Vodyanoy - what does it look like and where does it live? All the truth about water snakes (15 photos) The life of a water strider - video

In all world traditions, water acts as a universal symbol, which is endowed with many functions.

In Slavic mythology, this also found a place, because there is living water and dead water. And who knows what lurks in the dark pools of the river.

The master of the water element and the master of all water bodies among the Slavs was the water one.

The merman does not like fuss and quarrels and was usually considered a good spirit. This is the keeper of the waters who has power over all living creatures that live in his reservoir. He is very wise, and his character is measured. They asked the Vodyanoy for advice, since it was believed that the Vodyanoy had great knowledge about the most mysterious laws of the universe that were not available to other creatures. And it was not without reason that water could both give life and take it away. It is impossible to imagine life without water, but at a time when water shows its violent nature, it can do a lot of trouble and people can suffer from it. In many mythologies, the dual nature of water is noted. And Slavic beliefs are no exception in this regard.

Vodyanoy lives in large freshwater reservoirs: rivers, lakes, swamps. However, sometimes they were noticed on land in the nearby villages in the form of a gray-haired old man. In a river or lake, a merman lives in the deepest place or in places where there is a circular flow, for example, in whirlpools. Especially likes the water one to climb for the night under the water mill, near the wheel itself, which is why in the old days all millers were certainly considered sorcerers.

Also, watermen built houses in thickets of reeds and sedges from shells and semi-precious river pebbles.

The water man jealously guards his reservoir and does not forgive those who treat him disrespectfully: a guilty spirit can drown or severely cripple. However, the merman can also reward people: it is believed that the merman can bestow a good catch, but he can also leave the fisherman without a single fish at all. He loves the spirit and play pranks: he scares people at night with strange cries, he can pretend to be a drowned man or a baby, and when he is pulled into a boat or pulled ashore, he will open his eyes, laugh and flop back into the water.

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The waterman was respected and revered, not sacrifices were brought to him, but gifts - bread and other food grown on the ground. It was believed that Vodyanoy was very fond of food that was not related to his native element. But his favorite creature was the goose. And the fishermen had to share the first fish they caught with Vodyany. In general, a person who respected nature, did not litter lakes and rivers, and if necessary cleared them of weeds, Vodyanoy treated extremely favorably. The lord of the waters could give gifts to such people - casually leave pearls, precious stones or even artificial jewelry created by a human hand on the shore. It was believed that in the underwater Palace of the Vodyany there are huge treasures filled not only with jewels, but also with mighty artifacts of antiquity. The image of the Vodyanoy in this respect again approaches the image of a certain sage, the keeper of secret knowledge.

The mermen have their own herds of cows, horses, pigs and sheep, which are driven out of the waters at night and graze in the nearby meadows. Mermen marry mermaids and beautiful drowned women. When in the high water from the spring melting of snows or from long torrential rains the river comes out of its banks and breaks bridges, dams and mills with the swift pressure of the waves, the peasants think that these are water drinks at the wedding, indulged in wild fun and dancing and in their revelry destroyed all the people they met. barriers. Well, when the merman's wife is about to give birth, he takes on the appearance of an ordinary person, appears in a city or village, invites a midwife to him, leads him to his underwater possessions, and then generously rewards for his work with silver and gold. They say that once the fishermen pulled out a child in the nets, who frolicked and played when he was lowered into the water in the nets, but languished, sad and cried when they brought him to the hut. The child turned out to be the brainchild of a merman; the fishermen let him go to his father on the condition that he catch up with them in the net as many fish as possible, and this condition was met. However, if a merman goes among people, even if he takes on a human form, it is easy to recognize him, because water constantly drips from his left floor: wherever he sits, the place constantly turns out to be wet, and when he starts combing his hair, water flows from his hair.

To our ancestors, Vodyanoy was represented as a powerful (and sometimes vice versa - flabby) old man in clothes made of algae and with a beard and mustache made of mud. Vodyanoy had a staff intertwined with the same algae and a sea horse, which was a huge catfish. Perhaps that is why in the Middle Ages the catfish was called the devil's horse. In some legends, the Water bug-eye has a fish tail and webbing between the fingers and toes.

