Buyan

For Albanian village, see Bujan.

Buyan Island, by Ivan Bilibin.

In Slavic mythology, Buyan (Буя́н) is described as a mysterious island in the ocean with an ability to appear and disappear. Three brothers – Northern, Western, and Eastern Winds – live there. A lot of strange things are said to happen on this island; Koschei the Deathless keeps his soul hidden there inside a needle placed inside an egg in the mystical oak-tree, while other legends call the island the source of all weather, created there and moved into the world by the god Perun.

Some scholars interpret Buyan as a sort of Proto-Indo-European Otherworld (see Fortunate Islands). Others assert that Buyan is actually a Slavic name for some real island, most likely Rügen. It is mentioned in 'The Tale of Tsar Saltan, of His Son the Renowned and Mighty Bogatyr Prince Gvidon Saltanovich, and of the Beautiful Princess-Swan' (an opera by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov) and many other Slavic folktales.

See also

• The Tale of Tsar Saltan
• Kitezh
• Avalon