Vievichi - children of Viy, son of Chernobog - Koshchei the Immortal from the previous world
The Vievichi (Goryni-Vievichi) were the children of Viy - the son of the Black Snake, Chernobog or Koshchei the Immortal. Slavic legends tell that the Vievichi lived underground, namely under the Ural and Caucasus mountains and, possibly, in the Russian North.
True, Viy’s father Chernobog used to live on Earth, but then was cast into the abyss after the defeat of his tribe or race in a battle with the light gods led by the supreme god Svarog or the god of fire Semargl, the son of Svarog, as a result of which the first world was destroyed, in which there were no people yet.
Other inhabitants of that former world were the serpent Indrik, the son of Indrik and Mother Cheese of the Earth, the Fiery Serpent Volkh, the wife of Indrik the serpent Paraskeya. However, the legends are not very specific in this regard. They also “send” Volkh and Paraskea to the underworld and place Volkh over the “underground power,” including Viy.
The appearance and lifestyle of the Vievichi
Slavic legends contain very little information about the appearance and lifestyle of the Vievichi - they are associated only with everything bad, black and ugly. The descriptions of individual representatives of this tribe - the Black Snake, Viy, the son of Viy Svyatogor - are too vague and extremely mythologized. This, most likely, can be explained by the fact that only oral legends have reached us in the form of epics, songs and fairy tales, and secondary written sources from chronicles, teachings, chronicles, and works of Byzantine authors, while ancient written sources, sculptures, rituals and customs were deliberately destroyed for almost a whole millennium (almost all the remaining Old Slavonic books were burned during the reign of Peter I’s grandfather and father, Tsars Mikhail Fedorovich and Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov).
Vievichi are giant multi-headed snakes - werewolves. Chernobog - Koschey the Immortal
Trying to recreate the appearance of the Vievichi, you immediately pay attention to the duality of their characteristics given in the legends. So, Chernobog is depicted as a giant thousand-headed " Fierce Snake, Black Snake, multi-headed"; "This Snake has a thousand heads, that Snake has a thousand tails", then in the form of a man or a demon with human features. His army in the battle with the gods also appears as many multi-headed snakes - " fierce snakes, many heads x". At the same time, we know of images of some Vievichi in folk arts and crafts, where they have humanoid features. Thus, Chernobog was depicted as a humanoid idol, painted black with a silvered mustache. He was dressed in armor or chain mail, helmet and wore a spear and a metal shield.The ancient Slavs offered him bloody sacrifices (prisoners, slaves and horses) before the start of important affairs, in particular, before a military campaign.
Viy. Eye of Viy
Viy was depicted as a huge shapeless creature with eyebrows and eyelids reaching to the ground, because of which he could not see anything. But if several strong men, usually twelve, managed to raise his eyebrows and eyelids with iron pitchforks, then nothing could hide from his menacing gaze: with his gaze Viy killed people, destroyed and turned cities and villages to ashes.
Relentless and merciless Viy was considered the judge of the dead, a hellish fiery judge, whose throne is located inside the earth. In his hands is a fiery scourge, his eyes are closed with eyelids lowered to the ground, but he still sees and knows. If his eyelids are lifted, and his servants lift them with pitchforks, then he sees everything that is completely hidden from others. A man dies from Viy’s gaze.
“- Bring Viy! Follow Viy! - the words of the dead man were heard. And suddenly there was silence in the church: a wolf's howl was heard in the distance, and soon heavy footsteps were heard running through the church; Looking sideways, he saw that they were leading some squat, hefty, club-footed man. He was all covered in black earth. His legs and arms covered with earth stood out like stringy, strong roots. He walked heavily, constantly stumbling. Long eyelids were lowered to the ground. Khoma noticed with horror that his face was iron. They brought him by the arms and stood him directly in front of the place where Khoma stood.
- Lift my eyelids: I can’t see! - Viy said in an underground voice - and the whole host rushed to lift his eyelids. "Don't look!" - some inner voice whispered to the philosopher. He couldn’t bear it and looked.
- Here he is! - Viy shouted and pointed an iron finger at him. And everyone, no matter how many there were, rushed at the philosopher. He fell lifeless to the ground, and the spirit immediately flew out of him out of fear.”