He usually rides on a catfish, and therefore in some areas this fish, the "damn horse", is not advised to be eaten. However, the caught catfish should not be scolded, so that the water one does not hear and does not take it into his head to avenge him. : In daylight, the water mostly hides in the depths, and in the dusk of the night it emerges: either in the form of a huge mossy pike, or in its true form. Then you can see that when the moon is young, his hair is fresh and green, like algae, and at the end of the month - gray. The age of the merman also changes: at the birth of the month he is young, at the detriment he is old.

It will emerge from the waves on a watery moonlit night, wrap itself in mud, put a hat of kuga (there is such a leafless water plant) on its sharp head, saddle a snag and swim to mischief. It slaps the water with its palm - and its sonorous blows are heard far along the reach. Then, in the midst of perfect silence, water suddenly swirls somewhere, foams, a water miracle jumps out of it and disappears, and at the same moment, half a verst from this place, water swirls again, the head of the water one is exposed again ... In summer he is awake, and in winter he sleeps, for winter the cold locks up the rains and covers the waters with ice. With the beginning of spring, in April, the merman wakes up from hibernation, hungry and angry, like a bear: out of annoyance, he breaks the ice, raises the waves, disperses the fish in different directions, and completely tortures the small ones. At this time, the angry lord of the river is appeased with sacrifices: water is poured with oil, geese are bestowed - the favorite bird of the water.

In his native element, the water one is invincible, but on earth his strength is weakening, here he is opposed by brownies and goblin. At night, mermen often fight with goblin, which is why the roar and crackle of falling trees goes through the forest, the splash of waves is loudly heard in all directions. On land, the merman has practically no chance of winning, but, nevertheless, often enters into fights, the outcome of which is known in advance: the spirit runs away into his pond.

It happens that the fishermen, raising the net, pull out along with the fish the “water miracle”, which immediately breaks the net, dives - and takes all the prey with it. One fisherman, seeing that the river was carrying a dead body, took the drowned man into the boat, but, to his horror, the dead man suddenly came to life: he jumped up, laughed and threw himself into the abyss. So the merman played a joke on him.

Among the Western Slavs, Vodyanoy was called Ezernim and was an unambiguously negative character. He had many subjects: Svitezhanka, Goplyans and Westerners. Like vodnitsy, they seduced careless fellows with their beauty and carried them to the bottom in order to increase the number of Ezernim's subjects. His beloved was the patroness of mountain streams that run from the peaks to the lakes, feeding them.
If people managed to anger Ezernim with something, he sent on them the malicious scarecrows of the Eccentric and Topelets, as well as the ugly water maidens of the plyuskon, who frightened careless fishermen to death at night.

Among the Eastern Slavs, Vodyanoy was an allegory of wisdom, mystery and tranquility. Although, like any light creature, Vodyanoy was partly a warrior and, if necessary, could defend his native places.

water spirit- this is the owner of all reservoirs: rivers, lakes, swamps and whirlpools. His existence ruined the life of more than one person. They say about the water one that he can turn into a horse and lure people into a pool, cry like a child and lead a person into swamps, become a big fish. In ancient legends it is said that the merman uses a catfish instead of a horse, and when he goes around his possessions, he holds on to his long mustache. All fish and swamp evil spirits are under his control. He is a kind of shepherd in his kingdom. Thanks to the miracle horse, the water spirit is looking for those who drowned in his domain.

What does a water spirit look like?

According to ancient myths and fairy tales, a description of an incomprehensible creature that lives in reservoirs at their very depth has come down to our days. His lair is usually located under the mill wheel, as the legend says. water spirita person seems very scary and unattractive. His body is very thick and green, very often he is covered with warts. His skin and hair are green, and he is covered in mud and nets. When the fishermen lose their gear, they say that the waterman is playing tricks. It is possible that a big fish damages them, but the attitude towards the water spirit does not get any better from this. His matted long hair and hooked nose don't make the creature any more attractive.

Even if the merman turns into a man, it is easy to recognize him. Since water will drip from the clothes of the one into whom he turns.

