Russian incantations
Jan 4, 2010 15:24:10 GMT -5
Post by af on Jan 4, 2010 15:24:10 GMT -5
Russian incantations
with the help of article "RUSSIAN RITUAL INCANTATIONS: TRADITION, DIVERSITY, AND CONTINUITY" Joseph L. Conrad, The University of Kansas
First I would like to say that the roots of modern russian incantations and rituals are pagan, but with coming of Christianity it got a great christian impact. For example, in christian-influenced charms the name of the object of the charm is usually "God's servant (here comes name with with a person is baptized)".
Nowadays many people turn to witches (usually old women living in village) to solve their problems.
Many scholars collected and researched russian incantations of the recent centuries. Early treatments were undertaken by Dal', Krusevskij, Mansikka, V. F. Miller, Poznanskij, Zelinskij, Astaxova, and Bogatyrev. Extensive collections were compiled by Majkov, Vetuxov, Vinogradov, and Zabylin. More recently, in the post-World War II period, Cernov, Dmitrieva, Il'inskaja, Petrov, Sokolova, N. I. and S. M. Tolstoj, Toporov, Vinogradova, Vlasova, and Zyrjanov have investigated Russian charms, their style and their components.
Terminology
The most common term for incantation is zagovor. Nagovor and zaklinanie which refer to negative spells or curses to be cast on someone or some thing. A prisushka is a love charm, otsushka its opposite. Obereg may refer to a protective spoken charm but normally signifies an amulet.
The terms for sorcerer/witch are vedun/ved'ma, znahar/znaharka (those who cure ilness), koldun/koldun'a etc.
Witches and sorcerers (either male or female) are said to be old and ugly, and are identified in the village by their bushy eyebrows, unkempt hair, and evil smiles; their personality is said to be generally morose, which is reflected in their troubled look. They do not look straight in eyes. They are often heard mumbling incomprehensible words or muttering curses. A common activity of witches is to put the Evil Eye (sglaz, durnoj glaz, prizor, prikos, or urok) on babies and young animals and crops.
Types of incantations
Russian incantations can be divided into three categories (1) medicinal charms, or those for healing and harming; (2) social and amatory charms, especially those to induce or remove love in others; and (3) occupational charms associated with various professions, e.g., for improved crops and fertility of livestock, successful hunting, fishing, bee-keeping, etc. Although in the folk mind, conjurers possess the means to achieve almost anything desired by a client.
Charm Structure
Traditionally, incantation has definite structure and can be divided into following parts (although often some parts are omitted):
1. introduction (zachin) - pagan or Christian formula, introducing a witch to the mythical world of Slavic folklore. Or in terms of Mircea Eliade, transfers from profane to sacred.
For example, pagan formula "I will to out to ...(some sacred place is put here)". This place can be "good" (it can be open (clear) field in a case of "good" charm - e.g. healing, or charm for luck, and deep forest or swamp in a case of "evil" charm (black magic). Love charms are usually considered as black magic, cause they work against victim's will. Other sacred locales are Ocean-sea, Bujan's island etc.
Or there may be a Christian zachin "I will rise blessing myself, I will go crossing myself" (in a case of "good" charm), or "I will rise not blessing myself, I will go not crossing myself" in a case of "evil" charm). As the said action is equal to a real action in mythological mind, these actions (to go somewhere) are not needed to do.
2. exposition - describing the disease or problem, enumerating of designations, mythic lands, magic helpers etc, and ritual actions to be undertaken.
Among the sacred personages of Russian charms we find:
- one or more young beautiful (red) women (krasny devicy/devuski/sestricy). In similar charms the krasna devica may be replaced by the Christian "Most Holy Mother of God" (Presvjataja Bogorodica).
- Christian personages, like Christ, Sts. George, John, Michael, Peter, and Spring Nicholas
- personalized nature, like the elements of earth, fire, water and wind, also "beautiful sun" (krasnoe solnce), the "bright moon" (svetlyj/jasnyj mesjac) and the "many stars" (dastye zvezdy).
