Bird gamayun in Russian mythology. Prophetic birds of the Slavs. Character and magical abilities

The duality of mythological creatures can be traced in all folk cultures. The birds Alkonost and Sirin are the guardians of the Slavic Paradise and reflect the cycle of Life and Death in the world order.

general characteristics

Despite the similar appearance, birds have many differences. They lie in the nature and origin of these creatures.

This maiden-bird in Slavic mythology is identified with the light principle. She is credited with the role of a messenger of joy and prosperity.

Origins

The ancestor of the Slavic bird-virgin is the Greek woman Alcyone. According to myths, the girl learned about the death of her husband and threw herself into the sea, for which the gods of Olympus turned her into a seabird.

Alkyone (ἀλκυών) is translated from Greek as kingfisher. This breed builds its nests on the seashore and feeds on fish.

Appearance

The appearance of the creature has changed throughout Russian history. According to the surviving images, Alkonost had the following external features:

On popular prints, the bird-virgin has a woman's face, chest and arms, and the creature also holds a flower from Paradise and a scroll that describes the heavenly rewards for a righteous life. In these pictures, Alkonost has a variegated plumage.
Viktor Vasnetsov in the 19th century. depicted a creature with white plumage, indicating its light essence.
The creature's head is crowned with a golden crown.
The claws on the creature's right paw are gold, and the claws on the left are silver.

According to legends, Alkonost possesses both positive and negative character traits. The creature descends to the ground and mourns the song of the fallen warriors. Creation sings happiness and joy in Heaven to the righteous, and promises reward for sinners for their actions. Among the magical features of the creature are:

Messenger of the gods. In some Slavic interpretations, Alkonost, like a bird of Paradise, acts as a messenger of the god Khors or Svarog. With its singing, the creature told people the will of the pantheon.
Weather control. According to legends, the creature can raise storms over the sea or calm the water surface.
Accompaniment of souls. The creature accompanied the noble deceased on the battlefield to the gate of Iria.
Intoxicating voice. Alkonost's songs could captivate an unprepared listener, which is why a person forgot about everything in the world. The dope passed when the bird-maiden finished singing.

Despite the bright beginning inherent in the image, Alkonost could also seriously harm a person. According to legend, the bird lays a magic egg on the winter solstice and lowers it to the seabed. For this period, storm winds and storms subside.

The creature itself monitors the water surface from the shore and waits for the egg to emerge. According to legends, Alkonost eggs are able to protect from any evil and fulfill desires, so many people tried to steal the clutch. The stolen egg was hung under the ceiling beam of the church. The bird did not forgive such an insult and pursued the thief for the rest of his life. Having found a daredevil, Alkonost took his soul and left it to wander the earth forever.

Habitat

Alkonost, according to mythology, lives on the banks of the Euphrates River. The bed of this river flows through Iriy (Prav) - a Slavic paradise. The place where the bird lives is called Buyan Island.

On some popular prints, Alkonost is depicted on a tree with the fruits of knowledge guarded by the dragon Ladon.

Bird Sirin

Unlike Alkonost, Sirin is presented as a bird of sorrow and sorrow. According to legend, this creature protects Nav - the world of the dead.

Origins

The name of the creature comes from the Greek word "Seiqmer", which is referred to as "sirens." These birdlike creatures living on the rocks in the seas are the progenitors of the Sirin image. They are also related to the Slavic maiden-bird by a dangerous and enticing voice for sailors.

The first images of Sirin date back to the 10th century. The dark creature was depicted on pottery and door locks. In Russian legends, this creature is a paradise inhabitant, whose singing bewitches any mortal.

Towards the end of the 17th century, Sirin was mentioned in such literary monuments as Physiologists, Chronograph and Azbukovnik. In them, the creation was described as a messenger of death.

Appearance

Sirin's appearance has a number of differences from Alkonost. Among them are:

The plumage is dark or gray. The hair is resinous, the eyes are blue.
After the baptism of Rus, they began to depict a halo around the head of the creature.
The creature's paws are silver plated.

In the pre-Christian period, there are images of the Sirin with white plumage as a symbol of rebirth. Through the crying of the bird-virgin, souls were cleansed of earthly litigations.

Character and magical abilities

The general character traits of the dark creature have changed throughout the culture. Sirin was originally a negative creature. Virgo-bird intoxicated the heads of people, because of which they lost their minds and forgot about their past life. Sirin's voice made the Slavs not be afraid of death, but the soldiers themselves began to thirst for death. A meeting with a bird of death can end with a suicide for a person.

This creature could be fought - Sirin cannot stand noise. According to legend, if a creature descended to the ground and began to sing, then it is necessary to sound the bells, shoot cannons and rattle weapons. In this case, the maiden-bird will be frightened by loud sounds and will fly away.

There is another way to overcome her bewitching voice. To do this, you should start singing yourself. If the voice of a person turns out to be more beautiful, then the creature will listen and become silent. After that Sirin can help with advice. But a bad voice will anger the creature, it will severely punish the daredevil, taking his soul.

