Baba Yaga

Baba Yagais an enigmatic or ambiguous character (or one of a trio of sisters of the same name) fromSlavic folklorewho has two contrasting roles. In some narratives, she is described as a repulsive or ferocious-looking old woman who fries and eats children, while in others she is depicted as a nice old woman who helps the hero.She is often associated with forest wildlife. Her distinctive traits are flying around in a woodenmortar, wielding a pestle, and dwelling deep in the forest in ahutwith chicken legs.
Variations of the nameBaba Yagaare found in manySlavic languages. InSerbo-Croatian,Macedonian,RomanianandBulgarian,babameans 'grandmother' or 'old woman'. In contemporary Polish and Russian,baba/бабаis also apejorativesynonym for 'woman', in particular one who is old, dirty, or foolish. As with other kinship terms in Slavic languages,babamay be used in other ways, potentially as a result oftaboo; it may be applied to various animals, natural phenomena, and objects, such as types of mushrooms, cakes, or pears."Baba"is thought to serve two linguistic purposes in tbe phrase: firstly, it adds a familair component to the lesser-known word"yaga",  and secondly, it clarifies that the character is female.
The etymology ofyagais less clear, and there is no consensus among scholars about its meaning. In the 19th century,Alexander Afanasyevproposed the derivation ofProto-Slavic*ožandSanskritahi('serpent'). This etymology has been explored by 20th-century scholars. Related terms include the Serbian and Croatianjeza('horror', 'shudder', 'chill'),Slovenejeza('anger'),Old Czechjězě('witch', 'legendary evil female being'), modern Czechjezinka('wicked wood nymph', 'dryad'), and Polishjędza('witch', 'evil woman', 'fury'). The term appears inOld Church Slavonicasjęza/jędza('disease'). In otherIndo-European languages, the elementiagahas been linked toLithuanianengti('to abuse (continuously)', 'to belittle', 'to exploit'),Old Englishinca('doubt', 'worry", 'pain'), andOld Norseekki('pain', 'worry').
Vladimir Proppwrote that depictions of Baba Yaga taken from various fairy tales do not create a coherent image.
The first clear reference to Baba Yaga (Iaga baba) occurs in 1755 inMikhail V. Lomonosov'sRussian Grammar[ru]. In Lomonosov's grammar book, Baba Yaga is mentioned twice among other figures largely from Slavic tradition. The second of the two mentions occurs within a list ofSlavic godsand beings next to theirpresumed equivalenceinRoman mythology(the Slavic godPerun, for example, appears equated with the Roman godJupiter). Baba Yaga, however, appears in a third section without an equivalence, highlighting her perceived uniqueness even in this first known attestation.
In the narratives in which Baba Yaga appears, she displays a number of distinctive attributes: a turning, chicken-legged hut; and amortar, pestle, and/or mop or broom. Baba Yaga may ride on the broom or, most recognizably, inside a mortar, using the broom to sweep away her tracks.Russian ethnographerAndrey Toporkov[ru]explains Baba Yaga's selection of tools by numerous pagan rituals involving women. He suggests that the pestle was first to be used by Baba Yaga, because it may be used as a weapon (as such, it was used in a number of rituals) and the mortar was added later by an association.
Baba Yaga often bears theepithetBaba Yaga kostyanaya noga('bony leg'), orBaba Yaga s zheleznymi zubami('with iron teeth')and when inside her dwelling, she may be found stretched out over the stove, reaching from one corner of the hut to another. Baba Yaga may sense and mention therusskiy dukh('Russian scent') of those that visit her. Her nose may stick into the ceiling. Particular emphasis may be placed by some narrators on the repulsiveness of her nose, breasts, buttocks, or vulva.
Sometimes Baba Yaga is said to live in theFaraway or Thrice-ninth Tsardom: "Beyond the thrice-nine kingdoms, in the thirtieth realm, beyond the fiery river, lives the Baba Yaga."In some tales, a trio of Baba Yagas appears as sisters, all sharing the same name. For example, in a version of "The Maiden Tsar" collected in the 19th century byAlexander Afanasyev, Ivan, a handsome merchant's son, makes his way to the home of one of three Baba Yagas:
Ivan walks for some time before encountering a small hut identical to the first. This Baba Yaga makes the same comments and asks the same question as the first, and Ivan asks the same question. This second Baba Yaga does not know either and directs him to the third, but says that if she gets angry with him "and wants to devour you, take three horns from her and ask her permission to blow them; blow the first one softly, the second one louder, and third still louder." Ivan thanks her and continues on his journey.
