The VERY Messed Up Origins™ of Baba Yaga, the Bone Leg | Slavic mythology
The story of Baba Yaga is one of the most striking horror tales in Eastern European folklore. The wicked witch of Slavic folklore kidnaps children and bakes them on her stove for dinner in her famous movable property. At least, that is what we were told. But who is she?
Baba Yaga is a witch who possesses magical artifacts and is endowed with supernatural powers. She lives deep in the woods, in the underworld Nav, near the fire river, and a fence surrounds the Kalinov bridge. Her house with chicken legs, and instead of pots, hanging skulls. At least, that is what we heard in tales. The Slavic community's South and North have their version of Baba Yaga. Still, the time and circumstances called Baptism re-branding changed this folklore character so much. There are a lot of aspects to cover, so we'll start from afar.
How would you imagine Baba Yaga? Probably like an old woman with an unpleasant appearance, but she wasn't like that at all. With time the noun Baba became slang meaning an elderly woman, aka babushka. Currently, it isn't a polite way to refer to a woman. The word's original meaning is any woman or a peasant woman in particular. Yaga, on its own, has many references and often represents unpleasant things. There is a theory that Yaga or Ega means snakes or vipers.
According to the legend, Baba Yaga recommended Veles to seal the heavenly cows from Slavic Heaven Prav, so he did. Fine gods who live in Prav got mad and cursed Yaga. One of her shiny golden boots became a bony leg. Her eternal youth and beauty faded, and she became the woman we know today. No matter how hard Baba Yaga tried to lift the curse, she could not regain what she had lost, even with her knowledge.
Baba Yaga has legs for both worlds: the human realm and the Underworld. Neither human nor dead. Baba Yaga limps, so she uses a mortar and broom as her personal carriage or rides a horse or boar to move around comfortably. Yaga's hut, standing on the edge of two worlds, is a Gate to the Slavic underworld Nav. In tales, the hero asks the hut to turn around, so the door would face the human world instead of the Underworld. There is another interesting cultural reference to the hut with chicken legs. In the Northern Slavic tribes, there was a custom to bury the deceased above the ground, not underground. Due to the climate, the land was freezing stone or the terrain was swampy, so the Slavs would build crypt houses on stumps and put the idol of a woman next to them to look after their relatives.
Baba Yaga can shapeshift into anything, transform you into anything, send a powerful curse, deprive you of life, etc. She is a big foodie with numerous valuable magical artifacts such as Seven-league boots, a Magic Carpet, the Sword Kladenets, the Clew, and a Gusli Samoghudu. Watch my Top 10 magical artifacts in Slavic fairy tales episode to learn more about the artifacts.
I'm sure everyone at this point heard of Baba Yaga's creepy food habits. Surprisingly, there is a reasonable explanation behind this story. The ritual of "perepekanie" or "perepek" was done exclusively on a stove called pechka. An infirm or sick child was washed with spring water, wrapped in dough, and put into a warm, clean oven, which had previously been heated with herbs. The child was baked, aka reborn, so they would pass "sickness" to the dough and be reborn healthy. It was the best cure for the illness in the Northern climate. This rite could be done only by a knowledgeable woman, the Priestess Healer, because only she knew the special dough recipe and could perform the ritual.
Also, pechka was a core part of another Slavic ritual, the initiation. In many tales, the hero comes to Baba-Yaga to save his friend, bride, the world, etc., and she assigns him or her to do tacks, typically household chores. If the hero proved themselves worthy, he or she was rewarded with magical artifacts and advice. That is the point. In short, Slavic kids who are about to grow up come to Baba-Yaga's hut to pass the initiation test and become adults. Baba Yaga is no other than the combined representation of all Slavic tribes' priestesses, the legacy of the matriarchal past. With time and re-branding, this ritual became a horror tale for kids.
If you didn't notice, there was a time when Eastern European lands were blessed with a matriarchal society. It was good times, good times. Please bring it back. And there comes another side of Baba Yaga with even more cultural references. Some fairy tales mention that Baba Yaga has an iron chest, which is nothing but battle armor. She needs that in tales where she is the antagonist and the big boss a hero has to fight.
In the South Slavic version, fairy tales mention that Baba Yaga has an underground kingdom in far, far away land. It is described as "the land beyond the steppe river, among the silken grasses and by the spring water near the sea." It is fair to say that the underground kingdom is based on the tribes of Amazon warriors who lived near the current Sea of Azov. Baba Yaga owns herds of cattle and magical horses in that version, and the hero's goal is to get the horses. She is the Snake Mother who commands the army of dark forces and fights with Slavic warriors, bogatyrs, to seek revenge for her murdered snake sons. Sometimes she has her daughters and daughters-in-law who help her to get rid of the hero with temptations. Usually, they fail in tales, but I respect the soft power House Tyrell move.
We can only track some traces and references in folklore because Baba Yaga covered them with a broom when she traveled in a mortar. But during my research for the Tanais episode, I went to the museum and saw the prototype of the mortar, the Sarmatian pot. I even have a picture of it, but I couldn't add it to the Tanais episode. Do you understand? I saw the prototype of Baba Yaga's mortar!
Anyway, my lyrical digression dedicated to getting excited about the ancient pot is over. Let's keep moving on.
There are many things I didn't emphasize in the episode. Like whether Baba Yaga is a daughter of Viy or not, whether she is a wife of Veles or not, whether she is a sister or sometimes a mother of Zmei Gorynich or not. Baba Yaga's mythological family tree is complicated because there are too many versions at this point. But the canon in tales is only one: Baba Yaga is a strong and independent woman of Slavic folklore, either a harmless and helpful grandmother or an evil witch, depending on the mood, echo of the matriarchal roots and a heritage that we should keep and cherish no matter how terrifying it seems at first glance.
And so far, we have done an excellent job on the cheering part — Baba Yaga is one of the most famous characters of Slavic folklore in Slavic and Western media. She frequently appears in studio Melnitsa cartoons, and her story has been adapted by SMITE, Ever After High, Hellboy, and many others. I'm sure there's more to come. Maybe what we've learned today will inspire creators to show Baba Yaga from another perspective!
Which part of Baba Yaga's origin did you find the most surprising, dandelions?
Tell me in the comments.
