Baba Yaga
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Added: 2 years ago
From: TheRavenOfPoe
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  • Baba Yaga From bartok the magnificent XD (BEST FILM EVER :D)

  • Wow... This takes me back. I remember my 1st encounter with Baba Yaga was in a video game called Heroes Quest made by Sierra.

  • You should stress the last syllable in word Yaga. Im russian and it`s rather interesting 2 see what people from other countries know about your own culture, especially when it`s not so well known in the world. You have a nice channel and of course ''mamihlapinatapai'' led me here. thank u ))

  • I found it interesting that Baba Yaga is associated with black, white, and red.

    From the book "Basic Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolution" wikipedia writes: 'The authors theorize that as languages evolve, they acquire new basic color terms in a strict chronological sequence.'

    Stage I: Black and white

    Stage II: Red

    Stage III: Either green or yellow

    Stage IV: Both green and yellow

    So in linguistic relativity, the colours black, white and red always take prominence.

  • Thank you for making me go back and want to read fairy tales.

  • @kelliko70 more welcome! :)

  • E AI BUNITINHA

    

  • Would you be interested in African fairy tales too?

  • @wilwad Yes, very much! :) I remember some I heard from my childhood, and have read a book of them more recently too.

  • @TheRavenOfPoe Good, if you have time, I just uploaded me reading Cannibal Uncle :3

  • @wilwad It was brilliant, thank you! :)

  • Baba Yaga is from  Slavic mithology - not only from Russian... Polish, Czech etc. too

  • I love Baba Yaga too. Have you read Susan Price's book The Ghost Drum? No BY in it, but still very good. :)

  • @TyrannySue I haven't! I'll have a look for it :) Thank you!

  • You have such great videos. Why? Because you are interesting, you are interested in many things, you find beauty in what most find mundane. Thank you for sharing yourself with the world.

  • @hermanzoon And my thanks to you for your appreciation! :)

  • Baba means grandma in both Russian and Ukranian.

  • @Rainmaker1113 "Baba" or "babka" means grandmother in polish too.

  • I can understand the fixation. I love fairy tales, even now at 26.

  • Baba Yaga has worked her way into Classical music, too. Check out Mussorgsky/Ravel's "Pictures at an Exhibition - The Hut on Fowl's Legs (Baba Yaga)". Russian music is great. I'm currently doing a research paper on the great Dmitri Shostakovich. :D

  • @Emunguia85 Brilliant, thank you! :)

  • Could you be prettier?

    Sorry, I know it's not the sort of compliment you're looking for here.

  • sounds interesting

  • Do you have Russian ancestors?

    Пока

  • Not that I know of :) My family origins seem to mainly go back to Ireland, Wales and England

  • i'm trying to get my wife to throw out a moldering library of fairy tales . . . i guess they'll be consigned to the fire, unless she stops me.

    wow, you still look great on youtube. i always get swallowed up by your fantastic blue eyes.

  • I hope she does stop you, hehe, that sounds like a wonderful book!

    And thank you! :)

  • Modern interpretation of Baba Yogas apartment house.

    This (full version) cartoon is very popular in Russia.

    youtube. com /watch?v=9Q45H9qKo0o

  • @svetopolk thank you for the link!

  • If Jen' had her hands tied behind her back would she be able to talk?

  • hehe, I suppose it wouldn't surprise you to learn that I am currently studying sign language! lol

  • Definitely a very interesting story, I've had the privilege of hearing many different Russian stories and fairy tales in my travels to Ukraine, it's so interesting to see the difference between their stories and English written stories, it's also amazing to note the similarities of some of the stories..

  • Very true! And I'd love to visit that region of Europe sometime for that very reason! :)

  • Hello Raven,

    Russian folklore and Lovecraft -- I love your taste in literature. I'm curious if you've heard of a modern piece of internet folklore that appeared about a year ago -- the Slender Man. Google it if you have some spare time, or check out the YouTube channel 'marblehornets.' Very odd, but intriguing.

