Yasakova Ekaterina

The language of art is universal and, therefore, understandable to people living in different regions of the world. For him, there are no time barriers. The commonality of themes, motives and images follows from the universal essence of being. The language of art goes back to the deep roots of folk life, when human attempts to explain the causes of life on Earth played a significant role. He was interested in the structure of the Universe (that is, the microcosm). In the language of art, already in ancient times, man's artistic ideas about the structure of the world were reflected.

In many mythological systems, the gradual appearance of the carriers of life (plants, animals, people) is depicted. The main property of life is the ability to reproduce itself in time. In mythological and religious systems, the ascending line of life is especially emphasized - from birth to the maximum stage of growth - flowering and fruiting. The most visible way of life was found in flora, more precisely, among trees, especially those whose lifespan significantly exceeded the lifespan of a human life (oak, sycamore, willow, larch, cedar, sycamore, banyan, etc.) One of the key images of art is the World Tree, which embodied the universal concept of many peoples about the works of oral art of different peoples, in monuments of architecture and fine arts (in painting, sculpture, works of arts and crafts).

The image of the World Tree is related to the mythological representations of the peoples of Europe, Ancient America and the East, Africa and Australia. According to the ideas of any of the most ancient peoples, the world (cosmos, the Universe) is opposed to disorder and chaos.

In its very middle, hidden life and its the highest goal- immortality. But the meaning of immortality associated with the Tree of Life (in contrast to Kashchei's static, graceless immortality) lies precisely in the fact that it is transmitted in time and space, that it is thought of as a special life force.

The most famous image of the Tree of Life is presented in the book of Genesis: “And out of the earth the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”

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XIX - Stavropol open scientific conference of schoolchildren

Section: cultural studies

Job title: « world tree in the culture of different peoples"

Place of work: Stavropol,

MOU secondary school No. 6, grade 11.

Scientific hand.: Mostakova Natalya Vladimirovna,

Technology teacher.

Stavropol, 2008

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………3

Working hypothesis………………………………………………………………...3

Research methods…………………………………………………………..4

Relevance of the topic……………………………………………………………...4

Chapter I. Structure of the World Tree…………………………………………...4

Chapter II. Ideas about the "World Tree" in the culture of different peoples ... .6

Chapter III. Ideas about the "Tree of Life" in the culture of the ancients

Slavs……………………………………………………………………………….6

Chapter IV. . The image of the "Tree of Life" in literature………………………11

Chapter V. Modern customs connected with wood. Signs and beliefs.11

Conclusions…………………………………………………………………………….13

References…………………………………………………………….14

Introduction

In many mythological systems, the gradual appearance of the carriers of life (plants, animals, people) is depicted. The main property of life is the ability to reproduce itself in time. In mythological and religious systems, the ascending line of life is especially emphasized - from birth to the maximum stage of growth - flowering and fruiting. The most obvious way of life was found in the plant world, more precisely, among trees, especially those whose life span significantly exceeded the life span of a human life (oak, sycamore, willow, larch, cedar, sycamore, banyan, etc.) One of the key images Art is the World Tree, which embodied the universal concept of many peoples about the works of oral creativity of different peoples, in monuments of architecture and fine arts (in painting, sculpture, works of arts and crafts).

In its very middle, hidden life and its highest goal - immortality. But the meaning of immortality associated with the Tree of Life (in contrast to Kashchei's static, graceless immortality) lies precisely in the fact that it is transmitted in time and space, that it is thought of as a special life force.

working hypothesis.

The Slavic tree - the source of beauty, goodness and wonder - keeps the secret of being. This image absorbed the universal juices from the depths of the earth and heavenly heights, from the invisible sources of the national spirit. Everyone who joins him draws inexhaustible strength and strengthens spiritually.

Research methods:

Document analysis.
Analysis of monographic literature.
Analysis of encyclopedic data.
Analysis of myths, fairy tales, epics, traditions, legends.

Relevance of the topic

Appeal to the chosen topic is especially important in our time, when there is a surge of interest in the study of the culture of the Slavs. The culture of any nation is a mirror of its soul. Absorbing the faith, customs, traditions of the ancestors, it serves as the foundation on which each person's awareness of their nationality, patriotism, love for the Motherland, the Fatherland is based.

The culture of our ancestors is rich, poetic and diverse. At all times, it was inherited. I think that our generation should keep it for their children.

Chapter I. Structure of the World Tree

The World Tree expresses the idea of the harmonious unity of the world, and the tree itself, being its "axis", embodies the core principle of its structure. The basis of the universe is Heaven and Earth, which is why the World Tree distinguishes between the lower part (roots), the middle (trunk) and the upper (branches, crown). The upper part of the tree is associated with the heavenly realm, the middle part with the earth, and the lower part with the underworld.

