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Lisa Howard played Baba, while Eve De Leon Allen played Marinka. Determined to rescue her grandmother, Marinka devises a plan to bring her back, but this decision leads to a series of unfortunate events and mishaps. The Slavic witch serves as a threat and reminder for those who leave the beaten path. In many ways, Baba Yaga has represented the exact opposite of society’s ideal woman for centuries — and she still does to this day. We will examine why Baba Yaga remains a beloved and fascinating character, continuing to inspire new generations of storytellers and artists.
How Vasilisa the Beautiful got fire from the Baba Yaga
For centuries, this legendary witch has kept countless children from straying too far — both literally and figuratively — from their families. She marries the tsar’s son and moves into a palace, never to be bothered by Baba Yaga or her stepmother again. Baba Yaga’s influence extends far beyond her mythical origins. She has become an iconic figure in literature, art, and film, with many contemporary works drawing inspiration from her enigmatic persona.
Baba Yaga in Popular Culture and Entertainment
In the tale of Baba Yaga and Vasalisa the Wise, Baba takes on her typical personality as the fearsome witch in the wood. The young maiden, Vasalisa, is sent away by her evil stepmother and stepsisters. They selfishly and sadistically hope that Vasalisa will die in the cold, dark forest. But instead, Vasalisa comes to the hut of Baba Yaga, and the old woman offers her life as well as shelter and food in return for Vasalisa’s hard work around the house. One of the most beloved (and feared) figures in Russian and East Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga is more than just a witch. She’s a rumored cannibal who lives in a strange rotating house and flies around in a magical mortar and pestle--but she’s also a helpful grandmotherly figure.
The Baba Yaga as modern icon
The Baba Yaga is known to get around by sitting in a giant flying mortar that she steers with a proportionately large pestle, which serves as a sort of magical rudder. As she flies past, she sweeps away her tracks with a birch broom, leaving no trace behind her, a frustrating habit for whatever the Baba Yaga equivalent of Bigfoot hunters is. Baba Yaga as trickster is most clearly defined in the most famous of her tales, Vasilissa the Beautiful. Vasilissa lives happily with her mother and father until she is eight years old when her mother falls ill and calls her to her deathbed, giving her a magical doll to help her through life. She must always keep the doll with her, a secret from everyone else, and offer it food and drink whenever she faces some challenge in order to receive help. After her mother’s death, her father marries a woman with two daughters who is envious of Vasilissa’s beauty and abuses her, giving her harsh tasks, which her father can do nothing about since he is away on business trips.
Timeline
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In one story, a young princess flees the witch's hut to escape ending up in her oven, and during her flight ends up creating a mountain range, a forest, and a lake with various magical items to slow the Baba Yaga down. In this way, the seemingly monstrous Baba Yaga has led to the creation of a new world. The Baba Yaga is both a mother and a trickster because these are the modes in which many men see all women. The House with Chicken Legs is a 2018 middle-grade fantasy novel by Sophie Anderson, illustrated by Elisa Paganelli.
Why does she travel in a mortar with a pestle?
The enigmatic figure of Baba Yaga has deep roots in mythology and folklore, with various iterations across different cultures. Explore the mythical background and variations of Baba Yaga in this section, along with a closer look at her physical appearance, traits, and the dual nature that defines her. The tales of Baba Yaga have also transcended cultural boundaries, adapting and transforming across different regions.
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Regarding the word Yaga, its roots have been difficult to find. The commonly accepted view is that the word evokes something unpleasant, horrible or horrifying. In early Latin, yaga was related to the word for snake or serpent. Historic Mysteries provides captivating articles on archaeology, history, and unexplained mysteries. When a protagonist comes to her, she only knows their presence by smell.
They tell him that the only way to defeat Koshchei is with a horse from the Baba Yaga. Baba Yaga, you see, breeds mares so fast that they can circle the world in a day. Ivan manages to pass the Baba Yaga's series of tests and earns himself a magic horse with which he catches up to Koshchei, burns him to ashes, and returns home with his wife. Baba Yaga demands to know why the girl is there and agrees to give her fire in return for work. She assigns Vasilissa impossible tasks, which she is able to accomplish with her doll’s help. Vasilissa remains with the witch for some time as her servant and becomes curious about a number of things but is warned by Baba Yaga that "not every question leads to good" even as she allows her to ask what she will.
Baba Yaga: The Scary Witch of Slavic Folklore
Although she kidnaps and eats children and seems to go hunting for them throughout the day for her evening meal, Baba Yaga also serves as a catalyst for change. There are a number of tales in which she acts as an agent of transformation, helping the heroine or hero toward self-actualization and the completion of a quest. In these tales, and even in the others where she is depicted as the villain, Baba Yaga epitomizes the mythological trickster archetype. Chulkov’s mention of the granddaughters of Iagaia baba reflects another similarity between the goddess and the later witch in that Baba Yaga is sometimes depicted as having two daughters or two sisters. Some scholars, in fact, refer to the figure in the plural as Baba Yagas, all essentially the same entity, their only differences the most superficial.
The skulls on top the fence are placed there to warn off anyone who tries to trespass. Bare in mind, this old witch does not only eat children; she is known in the folklore to eat strangers that get lost in the forest and then wander into her lair. Baba Yega might have the usual outward appearance of how witches were portrayed in old folklore, i.e. old and disheveled looking woman with long finger nails; however, she a bit different.
In Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga is a hideous looking ogress with supernatural abilities who lives in a very dense forest. She is either seen as an evil witch who kidnaps and eats her victims, mostly children, or a wise old woman who helps people become better versions of themselves. Upon close inspection of the Slavic folklore about Baba Yaga, one quickly realizes that she is not your typical kind of witch with flying broom/mop and a pointed black hat. Instead Baba Yaga is said to travel on magical mortar and pestle that flies in the air.
According to legends dating back to at least the mid-18th century, Baba Yaga is a witch who resides in the forest. She usually uses a magical mortar and pestle for transportation, but sometimes flies around on a broom. Located in the remote part of her forest, Baba Yaga’s wooden hut is believed to be as hideous looking as the old witch herself.
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