of strong double wine." The paper is signed by the rural commissar Vasily Shtykov. The package apparently never reached the Petersburg Museum. The nature of the "monster" remained unresolved.
SUIS IN INDIA. ACCOUNTS OF CONTEMPORARIES
Now we have a very modern testimony from three Orthodox Orientalists - the sinologist Priest Dionysius Pozdnyaev, the indologist Priest Vitaly Zubkov, and N. R. Lidov, a member of the executive committee of the Society for Cultural Ties with India, who visited India: "On February 18, 1998, at 8:30, we headed to the most revered Hindu sacred city of Varanasi, where Hindus cremate their deceased on the banks of the Ganges. The city is dedicated to the god-destroyer Shiva... We approached the site of the cremations. Our boatman became nervous. The atmosphere around was oppressive and alarming. Then we saw in the water the back of a huge animal or fish the size of a large buffalo with a bony fin. Next, a head appeared resembling a gharial crocodile with a high forehead, a long elongated snout, and a thickening at the tip of the nose resembling an elephant trunk. After a minute, we saw a snake-like tail, resembling a very large python with a fin on the tail. The creature was a gray-steel color. The boatman was greatly frightened and in response to our question, he chattered his teeth, saying that it is a dolphin that eats unburned and half-burned bodies, and sometimes takes and carries away living people who perform ablutions in the Ganges. He also informed us that these "dolphins" have been living here for many centuries. When we asked him if these creatures were related to the cremations on the bank, he spoke like a person in a somnambulistic trance. Here are his words: "The burning of the deceased on the banks of the Ganges changes the karma of a person, and not only a person but also the karma of the country. The more people are cremated on the banks of the Ganges, the more energy India receives. If the cremations on the banks of the Ganges cease, India will disappear. Men should be burned so that the bone on the hand or leg is visible. And women should be burned so that the bone on the back or rib is visible. Then everything that remains is thrown into the Ganges. This makes us stronger, we all live because these bodies are thrown into the Ganges." He spoke all this like a memorized formula, without emotions and intonations. At the hotel, we inquired about the "dolphins." A young man told us that they are not dolphins, but "suis." He fairly accurately described what we saw but then hurriedly remarked that they are not found here. And when I tried to find out whether it was a fish or an animal, he replied "no" and quickly changed the subject... What we saw was by no means a dolphin but bore the Indian name "suis" or "susamar" (which translates from Sanskrit as "one to whom death is offered as a gift" or "evil demon to whom offerings are made"). In the Central Museum of Calcutta, on one of the reliefs of an ancient Buddhist stupa, we found an image of this creature" (Orthodox Missionaries in India, 1998).
Thus, we have significant grounds to believe that the figure of the lizard-crocodile is not merely a symbolic form of folk mythology.
The toponyms of many lakes and rivers in the Northwest are associated with the lizard-crocodile, for example: the Yashera River, Lake Yashino, populated areas Yashera, Malaya Yashera, and others. In the vicinity of Moscow, we can point out the Spas-Crocodile Monastery near Klin (now the village of Spas-Krokodilino).
PAGAN REFORM OF 980 - THE SHIFT OF CULTS SNAKE-LIZARD-CROCODILE AND FIGHTING OF SNAKES
Returning to the question of the true content of the pagan reform of 980, during which the cult of the new pan-Russian deity Perun was established, replacing the cult of the underwater (reptilian) deity (lizard-crocodile), it should be noted several important circumstances that may shed some light on the possible cause of what happened.
Firstly, unlike the folk cult of Veles, the cult of Perun - the princely-warrior cult of the Kiev Igorovic - that is, a military cult.
Secondly, this leading cult was distant from both the Slavs and the Finno-Ugric tribes of the northeast. Here, there were their own traditions, going back, as emphasized by B. A. Rybakov, to a deeper historical layer of beliefs than Slavic agricultural paganism.
And the third circumstance - Adam Olearius, who visited Novgorod in 1654, describes the idol of Perun, set up by Dobrynya, as follows: "This deity had the appearance of a human with flint in hand, resembling a thundering arrow (lightning) or ray. In worship of this deity, an indelible fire was maintained, made from oak wood, that never went out, day or night. And if the attendant allowed the fire to go out inadvertently, he was punished by death." Thus, we are talking about a thunder god - a traditional "opponent" of the snake-lizard-dragon.
From this, we can assume that we are dealing with a manifestation of the ancient antagonism between two purely archaic cults, one of which is associated with the image (or, if you will, the persona) of the "snake-lizard-crocodile," while the other may be linked to the tradition of tribal (dynastic) struggle against snakes or fighting with dragons, rooted in the figures of divine heroes, subsequently legitimized in a new (Christian) religious paradigm through the image of Saint George the Victorious.
SOURCE:
https://www.alpha-omega.su/index/0-384