  • I hadn't heard of the Slender Man before - what a fascinating creation he is, hehe! I love the collaborative nature of his creation and the speed with which he became known! Thank you! :)

  • nice very nice :)

  • thank you ^^

  • Wonderful vid!

    Are there any Russian fairytales about the Matryoshka dolls -- the nesting dolls...? I think they are fascinating.

  • So do I! And great question :) I wonder that too now

  • Hi there. I am from Russia. I've never heard stories about Matryoshka.

    I guess it is because of quite short history of Matryoshka in Russia, a little more than 100 years (talking about the shape we got used). And first of all it is not a girl or women it is something like pots and pans, just boxes for storing cereals (one version of origin).

  • Around Baba Yaga's house was a fence made of human bones...the fence of bone

  • Ah yes, another of my favourite elements!

  • Oh, and the German word Märchen (originally middle-high German maere) can be roughly translated into the words "today's news.

    The interesting bit I have with the brothers Grimm, is that they were hopeless Christian and moral. Hence, they, often clumsily, inserted morals or Christian themes into otherwise Germanic lore.

    If you read Chinese fairy tales, you can see the same thing happening. Except, unlike Christianity, Confusion teachings are inserted. It's absolutely hilarious to read.

  • Märchen, of course, is how to say "fairytales" in German.

  • I enjoy seeing the different versions of the Grimm's fairy tales as their motives changed - quite fascinating! I had a wonderful German teacher who taught our class about the word Märchen and had us translate the Schneewittchen tale into English - some of my favourite lessons! :)

  • Baba Yaga is a really strange bit of folklore; Ive always loved the fact that she has a house with legs. That book you have looks really interesting too.

    I recommend you read the book American Gods by Niel Gaiman, if you haven't already. He interweaves some really interesting gods and obscure folklore/fairytale characters into that book.

    His knowledge of mythology is pretty extensive. American Gods is like a novel and a lecture all rolled into one book.

  • Yes, American Gods is very good.

    And Neil Gaiman's graphic novel series The Sandman is wonderful.

  • Thank you for the recommendation! Sounds like I'll really enjoy the book!

  • Hello, the illustrations, are done by one of my favorite illustrators Ivan Bilibin. They are usually signed in cyrillic at the bottom of his illustrations. I classify Russians as Asians, and not Occidentals as are the Grimms'. Therefore, you may like certain Chinese or Indian "fairy tales". Japanese/Korean ones are a bit more strange than the aforementioned.

    My personal favorite character of Occidental fairy tales was "The Brave Little Tailor".

  • They are gorgeous illustrations :) One of the best styles I've seen!

  • Baba Yaga is a big legend in Bulgaria and rusia.

  • I can understand why - she is quite a character!

  • I also remember a tale about a fire bird. Do you know the name of it?

  • Like the Phoenix? Who rises from the ashes...

  • Oh yes! I do know on Russian one called "The Fire-Bird, The Horse of Power and the Princess Vasilissa". I particularly liked that one because it had another horse in it, hehe :)

  • I was born in the GDR and grew up with russian fairy tales. Unfortunately I forgot about most of them, but I DO remember Babayaga :)

  • She is certainly one I could never forget! :)

  • Your knowledge of literature is extensive.I own the complete Brothers Grimm.You look just like Rapunzel(or what I perceive her to be like).

    The Russian folk tales are very similar to the Germanic.Most go back to the Pagan or Pre-Christian times and collected later.

    I read a lot of German philosophy: Kant,Hegel,Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche.I thought about them while listening to your last video : Why Life? Do you read much philosophy?

  • Rapunzel was always a favourite tale of mine - the early Grimm versions in particular :)

    I studied two years of philosophy at university and really enjoyed it! I particularly liked the philosophy of language and meaning, as well as studying the ancient Greek philosophers.

  • -cont- Oh, and I almost forgot Cinderella! A humble house Maid, and a slave to her evil step-sisters, but only her foot could fit the Prince's Crystal Slippers! ; )

  • One of my fav. characters appears in many forms in diff. legends and fairytales-The Little Guy/Girl who happens to be destined for greatness! Seemingly ordinary, but marked for great things. He/She ends up doing what no one else can! Yay!! Only Frodo Baggins can wear Sauron's Ring, Only Arthur can remove The Sword In The Stone. Only Harry Potter can battle "He who must not be named!" Also, remember Aesop's Fable: "The Lion and the Mouse." ? In the end, only the mouse could save he lion! : )

  • Yes, and some simple people are just simple, and some turn out to be a prince or a princesses.