After walking for some time, Ivan eventually finds the chicken-legged hut of the youngest of the three sisters turning in an open field. This third and youngest of the Baba Yagas makes the same comment about "the Russian smell" before running to whet her teeth and consume Ivan. Ivan begs her to give him three horns and she does so. The first he blows softly, the second louder, and the third louder yet. This causes birds of all sorts to arrive and swarm the hut. One of the birds is thefirebird, which tells him to hop on its back or Baba Yaga will eat him. He does so and the Baba Yaga rushes him and grabs the firebird by its tail. The firebird leaves with Ivan, leaving Baba Yaga behind with a fistful of firebird feathers.
In Afanasyev's collection of tales, Baba Yaga also appears in "Baba Yaga and Zamoryshek", "By Command of the Prince Daniel", "Vasilisa the Fair", "Marya Moryevna","Realms of Copper, Silver, and Gold"[fr], "The Sea Tsar and Vasilisa the Wise", and "Legless Knight and Blind Knight" (English titles from Magnus's translation).
Andreas Johns describes Baba Yaga as "one of the most memorable and distinctive figures in eastern European folklore", and observes that she is "enigmatic" and often exhibits "striking ambiguity".He characterizes Baba Yaga as "a many-faceted figure, capable of inspiring researchers to see her as a Cloud, Moon, Death, Winter, Snake, Bird, Pelican or Earth Goddess, totemic matriarchal ancestress, female initiator,phallic mother, or archetypal image".
Baba Yaga appears on a variety oflubki(singularlubok), wood block prints popular in late 17th and early 18th century Russia. In some instances, Baba Yaga appears astride a pig going to battle against a reptilian entity referred to as "crocodile".Dmitry Rovinskyinterpreted this scene as a politicalparody.Peter the GreatpersecutedOld Believers, who in turn referred to him as a crocodile. Rovinsky notices that somelubkifeature a ship below the crocodile, interpreted as a hint to the rule of Peter the Great, while Baba Yaga dressed in a Finnish dress ("chukhonka dress") is a hint to Peter the Great's wifeCatherine I, sometimes derisively referred to as thechukhonka('Finnish woman'). A lubok that features Baba Yaga dancing with abagpipe-playing bald man has been identified as a merrier depiction of the home life of Peter and Catherine.Some other scholarshave interpreted theselubkimotifs as reflecting a concept of Baba Yaga as ashaman. The "crocodile" would in this case represent a monster who fights witches, and the print would be something of a "cultural mélange" that "demonstrate[s] an interest in shamanism at the time".
According to  Andreas Johns, "Neither of these two interpretations significantly changes the image of Baba Yaga familiar from folktales. Either she can be seen as a literal evil witch, treated somewhat humorously in these prints, or as a figurative 'witch', an unpopular foreign empress. Both literal and figurative understandings of Baba Yaga are documented in the nineteenth century and were probably present at the time these prints were made."
Ježibaba[cs], a figure closely related to Baba Yaga, occurs in the folklore of theWest Slavic peoples. The two figures may originate from a common figure known during theMiddle Agesor earlier; both figures are similarly ambiguous in character, but differ in appearance and the different tale types they occur in. Questions linger regarding the limited Slavic area—East Slavic nations, Slovakia, and theCzech lands—in which references to Ježibaba are recorded.Jędza[pl], another figure related to Baba Yaga, appears in Polish folklore.
Similarities between Baba Yaga and other beings in folklore may be due to either direct relation or cultural contact between the Eastern Slavs and other surrounding peoples.In Central and Eastern Europe, these figures include the Bulgariangorska maika(Горска майка', 'Forest Mother', alsothe name of a flower); the Hungarianvasorrú bába('Iron-nose Midwife'), the SerbianBaba Korizma,Gvozdenzuba('Iron-tooth'),Baba Roga(used to scare children inBosnia,Croatia,Montenegro,North MacedoniaandSerbia),šumska majka('Forest Mother'), and the babice; and the Slovenianjaga babaorježibaba,PehtaorPehtra babaandkvatrna babaorkvatrnica. In Romanian folklore, similarities have been identified in several figures, includingMuma Pădurii('Forest Mother') orBaba Cloanțareferring to the nose as a bird's beak. In neighboring Germanic Europe, similarities have been observed between the AlpinePerchtaandHoldaorHollein the folklore of Central and Northern Germany, and the SwissChlungeri.
Some scholars have proposed that the concept of Baba Yaga was influenced by East Slavic contact withFinno-UgricandSiberian peoples. The "hut on chicken legsdeep in the forest" plainly resembles huts raised on one or several stilts using stump with roots for the stilts, in popular use by Finno-Ugric peoples and also found in forests rather than villages. The stumps with roots may be uprooted and laid in a new place as in the example exhibited in Skansen, or in ground where it was felled. Like Baba Yaga's hut, these are normally cramped for a person, though unlike Baba Yaga's house they do not actively walk and also do not contain a stove, being intended as storehouses and not for living.TheKarelianfigureSyöjätärhas some aspects of Baba Yaga, but only the negative ones, while in other Karelian tales, helpful roles akin to those from Baba Yaga may be performed by a character calledakka('old woman').