N.V. Gogol
The image of Viy expresses the hope that in the other world he will inevitably be rewarded, take revenge on all those who lived on earth dishonestly, unjustly, not according to conscience and trampled on others with impunity. Nothing can be hidden from Viy, nor can one beg his forgiveness. In addition, it was believed that this judge of the dead sent terrible night apparitions and nightmares to people, especially as a warning.
Viy- commander over the evil spirits created by Chernobog. All of it is at his disposal. He himself is always underground, because he is afraid of sunlight.
Viy is a character in Ukrainian demonology, a formidable old man with eyebrows and eyelids reaching down to the ground. Having huge eyes with heavy lids, Viy kills with his gaze.
Viy cannot see anything on his own, but if several strong men manage to raise his eyebrows and eyelids with iron pitchforks, then nothing can hide before his menacing gaze: with his gaze Viy kills people, destroys and turns cities and villages to ashes.
In one of the fairy tales there is a mention that Kashchei the Immortal raises his eyelids with seven pitchforks.
“And suddenly there was silence in the church; a wolf howl was heard in the distance, and soon heavy footsteps were heard echoing through the church; Looking sideways, he saw that they were leading some squat, hefty, club-footed man. He was all covered in black earth. His legs and arms covered with earth stood out like stringy, strong roots. He walked heavily, constantly stumbling. Long eyelids were lowered to the ground. Khoma noticed with horror that his face was iron.”
(N.V. Gogol “Viy”)
Viy (Vyy, Niy, Niya, Niyan) is the son of Chernobog and the goat Seduni. Lord of the Pekel kingdom, king underworld(Navi, Underworld), lord of torment. The personification of those terrible punishments that await after the death of all villains, thieves, traitors, murderers and scoundrels, in other words, all those who lived unrighteously and violated the laws of Reveal and Rule (in Christianity, “sinners”). The fair and incorruptible Judge Viy is looking forward to all of them.
In East Slavic mythology, Viy is the spirit who brings death. Having huge eyes with heavy lids, Viy kills with his gaze. In Ukrainian demonology - a formidable old man with eyebrows and eyelids reaching down to the ground.
Viy cannot see anything on his own, he also acts as a seer of evil spirits (which can be seen in the work of N.V. Gogol); but if several strong men manage to lift his eyebrows and eyelids with iron pitchforks, then nothing will be able to hide before his menacing gaze: with his gaze Viy kills people, sends pestilence to enemy troops, destroys and turns towns and villages to ashes. Viy was also considered the sender of nightmares, visions and ghosts.
In ethnography, the assumption is made that it is with the image of Viy that the belief about the evil eye and damage is associated - that everything perishes and deteriorates from a bad look. Viy is also associated with the seasonal death of nature during winter.
There are two assumptions about the origin of the name Viya: first - Ukrainian word“vii” (pronounced “viyi”), which is translated from modern Ukrainian language means "eyelids"; and the second - with the word “to curl”, since the image of Viy resembles some kind of plant: his legs are entwined with roots and he is all covered with dried pieces of earth.
According to the “Book of Kolyada”: “Viy, the brother of the sky god Dy, serves as a commander in the army of Chernobog. In peacetime, Viy is a jailer in Pekla. He holds in his hand a fiery scourge with which he treats sinners. His eyelids are heavy; Viy’s henchmen are holding them with pitchforks. If Viy opens his eyes and looks at a person, he dies. Viy cannot stand sunlight, so he always prefers to stay underground.”
According to Slavic beliefs, Nav (it is also sometimes called Dark Nav as opposed to Light Nav - Slavi) is divided into three kingdoms. For the time being, the ruler of Upper was Goryn. After the death of Goryn, this layer of Navi was empty for a long time until it was occupied by Veles. From time immemorial, the Lower Kingdom was ruled by Koschey. But Chernobog gave the middle Kingdom to Viya. Although, in fact, there are other versions of the administrative-territorial division of Navi. According to some, Viy owned the Upper Kingdom, according to others, the Lower Kingdom. However, this information has nothing to do with the essence of the interpretation of Viy’s image.
