Slavic dragon

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A slavic dragon is any dragon in Slavic mythology, including the Russian zmei (or zmey; змей), known in the Ukraine as zmiy (змій, pl. ), and its counterparts in other Slavic cultures: the Bulgarian zmei (змей), the Polish żmij, the Serbian and Croatian zmaj (Serbian: змај, Croatian). The Romanian zmeu is also a slavic dragon, but a non-cognate etymology has been proposed. These may also be rendered as "serpent" in English translations.

The Polish smok (e.g. Wawel Dragon of Kraków) or the Ukrainian or Belarussian smok (смок), tsmok (цмок), can also be included. In some Slavic traditions smok is an ordinary snake which may turn into a dragon with age.

Etymology

The derivation that Serbo-Croatian zmaj "dragon" and zemlja "earth" descended from proto-Slavic root zbm, and Indo-European *ḡhdem, was proposed by Croatian linguist Petar Skok.[2]

The forms and spellings are Russian: zmei or zmey змей (pl. zmei зме́и); Ukrainian: zmiy змій (pl. zmiyi змії); Bulgarian: zmei змей (pl. zmeiove змейове); Polish zmiy żmij (pl. żmije); Serbo-Croatian zmaj zmȁj (pl. zmàjevi); Slovene zmaj zmáj or zmàj (pl. zmáji or zmáji).

Russian zmei

Dobrynya Nikitch rescues Princess Zabava from Zmey Gorynych, by Ivan Bilibin
Further information: zmei (Russian)

In Russia and Ukraine, a particular dragon-like creature, Zmey Gorynych (Russian: Змей Горыныч or Ukrainian: Змій Горинич), has three to twelve heads,[3] and spits fire. According to one bylina, Zmei Gorynych was the dragon killed by Dobrynya Nikitich.[3]

Coat of arms of Moscow

One Russian dragon-kindred is the zmei-bogatyr Tugarin Zmeyevich.[4] Tugarin may symbolize the Turkic or Mongol steppe peoples.[5] Accordingly, St George (symbolizing Christianity) killing the Dragon (symbolizing the Golden Horde) is represented on the coat of arms of Moscow.[6][7] Some prehistoric structures, notably the Serpent's Wall near Kiev, have been associated with dragons as symbols of foreign peoples.[citation needed]

Chudo-Iudo

Chudo-Iudo (Chudo-Yudo, Чудо-Юдо; pl. Chua-Iuda) is an alternate for the multi-headed dragon, appearing in some wondertale variants.[8] The Chuo-Iudos are humanlike beings and rides horses. Different individuals appear with different number of multiple heads.[9][10]

A three, six, and twelve-headed zmei slain by the titular hero in "Ivan Popialov" (Иван Попялов),[11] are substituted Chuda-Iuda in the cognate tale "Ivan Bykovich". The inference is that Chudo-Iudo must also be a dragon, despite the lack of the word serpent (zmei) explicitly appearing in the latter tale.[12][13] The Chuda-Iuda are explicitly described zmei in yet another cognate tale, "Storm-bogatyr Ivan Cow's-son".[14][15][10] The Storm-Bogatyr is in possession of a magic sword (Sword Kladenets) but uses his battle club (or mace) to attack it.

Chudo-Yudo's heads, even if they are severed can be picked up and reattached with a stroke of its firey finger, according to one of the these tales,[9] and this has been compared with the Lernaean hydra that grows its head back.[16]

Smok

The terms smok ("serpent") and tsmok ("sucker") can signify a dragon, but also just an ordinary snake. There are Slavic folklore in which a snake (which is called smok) when it reaches a certain age grows into a dragon (zmaj, etc.). Similar lore is widespread across Slavic countries, as described below.