- mythical animals - a fierce mythological serpent (ognennyj zmej), a black raven, an eagle, a pike, the Ocean Tsar (Morskoj car'), the Miraculous Steed (Cudesnyj kon')
- devil himself (chert), or devils, demons
etc
3. expulsion - dispatch of the spell to distant anti-worlds, where spirits, animals and humans do not behave as expected or command for Here can be included a formula of comparison "as...as...". For example "Just as the corpse feels no pain, so shall God's servant (name) feel no ache".
4. ratification (zakrepka) - pre-Christian "May my word be hard and firm," "Lock and key", "lock and key, forever and ever" etc. and/or Christian "Amen", three times. Or "In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit"
Certain "sympathetic" epithets are common to charms; by their very mention they call forth positive or negative images in the folk mind. Examples: ancient/primeval/ dormant, broad/expansive, tall/gigantic, dry/infertile/pining, damp/fertile etc. Tautological combinations double the images' power (miserable misery [toska-toskuchaja], and parched parchedness [suhota suxotuchaja]).
Also we find magic numbers, especially three, seven, nine, twelve, and seventy seven, which increase the power of a given charm in proportion to the frequency of their occurrence.
In most cases incantations are accompanied with ritual actions. This is a large topic actually, but we can say few words about it.
For example, exorcist's techniques are numerous, and often repellent. "Washing away" (smyvanie) the affliction is accomplished with water blessed by dunking a cross in it.
A variant of this ritual involves "wiping away" (smaxivanie) the evil with a wet rag from the same water. "Smoking out" (vykurivanie) the ill involves the fumigation of the sick person and his/her room with a pot of burning herbs
Transferral (peredacha) involves partitive magic whereby a bit of fingernail or a lock of the afflicted's hair is used in the charming rituals and then wrapped in a small paper bag and set to float downstream in a river, so that the victim will be rid of the problem.
Imitative magic, whereby, for example, a sty on the eye may be addressed as jachmen' (barley), is used in the curing ritual called "pecking out" (vyklevyvanie). One or more grains of barley are given to the victim and then are fed to a rooster or hen. Just as the grain disappears, so should the sty go away.
Talking about black magic, porcha (damage) could be brought on by contact with powders and herbs secretly provided by the village koldun (sorcerer). Therefore, many foods (e.g., bread, salt, water, root vegetables, etc.) intended for the victim were routinely the subject of negative spells (nagovory) pronounced by a koldun. Likewise, parts of the intended victim's body (his/her fingernails, hairs, even the dirt from his footprints) were collected and then burned in the hearth at the time of the ritual ceremony.
As I've already said, all magic actions can be divided into good and evil. East is associated with good (cause the sun rises there), and west with evil (contrary). So a witch should turn to the east casting a good spell, and to the west casting an evil one.
Time plays important role too. Evil things are done at night (the sun shall not see it). Good things are often done during a morning dawn.
There is a definite symbolism of the moon. During a rising moon there should be done ritual for beginning something, awaken love, fertility etc. And during a waning moon there should be done rituals for destroying anything, either desease or someone's happiness.
In the same way, clockwise is associated with making things go, and counterclockwise with stopping something (e.g. disease), reversing, it is also often used while doing rituals.
Examples
Some Russian oral charms are quite short and are essentially only an emphatic command. It can be just a brief command, like "Devil, don't cross these lines three!" (drawing three circles on the ground around oneself to keep malevolent spirits away). Or like this prayer-like plea to a spirit to remove melancholy (toska) is uttered while facing the dawn or twilight:
"Take from me this sadness and sorrow and great woe".
Let's see some other examples from the article:
"A woman was walking on the road; she led a dog behind her; the woman fell, the dog was lost; blood stop, flow no more"
The initial narrated actions, which cease abruptly, are intended, by sympathetic magic, to cause the blood to stop and, for good measure, the znahar' commands it to do so.
A raven, the black bird of death, is invoked (for the dead do not bleed) and the image is reinforced by introducing the distant Black Sea as a magic locale. The silken thread, used in other charms for stemming the flow of blood, is here commanded to break away, and the blood to cease flowing:
"Across the Black Sea flies a raven, (it) bears a silken thread; you, thread, break off, and you, blood, stop"
A slightly longer, and perhaps more representative, narrative charm to stem the flow of blood contains many features typical of Russian incantations, and includes a final imperative:
"O Lord, bless (me) and charm this blood from the sharp knife, from the steel knife. On the sea, on the ocean, on the island of Bujan, a casket stands there, (and) on that casket there sits a red maiden, in her hands are silken threads, (she) sews the threads, and binds the bloody wounds. Raven, don't caw, and you, blood, don't flow. Amen".