    More modern myths are Luke Skywalker, and Neo, "The One."

  • That is one of my favourite elements too Brian! That special thing that the person can do that no one else can - especially when its linked to a magical object!

  • You have to be one of the most interesting soul that I have ever known of!!

  • hehe, thank you!

  • I just did a google on Baba Yaga...... cool

    the book has a "IBSN" number on it

    if I can get that number I can buy a copy

  • excellent! It's a wonderful book! :)

  • I can't say I've read a lot of fairy-tails other than the typical classics which was long ago. But this was very interesting. Thank you :)

  • Thanks ST! I can't get enough of them, hehe. Some of the lesser known fairy tales are the most interesting!

  • Also, while not an actual fairy tale itself, back when I was a lad, on the old U.S. Nick Jr. programming block of Nickolodean, I remember seeing what I suspect was a Japanese anime for kids that involved a character called "The Snow Witch."

    I have never been able to find this program again though I very much want to see it again. I'm quite sure the character was "The Snow Witch" and not "The Snow Queen" as in the one from H.C. Anderson, but the plot was very similar.

  • I'd be quite interested in seeing that!

  • Thanks for the recommendation!

    While this is a more modern fairy-tale book, and rather more a sort of encyclopedia than an actual storybook, I highly recommend Wil Huygen and Rien Poortvelt's "Gnomes." It inspired the series "David the Gnome," if you're famaliar with that, which is in itself a great cartoon series.

  • I have a vague recollection of the animated series - will look out for the book! :)

  • OMG RAVEN!!! Baba Yaga scares me :( lol I remember hearing the story when I was a kid and it caused many nightmares for me. It does make me laugh now.

  • hehe, she is quite frightening!!

  • Were those illustrations by Ivan Bilibin

    Jen? Lovely stuff.

  • Yes they were! :)

  • Those Russian fairy tales sound wonderful...

  • They are truly fantastic in both senses of the word! :)

  • I actually have a beautiful book of the Grimm brothers fairy tales upstairs that I read quite often. It's around 80 years old and has lovely illustrations and such :]. You made me think of it xD

  • 80 yrs old! It must be gorgeous to read! :)

  • As we discussed, there has to be a link between the witch's house and the one in Howl's moving castle.

    I bought a translation of Grimm's Fairy Tales over Christmas and am looking forward to getting into some of the creepier ones!

  • I loved the Howl connection! ^^

  • OMG this fairy tale scared me as a child!!! Well the pictures did :( Great over-view Raven :)

  • thank you!!

  • When I grew up, I used to read old Germanic sagas and Greek myths. I only got into Gebrüder Grimm later. I also had a very colourful book about a Chinese fairy tale incorporating dragons which I found awesome.

    I did enjoy one story in the style of a Russian fairy tale called "The Bell of green Ore". Have you ever heard of it?

  • I'll have to check my books for that one! :) I love Greek mythology too and would like to learn more about the Germanic sagas and also Norse mythology. The snippets I've heard so far have always been fascinating!

  • I find it interesting that every society since the dawn of man have had tales whose main purpose was to scare the hell out of the children and keep them from misbehaving. Some of the weirdest fairy tales I've read have been from the Philippines-lots of child consumption and other nastiness. Great vid.

  • I'll have to look into the Philippines stories - they sounds like they could give the Brothers Grimm a run for their money on gruesomeness hehe!

  • I also enjoy Russian fairy tales, as well as those of the Brothers Grimm.

    Mussorgsky's "Picture's at an Exhibition"

    include a movement entitled, "The Hut of Baba Yaga". Have you heard it? It's one of my favorite pieces of music. Thank you for sharing :)

    Tom

  • I haven't! I'll try and look it up online if I can :)

  • Sadly, my only recollection of Baba Yaga is from the Film "Lawndogs" where the young girl fantasizes about the witch living in a nearby forest.

