Baba Yaga Research Paper

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Baba Yaga - The Wicked Witch of Slavic Folklore

Baba Yaga is one of the most famous witches in Slavic myth and Russian folklore. Her origin is part of her mystery. The first written reference to Baba Yaga was in 1755 in Mikhail W. Lomonosov’s Russian Grammar, where she is listed amongst ancient figures from Slavic tradition. The indication is that the legend of Baba Yaga began in pre-Christian, pagan times where people were very superstitious and believed that their fates were not of their own making but at the mercy of other-worldly deities.

Her name has a variety of meanings. Baba has been translated as Old Woman, Hag, or Grandmother, depending on which Slavic language is being referenced. Yaga has no definitive scholarly consensus. The word means Horror and Shudder in Serbian and Croatian, Anger in Slovenian, Witch in Old Czech, Wicked Wood Nymph in Modern Czech, Witch and Fury …show more content…

The clear intention is to instill fear and guarded respect in anyone who encounters her. She lives deep in the forest in a hut that rests on giant chicken legs that can move around the forest and make it harder for anyone to find Baba Yaga. The windows serve as eyes to watch over her domain and the fence post around the hut is built out of human bones and is topped with human skulls. Various versions of the Baba Yaga folklore state that she is either a single witch or a trio of witches who all have the same name. Most tales say that she rides around the forest in a giant mortar which she also uses to hold the ground up bones of the people she eats. When flying, she uses a huge pestle like a rudder and holds it in her right hand while she holds a broom in her left hand to wipe away her trail. A few tales have her using the traditional witches’ broom for transportation. She possesses the power to detach her hands so that they can carry out her

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