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Fiery serpents

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A fiery dragon (meteorite) that fell from the sky in 1091[1] during Vsevolod Yaroslavich's hunt near Vyshgorod ― Radziwiłł Chronicle[2]
Not to be confused with Fiery flying serpent.

The Fiery Serpent (огненный змей, ognennyy zmey, ognennyi zmei; змей огненный zmei oognennyi)[3] is an evil spirit in Russian folklore.

It has counterparts in the Ukraine and Poland as well.

Nomenclature

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In Russia, the ognennyi zmei is also known as the zmey lyubak (змей-любак, 'serpent-lyubak'), nalotnik (налётник, 'raider'),[3][4] nalot (налёт, 'raid'),[4] letun (летун, 'flyer'),[4] or letuchiy (летучий, 'flying one').[4] Also man'yak (маньяк, 'beckoner' <"манить 'to beckon')[5] or prelestnik (прелестник, 'charmer').[5]

In the Ukraine, the perelesnyk (Перелесник, 'tempter, seducer';[6] var. perevésnyk переве́сник[7][9]), aka pervonach (Первонач), is a demon in the form of a fiery snake (meteor) that flies towards women.[6] It is also called litávetsʹ (літа́вець, 'flying one'),[3][a] litún (літу́н, 'flyer'),[10] nalít (налі́т, 'raid'),[10] or nalítnyk (налі́тник, 'raider').[10] The pan-Slavic "fiery serpent" has been termed vohnyanyy zmiy (вогняний змій) in Ukrainian.[11]

The Belarus form is lietučij zmiej (летучий змей) for "flying serpent".[12]

In the Serbian epic ballads, it is referred to as the ognyanik,[11] or zmaj ognjeni "fiery dragon".[13]

The Polish cognate is latawiec,[3] ('the flying one') which is associated with the wind.

Description

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Demons took on various shapes, and the Fiery Serpent of the East and West Slavs, as well as the Flying Serpent (Russian: змей летающий; zmey letayushchiy) of the Southern Slavs appeared as serpents in air, and as humans on ground.[14]

In East Slavic tradition, the Fiery Serpent generally resembles a fiery shaft (a "fiery carrying pole", Russian: коромысло), a flaming broom, or a glowing ball of blue fire.[4] It releases sparks during its flight and enters (the woman's) house through the chimney.[4]

The serpent may bring gifts, but those gifts turn to horse manure at sunrise (Russian, west-Ukrainian).[15][4]

The evil spirit reputedly visits the woman at night-time[16] (this may be a literary convention. cf. Fet's poem, § Fiery serpents in literature). Women who were widowed, or separated from her husband was particularly vulnerable to having affairs with this certain type of devil,[4][17][16] because the devil will assume the shape of the dead or absentee husband.[3] In their grief, and their desperation to be rejoined with their lost love, women do not recognize the serpent and become convinced that their lover has returned.[citation needed]

It is told that those who are visited by the serpent experience weight loss, exhibit signs of insanity and eventually commit suicide,[15] or wither and die.[16] In addition, victims of the serpent often experience hallucinations, including visions of supernatural torment, such as suckling on breasts which excrete blood rather than milk.[citation needed]

There are several ways to distinguish and identify the fiery serpent. Like any demon, it has no spinal cord (Russian).[18] and a woman can test if it is the real husband by feeling for his spine.[16] It cannot correctly pronounce sacred Christian names, such as "Jesus Christ" (Иисус Христос) the serpent may say "Sus Christ" (Сус Христос), and instead of Bogoroditsa (Богородица, Mother of God) it can only say Chudoroditsa (Чудородица).[15][4] Other sources say the fiery serpent lacks the ability to hear and speak properly.[citation needed] And though the body may be human, it is multi-headed (Voronezh, Ukraine).[15][4]

Superstition prescribes certain ways to ward against the devil, for example, the magical odolen [ru] herb (possibly valerian), or a decoction of burdock or its root stuck on the wall may serve as amulet (Russia).[15][4] Reading the Psalter in a house where the serpent has already visited may help; or making the sign of the cross at entry points, such as window, door or stovepipe.[15][4]