Viy seemed to our ancestors as a powerful, almost invincible monster (less often, a scary, stooped old man). He was strong and clumsy, controlled the dark incarnations of all the elements. At the same time, Viy was served by all kinds of evil spirits, without which this terrible god, at a minimum, could not look at the world. The fact is that Viy had some kind of congenital defect - his eyelids were too heavy for him to keep them open without outside help. Obviously, the curse of Svarog, sent to the head of the defeated Chernobog during the Primordial Battle, is to blame. One way or another, Viy could not hold his eyelids on his own, so his servants constantly supported them with black, red-hot pitchforks (this episode is well known to all of us thanks to the immortal work of Nikolai Gogol).
Anyone whom Viy looked at immediately died (if he was mortal) or turned to stone (if he was a being of a higher order). Not many gods had the courage to face Viy in a fair fight. However, this monster did not win a single victory over the Irian gods, despite all its terrifying power. But Viy spoiled a lot of blood for the human race. Being a strong magician, he constantly sent epidemics and natural disasters to people.
At the same time, it is worth noting that in Viy’s appearance one can also guess positive features. For example, Viy with particular enthusiasm harasses people who are evil or spiritually weak. But Viy can easily let go of a person who is strong both in body and will. Thus, this god has a certain amount of justice, albeit a very peculiar one.
It is difficult to say what exactly our ancestors hid in Viy’s appearance. Obviously, this is one of the embodiments of the dark component of human nature, deep animal evil, which seeks to destroy everything in its path and moves forward without clearing out the road. However, if a person’s will is strong and his spirit is strong, then he is quite capable of changing the vector of direction of this destructive energy, perhaps even using it for the benefit of himself and others.
In Ukraine, there is a character, Solodivy Bunio, or simply the Naughty Bonyak (Bodnyak), sometimes he appears in the form of a “terrible fighter, with a glance that kills a person and turns entire cities into ashes, the only happiness is that this murderous gaze is covered by clinging eyelids and thick eyebrows" “Long eyebrows to the nose” in Serbia,
Croatia and the Czech Republic, as well as in Poland, were a sign of Mora or Zmora. this creature was considered the embodiment of a nightmare.
Came to the blind (dark) father Svyatogor
visiting Ilya Muromets, in response to the offer to “shake hands,” gives the blind giant a piece of red-hot iron, for which he receives praise: “Your hand is strong, you are a good hero.”
The Bulgarian Bogomil sect describes the Devil as turning to ashes all who dare to look him in the eye.
In the tale of Vasilisa the Beautiful
, who lived in the service of Baba Yagas, it is said that she received a gift for her work - in some cases - a pot (stove-pot), in other cases - a skull. When she returned home, the skull-pot burned her stepmother and her stepmother's daughters to ashes with its magical gaze.
These are not all the sources about the ancient Navya deity Viy, who has analogues among the ancient Irish - Yssbaddaden and Balor.
In the future, he probably merges with the image of Koshchei (the son of Mother Earth, initially an agricultural god, then the king of the dead, the god of death). Close in function and mythology to the Greek Triptolemus. The duck, as the keeper of the egg after Koshchei’s death, was revered as his bird. In Orthodoxy it was replaced by the evil saint Kasyan, whose day was celebrated on February 29.
Kasyan looks at everything and everything withers. Kasyan looks at the cattle, the cattle fall; on the tree - the tree dries.
Kasyan on the people - it’s hard for the people; Kasyan on the grass - the grass dries; Kasyan for livestock - the livestock dies.
Kasyan squints at everything...
It is curious that Kasyan is subordinate to the winds, which he keeps behind all sorts of locks.
Noteworthy is the relationship between the words KOCHERGA, KOSHEVAYA, KOSHCHEY and KOSH-MAR. Koshch - “chance, lot” (cf. Makosh). It was assumed that Chernobog stirred the coals in the inferno with pokers, so that from this dead matter would be born new life. There is the Orthodox saint Procopius of Ustyug, depicted with pokers in his hands, as, for example, on the bas-relief of the Church of the Ascension on B. Nikitskaya Street in Moscow in the 16th century. This Saint, introduced in the 13th century, is responsible for the harvest, he has three pokers, if he carries them with the ends down - there is no harvest, upwards - there will be a harvest. In this way, the weather and crop yields could be predicted.