Its crown goes to heaven: there are stars and a phoenix bird, a representative of the upper world, walks along the edge of the tree crown. The roots of this amazing tree reached to the depths of the underworld. At the roots of the World Tree, all rivers begin - the sources of human destiny, its branches are eaten by four deer - symbolizing the four cardinal points. The roots of the tree go to the Lower World, a serpent, representing the Lower World, huddles in the roots. (Appendix 1 and 2). There is also a vertical division of the Tree of Life. To the left of the Tree of Life (left side - magical world) - night, moon, forest, winter, odd, west, north, lie, alien world. On the right - truth, your world, summer, day, sun, thursday, east, south, house. (Appendix 3). Under the tree - a rite that has survived in the villages to this day to water children from a watering can in order to attract rain. Not only the vertical division of the world into Upper, Middle and Lower is legitimate, but also the idea of the world as a coexistence of opposites: one's own - someone else's, summer Winter, sun-moon, day-night, right-left.

Tall powerful trees, from the point of view of our distant ancestors, connected the Middle World, where people lived with their pets, with the Upper, heavenly world, where the heavenly bodies and elements were not subject to man (since the crown of the tree went into the clouds), and the Lower World , where underground animals and spirits lived (since the roots of the tree went underground). So all the peoples of the world corresponded to their animals. Upper world - birds, Middle world - pets, Lower world - snakes, frogs, fish. There were also chained demons and other unclean forces. Fragrance comes from the tree, and twelve springs “flow like milk and honey” from its root. Sometimes the upper deity entered into battle with the "lower tier", stopping the encroachments of snakes and dragons on the "warm-blooded" located near the trunk.

The tree of life was usually depicted with eight branches, four on each side. When depicting it, four colors were most often used: black, red, blue, white.

As the middle of the world, the World Tree refers to a place of order, balance and good (“golden mean”). According to the mythological principle of wrapping, a special tree is placed in the lower world, close in purpose to the tree of death, which grows with its roots up.

The World Tree grows deeper, higher and wider. It seems that his powers permeate all three dimensions everywhere. But the fourth is also in his power. dimension- Man, his emotional and spiritual world:

And knows fun

And he knows sadness.

And from sea to sea, spreading their necklaces,

Lullaby sings over the mind and takes the dream into the distance ...

The idea of eternal life and immortality is connected with the World Tree. It is always inaccessible to evil and dark forces. Slavic tree - the source of beauty, goodness and miracle - keeps the secret of life. This image absorbed the universal juices from the depths of the earth and heavenly heights, from the invisible sources of the national spirit. Everyone who joins him draws inexhaustible strength and strengthens spiritually:

Fresh storms, the birth of a miracle in them,

Well, spring, flying carpet.

And forever to us, forever, like a dream of an emerald,

Slavic Tree blooms.

Chapter II. Ideas about the "World Tree" in the culture of different peoples.

In many mythologies, the center of the world, where earth and sky converge, is considered a mountain similar to Olympus - the gods live on its top. In Scandinavian mythology, heaven and earth, in addition to the rainbow bridge, were connected by a giant ash tree Yggdrasil. The prophetess velva calls it the “tree of measure” or “the tree of the limit” and recalls those times of the first creation. When it hasn't sprouted yet. Near it, the main sanctuary of the Ases is located.

In one of the mythological songs of the "Elder Edda" - "Grimnir's Speeches" - himself. Odin, under the guise of old man Grimnir, comes to a feast to that king, whom his wife Frigga accused of stinginess, and there they talk about the structure of the mythological universe and the world tree. In his description, Yggdrasil also has three roots growing in three directions: under one is the underworld - the underworld Hel, under the other frost giants live, under the third - people. If people find themselves under the root of the world tree, then this tree is generally turned upside down by its roots ...

The root of the world ash, which extends to the frost giants, is endowed with a special meaning for gods and people. They are the first intelligent beings that appeared in the world, and the primordial wisdom is available to them - knowledge about the origin of the world, which is not only sought by Gyulvi-Gangleri, it is achieved by himself. One.

The World Tree, growing at the source of the Norns, not only connects all the worlds in the mythological space, it links the past and the future. This mythological time - the time measured by the alternation of day and night, by the luminaries moving across the sky in their chariots - seems indifferent to the fate of the world and man.

In the beliefs of many peoples, the souls of unborn babies live in the branches of the world tree. The tree of fate was also a family tree.

The fate of all beings is decided at the world tree, and the incarnations of all worlds converge at its trunk, in the crown and at the roots.

Chapter III. Ideas about the "Tree of Life" in the culture of the ancients

Slavs.

The Slavic peoples also had their own ideas about the world order. A remarkable researcher of Slavic culture A.N. Afanasyev (1826-1871) in the book "The Tree of Life" says that the Slavs associated their ideas about the World Tree with oak. Around him, our ancestors administered a righteous judgment, made sacrifices, attributed to him healing properties. It was the most revered tree. There is a legend about oaks that existed even before the creation of the world. Even at a time when there was neither earth nor sky, but only one blue sea (air ocean), in the middle of this sea there were two oaks, and two doves sat on the oaks; the doves descended to the bottom of the sea, took out sand and stone, from which the earth, sky and all heavenly bodies were created.

Among the Slavs, it occupies a kind of center of sacred space, constituting its kind of axis. AT Ancient Russia it was certainly depicted with the sun and the moon on either side of it. And in the most archaic rites, the “axis” was reproduced by the erection of a pillar with a wheel (sun) above it, sometimes an image of the month was also added.