With her singing, the bird-virgin is able to create a whirlpool that will lead to the death of the ship.
The gift of foresight. The words of the creature song could often describe the future, positive and negative predictions always came true. For this reason, the Slavs were afraid of bird singing.
The creature often tests people with its singing. The bird brings a reward to those who endure, and death to those who succumb to temptation. Thus, the gods tested mortal heroes for their willingness to give up their vicious weaknesses.

Habitat

In the early legend, the habitat of Sirin was Nav - the world of the dead. There, the bird-maiden mourned the dead soldiers with sad songs. The creature was the messenger of the Cosmic God who commands the dead.

In later sources, Sirin lives in Iria, guarding the trees and the magic river. The bird occasionally flies to the ground to honor the fallen soldiers with sorrowful crying.

Legends about Alkonost and Sirin

There are several mentions of the sacred bird-maidens in the legends of the Slavs. Some of them belong to the pagan period, others to the Christian.

Resurrection of Perun

According to the myths of the Slavs, the main god of their religion was born by Svarog and Mother Sva. However, in infancy, the deity was stolen by the Skiper-serpent, a hundred-headed dragon with a scorpion's tail. Together with Perun, the monster also stole his sisters, the goddesses of love, death and life - Lelya and I Live.

The serpent skipper buried the sleeping Thunderbolt in the depths of the underworld. 300 years after the abduction, Mother Sva gathered the brothers of Perun, Svarozhech, and ordered to find the main god.

To speed up the search, the three gods turned into birds: Volos - in Sirina, Yarilo - in Alkonosta, and Striver took the guise of Stratim. In this form, they were looking for a brother for seven years. The gods called the Snake Skipper to account, but he tried to hide the truth.

Magic birds did not fall for the dragon's lie and were able to find Perun sleeping in a dead sleep. To revive him, the gods asked the bird Gamayun to bring the magical Surya from a well in the Ripean Mountains.

After the Svarozhichi washed the face of the Thunderer with living water, he woke up. His first feat was the victory over the Skipper-serpent, whom Perun stripped of all heads and banished to the ends of the earth.

Apple saved

Traditionally, the holiday of Apple Savior is celebrated on August 19. Despite its Slavic roots, this festival was also converted to Christianity.

This day marks the end of the summer season, which marks the harvest. According to legend, the joyful Alkonost and the sad Sirin fly from Prav to Yav at Yablochny. They carry healing herbs in their paws.

First, Sirin flies around the gardens and sings sad songs, mourning all the dead and those who lived in falsehood. For this reason, it is undesirable to eat apples before August 19 - according to legends, the one who has tasted faces a year full of misfortunes.

After Sirin the apple tree, Alkonost visits - the bird of happiness. Her singing is full of joy and light, it marks the constant cycle of life and death, the change of seasons and the constant renewal of nature.

From the wings the bright maiden-bird shakes off the dew, watering the trees with it. According to legend, after visiting the gardens of Alkonost, apples acquire healing properties. They are given to fresh friends and relatives, as well as feed children for future use. This ritual will help people avoid winter ailments.

The holiday reminds people that the highest values \u200b\u200bare spiritual. On this day, they treat the poor and the poor, visit their distant relatives and thank the older generation for their lives. This is due to the fact that the bird-maidens Sirin and Alkonost are also the keepers of the hearth. The Slavs revered these creatures on an equal basis with other bereginas and asked to save the house from quarrels and poverty.

Other Slavic bird-maidens

The same mythological creatures of Eastern Europe can have a number of differences depending on the region. Some creatures acquire similar traits and abilities.

Virgo-bird Sva is the progenitor of all Slavs. She emerged from golden eggs that were laid by the World Duck, who created the world.

The goddess looks like a bird with a female head. Her plumage is multi-colored, her hair is golden, and her eyes are blue. Traditionally, Mother Sva is depicted without weapons, but with her wings she covers all of Russia from enemies.

The bird is able to raise the fighting spirit of the Slavs, which is why they, even with a small army, could win on the battlefield. The warriors blessed by Mother Sva lost their fear of death and, dying, felt joy. This makes the goddess related to Alkonost and Sirin, who also sang to the lost about happiness and piety in the Rule.

Among the southern Slavs, Mother Sva was associated with things by the bird Gamayun. According to legend, in this form the goddess appeared before people. In its true form, the creature is depicted on fire, which symbolizes the unquenchable fighting spirit of the Slavs.

In paganism, mother Sva is the wife of the heavenly blacksmith Svarog. Together they gave birth to the entire Slavic pantheon.

The habitat of Mother Sva is the sky. From him, the maiden-bird illuminates the Russian lands and guards the borders.

The messenger bird is a well-known character in many cultures. Gamayun is traditionally considered the messenger of Veles. In the southern regions, this creation is the messenger of Perun.

Gamayun's habitat is Buyan Island. Some legends also mention the Makarii Mountains.

This creature lives on Buyan Island. The creature looked like a snow-white bird with a female head. Stratim has nothing to do with the gods and other worlds. The Slavs described this creation as a mighty chimera, which covers the whole world with its right wing.