Koschey in a later era emerged as an independent cosmogonic character who causes living matter to be deader and is associated with chthonic characters such as the hare, duck and fish. Undoubtedly, he is associated with seasonal necrosis, he is the enemy of Makoshi Yaga, who guides the hero into his world - the kingdom of death. The name of the heroine abducted by Koshchei is also interesting - Marya Morevna (mortal death), i.e. Koschey is an even greater death - stagnation, death without rebirth.
The annual veneration of Viya-Kasyan took place on January 14-15, as well as on February 29 - Kasyan Day.
Viy is the god of the underworld. In Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian mythology, it was considered a creature whose one glance could bring death. His eyes were always hidden under eyelids, eyebrows or eyelashes. He was the son of Chernobog and Marena, the goddess of death. He served as a governor in the army of Chernobog, and in peacetime he was a jailer in the underworld. He always had a fiery scourge in his hands, with which he punished sinners. His eyelids were lifted with pitchforks by his assistants. Anyone could die from his gaze. He could not stand sunlight, which is why he lived in a dungeon. Helped Dyyu, whom Veles threw into the dungeon, to return to earth. Then he imprisoned Veles, but yielding to the requests of Azovushka, he released him. Viy gave a magic ring to Dazhdbog so that he would free Zlatogorka from the enchanted coffin. To continue the family line, he gave birth to blind sons Gorynya, Kashchey, goat-legged Pan, who tried to kidnap Veles, and after all he kidnapped the daughters of the Heavenly Cow Zemun - Buryona and Dana. Viy put his daughters to sleep and named them his children. Later, Pan and Dana had children Vrita and Valu, who were killed by Indra, the son of Dyya. Some Ukrainian legends mention that Viy lived in a cave where there was no light; he was often depicted covered with wool. He looked like the Ukrainian Kasyan, the Byzantine Basilisk, the Volyn sorcerer “mangy Bunyaka”, the Ossetian giant warrior and others. Possible correspondences of the name Viy and some of its attributes in Ossetian ideas about the Vayug giants force us to recognize the ancient origins of the legend about Viy. This is also evidenced by the parallels to the image of Viy in the Celtic epic, and the abundance of typological parallels in the mythological functions of the eye. In Belarusian legends, a common motif is the raising of the eyelids, most likely this is due to the name of eyelashes in Ukrainian “viya”. Niy (Zap.-Slav) in Orthodoxy - St. Kasyan is the god of the navy underworld and a posthumous judge, according to Dlugosz ("History of Poland", 15th century), perhaps one of the incarnations of Veles: "KH.I. ... Pluto was nicknamed Nya; he was considered the god of the underworld, guardian and guardian of souls that left their bodies, and after death he had to spend in best places the underworld, and they built the main sanctuary for him in the city of Gniezno, where people from all places converged." This mythological creature was brought to fame by N.V. Gogol's story "Viy." In the epics of Belarusian Polesie, death was represented in the image of a woman with large eyelids. In the chronicle legend 16 centuries where they described last days Judas, it was specified that his overgrown eyelids completely deprived him of his vision. Another Ukrainian legend about the origin of tea says that the devil who seduced the hermit cast a spell on his eyelids, so that he could not open his eyelids, then the hermit tore them off and buried them in the ground. Tea grew from them. A similar legend circulates in Ancient China about the origin of tea from the age of Bodhidharma. Maciej Stryjkowski in the “Chronicle of Polish, Lithuanian and All Rus'” in 1582 writes: “Pluto, the god of pekelny, whose name was Nyya, was revered in the evening, they asked him after death for better pacification of the weather.” “And suddenly there was silence in the church: it was heard in the distance, a wolf howled, and soon heavy footsteps were heard sounding through the church, looking sideways, he saw that they were leading some squat, hefty, club-footed man. He was all covered in black earth. His hands, covered with earth, protruded from him like stringy strong roots and legs. He walked heavily, constantly stumbling. His long eyelids were lowered to the very ground. Khoma noticed with horror that he had an iron face. He was led by the arms and stood straight up to the place where Khoma stood. “Raise my eyelids: no I see! - Viy said in an