Most often, old trees were considered sacred, with growths, hollows, roots protruding from the ground or split trunks, and also having two or three trunks that grew from one root. Sick people crawled between the trunks of such trees, dragged sick children in the hope of recovery. About one such tree, information was preserved from the middle of the 16th century: “There was once in the Poshekhonsky limit (Yaroslavl province) near the rivers Iyar and Uloma ... a tree called mountain ash. People, in order to receive health, penetrated their children through this tree, while others, of perfect age, climbed themselves and received healing.

The Slavs especially singled out oak among other trees. Perhaps, at first, in general, they called all the trees with the word "oak". It is no coincidence that the words “club”, “club” originating from him refer not only to the oak club.

Oak was revered as a deity. Sacrifices were made at its foot. Idols were hewn from oak wood. And the fire at the temple could only be “fed” with oak firewood. Among the people, the oak was considered connected by invisible threads with the supreme deity Perun. After all, this tree seemed to attract lightning to itself. And today in a thunderstorm you should not hide under an oak tree - it is dangerous.

Mostly our ancestors attributed the oak to the legend of the world tree. This faith and generation continued for so long that even after the adoption of Christianity by Russia, under pain of a church court, it was forbidden "to sing prayers in front of the oak." After all, just as the gods decided the fate of the whole world and people in particular, sitting under the world tree, so they made judgment under mighty oaks. Believing that the judgments pronounced here are divinely consecrated.

There is a legend about the iron oak, which holds water, fire and earth, and its root rests on divine power. There was a belief. That oak seeds arrive in the spring from Iria.

The Slavs living in the forests treated the trees with great reverence, endowing almost every one with supernatural properties. Groves and forests were considered sacred places. Often a chapel, a cross, or an icon were hung in the groves. There were many stories among the people about terrible punishments that befell those who tried to cut down a tree in a sacred grove - some suffered death on the spot, others went blind, broke their arms and legs, and died from painful diseases. Here is a legend from the 19th century.

The oak tree - Perun's tree - enjoyed the greatest worship. It is still mentioned in conspiracies: “At the sea on Okiyana, on the island of Buyan, there is a mighty oak ...” The legend of the World Tree, which hugs the earth with its roots and holds the heavenly vault with its branches, is mostly referred to by the Slavs as an oak.

The oak, as well as any other tree struck by lightning, received the same healing properties that are attributed to spring rain and a thunder arrow. In order to have good horses (in the body), it is advised to put a piece of wood broken by thunder in the stable. If at the first spring thunder you support a tree (or a wooden steppe) with your back, then your back will not hurt. Children suffering from dryness are placed for some time in a forked tree, then three times nine times they go around the tree with them and hang children's shirts on its branches. Upon returning home, they bathe them in water taken from nine rivers or wells, and sprinkle them with ashes from seven furnaces. From fever and other illnesses, peasants bathe in rivers, forest springs and wells, and after bathing they wipe themselves with a clean rag and hang it on a nearby tree or willow bush; instead of a rag, they also hang a shirt or a rag from their clothes and leave them until they completely decay. The meaning of the rite is as follows: washing and erasing the disease from his body, the patient, as it were, washes it off himself and, together with a rag and a shirt, passes it to a bush or tree, as earthly representatives of that heavenly, paradise tree that drains the living water that heals all diseases. Just as the left shred or shirt decays, so the disease itself must perish. Later, with the loss of a clear understanding of ancient ideas, this rite acquired the character of a sacrificial offering to forest and water spirits.

As the oak was dedicated to Perun, so the linden was the tree of the goddess Lada, and the birch - Kupala. Birch was also revered as a symbol of coastlines, mermaids during the spring holiday of Semik, when a blossoming tree was brought into the village and the girls put on birch wreaths. On birch bark they wrote and nailed petitions to goblins: to return, for example, a lost cow, to bring game to the hunter under a gun, to help not get lost when the girls go under raspberries.

Slavs and birch were sometimes considered the main, world tree, the support of the whole earth, as stated in the old conspiracy: “On the sea, on the Ocean, on Buyan Island, there is a white birch down with branches, up roots ...”

Honored in this tree and the female spirit Birch, the patroness of young maidens.Curious beliefs connect the people with the aspen - a tree for which mythical properties are assimilated, almost due to the affinity of its name with the word "ash". Just as an ash tree is given power that numbs snakes, so they say about an aspen that a killed viper should be hung on this particular tree; otherwise it will come to life and bite. When the bogatyr Dobrnya killed the snake, he hung it on a cursed aspen: “Dry you, Gorynchische Serpent, on that aspen for curses.” Aspen has a similar saving effect against sorcerers, wheatgrass and witches.. In the eyes of the people, the pointed aspen stake received the meaning of Perun's club (the scepter of the supreme thunder god of the ancient Slavs). So that the dead man, who is suspected of being an evil sorcerer, a ghoulor a witch, could not get out of the grave, the peasants drive an aspen stake into his back; to protect cows and calves from the attack of witches, they put aspens on the gates and in the corners of the barnyard, cut down or uprooted; during rinderpest, driving away the Cow Death, they beat her, there they wave through the air) with aspen logs. According to fairy tales, sorcerers — people from the graves - they drive an aspen stake into the heart, beat them backhand with an aspen log and burn their corpses on an aspen fire ... inflicts an invisible wound on him and greedily revels in his blood. Having milked a black cow, the witch pours milk into the ground and immediately drives in an aspen stake: with this spell she takes away milk from cows, dries up their nipples - so lightning strikes, bringing down milk-rain to the ground, thereby dry up black clouds.