What does a water spirit do

The most favorite pastime of the merman is combing his hair. To do this, he carries with him a special comb. Picking up a comb on a pond is not a very good sign, since the water spirit will definitely come for it and demand it back.

The life of a merman is quite intense. He has a lot of worries in the household, so there is no time to annoy a person, but he is very vindictive and will never forgive interference in the water world. The most terrible revenge is to drag a person to the bottom and make him your servant. As a petty prank, he disperses his herds of fish and breaks the mill wheels.

The water spirit does not like to live alone. As his wife, he takes young girls who drowned, but were baptized during their lifetime. The girls are very mischievous, they confuse the nets, and do it so cleverly that not a single person can unravel them. The age is short. She gives birth to a child and then dies. water spirit can fool around with a widow who will bear him a child. Only the child he takes with him sooner or later.

In winter, the merman hibernates. In a frozen pond, he has nothing to do, but from April his time begins. It is necessary to break a thick layer of ice and proceed to their duties.

Very often, at Christmas time, girls turned to the water man so that fortune-telling was successful. But it was very dangerous, because if someone did not have time to say the right words, then he turned out to be drowned.

Fishermen without the blessing of the merman could not catch fish. In order for the catch to be large, it is necessary to release the very first fish back, in this case water spirit will bring a big joint.

Very often the lord of the reservoirs was appeased. So that he would not allow the spill of water, they threw a victim in the form of animal skins and heads into it. In order not to drown, people poured wine into the reservoirs, threw bread and tobacco. They really do not like tackle that is woven on a church holiday, so they tear it up.

People should not talk about holy things or clergy near the reservoir, as well as shout loudly and wake up the water spirit. He also doesn't like drunk people. Those who enter the water under the influence of alcohol can drown, so it's best not to risk it.

water spirit can be kind or vindictive depending on how the person treats him.

The water snake, or as it was called by the people - the “chess viper” is often found in the neighborhood with an ordinary snake and lives near both flowing and non-flowing reservoirs. His appearance on the beach quite often raises a real panic among vacationers. People immediately crawl out onto land, and the fate of a troublemaker, alas, is sometimes unenviable. I suggest you learn some interesting facts about this snake.

Are you taking a picture of a viper, - I heard a voice behind me, - See that you don’t bite.

No, not a viper, but a snake, - I answered, not looking up from the camera viewfinder and shooting another close-up.

Yes, vipers are now interbreeding with snakes: they turn out black, and gray, and in a box, and all are terribly poisonous!

Something like this happens every time someone sees me catching or photographing water snakes.

The notoriety of these snakes is just the fruit of the fear of people who are not familiar with reptiles. Water snakes lack the characteristic sign of a non-venomous snake, familiar to everyone - yellow-orange spots at the back of the head, which the common snake (Natrix natrix) has. For this reason, unknowing people classify all snakes without such spots as vipers and consider them poisonous and dangerous. Many people divide all legless reptiles into snakes and just "snakes", referring to vipers. So they say: “Is it really or a snake?”.

As soon as they don’t call water snakes: “a hybrid of a viper and snake”, “chess viper”, “chess”. When shouting “chess snake” on the beach, swimmers jump out of the water and wait for the snake to swim away, or until a “dared man” is found and kills the snake with a stick. One often hears the stories of anglers about "meter-long vipers" swimming across rivers or climbing into cages with fish.

All these stories are not really related to vipers, they are about water snakes. The specific name of the snake N. tessellata is indeed translated from Latin as chess, but the water viper has nothing to do with vipers. It belongs to the genus (Natrix sp.) like the common snake.

For a man, the water one is harmless. This snake's means of defense are loud hissing and foul-smelling excrement released when threatened. Unlike the common snake, the water snake almost never pretends to be dead.

The main food of water snakes is fish, which they catch among aquatic plants, snags or lying in wait at the bottom. The snake cannot swallow the caught prey under water, therefore it rushes to the shore, where it swallows the fish, having previously turned its head towards itself.

If the prey is too large, the meal can drag on for an hour or even longer. Some snakes die, not calculating their strength and choosing too large a fish.

