Baba Yaga is perhaps the most well-known figure from Slavic folklore, appearing in hundreds, if not thousands, of traditional tales from Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine (Zipes 2013). Generally speaking, Baba Yaga is an older woman who lives in the solitude of the woods, lying on a stove in a hut that stands on its own pair of chicken legs. The visual descriptions of her appearance vary, but her hideousness is generally emphasized. Her most recognizable features would be her long pointy nose, sagging breasts, and her sharp teeth made from iron. One feature that is almost always present is her distinct “bony-leg” that is sometimes made from clay, iron, or steel, as well as her tendency to travel in a mortar, pushing herself using a pestle and sweeping away any tracks with a broom (Johns 2004).
It may be in our best interest to say “a Baba Yaga” rather than in a singular form. The reasoning for this would be that in some stories there are more than one Baba Yaga and even in the stories where there is just one, as soon as a Baba Yaga is killed (which is not an easy task) another Baba Yaga will take her place.
“As a unique creation of human imagination and verbal art, Baba Yaga defies any single or simple definition or interpretation, and no single, definitive word can be said about her.”
— Andreas Johns
Andreas Johns, in his publication Baba Yaga: The Ambiguous Mother and Witch of the Russian Folktale, notes that there is a distinct enigmatic quality to Baba Yaga that has attracted scholars for years. He references an 1891 encyclopedia entry that stated Baba Yaga’s meaning “has not been sufficiently elaborated” and that much of what is understood about her has merely been hypothesized (Andreevski 1891). Jack Zipes notes Baba Yaga is such a powerful being on her own that she doesn’t owe her allegiance to the Devil or God or any sort of power. She bears a strong resemblance to the
The research project
For this section of the site, Baba Yaga as a figure in folklore will be examined and analyzed – what are the primary tropes of a Baba Yaga? What sets them apart from other figures in Slavic folklore/folklore in general? What makes them so frightening? These findings will then be placed in comparison with the descriptions of the common understanding of witches in a wider Slavic, Germanic context to try and identify if Baba Yaga had any influence on this understanding. In essence, we are looking to see if the image and associations of witches and witchcraft in Slavic and Germanic Europe have any strong enough correlations with those of a Baba Yaga, and in what ways they manifest.
It is a large undertaking that explores the impact of folklore and traditional beliefs on a more contemporary culture. For the analysis of witches in Slavic, Germanic Europe, the discussion will deal primarily with witchcraft understanding of the 13th-17th century.
Below is a 20th century animated short depicting one of the versions of the Baba Yaga tale. While a more contemporary interpretation, it does include some of the most characteristic qualities of Baba Yaga – her hut on chicken legs, her communication with animals, her cauldron, and her desire to capture the child protagonist.
Bibliography
Groscillo, Helena, Martin Skoro, Sibelan Forrester, and Jack Zipes, eds. Baba Yaga: The Wild Witch of the East in Russian Fairy Tales. N.p.: U of Mississippi P., 2013.
Johns, Andreas. Baba Yaga: The Ambiguous Mother and Witch of the Russian Folktale. New York: Peter Lang, 2004.
Page written and created by Jed E., John L., and Sophia L-N.