As a saving tool against demonic obsession, aspen can also serve as a healing tool for expelling evil spirits and diseases. They read a plot over aspen rods, which are then placed on the patient. When their teeth hurt, they take an aspen twig and read a conspiracy over it three times: “On the sea, on Okiyana, on an island on Buyan, there are three tall trees, under those trees lies a hare; you moved toothache to that hare!” After that, the aspen knot is applied to the diseased teeth.

One of the embodiments of completeness! life and longevity - willow (willow, willow). Its branches were stuck under the eaves to protect the house from lightning. Spruce also belonged to the trees of life and longevity. The juniper also contributes to this, it was not in vain that it was the spruce that marked the onset of a new annual cycle, and it was customary to cover the path of the dead with juniper.

But the plants of love and wedding were reputed to be hawthorn (they decorated the bride at the marriage ceremony) and viburnum (the embodiment of girlhood, beauty and love). Rosehip was a sign of masculinity. Rowan was used to protect the newlyweds from the evil eye.

Elderberry signified misfortune and death.

A lot of attention in legends and legends is given to the apple tree. The tree, striking in its beauty, on which flowers are replaced by yellow and red fruits, could not but amaze the people's imagination. Already Isn't this the same tree that grows in the middle of paradise - Iria, where all the wonders of this and this world are collected? “And in the midst of Paradise is an animal tree, which is a deity, and beyond that tree approaches to heaven. The tree is golden in fiery beauty; it covers the whole paradise with its branches. The leaves on it are from all the trees, and the fruits too. A sweet fragrance emanates from it, and twelve springs flow from its root with milk and honey,” we read in an old book.

In heavenly gardens and groves, on shady trees of spring clouds, golden fruits (apples) ripen, giving eternal youth, health and beauty. In their miraculous properties, these fruits are completely identical with the immortal drink - living water.

According to legend, at the end of September, all snakes go to the heavenly country of Iriy, only those that bit a person in the summer remain frozen on earth. How do snakes get into Iriy? The answer of our ancestors is simple: they climb the tree, because it connects the earthly and heavenly worlds. However, in the same way, the tree connects the underground world with the earthly one. In some tales of changelings, a woman must put her changeling under a tree in order for her child to return. You can also remember the ancient custom to take into the depths of the forest and put under the tree all things that were in contact with the deceased. But isn’t it from the branches of a tree - usually a birch - mermaids descend on Trinity week? Mermaids are the souls of girls who died from unhappy love, is it not with the help of a birch that they come from the kingdom of the dead?

There are many legends that the soul after death can go into a tree. There is a legend about how the evil older sisters killed the youngest, the most beautiful, out of envy, but a willow grew on her grave, from the branches of which the shepherd made a pipe. The pipe sang in a human voice - and exposed the killers.

Sometimes, the soul of a tree punishes the one who cuts it down. This will certainly happen if a person cuts down a mountain ash. It must dry itself, otherwise the woodcutter will be doomed to misfortune.

But the legend of how the evil older sisters killed the younger sister out of envy

- the most beautiful, but a willow grew on her grave, from the branches of which a shepherd

made a flute. The pipe sang in a human voice - and exposed the killers.

The tree creaks - this is the soul of the deceased asking to pray for her. The soul of the innocently killed is usually embodied in a reed or willow, and if you make a pipe out of it, it will tell about the murder. You must not touch a tree that has grown on a grave, you cannot pick a branch from it or break a fruit - this will cause unspeakable torment to the soul.

A wild pear is a bad tree, especially one that stands on rosstans. After all, it is in its branches that evil spirits gather at midnight and play their weddings. You can’t sleep under such a pear, you can’t break branches from it, otherwise the demon will take possession of the soul of the careless. However, in general, all trees growing on rosstans can be a receptacle for demonic power.

By the way, our ancestors were afraid to plant large trees near the houses: oaks, chestnuts, spruces. These trees are so powerful that they can draw out of a person all his vitality. If such a tree outgrows the one who planted it, he will die. The whole house will outgrow - the owner will die or the whole family will die. You can not plant a hazel near the house - after the tree gives the first fruits, the one who planted it will die. Is it because of this belief that hazel is never grown in gardens?

They also believed that the souls of trees are embodied in the images of girls with beautiful, radiant faces. Their name is trees. It was in order not to damage these beauties that in the old days they tried not to cut the trees. And they collected dried wood, dead wood. If the tree withered, it means that its tree has died or left its home. Treewomen are reminiscent of ancient dryads.

In folk tales and songs, it is very common to compare children with the branches and top of a tree. The similarity between a large family and a branchy tree was expressed in the concept of a family tree.