Mythology also tells that the Fiery Serpent had a son by a human woman, and she bore a werewolf (оборотень), the Fiery Serpent Wolf (Zmei Ognennyi Volk; Змей Огненный Волк). This son combatted and defeated his father.[19][20][21] In Serbian epic, the hero "Zmaj Ognjeni Vuk" (Змај Огњени Вук "Vuk the Fire Serpent/Dragon"; Vuk means "wolf") is associated with the historical Vuk Grgurević.[22][23]

Thus women can have the fiery serpent's children, and illegitimate births are still often explained as such devil spawn.[16] If a woman conceives a child with such a devil, the pregnancy will be exceedingly long, and the child will be born with black skin, with hooves instead of feet, eyes without eyelids and a cold body (Russia), or its body will be cold and jelly-like (East Ukraine). Such births are not viable, and the children die.[15]

Historic examples

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An early sighting of the "fiery serpent" was recorded in a chronicle entry for the year 1092, which tells that the clouds darkened, and a great, three-headed snake with the heads aflame craned out of it, issuing fumes and noises, according to Ukraine writer Oleksiy Kononenko [uk].[11] The year 1092 was one of calamaities in Kievan Russia and Polotsk in Belarus according to the Primary Chronicle.[24][26][2]

The preceding year, 1091, was also fraught with portents, such as the solar eclipse. Vsevolod Yaroslavich during hunt near Vyshgorod in 1091, witnessed a dragon-meteorite falling from the sky, as illustrated in the Radziwiłł Chronicle copy of the Primary Chronicle (Cf. fig. at top),[27][28] which has been recognized as an instance of a "fiery dragon" sighting.[1][2]

The origin of the image

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"Fiery serpents" – a flying bolide meteor

The association of shooting stars, bolides, and comets, with the fiery serpent is pan-Slavic (cf. § Historic examples, § Serbia), including Belarus,[29] and association with bolides, meteorites and such heavenly stones among the East Slavs[1] is not unique to that region.

According to Russian folk belief (around Tula), when the archangel Michael cast down the fallen angels, some of these devils evaded falling down to earth, and remained flying in the atmosphere in the form of fiery serpents.[31]

Russia

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One story recounts how the flying serpent had an affair with a certain woman, but would remove his wings and tuck them under the roof, before entering her house and making his dalliances. A gypsy (cygán) noticed and hid the wings, compelling the serpent never to see the woman again (Tula Governorate).[30]

A shooting star in the steppes is considered a "fiery serpent" according to folk belief.[11] An incident is recollected by Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Cherkasov [ru], mine engineer and writer that when a meteor streaked the sky in the Siberian taiga, workers started shouting "zmei (serpent)!" as the meteor was called ognennyi zmei colloquially, and the older men took them to be either a good or bad omen.[32]

Ukraine

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According to Eastern Ukrainian legends, whilst traveling, the fiery serpent strews beautiful gifts along the road to lure grieving women and villagers, including beads, rings, belts/girdles and handkerchiefs/headscarves.[b] If the woman then picks it up, the evil spirit will fly to her.[15]

In the Ukraine, there is also the belief that the spirit of the dead husband turns into a perelesnyk and visits the bereaved wife, especially if the widow's yearning for him is strong, visiting his grave frequently, etc.[10] But the perelesnyk is harmful, draining her by drinking blood, or suffocating her. He is difficult to eradicate, requiring the service of a vorozhbyt [uk] (ворожбит, soothsayer) with a spell or potion.[10]

Belarus

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The flying fiery spirit of Belarus exhibit two aspects, that of the wealth-bringing spirit and that of the "mythological lover" (i.e., mythological creature as lover).[33]

Serbia

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In Serbia, a fire serpent is classed as a being in the "dragon-meteorite" category, which is generally benevolent and can mate with human females, but are also blamed for droughts when they overstay their welcome.[22]