underground voice. - And the whole host rushed to lift his eyelids." We know that in fairy tales like “The Battle on Kalinov Bridge,” the hero and his sworn brothers cope with three miracles, then reveal the machinations of the miracles’ wives, but the mother of the snakes was able to deceive Ivan Bykovich and “dragged him into the dungeon, brought him to her to her husband - an old old man. - On you - he says - our destroyer. The old man lies on an iron bed, sees nothing: long eyelashes and thick eyebrows completely cover his eyes. He then called twelve mighty heroes and began to order them: - Take the pitchforks iron, raise my eyebrows and black eyelashes, I'll see what kind of bird he is that killed my sons. The heroes raised his eyebrows and eyelashes with pitchforks: the old man looked..." Isn't it true, it looks like Gogol's Viy. The old man arranges a test for Ivan Bykovich with the kidnapping of his bride. And then competes with him, balancing over a fiery pit, standing on a board. This old man loses the test and is thrown into a fiery pit, i.e. into the very depths of his lower world. In this regard, it is worth mentioning that the southern Slavs held a New Year's holiday in winter, where the old, serpentine god Badnyak (correlated with the old year) was burned, and his place was taken by the young Bozhich. In Ukraine there is a character, Solodivy Bunio, or simply the Scrawny Bonyak (Bodnyak), sometimes he appears in the form of a “terrible fighter, with a glance that kills a person and turns entire cities into ashes, the only happiness is that this murderous gaze is covered by clinging eyelids and thick eyebrows.” "Long eyebrows to the nose" in Serbia, Croatia and the Czech Republic, as well as in Poland, were a sign of Mora or Zmora. this creature was considered the embodiment of a nightmare. Ilya Muromets, who came to stay with the blind (dark) father of Svyatogor, responded to the offer to “shake hands” and gives the blind giant a piece of red-hot iron, for which he receives praise: “Your hand is strong, you are a good hero.” The fairy tale about Vasilisa the Beautiful, who lived in the service of Baba Yaga, says that she received a gift for her work - in some cases - a pot (stove-pot), in other cases - a skull. When she returned home, the skull-pot burned her stepmother and her stepmother's daughters to ashes with its magical gaze. These are not all the sources about the ancient navy deity Viy, who has analogues among the ancient Irish - Yssbaddaden and Balor. In the future, he probably merges with the image of Koshchei (the son of Mother Earth, initially an agricultural god, then the king of the dead, the god of death). Close in function and mythology to the Greek Triptolemus. The duck, as the keeper of the egg after Koshchei’s death, was revered as his bird. In Orthodoxy it was replaced by the evil saint Kasyan, whose day was celebrated on February 29. *Kasyan looks at everything - everything withers. Kasyan looks at the cattle, the cattle fall; on the tree - the tree dries. *Kasyan on the people - it’s hard for the people; Kasyan on the grass - the grass dries; Kasyan for livestock - the livestock dies. *Kasyan mows everything with an oblique... It is curious that Kasyan is subordinate to the winds, which he keeps behind all sorts of locks. Noteworthy is the relationship between the words KOCHERGA, KOSHEVAYA, KOSHCHEY and KOSH-MAR. Koshch - “chance, lot” (cf. Makoshch). It was assumed that Chernobog stirred the coals in the inferno with pokers, so that new life would be born from this dead matter. There is the Orthodox saint Procopius of Ustyug, depicted with pokers in his hands, as, for example, on the bas-relief of the Church of the Ascension on B. Nikitskaya Street in Moscow in the 16th century. This Saint, introduced in the 13th century, is responsible for the harvest, he has three pokers, if he carries them with their ends down - no, up - there will be a harvest. In this way, the weather and crop yields could be predicted. Koschey in a later era emerged as an independent cosmogonic character who causes living matter to be deader and is associated with chthonic characters such as the hare, duck and fish. Undoubtedly, he is associated with seasonal necrosis, he is the enemy of Makoshi-Yaga, who guides the hero into his world - the kingdom of bones. The name of the heroine kidnapped by Koshchei is also interesting - Marya Morevna (mortal death), i.e. Koschey is an even greater death - stagnation, death without rebirth. The annual veneration of Viya-Kasyan took place on January 14-15, as well as on February 29 - Kasyan Day.