Snake into dragons

The folklore that that an ancient snake grows into a dragon is fairly widespread in Slavic regions. This is also paralleled by similar lore in China.[a]

In Bulgaria is a similar folk belief that the smok, which starts out as a non-venomous snake, grows to become a dragon after living 40 years.[17][18]

There are also among the East Slavic folk the tradition that a viper transforms into a dragon.[19] Among Ukranians the lore is that the viper needs 7 years to metamorphosize into a dragon, among Belorussians, the requisite time is 100 years, according to one comparison.[19]

The weather-making dragon, ismeju (or zmeu[20]), of Romanian Scholomance folklore is also locally believed to grow out of a snake which has lived for 9 years (belief found at "Hatzeger Thal" or Hațeg).[21]

Weather

Locally in the Ukraine, around Lutsk, the rainbow is called tsmok ("sucker") which said to be a tube that guzzles water from the sea and rivers and carries the moisture up into the clouds.[24][25]

There is the notion (thought to be inspired by the tornado) of a slavic dragon that dips its tail into a river or lake and siphons up the water, ready to cause floods.[26] The lamia and tha hala explained below are also may be perceived as weather dragons.

Bulgarian dragons

In Bulgaria, the zmei tends to be regarded as a benevolent guardian creature, while the lamya and hala were seen as detrimental towards humans.[27][28][b] A favorite topic of folk songs was the male zmey-lover who make marry a woman and carry her to the underworld, ora female zmeitsa (zmeitza) who falls in love with a shepherd.[29][30]

Lamia

The lamia (or lamya ламия), derived from the greek lamia,[31] is also seen as a dragon-like creature in Bulgaria, as well as Macedonia. The Bulgarian lamia is described as reptile- or lizardlike and covered with scales, with 3–9 heads which are like dog's heads with sharp teeth.[32][19] It may also have sharp claws, webbed wings, and the scales may be yellow color.[19]

The lamia dwells in the bottoms of the seas and lakes, or sometimes mountainous caverns, and can stop the supply of water to the human population, demanding sacrificial offerings to undo its deed.[19][32] The lamia, bringer of drought, was considered the adversary of St. Ilya (Elijah) or a benevolent zmei.[32]

One Bulgarian legend tells how a hero called cut off the heads of a hydra-like Lamia. In the Bulgarian version of Saint George and the Dragon, the dragon was a lamia.[32]

There is some overlap or conflation of this creature and the hala.[19]

Hala

The demon or creature known as hala (or ala), whose name derived from the Greek word for "hail" took the appearance of a dense mist or fog, or a black cloud.[32][19] It was or strong winds and whirlwind in Easter Bulgaria[33][32] The hala can also be regarded as a type of dragon in Bulgarian lore. They

These hala are known in Bulgaria, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro.

See also

Explanatory notes

  1. ^ As Popova (1987), p. 56 points out, the tradition that an ancient snake becomes a dragon is also found in China, recorded for example in the Shuyiji [zh] or "Accounts of Strange Things", but in the Chinese version, the snake requires 500 years times 3 for it to evolve into a full dragon. Citation is given to Clébert, Jean Paul (1971) Bestiaire fabuleux, p. 157
  2. ^ Kremenliev groups the zmei with the with the nymphs samodivi and samovili, which he says are winged serpents.

