Banya (sauna)

Depiction in the mid 1920s of a rural banya by Soviet artist [[[Boris Kustodiev]]: Russian Venus (armed with birch twigs)

Banya (баня) in Russian can refer to any kind of steam bath, but usually refers to the Russian type of sauna. In Bulgarian, banya (баня) usually refers to a bath and bathing. In Serbian, banja (бања) is used exclusively for a mineral water spa, as, for example, in spa resort names such as Vrnjačka Banja, Sokobanja.

History

The Tale of Bygone Years

St Andrew's prophecy of Kiev depicted in Radzivill Chronicle.

The earliest description of the banya comes from the Russian Primary Chronicle of 1113. According to the Chronicle, or as it was called by its authors, The Tale of Bygone Years, the Apostle Andrew visited the territories that were later to become Russia during his visit to the Greek colonies on the Black Sea. The belief was held that Andrew crossed through Russia from the mouth of the Dnieper River, passed the hills on which Kiev would later be founded, and went as far north as the ancient city of Novgorod.

"Wondrous to relate," said he, "I saw the land of the Slavs, and while I was among them, I noticed their wooden bathhouses. They warm them to extreme heat, then undress, and after anointing themselves with tallow, they take young reeds and lash their bodies. They actually lash themselves so violently that they barely escape alive. Then they drench themselves with cold water, and thus are revived. They think nothing of doing this every day, and actually inflict such voluntary torture on themselves. They make of the act not a mere washing but a veritable torment."

Another mention of the banya is found in the same Chronicle, in the story of Princess Olga's revenge for the murder of her husband, Prince Igor, by the Slavic tribe of Drevlians in 945 AD. The leader of the Drevlians had hopes of marrying the widow Olga and sent messengers to discuss the idea. "When the Drevlians arrived Olga commanded that a bath should be made ready for them, and said: 'Wash yourselves and come to me.' The bath-house was heated and the unsuspecting Drevlians entered and began to wash themselves, after which Olga's men closed the bath-house behind them and she gave orders to set it on fire from the doors, so that the Drevlians were all burned to death."

The Finnish Sauna

Because the ritual, folklore, and construction of the Russian banya and Finnish sauna are largely indistinguishable, it is safe to assume that they developed simultaneously. Indeed, some researchers have speculated that the adoption of the word "sauna" rather than "banya" in post-war Europe came about primarily because of the Iron Curtain.However, it is notable that, in modern Russian, a sauna is often called a Finnish banya, though possibly only to distinguish it from other ethnic high-temperature bathing facilities, such as Turkish baths referred to as Turkish banya. In North America, the use of sweat lodges by American Indians is similar in concept to the smoke saunas of Finland or the black banya and was recorded as early as 1643.

Construction

The interior of a typical Russian banya

Banya buildings can be quite large with a number of different bathing areas or simple wooden cabins like the traditional Finnish cottage saunas. Russian banyas usually have three rooms: a steam room, a washing room and an entrance room. The entrance room, called a predbannik (предбанник) or pre-bath, has pegs to hang clothing upon and benches to rest on. The washing room has a hot water tap, which uses water heated by the steam room stove and a vessel or tap for cold water to mix water of a comfortable temperature for washing. The heater has three compartments: a fire box that is fed from the entrance room, the rock chamber, which has a small hole to throw the water into and a water tank at the top. The top of the water tank is usually closed to prevent vapour from infiltrating the banya. Water to be thrown on the rocks should be taken from the tank as this will make better steam than if cold water were used. If an electric heater is used, the firebox is omitted. Most Russians believe the wood-burning stove is a better banya heater. Water from a bucket by the stove is poured over the heated rocks in the stove. There are wooden benches across the room. People enter the steam room when the stove is hot, but before water is poured on the rocks. Getting a good sweat on before using water is preferred to using steam right away, as the sweat is thought to protect and condition the skin from the steam.

Black Banyas and White Banyas

In a "black banya" (по-чёрному), the smoke escapes through a hole in the ceiling while in "white" banyas (по-белому) there are exhaust pipes to vent the smoke. In the former, the escaping smoke darkens the banya's interior wood, hence the name. Both styles are characterized by boulder stones, clay walls and large cauldrons for the hot water as well as stone stoves with a tank to heat the water. The firewood is usually birch. A black banya is much more rudimentary and is generally considered to be less desirable than the "white" banya.

Pokhodnaya or "Hiking Banyas"

The Pokhodnaya banya (походная баня) or "hiking banya," is popular among the Russian military, mountaineers and other people who travel for extended periods in harsh environments. It consists of a steam bath set up in a tent.

Podhodnaya Banya

Hiking banyas are usually made near a lakeshore or riverbank where many big, round stones are available to build the banya's oven and there is plenty of cool water for bathing. The stones are made into a big circular pile, one to four meters in diameter and a half to one meters in height so that there is space left on the ground to make a fire inside of the pile. Firewood is burned for several hours in this improvised stove until the stones on the surface of the pile become so hot that water poured on them turns into steam. Around the pile, a space is tarped to form a small tent and the banya is ready when it becomes very hot inside and there is a lot of steam. Bathers can then cool off in an ice-cold mountain river. The hiking banya has caught on in the UK where it has been taken up enthusiastically by the soviet hobbyists of the Second Guards Rifle division, a world war two reenactment group. In this peculiarly British version up to thirty housebricks are heated on a bonfire than stacked in wire baskets inside a tent that is insulated with blankets and great-coats. Near-boiling water is then ladelled on to the bricks from a large 'Norwegian' flask and participants cool down using cold water stored in buckets. An excellent social experience, this practise is slowly catching on among other reenactment groups, chiefly Russian-orientated ones.

General Description

Banya temperatures often will exceed 200 degrees Farenheit (111 degrees Celsius) and "Chapkas" or felt hats are typically worn to protect the head from this intense heat. Similarly, a user may prefer to sit on a "padjopnik," or small mat brought into the banya to protect his bare skin from the dry, hot wood of the banya's interior benches. In Russia, chapkas are commonly sold in sets with felt mitts, along with aromatherapy extracts for inclusion into the steam water. People often hit themselves or others with bunches of dried branches and leaves from white birch, oak or eucalyptus (called veniks, веник) in order to improve the circulation. In summer, fresh branches are used. They have a short useful life and smell of cut grass. In winter, branches that have been dried and then moistened in hot water are used. It is important that the bushes have leaves, so they don't hurt when used. In the winter dark, people may roll in the snow with no clothes on or may run to cold lakes where holes have been cut into the ice for post-banya bathing purposes. After the first good sweat is induced, it is customary to cool off in the breeze outdoors or splash around in cold water or in a lake or river. Then the banya is re-entered and small amounts of water are splashed on the rocks. If too much water is used at once, the steam will be cool with a clammy feel. A small amount of water on sufficiently hot rocks will evaporate quickly, producing a steam consisting of small vapour particles. Waving the venik causes convective heat. The second sweat is commonly the first time venik would be used, but it is not uncommon to wait until the third session. After each sweat, cooling off is repeated and patrons may take this break to drink beer, tea or other beverages, play games or relax in good company in an antechamber to the steam room. Commercial banyas often have only a steam room or a steam room and a dry room, depending on local custom or the money the owner of the banya was willing to spend.

External links

• Sokol tours
• Article in Russian about the advantages of the banya

See also

• Bath house
• Destination spa
• Hot tub
• Sauna
• Steam shower