The names of the foot, hand, fingers and nails in Sanskrit (the basis of all the languages of the Indo-European group, to which the Slavic languages \u200b\u200balso belong) are explained by likening a person to a plant. With his feet, a person touches the ground and thus resembles a tree attached by its roots to the mother earth. If the legs were compared with the roots, then the torso itself was represented as a trunk, and the arms seemed to be processes. The nail grows on the finger like a leaf on a branch. “Ramen”, “ramenye” in Russian - forest, growth, “ramenny” - upland, forest - come from the same root with the word “ramenya” - shoulders; "skin" in some regional dialects means tree bark; hair folk epic identifies with grass, and calls grass and flowers the hair of the earth.

Chapter IV. Image of the "Tree of Life" in literature.

The image of the world tree is also captured in literature (“The Tale of Igor's Campaign”, “Ruslan and Lyudmila” by A.S. Pushkin, “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” by N.V. Gogol). N.V. Gogol wrote: There is somewhere, in some distant country, such a tree that rustles with its peak in the sky itself, and God descends on it to earth at night before the bright holiday.

The poet Sergei Yesenin once said: "The Russians have everything from the Tree - this is the religion of the thought of our people." And he explained why and why the tree is usually embroidered only on towels - shirts. This has deep meaning. “Wood is life. - Writes a poet. - Every morning, getting up from sleep, we wash our face with water. Water is a symbol of purification... Wiping its face on a canvas depicting a tree, our people mutely say that they have not forgotten the secret of the ancient fathers to wipe themselves with foliage, that they remember themselves as the seed of an overworld tree, and, running under its cover, dipping their face into towel, he seems to want to imprint at least a small branch of it on his cheeks, so that like a tree he can shower cones of words and thoughts from himself and stream from the branches - hands a shadow - virtue.

Chapter V. Modern customs connected with wood.

Signs of belief.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, near the holy trees and in the groves, divine services were often performed and religious processions were held, although this was condemned by the church, which rightly saw in such divine services echoes of pagan "prayers in the groves." In the Spiritual Regulations of 1721, it says: “... the priests with the people pray before the oak, and the priest distributes the branches of the ongo oak to the people for blessing ..., and with this ... they lead people into obvious and shameful idolatry.”

It happened that they got married near the trees. For example, among the Old Believers, if the parents did not give consent to marriage, the guy and the girl got on a horse, went to the treasured oak tree, went around it three times, and the marriage was considered concluded. Especially often such manifestations of paganism made themselves felt during the years of unrest, when resistance to church rules was seen as a form of struggle against authority. So Stepan Razin, having seized power on the Don, ordered those who wished to marry to get married not in the church, but near the willows. Echoes of this custom unexpectedly reminded of themselves after the revolution, when the young, wanting to do without a church wedding, were afraid to tell their parents about it. They left the village as if to a neighboring village - to the church, but before reaching there, they stopped in the forest, got off the wagon and walked around the spruce with lit candles. People still say about those who do without a church marriage: "They were married around a spruce, and the devils sang."

Probably, in Ancient Russia there was also a custom of ritual feeding of trees, although the information that has come down to us about this dates back to the first half of the 17th century. In the petition of the Nizhny Novgorod priests, dated 1636, it is said that on Thursday in the seventh week after Easter (the people call this holiday Semik) “wives and maidens gather under the tree, under the birches, and bring, like sacrifices, pies and cereals and scrambled eggs, and, worshiping the birches, they will learn the satanic songs in passing ... sing and splash with their hands and rage in every way. The custom of bringing food to the trees on the seventh week of Easter and having a ritual meal could be observed in Russian villages until the end of the 19th century.

Somewhere the following custom is still preserved. If a guy brings a tree dug out in the forest and plants it under the girl's window, this is clearly perceived as a declaration of love, a marriage proposal.

An indispensable participant in the traditional Slavic wedding was the world tree. His image. Bridesmaids sing about him, promising young people happiness and wealth. And when they built new house, in the center of the building it was customary to put a ritual tree. Well, on folk holidays, say, on the Trinity, you can’t do without a birch, all yards, houses and temples are decorated with green branches.

The archaic tribes that have survived to this day are another source of information. Our rituals and customs (represented by a scene with watering cans) are the fourth source of knowledge about how people perceived the world in ancient times. And, finally, we ourselves, often without realizing it, are the bearers of ancient ideas about the world. This position illustrates the round dance that children lead around the New Year tree. The very fact of dragging a tree (representing world tree) to the house on the eve of crossing the most important border: the transition from one year to another, as well as the fact of decorating a tree (giving it, in fact), driving a round dance around it (imitation of the “correct”, natural, without disturbing the course of time - in a circle), the fact putting on New Year's costumes (that is, turning to masks, dressing up, turning yourself from ordinary people into magical ones: totem animals - chanterelles, hares, bears, cats; princes and princesses, etc.) - all this is riddled with traces ancient origin, although it is perceived by us as a completely modern holiday.

Signs and beliefs.

The girl who was the first to sit on the Trinity in the shade of the cherished birch will be the first among her friends and get married.

On the eve of Ivan Kupala, wreaths of birch branches were put on the horns of cows, and birch branches were stuck at the entrance to the barn to prevent witches from harming animals.

They turned to birch for help in case of illness. Whip a lightly ill birch rod - a better healer will help. And if you pour water under a tree after bathing a sick child and say the right conspiracy, the disease will go to the birch.