This charm begins with an appeal to the Christian God, and a plea for His blessing; but its power comes largely from references to the pagan strength of the mysterious island of Bujan and forged iron and steel, from associations of the mythic casket for the dead, and from the craft of the beautiful ("red") maiden.
The following charm is to make blood clot too:
"On the ocean, on the sea, on the island of Bujan there lies a white burning stone Alatyr', on that stone, Alatyr', there sits a red maiden, a master seamstress, she holds a steel needle, threads it with a silken thread, into the dark-yellow blood, she sews the bloody wounds. I do charm the cut away from the servant (name). Steel stand back, and you, blood, cease to flow"
Here the healer's incantation calls to mind the distant island of Bujan and its altar stone for their magic power, the skillful maiden-seamstress who clots the blood and binds the skin, and the forged steel needle which imparts its magic strength to seal the action as well. But noticeably absent are Christian introductory formula and a final "Amen."
Another example:
"I will rise, servant of God (name), blessing myself, I will go, crossing myself, from the hut by way of the doors, from the yard by way of the gates, into the open field beyond the gates. In the open field there stands a holy ocean-stone, on that holy ocean-stone there sits a red maiden with a silken thread, she sews the wound, removes the sting, and charms the blood of God's servant (name), and so that there be no more stinging, nor breaking, nor swelling, by my word, lock and key, from now to forever. Amen"
The structure of this example is typical of many (published) charms in that it consists of the standard Christian introductory formula, a narrative portion involving a mythic helper in distant space, and the "lock and key" plus Christian ratification.
Some incantations have a form of a dialog (very similar to Sumerian incantations):
"By the road, by the path stands a tree, under this tree there lies a dead body, and alongside that body comes St. Antipius and says: "Why are you, dead body, lying around, don't your teeth ache, don't your ribs crack, aren't worms gnawing you, aren't you bleeding?" "They don't ache." You, teeth, grow numb in God's servant (name), just as in that dead body, make it firm, O Lord, stronger than stone"
In love charms (prisushki) a frequent image is that of a fiery oven (ognennaja pec') to make the desired person burn with passion or dry up with longing for the intended mate, as in the following:
"In the name of the Father and Son and Holy Ghost, Amen. A fire burns in the hearth, it singes, it blazes, it smolders (in) the wood; so should smolder and burn the heart of God's servant (name) for God's servant (name) the whole day, by every hour, always, now and eternally".
Love charms may be very simple, as in the following, prayer-like example, including a command for denial or rejection of normal activities:
"Just as God's Servant (man's name) loves God's servant (woman's name), let it be that God's servant (woman's name) cannot live without him, nor drink, nor eat, but love him and consider him better than her father and mother, better than the white moon and bright clear sun, forever and ever, from now on and for ever to the end of her days. Amen"
Not unexpectedly, charms intended to make someone cease loving call on negative images, i.e., not upon Christian but on demonic spirits to work their spells:
"The devil goes by water, the wolf by mountain; they do not come together, do not think the same thoughts or have the same ideas, sow no seeds, speak no fertile words. Thus God's servants (names) do not think the same thoughts, do not sow the same seeds, speak no fertile words, but should live like a cat with a dog"
In such negative spells (zaklinanija, nagovory) Christ, the Virgin Mary, and other saints are rarely called upon; rather we find invocation of nechistye sily (the devil, demons and their ilk), as in the following incantation to Satan to separate a husband from his wife:
"I will rise, devil's servant (name), not blessing myself, I will go, not crossing myself, from the doors and out the doors, from the gates out the gates, like a bridegroom, and will go out into the clear field, into the devil's marsh. In the clear field there stands a fir-tree, and on that fir sit forty-forties-Satan's host. And in the devil's swamp there is a white altar stone, and on the white altar stone sits Satan himself, I will go, servant, to that white altar stone and bow will I, servant (name), to Satan himself and will ask him: "Ah you, powerful Satan, just as you were able to bring together (names of the husband and wife), so know how to make them part, so that they should not love each other, would beat each other and sometimes cut each other with a knife. I am of course your slave, your servant, and by this day, and by this hour, and by my word, forever and ever."
with the help of article "RUSSIAN RITUAL INCANTATIONS: TRADITION, DIVERSITY, AND CONTINUITY" Joseph L. Conrad, The University of Kansas
First I would like to say that the roots of modern russian incantations and rituals are pagan, but with coming of Christianity it got a great christian impact. For example, in christian-influenced charms the name of the object of the charm is usually "God's servant (here comes name with with a person is baptized)".