The gods of the ancient Slavs have not gone anywhere. If the Slavic god Viy is close to you, then your sign is the All-Seeing Eye, the symbol of God Viy.Sign of GodViya sign of godViya. Read more…
Symbol of God Viy
Viy god of the Slavs
Among the ancient Slavs, God Viywas perceived as one of the oldest, but most powerful gods. It was believed that the Slavic god Viy is the shepherd of Souls, living in Navi, in the spiritual world.
He carefully ensures that Souls learn all the lessons they received while in the manifest world. This God was revered for his justice, for the fact that he punished careless people who crossed the moral line. He punished, first of all, with his piercing gaze. This is what the Slavs believed. And today the symbol of the god Viy is rightfully recognized as his keen eye.
Symbol of God Viy
Chevron from the Slavic online store “Northern Fairy Tale”
Sign of GodViya has long meant that things must go correctly, according to the laws. Fits mature people, men and women.
Powerful power of this sign:
· will relieve you of unclean, pessimistic thoughts, despondency and depression,
· will protect you from arbitrariness, lawlessness, deception, from dark forces,
Symbol of the god Viy:
· will develop intuition, insight, an almost supernatural sense of the situation,
· will help restore lost connections, perhaps meet and improve relationshipsold friends, restore your reputation at work or among business colleagues, become more trusting and open with your family.
The gods of the ancient Slavs have not gone anywhere!
Generally, sign of godViya, The All-Seeing Eye will bestow upon the ownerperseverance, determination, analytical mind and sense of justice , can show you amazing abilities for objective assessment, openness, frankness and the opportunity to feel the situation personally, reward you with the ability to calmly manage not only your own, but also other people’s views ─ with your work colleagues you will be able to direct the situation in the right direction precisely becauseNow you know how to refuse some spontaneous deals and offers if you see future failure in them; You will become more open and insightful when communicating with friends and family,will give you the ability to sensibly assess the situation , now you will know when to stop so as not to step into the abyss, it will strengthen your independence, the will to freedom and the desire to be a leader. This is powersymbol of the god Viy, the mighty god of the Slavs.
Read our next article “The Sign of the Goddess Lada” by clicking on the symbol of God Viy. Sign of God Viymeans “all-seeing eye,” meaning that nothing can hide from the judge’s gaze and assessment. His sign is depicted in the form of two overlapping circles, one of which is inside the other. Both circles have short protruding stripes that signify immunity. This is the strengthsign of the god Viy. Read more… ">
Viy is a character in Ukrainian demonology - a formidable old man with eyebrows and eyelids reaching down to the ground. Having huge eyes with heavy lids, Viy kills with his gaze.
Viy cannot see anything on his own, but if several strong men manage to raise his eyebrows and eyelids with iron pitchforks, then nothing can hide before his menacing gaze: with his gaze Viy kills people, destroys and turns cities and villages to ashes.
Ethnography suggests that it is precisely with the image of Viy that the belief about the evil eye is connected - that everything perishes or gets spoiled from a bad look.
In one of the fairy tales there is a mention that Koshchei the Immortal raises his eyelids with seven pitchforks.
The ancient Slavs called Viem the sender of nightmares, visions and ghosts. They appeared to those who had an unclean conscience. In this he is related to Niyan, the king of hell.
Viy also served Chernobog in his kingdom and judged the dead for their misdeeds.
Our fairy tales tell of a mighty old man with huge eyebrows and unusually long eyelashes: his eyebrows and eyelashes were so thick that they completely obscured his vision; for him to look at the world, he needs several strong men who could lift his eyebrows and eyelashes with iron pitchforks.
Then nothing will be hidden from his gaze (the word “vii” means eyelashes).
The folk legend about Viya is familiar to anyone who has only read Gogol; however, some curious features were not included in his poetic story.
In Podolia, for example, Viy is represented as a terrible fighter who kills people with his gaze and turns cities and villages to ashes; fortunately, his murderous gaze is hidden by thick eyebrows and eyelids close to his eyes, and only in those cases when it is necessary to destroy enemy armies or set fire to an enemy city, they lift his eyelids with a pitchfork.