It is also contended the Serbian epic ballads call it ognjanik or ognyanik (огњаник, which could mean 'fireworks'). This South Slavic ognyanik dwells in mountain caves, sometimes above the clouds. The dragon is covered in scales, and breathes fire, sometimes its mouth glinting like a flash of lightning. The ognyanik of legend has heroic prowess, hoards treasures, knows herbal lore including aphrodisiacs, charms women.[11][better source needed]

There is Serbian epic song entitled "Zmaj ognjeni i troglav Arapin (The fiery dragon and the three-headed Arab)".[13]

Poland

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The Polish version is latawiec[34] ('the flying one'[35]) which was originally an air spirit that could conjure up winds,[36] and regarded as a sort of bird with plumage, though the witch's endeared one is described as a hairy little man, also appearing in the guise of a serpent.[35] There is conflation between the demon latawiec and the house sprite skrzat (cf. Schrat. The latawiec-skrzat demands milk kasha (kaszą) or porridge, but it must not be too hot or it will anger the spirit.[36]

Fiery serpents in literature

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Myths about the fiery serpent are found in Serbian epic songs[11] as well as Russian bylinas, and fairy tales.

There as been recorded the spell or zagovory (заговор) to protect a woman against the incursion of the flying serpent, and the lengthy recitation names the "fiery serpent".[37] Another spell, for a military man going to war, also invokes the "fiery serpent".[38] There is an incantation (Ukrainian: Замовляння, zamovlyannya) acting as a love charm, where the fire serpent is supposed to act as a magical creature which arouses a woman's passion.[11]

In The Tale of Peter and Fevronia (16th century), this devil in serpent form flew to the wife of Prince Pavel, brother of Prince Peter of Murom.[4][11]

The image of a fiery serpent was described by the Russian poet Afanasy Afanasievich Fet in his ballad, Zmei (Змей, "Serpent"), written in 1847, where a young widow is visited by a serpent from the night sky.[39]

The perelesnyk features in the play The Forest Song (1911) by Ukrainian writer Lesia Ukrainka.[10]

Explanatory notes

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  1. ^ Also South Russian літавец.[5]
  2. ^ Russian: "кольцо , бусы , пояс , платок".

See also

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  • Aitvaras – Nature spirit in Lithuanian mythology
  • Drak (mythology) – Infernal familiar and domestic sprite from German folklore
  • Chuvash dragon – Legendary winged fire-breathing and shape-shifting creature in Chuvash legends
  • Incubus – Mythological demon that seduces women
  • Mavka – Female spirit in Ukrainian mythology
  • Wawel Dragon – Creature in Polish folklore
  • Zmei (Russian) – Dragon or serpent in Russian mythology