“The water one is already quite widespread: from southwestern France, the valley of the river. The Rhine is in the west, the southern border of the range runs along the eastern part of northern Africa (to the Persian Gulf, Pakistan), in the east it occurs to the north-west of China, and the northern limits of the occupied territory pass through the Volga-Kama Territory, ”says candidate of biological sciences, employee Volgograd State University, herpetologist Dmitry Gordeev.

“This species belongs to the class of reptiles (Reptilia), the order of snakes (Serpentes), the family of snakes (Colubridae), the genus of real snakes (Natrix) and the species of water snake (Natrix tessellata). The water snake is a relatively large non-venomous snake, like all representatives of this family. Moreover, females, as a rule, are longer than males and can grow up to 1.1 m. Despite its impressive size, it is somewhat smaller than the familiar and easily recognizable common grass snake, which can reach up to 1.14 m.

The muzzle of the water snake, compared to the common one, is more pointed, and there are no yellow-orange spots on the sides of the head. Because of the latter circumstance, it is often confused with such venomous snakes as the common viper and the steppe viper. "Oil on the fire" adds a pattern on the back of a water snake, which vaguely resembles a zigzag stripe of vipers. I repeatedly came across dead snakes, which, apparently, the local population took for poisonous and mercilessly exterminated. On one of the expeditions, I came across a place of "mass execution", where I counted 25 "chess vipers" killed.

However, the water snake has a number of external signs by which it can be easily distinguished from poisonous vipers. The head is most recognizable - in vipers it is triangular in shape and most of the scutes (scales) on it are small, while in the water snake it is oval, and all the scutes are large. If you muster up the courage and look into the eyes of a snake, you can see that vipers, like real predators, have a vertical pupil (like a cat), and a snake has a round one. In addition, vipers are much smaller than snakes: the largest common viper reaches a length of up to 0.73 m.

Vodyanoy already settles near water: along the banks of rivers and irrigation canals, in flood meadows, where he finds his livelihood. Despite the peaceful nature, he is an active predator. Prefers fish of different species - perch, roach, loach, can even hunt pike. Therefore, scientists call it an ichthyophage. The snake pulls the caught prey ashore, where it eats. Much less frequently, the diet includes frogs and their tadpoles.

In the literature there is information about the discovery in the stomach of even a baby of an ordinary viper! The size of the prey can exceed the size of the snake's head, and the movable connection of the lower jaws and some bones associated with them helps to swallow it. Swallowing occurs by alternating movement of the left, then the right half of the lower jaw. This gives the impression that the snake "crawls" on its prey.

The active season lasts almost 9 months, they emerge from winter shelters in April. Soon after this, mating begins, then snakes are found in large numbers. One female can lay from 4 to 20 eggs, of which in July, under favorable circumstances, young growth will appear. Reed beds, tree roots, crevices in the substrate, rodent burrows, stumps and snags serve as a refuge for them. They leave for wintering at the end of October in large groups, sometimes together with an ordinary grass snake. Hedgehogs, desman, muskrat, fox, some birds hunt for snakes: osprey, gray heron, kites, serpent eagle, crow, rook and some others.

Every time I hear mention of a "terribly poisonous checkerboard", I talk about water snakes, their way of life, I try to convince them that these snakes are absolutely not dangerous. But every time I encounter misunderstanding, it’s easier for people to be afraid of the “chess viper” than to admit their belief in rumors and stop killing all snakes that lack the “identification marks” of an ordinary snake.

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Tricks of Life

It would seem that any person is able to answer the question, "who is a water one?". After all, everyone watched cartoons. Read children's fairy tales, and indeed, at least superficially. Familiar with this character of myths and legends. But in fact, the answer to the question "who is a merman?" not so simple, since it is a rather complex and ambiguous representative of evil spirits, perhaps belonging to one of the most ancient representatives of pagan super-beings.

So, let's start answering the question "who is a water one?" in order. For starters, Water is an evil spirit that embodies the element of water. The waterman acts as a negative and very dangerous character. The Belarusians had a belief that the wider and more dangerous the lake or swamp, the stronger and more dangerous its water.

It was believed that there are a great many water ones and they are everywhere where there is water, even the smallest pond has its own water pond.