References

Citations
  1. ^ Cited in: Kerewsky-Halpern, Barbara (Fall 1983), "Watch out for Snakes! Ethnosemantic Misinterpretations and Interpretation of a Serbian Healing Charm", Anthropological Linguistics, 25 (3), Indiana University: 321–322 and note 14 JSTOR 30027675
  2. ^ Skok, Petar (1973), Etimologijski rjeinik Hrvatskoga ili Srpskoga jezika, 3, pp. 657–8, Zagreb, Jugoslavenska Akademija Znanosti i Umjetnosti.[1]
  3. ^ a b McCullough, Joseph A. (2013). Dragonslayers: From Beowulf to St. George. Osprey Publishing. p. 67.
  4. ^  W. R. M. (1911). "Russian Literature". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 914–915.
  5. ^ Тугарин // Мифологический Словарь / Ed. Елеазар Мелетинский. — М.: Советская Энциклопедия, 1991.
  6. ^ Гербы городов России. // Предисл. Ю.А.Полякова; Сост. и послесл. Н.А.Соболевой. М.: Профиздат, 1998. ISBN 9785255013319. С. 70.
  7. ^ Н. А. Соболева. Российская государственная символика: история и современность. М.: ВЛАДОС, 2002. ISBN 9785691009907. P. 43.
  8. ^ Wigzell, Faith (2002), Cornwell, Neil (ed.), "Folklore and Russian Literature", The Routledge Companion to Russian Literature, Routledge, p. 3738 {{citation}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help) ISBN 9-781-1345-6907-6
  9. ^ a b Haney, Jack V. (2015). #137. Ivan, the Bull's Son. Vol. 1. Univ. Press of Mississippi. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  10. ^ a b Afanas'ev & Haney (2015) [1]
  11. ^ "Ivan Popialov", Ralston (1880), pp. 79–83
  12. ^ Ralston (1880), pp. 83–85.
  13. ^  Russian Wikisource has original text related to this article: Иван Быкович
  14. ^  Russian Wikisource has original text related to this article: Буря-богатырь Иван коровий сын
  15. ^ Levchin, Sergei (2014). Blast-Bogatyr Ivan the Cow's Son. Mineola, New York: Dover. pp. 153–. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  16. ^ Ralston (1880), p. 83.
  17. ^ MacDermott (1998), p. 65.
  18. ^ Popova, Assia (1987), "La naissance des dragons", Civilisations, 37 (2), Institut de Sociologie de l'Université de Bruxelles: 56 JSTOR 41229340 Template:Fr icon
  19. ^ a b c d e f g Kmietowicz (1982), p. 207.
  20. ^ Florescu, Radu R; McNally, Raymond T. (2009). Dracula, Prince of Many Faces: His Life and His Times. Little, Brown. Ismeju [the correct Romanian spelling is Zmeu, another word for dragon {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help) ISBN 9-780-3160-9226-5
  21. ^ Schmidt, Wilhelm (1865), "Das Jahr und seine Tage in Meinung und Brauch der Romänen Siebenbürgens", Österreichische Revue, 1; reissued: (1866), Hermannstadt, A. Schmiedicke
  22. ^ Dragomanof, M. (1879), L'Arc-en-ciel", Mélusine II, p. 41
  23. ^ Dragomanov, Mikhaïl; Dragomanov, Lydia (2015). Travaux sur le folklore slave, suivi de Légendes chrétiennes de l'Ukraine. Lingva. p. 67., citing Chubinski (1872).
  24. ^ Chubinski, P. P. (1872), Trudy Etnografichesko-statisticheskoy ekspeditsii v Zapadno-Russkiy kray, snaryazhennoy Imperatorskim russkim geograficheskim obshchestvom (Yugo-Zapadnyy otdyyel): materialy i izsliyedovaniya Труды Этнографическо-статистической экспедиции в Западно-Русский край, снаряженной Императорским русским географическим обществом (Юго-Западный отдыел): материалы и изслиедования, vol. 1 {{citation}}: Invalid |script-title=: missing prefix (help), cited by Dragomanov[22][23]
  25. ^ Patai, Raphael (1983). On Jewish Folklore. Wayne State University Press. p. 75.
  26. ^ Kmietowicz (1982), p. 207: When the monster lowers his tail into the river or lake, he 'takes up' the water which he uses to make floods.
  27. ^ MacDermott (1998), p. 65: "Unlike the lamia and hala which were always malevolent.. zmey was seen mainly as a protector".
  28. ^ Kremenliev (1956), pp. 316–317: "In the majority of folksongs these creatures [zmei, samodivi, samovili, etc.] are quite agreeable,.. The exception is the lamiá".
  29. ^ Kremenliev (1956), pp. 316–317.
  30. ^ MacDermott (1998), pp. 65–66.
  31. ^ Kremenliev (1956), p. 317.
  32. ^ a b c d e f MacDermott (1998), p. 64.
  33. ^ The belief in the hala causing whirlwind is localized in Eastern Bulgaria according to MacDermott. While the lamia is believed in Southwest Bulgaria to cause whirlwind in a source citing Бояджиева 1931, p. 213
Bibliography
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