References

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b c Mezentsev, Vladimir Andreevich [in Russian] (1956). Yest li chudesa v prirode Ест ли чудеса в природе [Are There Miracles in Nature?]. Moscow: Moskovsky Rabochiy. p. 31.
  2. ^ a b c Kolybenko, Olena (27 September 2024). "«Upav zmiy prevelykyy z nebes i vzhakhnulysya lyudy»: litopysy Kyyivsʹkoyi Rusi pro znaky Apokalipsysu" «Упав змій превеликий з небес і вжахнулися люди»: літописи Київської Русі про знаки Апокаліпсису. Pereiaslav City.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Levkievskaya, Elena [in Russian] (1999). "Zmei ognennyi" Змей огненный. In Tolstoy, Nikita Ilyich [in Russian] (ed.). Slavyanskiye drevnosti: Etnolingvisticheskiy slovar Славянские древности: Этнолингвистический словарь [Slavic Antiquities: Ethnolinguistic Dictionary]. Vol. 2. Moscow: Mezhdunarodnyye otnosheniya. pp. 331–332. ISBN 5-7133-0982-7.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Levkievskaya, Elena [in Russian] (2010). Mify i legendy vostochnykh slavyan Мифы и легенды восточных славян [Myths and Legends of the Eastern Slavs]. Illustrated by D. V. Polyakov; O. A. Polyakova. Moscow: Detskaya literatura. ISBN 9785457607705.
  5. ^ a b c Kutenkov, Pavel Ivanovich (2008). Yarga-svastika--znak russkoy narodnoy kul'tury: monografiya Ярга-свастика--знак русской народной культуры [Yarga-swastika--a sign of Russian folk culture: monograph]. Herzen State Pedagogical University. p. 187. ISBN 9785806412677.
  6. ^ a b Hrinchenko, Borys, ed. (1909). "Perelésnyk" Перелесник. Slovarʹ ukrayinsʹkoyi movy: zibrala redaktsiya zhurnalu "Kyevskaya staryna" Словарь української мови: зібрала редакція журналу "Киевская старина" [Dictionary of the Ukrainian language compiled by the editors of the magazine "Kievskaya Staryna"]. Kyiv: N. T. Korchak-Novytsʹkoho. p. 124. Перелесник, ка, м Первонач. значеніе: искуситель. Так называется бѣсъ, въ видѣ огненнаго змѣя (- метеоръ), летающій къ женщинѣ. Russian title: Slovarʹ ukrainskago i︠a︡zyka (Словарь украинского языка)
  7. ^ Hrinchenko (1909), s.v. "Переве́сник (perevésnyk) ", sense 2) = Перелесник
  8. ^ Havlová, Eva (1964). "Slawisch *vьrstva und *vьrstь, vьrsta : ein Beitrag zur slawischen Homonymie". Sborník prací Filozofické fakulty brněnské univerzity. A, Řada jazykovědná. 13 (A12). p. 22. n24). Fulltext@muni.cz
  9. ^ Also Havlová (1964) gives as alternate form perevésnyk,[8] also noting reconstructed ancestral form *per-lьstьnik'ъ,[transliteration verification needed]
  10. ^ a b c d e f Kononenko (2020) s.v. "Perelesnyk (Перелесник)", p. 139
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kononenko, Oleksiy [in Ukrainian], ed. (2020) [2011]. "vohnyanyy zmiy" вогняний змій. Slovarʹ ukrayinsʹkoyi movy: zibrala redaktsiya zhurnalu "Kyevskaya staryna" Словарь української мови: зібрала редакція журналу "Киевская старина" [Dictionary of the Ukrainian language compiled by the editors of the magazine "Kievskaya Staryna"]. Kyiv: Folio. p. 56. ISBN 978-966-03-7906-0.
  12. ^ Boganeva & Kõiva (2020), p. 388.
  13. ^ a b Petranović, Bogoljub [in Serbian], ed. (1870). "4. Zmaj ognjeni i troglav Arapin" Змај огњени и троглав Арапин [The fiery dragon and the three-headed Arab]. Srpske narodne pjesme iz Bosne i Hercegovije Српске народне пјесме из Босне и Херцеговинестарина" [Serbian folk songs from Bosnia and Herzegovina]. Beograd: Državna Štamparija. pp. 27–39.
  14. ^ Levkievskaya (1999) ""Demonologiya narodnaya" Демонология народная [Demonological folklore], Slavyanskiye drevnosti 2:
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i Levkievskaya (1999), p. 333.
  16. ^ a b c d e Lavrentieva, L.S.; Nepomnyashchy, Nikolai (2011) [2004]. Russkiy narod: kul'tura, obychai, obryady Русский народ: культура, обычаи, обряды [Russian people: culture, customs, rituals]. St. Petersburg: Paritet. p. 112–113. ISBN 978-5-93437-381-9.