The waterman was also called the waterman, the water grandfather, the water king, and so on. All names indicated that he is the master of water. But due to the fact that he was still a dangerous spirit, prefixes often appeared in his name, indicating belonging to an evil spirit, for example, a water devil, a water demon, a sea water devil.

The places where the merman liked to dwell most of all were deep and dangerous places on the rivers. Vodyanoy was certainly associated with "dark waters", that is, those sections of rivers or lakes where whirlpools were observed, or the water behaved in some strange way. Often such places were called "devil's houses." But the watermills were especially fond of the waterman and in the thickets of reeds and sedges.

The appearance of the water

What does aquatic look like?

The water man was described as a man, more often even as an old man. In some traditions, a huge swollen belly and a swollen face were also attributed to the merman.

According to beliefs, the age of the merman generally depends on the phases of the moon. So with a young moon, he looks like a young man with fresh and green hair like algae, and at the end of the moon he turns into a gray-haired old man.

The type of water combined not only human, but also animal features - paws instead of hands, horns on the head, and so on. An indispensable attribute of the merman was a beard and a green mustache, and he himself, as a rule, was entangled from head to toe in mud.

Origin of the merman

According to popular beliefs, the water one is not some kind of “self-formed” natural spirit, but a person who did not die by his own death.

Some traditions believed that children cursed by their parents or children of the devil become mermen. There is also a belief that the water ones are the children that Adam hid from God. And there are even myths that say that water stones are stones that the Almighty used to carve sparks when creating the world and man.

And, of course, there is a widespread belief that the mermen are angels cast down from heaven.

Often the image of the waterman was very close to the image of the devil. So, for example, the merman was often described as a peasant, very broad in the shoulders, with long and thin legs; in stories he sometimes has small horns, his body is covered with scales; tail "a quarter of three long"; fingers and toes are very long, with crooked, strong nails, and membranes between the fingers.

The image of the merman sometimes approached the image of the goblin. So, in some places they believed that he looked like a goblin, only his hair was very shaggy.

Why is water dangerous?

Water is initially hostile to humans. He can deliberately drag people to the bottom, sink boats, play tricks on people, often quite evil. It was also believed that the merman could come out of the water at night and harm livestock - drag it to him or ride it. In this case, they still believed that the animal on which the merman rode would not last long, it would soon get stuck in a swamp or drown. They especially tried to keep an eye on the animals grazing near the abode of the water, since it was they who were at an increased risk of being spoiled by the evil water spirit.

Only in rare cases, the merman descended to help a person, for example, he could help someone not to drown or even provide his patronage. Not many could boast of this, most often those to whom the water man treated, more or less favorably, were beekeepers, fishermen and millers. They even told about the latter that the waterman often invited them to visit him, where he gave him various gifts.

But it should be understood that such closeness with the water man was very risky, because in the event of some kind of trouble, the anger of the water man first of all fell upon those who were close to him. Therefore, to win over the merman was the first thing for fishermen and water millers. Most often, propitiatory sacrifices were made to the water during the construction of a dam or a mill, with the beginning of the fishing season, and so on.

As gifts, as a rule, they used fish, bast shoes, boots, a pinch of tobacco, carcasses of geese, flour with water in a bread cup, mutton or cock heads, a horse skull, oil, an awl, soap, lard, poured vodka into water, and so on. .

The water millers, wanting to please the water man, buried a black rooster alive during the construction of a new mill.

It has already been mentioned above that beekeepers depended on the favor of the merman. At first glance, it may seem that this statement has no logic. But the thing is that, according to popular beliefs, the first bees once "broke" from a horse that was driven and thrown into a water swamp.

The harm that water can do to bees is that it can make the air damper, and bees do not like this. It was also believed that the water hive could send rain on the hive and completely flood it. Therefore, the mermen coaxed the water spirit with fresh honey and wax, and sometimes even the first swarm of bees.

Ordinary people living next to any reservoir also depended on the behavior of the water one. They also tried in some way to appease the water spirit. One of the most popular and effective sacrifices was the offering of a horse, which, in some cases, was deliberately drowned in a lake or river. First of all, this was resorted to when people began to drown too often.