In such a grandiose image, folk fantasy depicted the thunder god (grandfather Perun): from under cloudy eyebrows and eyelashes he casts lightning glances and sends death and fires...
In the legends of the Czechs and Slovaks there is a giant named Quick-Sighted. With his sharp, all-seeing glances, he sets everything on fire, and even rocks crack and crumble into sand.
What’s interesting is that the word “Viy” is undoubtedly consonant with the name ancient god Hindu Vayu.
He was the god of storms and hurricanes, killing all living things. He was usually called merciless: “You can go the way that a fast river runs, but you cannot go the way of the merciless Vayu...”
He ruled over the underworld. Isn’t this our Viy, who in ancient times was also mentioned as the patron of all-destroying hurricanes and even participated in sending the Great Flood to the lands?
N. GOGOL. VIY
The ill-fated seminarian Khoma Brut comes to church to read funeral prayers over the coffin of the lady witch he killed:
“He stopped for a minute. In the middle, the coffin of the terrible witch still stood motionless... having drawn a circle around him, he began to recall all his spells. The silence was terrible; the candles fluttered and bathed the entire church in light...
Suddenly... in the midst of silence... the coffin lid burst with a crash and a dead man stood up. He was even scarier than the first time. His teeth clashed terribly, row on row, his lips twitched in convulsions, and spells flew, squealing wildly.
A whirlwind rose through the church, icons fell to the ground, and broken glass windows flew from top to bottom. The doors broke off their hinges, and an untold force of monsters flew into God's church. A terrible noise from wings and scratching claws filled the entire church. Everything flew and rushed around, looking everywhere for the philosopher.
Khoma lost the last remnant of hops in his head. He just crossed himself and read random prayers. And at the same time he heard how evil spirits rushed around him, almost catching him with the ends of their wings and disgusting tails. Everyone looked at him, searched for him and could not see him, surrounded by a mysterious circle.
Bring Viy! Follow Viy! - the words of the dead man were heard.
And suddenly there was silence in the church; a wolf howl was heard in the distance, and soon heavy footsteps were heard echoing through the church; Looking sideways, he saw that they were leading some squat, hefty, club-footed man. He was all covered in black earth.
His arms and legs covered with earth stood out like stringy, strong roots.
He walked heavily, stopping every minute. Long eyelids were lowered to the ground.
Khoma noticed with horror that his face was iron. They brought him by the arms and stood him directly in front of the place where Khoma stood.
Lift my eyelids: I can’t see! - Viy said in an underground voice - and the whole host rushed to lift his eyelids.
"Don't look!" - some inner voice whispered to the philosopher. He couldn’t bear it and looked.
Here he is! - Viy shouted and pointed an iron finger at him. And everything, no matter how much it was, rushed at the philosopher. Lifeless, he fell to the ground, and immediately the spirit flew out of him out of fear.”
S. GORODETSKY. VIY
Because of distant distant centuries,
Because of the darkness, because of the impenetrable darkness,
From under a pile of gray boulders
It comes out like a snag that’s not right.
The skin is wrinkled, hanging like a rag,
Teeth are covered with white dust.
Apparently the stake was driven past him:
I couldn’t find peace underground!
And what kind of beds are under the ground?
The darkness and the heat are annoying.
And up, angry and angry,
Viy struggles through and gets out.
He wanted to look
To live and be young.
Got out. He sees a noose and a bag.
“What is this,” he thinks, “what is it?”
“Lift my eyelids! - shouts.
- I see neither happiness nor will.
The groan is nailed to the sad earth,
I thought: people won’t moan anymore!”
Oh, my old, my stupid Viy!
Let me close my eyelids tighter!
Our life has been deprived of all lives!
You shouldn't have come out of the womb!
As if we are boiling in resin, but we live,
We even sing songs and laugh.
Tears will fall - we don’t tear up the songs.
Laugh, we’ll wipe ourselves off with our sleeves.
Heavy! You can not understand,
What a life, what an earthly matter.
Goodbye, turn back
We are again for ours, for the intoxicated.
Just say to the globe,
To become more overgrown with grain
Yes, behind the sun in an unknown darkness
More fun, more fun flying.
Slavic mythology