Although it was believed that birch was also known evil spirit, that's why it was called the tree of spirits, the mermaid tree. Painfully loved on its branches, leaning towards the water, water maidens swing.

findings

TREE OF LIFE - one of the options for the image of the Tree of the World. The Tree of Life actualizes the mythological ideas about life in the fullness of its meanings and, therefore, is opposed to the Tree of Death, death, evil. Often the Tree of Life is able to reflect the negative member of the opposition life - death. That is why the image of the Tree of Death is incomparably less common than the image of the Tree of Life. The ideas of abundance, the highest degree of fertility with the Tree of Life explains the particular image of double (or paired) trees and, accordingly, double fruits. Often there is an image of two trees, one of which belongs to the male spirit, and the other to the female, as well as such variants of the double Trees of Life, as the motifs of two trees stretching towards each other.

The Tree of the World in a certain sense and in certain contexts becomes a model of culture as a whole, a kind of "tree of civilization" in the midst of natural chaos.

The special role of the World Tree for the mythopoetic era is determined, in particular, by the fact that for the World Tree it acts as an intermediate link between the universe (macrocosm) and man (microcosm) and is the place of their intersection. The image of the Tree of the World guaranteed a holistic view of the world, the determination by man of his place in the universe.

Bibliography

G.I. Danilova. World Art. M., Bustard, 2003
V.N. Mishin. World art culture, Volgograd, Extremum, 2005
A. Alnashev. S.-P., Ves, 2004
V. Petrukhin. Myths of Ancient Scandinavia, M., Astrel, 2003
Mythology. Encyclopedia "I know the world" M., Ermak, 2004
E. Levkievskaya. Myths of the Russian people, M., Astrel, 2005
V.N. Golovkin. According to grandfather's recipes, M., Agropromizdat, 1990
V.Kalashnikov, Slavic mythology, M., Bely Gorod, 2002
V. Kalashnikov. Gods of the ancient Slavs, M., White City, 2003

WORLD TREE

World tree-axis of the world -world mountain

The concept of the World Tree is found in the legends and myths of many peoples of the world.

Tree roots, usually associated with the underworld,

trunk - with the earthly world,

branches and crown - with the heavenly world.

Symbols close to the World Tree among different peoples are the World Mountain (Meru, Kunlun, Taishan, etc.), the World Pillar (temple, column, cross, stairs, etc. - cf. the Tibetan image Tsokshin), the Axis of the World and a number of others. So, among the highlanders, the place of the tree is occupied by the mountain, placing an emphasis on inviolability, immutability. For the inhabitants of the plains, the idea of renewal, the passage of time and strength are more important.

Often the World Tree is associated with elements of the elements. For example, the Greeks and most Europeans identified four elements: fire, earth, water and air. The tree was involved in all of them. It is rooted in the earth, on the fertility of which its nourishment depends. It is watered by rains and soil waters. The trunk and crown of the tree are stretched in the air, and the sun, which has always been associated with fire in man, gives him vital energy.

Each of the parts is often correlated with a characteristic set of creatures (for example, among the Nanais, Scandinavians, Indonesians). Birds are almost always associated with the top, the middle part is often represented by ungulates (deer, horses, bulls) or anthropomorphic mythical creatures, sometimes associated with humans. The lower, underground part is usually inhabited by creatures, snakes, lizards, fish.

Gradually, in the traditions of various peoples, a symbolic identification of a tree with the entire universe began to take shape. This motif appears in oral tradition, in painting, architecture, ornamentation and much more. The world tree is also known from images on utensils and other objects, on coins (for example, British Celts, modern French Euros).

Petroglyph "World Tree."

Some modern scientists (for example, M.M. Vinogradov) believe that the Stone Labyrinths of the Russian North personify the spirals of snakes of the underground kingdom of death of the Karelian-Finnish epic “Kalevala”. The stone slides placed in the center of the structures symbolized the World Mountain, in the depths of which, in the view of the ancients, there was the kingdom of death. The entrance to the labyrinth is the beginning of the approach to the dungeon of the kingdom of the dead. The narrow path between the bodies of coiled snakes is a very concrete path to the realm of the dead. The one who started it did not know whether he would go through this path to the end, whether he would return from the labyrinth.

There is an assumption that the largest primitive cult center of the White Sea - the Solovetsky archipelago - acted as the epic Land of the Dead, described in the Kalevala. Labyrinths also served as doors to the dungeons of the kingdom of death of Manala-Tuonela.

The myths underlying the Kalevala are rooted in the depths of centuries and even millennia (approximately II-I millennium BC)

The protagonist of Kalevala is the old song-singer Väinämöinen, a hero who creates by magic or by cunning a boat, a fishing net, a kantele musical instrument, and other things; in other runes, he creates a world tree - a guarantee of the well-being of the universe, extracts wisdom for people in other worlds, participates in sowing the first arable land.

The “flaming rock”, or the mountain of death, is the embodiment of the idea of the World Mountain. Thus, the underworld of the kingdom of death, according to the Karelian-Finnish epic, was under the World Mountain.