  17. ^ a b Ivanits, Linda J. (2015) [1989]. Russian Folk Belief. Routledge. p. 52. ISBN 9781317460398.
  18. ^ "Как и у всех демонов, у него нет спинного хребта ( рус . ) (Like all demons, he has no spine (Russian) )"[15][4]
  19. ^ Levkievskaya, Elena [in Russian] (1995). "Ognennyi zmei" Огненный змей. In Tolstoy, Nikita Ilyich [in Russian] (ed.). Slavyanskaya mifologiya. Entsiklopedicheskiy slovar' Славянская мифология. Энциклопедический словарь [Slavic Mythology. Encyclopedic Dictionary]. Moscow: Ellis Lak. pp. 283–284. ISBN 5-7195-0057-X.
  20. ^ Yudin, Aleksey Valerievich [in Russian] (1999). Russkaya narodnaya dukhovnaya kul'tura Русская народная духовная культура [Russian Folk Spiritual Culture]. Moscow: Vysshaya shkola. p. 94. ISBN 9785060033465.
  21. ^ Kononenko's entry for "fiery serpent" explains this and also supplies a modern illustration of a wolf cub.[11]
  22. ^ a b Meletinsky, Eleazar M. (2013) [1998]. The Poetics of Myth. Translated by Guy Lanoue and Alexandre Sadetsky. New York: Routledge. p. 474. ISBN 0-8153-2134-1.
  23. ^ Ivanits, Linda J. (1966). "The Serbian Zmaj Ognjeni Vuk and the Russian Vselav Epos". Slavic Epic Studies. Gojko Ružičić. The Hague: Mouton & Co. pp. 369–370ff.
  24. ^ Vernadsky, George (1973). Kievan Russia. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 315. ISBN 9780300016475.
  25. ^ Lecouteux, Claude (2011). Phantom Armies of the Night: The Wild Hunt and the Ghostly Processions of the Undead. Translated by Guy Lanoue and Alexandre Sadetsky. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781594778063.
  26. ^ 1092 was the year when the dead turned revenant in Polotsk.[25]
  27. ^ Myshanych, Oleksa Vasylʹovych [in Ukrainian], ed. (1989). Litopys rusʹkyy Літопис руський [Russian Chronicle]. Translated by Makhnovets, Leonyd Efremovych. Dnipro. p. 130. ISBN 9785308000525.
  28. ^ Slipushko, Oksana [in Ukrainian] (2001). Davnʹoukrayinsʹkyy bestiariy (zviroslov): natsionalʹnyy kharakter, suspilʹna moralʹ i dukhovnistʹ davnikh ukrayintsiv u tvarynnykh arkhetypakh, mifakh, symvolakh, emblemakh Давньоукраїнський бестіарій (звірослов): національний характер, суспільна мораль і духовність давніх українців у тваринних архетипах, міфах, символах, емблемах [Ancient Ukrainian bestiary: national character, social morality and spirituality of ancient Ukrainians in animal archetypes, myths, symbols, emblems]. Dnipro. p. 80. ISBN 9789665780748.
  29. ^ Boganeva & Kõiva (2020), pp. 388, 392 citing Avilin (2015), pp. 172–177 and other sources.
  30. ^ a b Kolchin, A. (1899). "Verovaniia krest'ian Tul'skoi gubernii" Верования крестьян Тульской губернии [Beliefs of the peasants of the Tula Governorate]. Etnograficheskoe obozrenie Этнографическое обозрение. 11 (3): 55–56.
  31. ^ Kolchin (1899),[30] cited and given in English by Ivanits.[17]
  32. ^ Cherkasov, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich [in Russian] (2021) [1867]. Zapiski okhotnika Vostochnoy Sibiri Записки охотника Восточной Сибири [Notes of a Hunter of Eastern Siberia]. Strelbytskyy Multimedia Publishing.
  33. ^ Boganeva & Kõiva (2020), p. 387.
  34. ^ Levkievskaya[3] citing Pel.PDL : 47
  35. ^ a b Ostling (2011), p. 222.
  36. ^ a b Brückner (1924), p. 112.
  37. ^ Zabylin, Mikhail M. (1880). Russkīĭ narod, ego obychai, obri͡ady, predanīi͡a, suevi͡erīi͡a i poėzīi͡a Русский народ, его обычаи, обряды, предания, суеверия и поэзия [Russian people, their customs, rituals, legends, superstitions and poetry]. Moscow: M. Berezina. p. 323.
  38. ^ Zabylin (1880), p. 300.
  39. ^ Kuzovkin, Alexander; Nepomnyashchy, Nikolai [in Russian] (14 June 1992). "Ghosts". New Times International. 31: 47.

Bibliography

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