Nowadays many people turn to witches (usually old women living in village) to solve their problems.
Many scholars collected and researched russian incantations of the recent centuries. Early treatments were undertaken by Dal', Krusevskij, Mansikka, V. F. Miller, Poznanskij, Zelinskij, Astaxova, and Bogatyrev. Extensive collections were compiled by Majkov, Vetuxov, Vinogradov, and Zabylin. More recently, in the post-World War II period, Cernov, Dmitrieva, Il'inskaja, Petrov, Sokolova, N. I. and S. M. Tolstoj, Toporov, Vinogradova, Vlasova, and Zyrjanov have investigated Russian charms, their style and their components.
Terminology
The most common term for incantation is zagovor. Nagovor and zaklinanie which refer to negative spells or curses to be cast on someone or some thing. A prisushka is a love charm, otsushka its opposite. Obereg may refer to a protective spoken charm but normally signifies an amulet.
The terms for sorcerer/witch are vedun/ved'ma, znahar/znaharka (those who cure ilness), koldun/koldun'a etc.
Witches and sorcerers (either male or female) are said to be old and ugly, and are identified in the village by their bushy eyebrows, unkempt hair, and evil smiles; their personality is said to be generally morose, which is reflected in their troubled look. They do not look straight in eyes. They are often heard mumbling incomprehensible words or muttering curses. A common activity of witches is to put the Evil Eye (sglaz, durnoj glaz, prizor, prikos, or urok) on babies and young animals and crops.
Types of incantations
Russian incantations can be divided into three categories (1) medicinal charms, or those for healing and harming; (2) social and amatory charms, especially those to induce or remove love in others; and (3) occupational charms associated with various professions, e.g., for improved crops and fertility of livestock, successful hunting, fishing, bee-keeping, etc. Although in the folk mind, conjurers possess the means to achieve almost anything desired by a client.
Charm Structure
Traditionally, incantation has definite structure and can be divided into following parts (although often some parts are omitted):
1. introduction (zachin) - pagan or Christian formula, introducing a witch to the mythical world of Slavic folklore. Or in terms of Mircea Eliade, transfers from profane to sacred.
For example, pagan formula "I will to out to ...(some sacred place is put here)". This place can be "good" (it can be open (clear) field in a case of "good" charm - e.g. healing, or charm for luck, and deep forest or swamp in a case of "evil" charm (black magic). Love charms are usually considered as black magic, cause they work against victim's will. Other sacred locales are Ocean-sea, Bujan's island etc.
Or there may be a Christian zachin "I will rise blessing myself, I will go crossing myself" (in a case of "good" charm), or "I will rise not blessing myself, I will go not crossing myself" in a case of "evil" charm). As the said action is equal to a real action in mythological mind, these actions (to go somewhere) are not needed to do.
2. exposition - describing the disease or problem, enumerating of designations, mythic lands, magic helpers etc, and ritual actions to be undertaken.
Among the sacred personages of Russian charms we find:
- one or more young beautiful (red) women (krasny devicy/devuski/sestricy). In similar charms the krasna devica may be replaced by the Christian "Most Holy Mother of God" (Presvjataja Bogorodica).
- Christian personages, like Christ, Sts. George, John, Michael, Peter, and Spring Nicholas
- personalized nature, like the elements of earth, fire, water and wind, also "beautiful sun" (krasnoe solnce), the "bright moon" (svetlyj/jasnyj mesjac) and the "many stars" (dastye zvezdy).
- mythical animals - a fierce mythological serpent (ognennyj zmej), a black raven, an eagle, a pike, the Ocean Tsar (Morskoj car'), the Miraculous Steed (Cudesnyj kon')
- devil himself (chert), or devils, demons
etc
3. expulsion - dispatch of the spell to distant anti-worlds, where spirits, animals and humans do not behave as expected or command for Here can be included a formula of comparison "as...as...". For example "Just as the corpse feels no pain, so shall God's servant (name) feel no ache".