The merman dominates everything that is in the reservoir in which he lives, that is, all fish, frogs, plants surrounding the reservoir, and so on, are subordinate to him. He also has the power to lure animals from other rivers or lakes. Therefore, fishermen have always tried to appease this water spirit, moreover, if this is not done, the water spirit gets angry and begins to do various atrocities, for example, it does not cost him anything to fill the fishing nets with river grass, instead of fish, or even break them.

In general, fishermen largely depended on the favor of the water spirit, so they developed a number of different prohibitions associated with this water spirit. For example, in order to avoid damage from the side of the waterman, they tried to leave the fishing house secretly so as not to meet anyone along the way, and not to answer the question “where are you going?”.

It manifests itself as a water in different ways. He sometimes likes to imitate various sounds, especially human and animal sounds. He can squeal, moan, whistle, hoot, howl and so on. And if the water one screams, it means that he calls to the goblin. But at the same time, the merman himself does not like unnecessary noise, therefore he severely punishes violators of his peace, up to drowning. And this applies not only to those who swim on the water, for example, fishermen, but also to those who, say, walk along the water, talking loudly or whistling. The merman can jump out and drag such a person into his underwater kingdom.

There was also a belief that the water man could drag away someone who bathes without a cross or without crossing himself, without prayer or at an inopportune time, that is, after sunset. Moreover, the water one does not immediately kill a person, he first pulls him under water and pushes a stone along some snag and waits for him to choke. According to some beliefs, if the merman is very angry, he can even tear off the skin from a person.

In other cases, the merman did not kill people, but forever made them his slaves, forcing them to do various jobs - pour water, drag and wash sand, graze herds of fish, and so on. Some of them could be forced to roam the earth and steal and drink vodka. That is why in some places the drunkard was associated with the waterman or the servant of the waterman, classifying him as an evil spirit.

Sometimes, they believed that the man whom the merman had made his servant could pay off him and return to earth again. True, the ransom was heavy - one had to drown one of the people for oneself. But there were beliefs that even in this case, he still would not leave the water kingdom - he would simply cease to be a slave, and he himself would become a water one.

Vodyanoy loves to ride around his pond on a snag or catfish, which is therefore popularly called the "devil's horse." Catfish was respected, as they considered him a favorite of the water, so if they caught, they never scolded, fearing the revenge of the water.

On moonlit nights, the merman likes to float to the surface and swing on the water, admiring the full moon and at the same time having long conversations with himself. He loves to splash and make noise, slam on the water, raising small fountains of spray.

They also believed that the merman often comes out of the water onto a bridge and washes himself, combing his long beard.

In many ways, the behavior of the merman repeats the behavior of the reservoir in which he lives. Therefore, when the water splashes in the river, they said that it was the waterman playing, and when the water ripples, he gets angry. And if there was a flood, they believed that this water man was celebrating his wedding.

According to some beliefs, the merman eats only dead fish, especially loves eels and burbot, and those offerings that fishermen and owners of water mills donated to him. And although the water food is usually scarce, nevertheless, the people believed that, like any evil spirit, he loves to set feasts, calling all his relatives to them. And after such feasts, the merman loves to gamble, and sometimes it comes to the point that he completely loses all the water and fish from his pond.

Aquatic housing and habitat

The house of the water man himself was usually represented as being deep underground, and the water serves only as an entrance to his dwelling, which, according to popular ideas, was sometimes very impressive. For example, they believed that watermen had crystal chambers, decorated with gold and silver from sunken ships, as well as a “gem” stone, illuminating the seabed brighter than the sun.

Such chic was not inherent in all mermen, but only in those who lived in or near the seas. The northern mermen, living in rivers or lakes, had more modest mansions. They were content with sandy floors, tree branches instead of decorations, and rotten stumps instead of furniture.

According to some beliefs, the merman does not have his own home at all, so he has to hide where he can - in pits under snags, in underground burrows, and so on.

In his dwelling, the merman usually hides from cold weather and from winter. During this period, he usually hibernates and sleeps until Nikita Veshny or until the ice comes off the river or lake in which he lives.

