MONSTERS, CRYPTIDS AND SUPERNATURAL CREATURES
BABA YAGA
Baba Jaga, Ježibaba, Paw of Bone, Iaga baba
In Slavic folklore Baba Yaga is a supernatural being, appearing as an old hag who cooks, and devours her victims (usually children). She flies through the forest in a mortar, using the pestle as a rudder, sweeping away the tracks behind her with a broom made from silver birch. She is said to live in a log cabin that moves around on a pair of chicken legs. The keyhole to her front door is a mouth filled with sharp teeth, the fence outside is made from human bones topped with skulls. Often this fence has one pole missing its skull, which is a place where she threatens to mount the hero's skull after eating them. In other legends, the house does not reveal its door until a magical phrase is recited, "Little House, turn your back on the forest and turn towards me." She is said to often accompany Death on his travels, devouring newly released souls. Although she appears as a terrifying creature her depictions vary greatly across tales, ranging from a child-eating monster, to helping those that encounter her or seek her out. She may play a maternal role, having associations with forest wildlife or help a protagonist find his missing bride. Stories about Baba Yaga have been used in teaching children the importance of reverence for nature and the spirit world. They were also used by worried parents in an attempt to frighten children from wondering far from home.
Physiology:
Although she has taken many forms throughout the varied tales, the most common portrayal of Baba Yaga is that of the old hag. She is depicted as ugly and wrinkled, bony, with iron teeth, and a long nose, which in some tales is so long that it touches the ceiling when she sleeps. She has a normal leg and a bone leg, which is why she is often nicknamed "Baba Yaga Paw of Bone". These two legs represent the world of the living and the world of the dead through which she wanders.
She is commonly illustrated as riding around on a mortar rather than a broom, wielding a pestle as both a flying aid .
Etylmology:
In Old Russian, baba could mean "midwife", "sorceress", or "fortune teller". In Polish, Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian and Bulgarian, baba means "grandmother or old woman" Yaga, appears in various Slavic languages. Serbo-Croatian "horror", "shudder", "chill", Slovene "anger"and in Old Church Slavonic meaning "disease", "illness"
History:
The first clear reference to Baba Yaga (Iaga baba) occurs in 1755; Mikhail V. Lomonosov's Rossiiskaia grammatika ('Russian grammar'), as a figure lifted from Slavic folklore. It's likely that her origins derived from many ancient oral tales that later were built upon, frayed and reconstructed into written folk stories
Territory:
Slavic
Origination:
Although there are many tales referencing the figure of Baba Yaga, there unfortunately appears to be no clear explanation as to her origins. Did her journey begin as a lowly human witch, who rose to power through darker means?, is she a force of nature? or was she a supernatural force, possibly created by a greater power? These are questions alongside many others, that will possibly never be answered due to her shattered history.
Nature:
Baba Yaga is a very controversial character. Although she does not appear as a benevolent figure, she is also not entirely evil. She can't be portrayed as a helpful guide who should be approached with caution, but quite often in most Slavic folk tales, she is portrayed as an antagonist, in which she kidnaps children and threatens to eat them.
Modus Operandi:
Baba Yaga comes across as a very frightening and unpredictable character and how she would react to a specific individual is plagued with uncertainty, with the results swinging wildly, depending on her mood that particular day. Arriving on her doorstep in search of aid could be met with generosity, just as easily as it could result in your head ornamenting her fence.
Vulnerability:
It is said that for every question Baba Yaga is asked, she will age one year, which could explain why she is often reluctant to help those whom visit her hut. However, this ageing can be reversed by a potion she creates from blue roses. She is said by some to control the very weather itself and because of this, you are able to tell when she is approaching by hearing the wind whistling and howling through the trees.