4. ratification (zakrepka) - pre-Christian "May my word be hard and firm," "Lock and key", "lock and key, forever and ever" etc. and/or Christian "Amen", three times. Or "In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit"
Certain "sympathetic" epithets are common to charms; by their very mention they call forth positive or negative images in the folk mind. Examples: ancient/primeval/ dormant, broad/expansive, tall/gigantic, dry/infertile/pining, damp/fertile etc. Tautological combinations double the images' power (miserable misery [toska-toskuchaja], and parched parchedness [suhota suxotuchaja]).
Also we find magic numbers, especially three, seven, nine, twelve, and seventy seven, which increase the power of a given charm in proportion to the frequency of their occurrence.
In most cases incantations are accompanied with ritual actions. This is a large topic actually, but we can say few words about it.
For example, exorcist's techniques are numerous, and often repellent. "Washing away" (smyvanie) the affliction is accomplished with water blessed by dunking a cross in it.
A variant of this ritual involves "wiping away" (smaxivanie) the evil with a wet rag from the same water. "Smoking out" (vykurivanie) the ill involves the fumigation of the sick person and his/her room with a pot of burning herbs
Transferral (peredacha) involves partitive magic whereby a bit of fingernail or a lock of the afflicted's hair is used in the charming rituals and then wrapped in a small paper bag and set to float downstream in a river, so that the victim will be rid of the problem.
Imitative magic, whereby, for example, a sty on the eye may be addressed as jachmen' (barley), is used in the curing ritual called "pecking out" (vyklevyvanie). One or more grains of barley are given to the victim and then are fed to a rooster or hen. Just as the grain disappears, so should the sty go away.
Talking about black magic, porcha (damage) could be brought on by contact with powders and herbs secretly provided by the village koldun (sorcerer). Therefore, many foods (e.g., bread, salt, water, root vegetables, etc.) intended for the victim were routinely the subject of negative spells (nagovory) pronounced by a koldun. Likewise, parts of the intended victim's body (his/her fingernails, hairs, even the dirt from his footprints) were collected and then burned in the hearth at the time of the ritual ceremony.
As I've already said, all magic actions can be divided into good and evil. East is associated with good (cause the sun rises there), and west with evil (contrary). So a witch should turn to the east casting a good spell, and to the west casting an evil one.
Time plays important role too. Evil things are done at night (the sun shall not see it). Good things are often done during a morning dawn.
There is a definite symbolism of the moon. During a rising moon there should be done ritual for beginning something, awaken love, fertility etc. And during a waning moon there should be done rituals for destroying anything, either desease or someone's happiness.
In the same way, clockwise is associated with making things go, and counterclockwise with stopping something (e.g. disease), reversing, it is also often used while doing rituals.
Examples
Some Russian oral charms are quite short and are essentially only an emphatic command. It can be just a brief command, like "Devil, don't cross these lines three!" (drawing three circles on the ground around oneself to keep malevolent spirits away). Or like this prayer-like plea to a spirit to remove melancholy (toska) is uttered while facing the dawn or twilight:
"Take from me this sadness and sorrow and great woe".
Let's see some other examples from the article:
"A woman was walking on the road; she led a dog behind her; the woman fell, the dog was lost; blood stop, flow no more"
The initial narrated actions, which cease abruptly, are intended, by sympathetic magic, to cause the blood to stop and, for good measure, the znahar' commands it to do so.
A raven, the black bird of death, is invoked (for the dead do not bleed) and the image is reinforced by introducing the distant Black Sea as a magic locale. The silken thread, used in other charms for stemming the flow of blood, is here commanded to break away, and the blood to cease flowing:
"Across the Black Sea flies a raven, (it) bears a silken thread; you, thread, break off, and you, blood, stop"
A slightly longer, and perhaps more representative, narrative charm to stem the flow of blood contains many features typical of Russian incantations, and includes a final imperative:
"O Lord, bless (me) and charm this blood from the sharp knife, from the steel knife. On the sea, on the ocean, on the island of Bujan, a casket stands there, (and) on that casket there sits a red maiden, in her hands are silken threads, (she) sews the threads, and binds the bloody wounds. Raven, don't caw, and you, blood, don't flow. Amen".