It was also believed that the mermen had their own herds of cows, horses, pigs and sheep, which they graze at night in coastal meadows. Cows and horses of the water, according to popular belief, have wonderful properties: for example, they believed that his cows give milk twice or three times more than ordinary cows, and horses have extraordinary beauty and endurance.

Life of a merman

The water man has a wife, who is called a water woman. As a rule, either a mermaid or a woman who did not die of her own death (drowned woman), who was described as an ugly woman with huge breasts, acts as her.

Marry water, according to popular opinion, during the flood (after melting snow or heavy rains).

The children of the merman and the vodnikhi are called vodnyati. They often amuse themselves by tearing fishing nets. Although, according to some beliefs, a merman with a mermaid cannot have children at all, so they drag away bathing children to themselves.

The magical properties of the water

The waterman was credited with the features of werewolf, so they believed that he was able to turn into a small child with colorful hair.

It was believed that the merman could also take on the form of a half-man, half-fish, which makes him related to mermaids, since he was also sometimes described as a person who has arms but no legs, instead of them a fish tail.

The water one also takes the form of an ordinary fish, for example, burbot, catfish or pike. It can also take the form of a bird, but only associated with water - a swan, a drake, a goose, and the like.

It should be noted that when a merman turns into an ordinary fish or animal, he still has some anomalies, some unusual features. So, for example, if it turns into a pike, then it will not have fins.

The same applies to his human appearance - he will also differ in some details, the most noticeable of them - blood is constantly dripping from his clothes, and the place where he sat will always be wet.

In some places, it was believed that the ability of the merman to be a werewolf is much wider and it doesn’t cost him anything to turn into not only a fish or some kind of monster, but also a horse, dog, bull, frog, cow, pig, or even a log. But the log is unusual, but with wings that can fly over the swamp and frighten lost people.

© Alexey Korneev

Instruction

The owners of any reservoirs were popularly called watermen. They could live in rivers, ponds, lakes, pools or swamps. True, the merman living in the whirlpool was called the "whirlpool", and the inhabitant of the swamp was called the "swamp". Of all the Slavic spirits, the water one was considered the richest. In the thickets of reeds or sedges stood his rich chambers, built of shells and multi-colored gemstones. The watermen also had their own herds of horses, cows, sheep, which they drove out of the water at night and grazed in the nearby meadows. Mermaids or beautiful drowned women became the wives of the watermen.

In , when the river overflowed its banks due to spring snowmelt or many days of heavy rains and broke bridges, mills and dams on its way, the peasants thought that this waterman was celebrating a wedding. When the time came for the merman's wife to give birth, he took on the appearance of an ordinary person and went to a city or village to invite a midwife to his underwater mansions. If the birth went well, he generously rewarded her for her work with silver and gold. However, if the merman walked towards people, taking on a human form, it was not difficult to recognize him. The fact is that water constantly dripped from the left floor of his caftan, wherever he sat down - there was a wet place, and when he began to comb his hair - water flowed from his hair.

They say that once a chest fish got into the fishing nets. He played and frolicked while he was in the water, but as soon as he was brought into the hut, the child began to cry and. As it turned out, it was the brainchild of a merman. The fishermen returned him to his father on the condition that their nets would always be full of fish. In the future, this condition was strictly observed.

Our ancestors believed that being in their possessions, the merman usually rides on a catfish. Therefore, in some areas, catfish are called "devil's horse" and do not dare to eat. It is better to immediately release a catfish that has fallen into the net back into the river so that the merman does not take it into his head to avenge him. The merman, most often, was represented as a man with horns, a fish tail and crow's feet instead of hands. He was also described as an ugly old man, covered from head to toe with mud, with a huge belly swollen from water and a swollen face. His beard is long, gray or green, like seaweed.

In summer, the merman was awake, and in winter, when the water was covered with ice, he fell into hibernation. In April, an angry and hungry merman woke up and, out of frustration, broke the ice, raised waves and dispersed the fish. To appease the angry owner of the river, the peasants poured oil on the water and threw a roast goose into it - a favorite dish of the water goose.