    "The opening scene had Devon in a white dress, a lawn, crickets chirping in warm dusk, reading-"Once upon a time, in a far off land, lived a girl. ... Outside the village was Baba Yaga the witch ... who ate little girls for dinner."

  • Sounds like an interesting film!

  • I like the sound of this fairy tale. The mortar pessel and the house turning-I love those little quirks.

  • me too! ^^

  • Very interesting, I enjoyed hearing about "Baba Yaga". It's funny how a lot of these children's fairy tales can be quite scary (lol)! The one I remember my parents telling me as a child was the story of Hanzel and Gretel with the ginger bread house and the child eating witch... a great bed time story (LOL)! Thank you for this vlog Jennifer, I enjoyed it! ... FrAnK (★★★★★)

  • thank you!! :)

  • i remember hearing that name in a campy old Italian horror movie.. lol

    ...and now i know..the rest of the story. thanks!

  • hehe!

  • Thanks

  • thank you! :)

  • Russian fairy tales seems like a strange thing to be interested in but then again I do have some strange Fascinations . I have heard of baba yaga though. When i was about 7 I watched a cartoon with her in and the image of the house stuck in my mind.

  • I'd enjoy seeing an animated version of the story!

  • I think it was on the childrens tv show arthur. I could try to find it but I am not sure it was all that great to be honest. :)

  • Oh dear, now I know how far into pop culture I've fallen. I was certain you were going to do some literary spin on a Lady Gaga song. LOL!

    Do you read Russian? If not, do you have a favorite author/translator? I started learning German after reading Walter Kaufmann's translation of Goethe's Faust..my favorite story. Thanks to you, I'm adding Russian fairy tales to my "to read" list.

  • Kaufmann wrote a wonderful book, "Existentialism for Dosetevsky to Sartre."

  • lol!

    No sadly I don't know any Russian although I'd love to learn a little one day :) I love the sounds of it! I don't have a favourite translator yet either but I prefer reading ones that have a proper note from the translator at the beginning explaining what sacrifices or changes they had to make in the translation.

  • Very interesting video... five stars faved~! :P

  • thank you! :)

  • how interesting, that fairy tales would not necessarily have happy endings.

  • Yes indeed! Quite a different way of getting the morals across!

  • That was very interesting, I gotta read some of those stories if I ever get my hands on such a book!

    I myself can't really think of any fav character when it comes to fairy tales, especially not reoccurring ones. Even though I do know f.t.s from quite a lot of authors as Grimm, Andersen, Bechstein, Hauff or the ones from 1001 nights.

    In general I like Irish f. t.s best though, they have a special atmosphere to them. The setting plays a major part for me as well.

    Luv your hair in this vid btw :)

  • Oh now I almost forgot something X)

    Because besides Irish fairy and folk tales I REALLY love the myths and legends from my own country, we usually call them "Alpensagen". Most of the time - as the name suggests - they take place in mountainous areas and often explain the shapes of natural sceneries or are about simple superstitions of the people of former times.

    Sorry if I am going too much off topic :(

  • No, this is very interesting! Thank you!

  • I have a book somewhere of Irish fairy tales I used to adore as a child - will have to look for it :) Thank you!

  • LOL Baba Yaya ( Баба Яга ) is the name of my old 1989 Audi 80 car

    hehehe

    In Bulgrailand baba yaga is the name to the witch in the story of Erm erm the one with the litle boy and girl following the bread crumbs

    SPRINKLES

  • hehe what a fantastic name for a car! Although I might be frightened to ride in a car with her name lol ;)

    Ah yes Hansel and Gretel! All the versions I've read leave the witch unnamed - it would be all the more frightening a tale with Baba Yaga in there ^^ I'll have to see if I can find that version to read :)

  • Yea, Baba Yaga is the shiznit! I hope you like my tribute to her, "Baba the Witch." Be well.

    Peace,

    \A/

  • Thank you for making it a video response! :)

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