This charm begins with an appeal to the Christian God, and a plea for His blessing; but its power comes largely from references to the pagan strength of the mysterious island of Bujan and forged iron and steel, from associations of the mythic casket for the dead, and from the craft of the beautiful ("red") maiden.
The following charm is to make blood clot too:
"On the ocean, on the sea, on the island of Bujan there lies a white burning stone Alatyr', on that stone, Alatyr', there sits a red maiden, a master seamstress, she holds a steel needle, threads it with a silken thread, into the dark-yellow blood, she sews the bloody wounds. I do charm the cut away from the servant (name). Steel stand back, and you, blood, cease to flow"
Here the healer's incantation calls to mind the distant island of Bujan and its altar stone for their magic power, the skillful maiden-seamstress who clots the blood and binds the skin, and the forged steel needle which imparts its magic strength to seal the action as well. But noticeably absent are Christian introductory formula and a final "Amen."
Another example:
"I will rise, servant of God (name), blessing myself, I will go, crossing myself, from the hut by way of the doors, from the yard by way of the gates, into the open field beyond the gates. In the open field there stands a holy ocean-stone, on that holy ocean-stone there sits a red maiden with a silken thread, she sews the wound, removes the sting, and charms the blood of God's servant (name), and so that there be no more stinging, nor breaking, nor swelling, by my word, lock and key, from now to forever. Amen"
The structure of this example is typical of many (published) charms in that it consists of the standard Christian introductory formula, a narrative portion involving a mythic helper in distant space, and the "lock and key" plus Christian ratification.
Some incantations have a form of a dialog (very similar to Sumerian incantations):
"By the road, by the path stands a tree, under this tree there lies a dead body, and alongside that body comes St. Antipius and says: "Why are you, dead body, lying around, don't your teeth ache, don't your ribs crack, aren't worms gnawing you, aren't you bleeding?" "They don't ache." You, teeth, grow numb in God's servant (name), just as in that dead body, make it firm, O Lord, stronger than stone"
In love charms (prisushki) a frequent image is that of a fiery oven (ognennaja pec') to make the desired person burn with passion or dry up with longing for the intended mate, as in the following:
"In the name of the Father and Son and Holy Ghost, Amen. A fire burns in the hearth, it singes, it blazes, it smolders (in) the wood; so should smolder and burn the heart of God's servant (name) for God's servant (name) the whole day, by every hour, always, now and eternally".
Love charms may be very simple, as in the following, prayer-like example, including a command for denial or rejection of normal activities:
"Just as God's Servant (man's name) loves God's servant (woman's name), let it be that God's servant (woman's name) cannot live without him, nor drink, nor eat, but love him and consider him better than her father and mother, better than the white moon and bright clear sun, forever and ever, from now on and for ever to the end of her days. Amen"
Not unexpectedly, charms intended to make someone cease loving call on negative images, i.e., not upon Christian but on demonic spirits to work their spells:
"The devil goes by water, the wolf by mountain; they do not come together, do not think the same thoughts or have the same ideas, sow no seeds, speak no fertile words. Thus God's servants (names) do not think the same thoughts, do not sow the same seeds, speak no fertile words, but should live like a cat with a dog"
In such negative spells (zaklinanija, nagovory) Christ, the Virgin Mary, and other saints are rarely called upon; rather we find invocation of nechistye sily (the devil, demons and their ilk), as in the following incantation to Satan to separate a husband from his wife:
"I will rise, devil's servant (name), not blessing myself, I will go, not crossing myself, from the doors and out the doors, from the gates out the gates, like a bridegroom, and will go out into the clear field, into the devil's marsh. In the clear field there stands a fir-tree, and on that fir sit forty-forties-Satan's host. And in the devil's swamp there is a white altar stone, and on the white altar stone sits Satan himself, I will go, servant, to that white altar stone and bow will I, servant (name), to Satan himself and will ask him: "Ah you, powerful Satan, just as you were able to bring together (names of the husband and wife), so know how to make them part, so that they should not love each other, would beat each other and sometimes cut each other with a knife. I am of course your slave, your servant, and by this day, and by this hour, and by my word, forever and ever."