The Scandinavian epic "Younger Edda" mentions the realm of the dead, consisting of nine worlds. It was located under the World Tree. The road to it went "down and to the north." It took nine days on horseback to get there. At the very gates of the kingdom of Hel flows the river Gjoll (Noisy). It flows from the Boiling Cauldron River, located in the middle of Niflheim; "and there are no number of snakes that live in the stream of the Boiling Cauldron along with Nidhogg."

In the song of another Scandinavian epic - "The Elder Edda" - "Divination of the Völva", the Shore of the Dead is mentioned, where there was a house woven from snakes. Sinners fell here and immediately became the prey of the snake-dragon Nidhogg.

The above information from the "Younger Edda" and "Elder Edda" contain clear parallels with the "Kalevala" in the ideas about the kingdom of the dead. In both cases, it was located underground: in one case - under the World Tree, in the other - under the mountain. In general, we are talking about one worldview: the World Tree, as you know, grew on the World Mountain. Therefore, the realm of the dead in both cases was located under the World Mountain.

***

In the mythology of different peoples of antiquity, a large continent is mentioned, in the area of \u200b\u200bthe modern North Pole, where the Country of the Gods of Hyperborea flourished (fragments of Hyperborea were discovered by research scientists in the North of Russia, including Karelia and the Kola Peninsula). In the center of this continent was the sacred Mount Meru, symbolizing the World Mountain or the Axis of the World.

For example, on Buddhist mandalas - maps of the cosmos, Mount Meru is also in the center, sometimes called Sumeru, around which there are four large islands - "dvipa", and behind them eight small "dvipa".

In Mongolia, you can still find an obo built according to Buddhist symbols and reflecting the idea of \u200b\u200bthe structure of the world, around a large mound or stone tour, symbolizing the world mountain Meru, twelve small pyramids of stones are located on the cardinal points, corresponding to 12 "dvipas" - islands or parts peace.

Mount Meru

In the Hindu tradition, the Universe is often depicted in the form of a lotus, from the center of which rises Meru - the "Polar Mountain". It is obvious that Meru is at the pole, since it is definitely stated that degrees of latitude do not matter at her location. The caves under the mountains belong to the seven bodies of the planetary globes. Beneath the patals are the divisions of Naraka, the twenty-one divisions of hell. ... In the Indian epic "Mahabharata" Meru is a mountainous country with peaks up to the sky, where the main peak is called Mandara. “On the north side, shining, stands the mighty Meru. The paradise of the great god Indra was located on its top. Great rivers flowing in golden channels flow from these mountains. sea. All the stars revolve around Meru. A polar star hangs motionless above it, and a constellation circle is made around it. Ursa Major, Cassiopeia and Bootes, here half a year is a day, half a year is a night, one night and one day together are equal to a year .. This country is described as: "a country of eternal happiness", "herds of antelopes and flocks of birds everywhere", diseases, nor the weakness of age", "having gone there, they do not come back to this world", "on the approaches to the mountains of Meru lies a desert, a region of darkness where vultures guard gold." This is the "Land of the Chosen", "Land of the Saints", "Land of the Blessed". The plot details are very similar to the later description of Shambhala in Tibetan myths.

From here, apparently, the symbolism in the form of a Lotus and the practice of building pyramids around the globe appeared.

If you look at a map copied by the geographer Gerard Mercator in 1595 from older finds, you can see how exactly what is described above matches that shown on this map, and the latest scans of the bottom of the Arctic Ocean confirm the relief depicted on the map.

***

Russia is, first of all, a country of forests. By the way, still the world's largest natural ecosystem.

Forests, as you know, consist mainly of trees. A tree, or tree, is the only participant in the biosphere in nature that absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen. Essentially, though figuratively speaking, it is the savior of life on Earth.

Therefore, in the myths of most peoples inhabiting the planet, there is a primary collective image of the life-giving World Tree.

In Russian, "ancient" literally means materially connected with a tree, a tree, and symbolically - with the World Tree. When a Russian-speaker speaks of ""ancient"", he understands exactly this connection.

The purpose of the lesson: the development of creative abilities through acquaintance with the image of the World Tree.

Lesson objectives:

Development of the child's imagination.
Development of associative thinking of the child.
Raising interest in creativity.
The use of previously acquired skills in working with plasticine in independent work.

Materials:

For kids:

plasticine (at least 12 colors), a simple pencil, sheets of paper, additional material (glitters), a modeling board, a damp cloth. Toys: toad, bear, fox, tiger, snake, Lord, old woman and mountain made of cardboard. Paper clouds.

For the teacher:

manuals for showing in class - drawings depicting the World Tree in different cultures;
cartoon based on the Vietnamese fairy tale “It will rain soon”;
ethnic music: Chinese bamboo flute.

Methods: storytelling and display of drawings, conversation, independent work.

Lesson progress

Stage 1. Introduction to the World Tree

Teacher: “Today the topic of the lesson will be the World Tree. Maybe one of the guys knows what kind of tree this is? (Children can try to name different trees)

There was a time (perhaps even in the Stone Age) people thought about how the world works. They watched the day turn into night and the stars and the moon appeared in the sky. The sun shines during the day. Sometimes it rains, thunder rumbles and lightning flashes. Sometimes from mountain peaks fire appeared. People, noticing all this, tried to depict the world in a drawing in their own way, i.e. create a model of the world. The image of the World Tree can be varied, but three levels can always be recognized. The lower world is the abode of the serpent, the ruler of the underworld. The upper world is the sky. There is a kingdom of light, sun, heavenly waters. The middle one is the ground. It is inhabited by people and animals. The world tree displays the world.

Later, the image of the World Tree began to be present in various texts, for example, in fairy tales. Pushkin A.S.: “Lukomorye has a green oak, a golden chain on the oak. And day and night the cat is a scientist, everything goes around the chain.” A golden chain resembling a snake encircles the whole world and protects it. The cat is associated with the underworld. Oak is a fabulous representation of the World Tree, containing the world of fairy tales (Figure 1). Here the golden squirrel gnaws on a nut. “... There are miracles, a goblin wanders there, a mermaid sits on the branches ... There are traces of unseen animals on unknown paths. The hut there on chicken legs stands without windows and doors ... ".

The teacher tells the Vietnamese fairy tale “It will rain soon”, and the children depict the story on the table with mini-toys. “A long time ago, when there were no people on earth, such an incident occurred. The lord of the sky Onzei played chess with the old woman Drought. And lost to her all the rivers, waterfalls, seas, all the water. But the animals of the earth could not live without water and went to heaven to the ruler. Animals (tiger, bear, fox and toad) approached a high mountain. She was sky high. At its top stood the Lord's castle. But how do you get up? And then from the bottom of the lake, which was left without water, a huge snake crawled out. He began to rise around the mountain, encircling it. The animals on it, as on the road, began to climb up with him and ended up in heaven. The Lord learned that without water all living things would perish and was very upset, but the smart toad asked the Lord.

Where does he think the water might come from? (Children can suggest their own options).

– Does the master have clouds?

There were a lot of them. The overlord released summer clouds, gray and dark thunderclouds. Rain poured down and rivers, seas and waterfalls appeared again.

- Guys, what reminds you of the Mountain Pillar and the Heavenly Castle?

- Correctly. The world tree, its trunk (high mountain) rises to the sky, and snakes and frogs live in the roots.

Figure 2 shows the World Tree that looks like a pillar. It is stone with patterns, but it is a tree. The pillar is the support that supports the world, around which everything revolves.

The following figure (Figure 3) also shows the World Tree. On the upper branches the sun shines, and on the other side - the moon, the month. Fruits, flowers and their seeds ripen in the crown of the tree. They fall to the ground and give a harvest for people. Birds are sitting in the branches, which symbolize good undertakings. Deer, horses, bulls and strong animals graze at the trunk. Flowers, herbs, fish, frogs, snakes are depicted at the roots of the World Tree.

In different cultures depict the World Tree.

What people do you think the World Tree represents? The figure shows a cactus, the sun, a month, animals (Figure 4, African culture).

The Tree of Life in Ancient China, growing in the center of the world, is a ladder along which not only the Sun and the Moon rise and fall, but also the lords and sages, i.e. those who are mediators between heaven and earth. Among the Egyptians, a woman grows out of the Tree, who herself is the Tree.

Our ancestors believed that it was a birch or an oak, and possibly an apple tree.

Fairy tales describe an apple tree with golden leaves and fruits (rejuvenating apples) that give youth. It grows in the center of the world - on an island, in the middle of the ocean, on the Alatyr stone. And “on the sea, on Okiyane, on the island of Buyan, there is a mighty oak ...”.

They used to embroider on towels before, and now a tree personifying the World Tree (Figure 5). Why? When washing, wash your face with clean water. When wiping the face with embroidery depicting a tree, we must remember that we are like the seeds of the world tree.

But not only in drawings, embroideries, you can see the image of the World Tree. Since ancient times, clay toys have been made in the village of Khludnevo. Their main plot is the tree of life with various animals, birds and ornaments (Figure 6, Figure 7). Clay Filimonovo toys look interesting (Figure 8). Animals emerge from the clay with horns and elongated necks resembling tree trunks, and deer antlers resembling tree branches (Figure 9). In the Pskov region, the image of the world tree is also significant (Figure 10).

Stage 2. Independent performance of the task by the children.

“Now imagine the World Tree. It can be a tree, as in our fairy tale, in the form of a mountain, or in the form of a tree. You are invited to create an image of the World Tree in any form. Imagine the crown of a tree, birds nest on the branches, flowers bloom and fruits ripen. After all, fruits are what a person creates with his own labor, and flowers are his children. Picture the animals.

Display all levels of the universe. Draw the imaginary World Tree with plasticine. This is the material that you know well and use it for a long time. It will not be difficult for you to mold all the details and realize your idea of a tree.”

At the end of the work, each group explains what they have depicted. It is enough for the teacher to find what distinguishes one work from others and concentrate on this. Figure 11 shows the collective work on this topic, and Figure 12 shows the individual vision of the world tree of one of the children.

LITERATURE

Medkova E. Lecture materials: The World Tree is a universal concept of the world;
Cartoon based on the Vietnamese fairy tale “It will rain soon”;
Lykova I.A. We sculpt, fantasize, play. Moscow, 2001;
Comp. Rashchupkina S.Yu. Modeling from plasticine. M.: RIPOL, 2010;
Drawings from the Internet.

Nature and climate