On the head of Stratim is a crystal crown, and the main ability of this bird is to control nature. Like Alkonost, this creature is able to calm storms and hurricanes. Unlike the light bird-maiden, Stratim causes storms and earthquakes.

Stratim does not belong to the coastline. This creation personified, in the understanding of the Slavs, the power of nature, before which any person is vulnerable.

Simurg combines the head of a lion and the body of a bird. In some images, the creature has a human face. According to Iranian mythology, this creature sits underneath and protects it from evil.

This deity carries the will of the Creators to people, playing the role of a messenger bird. According to legend, Simurg sings joyfully in the spring, thanks to which trees and plants awaken from sleep. In the fall, this creature sings a sad song, under which the whole living world plunges into winter sleep.

Like Alkonost, Simur is able to control the weather. From the flapping of its wings the winds rise, and where the bird-messenger flies, it will rain.

Conclusion

Sirin and Alkonost are bird-maidens in Slavic mythology, whose connection demonstrates the cycle of Joy and Sorrow, Life and Death. Despite a similar appearance, the creatures have a number of distinctive features.

In the culture of the Slavs, the functions of dual beings were performed by many magical birds - Mother Sva, Gamayun and the Firebird. In the mythologies of many countries, you can find references to similar creatures.

… “Why don't people fly like birds?” * Anyone, probably, a person knows the feeling of flight - everyone flew in childhood in a dream. And then all our life we \u200b\u200black this feeling, and therefore we are so envious of birds. And we readily accept them as mysterious creatures endowed with mystical abilities, capable of predicting the future, bringing happiness or just good luck.

The bird in Slavic mythology occupies a special and very significant place. The supreme deity Rod - the beginning of all beginnings, in its earthly incarnation took the image of a gray duck, which was his symbol and the bearer of his strength. It was this duck that laid two eggs - Reality and Nav - the embodiment of good and evil, life and death ...

The images of birds that have come down from the depths of time are very diverse, which is explained by the huge territories inhabited by Slavic peoples. In general, for the sake of simplicity, I would divide the birds, endowed with folk consciousness with mystical qualities, into three groups.
The first must include mythical creatures - half-birds, half of people with the gift of prophecy and the ability to bring people trouble or happiness, grief or good luck. These include Gamayun, Alkonost, Sirin, Stratim and Phoenix.

Messenger of the Slavic gods, their herald. She sings divine hymns to people and proclaims the future to those who agree to listen to the secret.
In the old "Book, Verb Kozmografiya", the map depicts a round plain of the earth, washed on all sides by a river-ocean. On the east side is marked “Makariysky Island, the first under the very east of the sun, near the blessed paradise; because it is so denounced that birds of paradise Gamayun and Phoenix fly into this island and wear out a wonderful fragrance. " When Gamayun flies, a deadly storm emanates from the east of the sun.

Gamayun knows everything about the origin of earth and sky, gods and heroes, people and monsters, animals and birds. According to ancient belief, the cry of the Gamayun bird portends happiness.

This is a wonderful bird, an inhabitant of Iria, a Slavic paradise.
Her face is feminine, her body is that of a bird, and her voice is sweet, like love itself. Having heard Alkonost singing with delight, he can forget everything in the world, but there is no evil from her to people, unlike her friend Sirin the bird. Alkonost lays eggs "at the edge of the sea", but does not hatch them, but plunges them into the depths of the sea. At this time, the weather is calm for seven days - until the chicks hatch.
The Slavic myth about Alkonost is similar to the ancient Greek legend about the girl Alcyone, turned by the gods into a kingfisher.

This is one of the birds of paradise, even its very name is consonant with the name of paradise: Iriy.
However, these are by no means bright Alkonost and Gamayun.
Sirin is a dark bird, a dark force, a messenger of the ruler of the underworld. From the head to the waist, Sirin is a woman of incomparable beauty, from the waist - a bird. Whoever listens to her voice forgets about everything in the world, but soon is doomed to misfortune and misfortune, or even dies, and there is no strength to make him not listen to Sirin's voice. And this voice is true bliss!

Ancient legends say that Stratim-bird - the progenitor of all birds - lives on the sea-ocean, like Alkonost. When the Stratimbird screams, a terrible storm rises. And even if she just guides her with a wing, the sea waves, sways.
But if the Stratim-bird takes off, then such ramparts rise up that the sea sinks ships, opens up the deepest abysses and washes away the cities and forests from the shores. In this sense, she is like the Sea King. In some legends, she helps the hero get out of the deserted island and fly to the ground - for the fact that he saves and has mercy on her chicks. A strange and mysterious prophecy has survived: "When Stratim trembles in the second hour after midnight, then all the roosters all over the earth will sing, and the whole earth will light up at that time."

(possibly from the Greek. "purple, crimson") - a mythological bird that has the ability to burn itself. Known in the mythologies of different cultures. The phoenix was thought to have the appearance of an eagle with bright red plumage. Anticipating death, he burns himself in his own nest, and a chick appears from the ashes. According to other versions of the myth, he is reborn from the ashes.

Of the birds-fairy-tale characters, the Firebird most likely has a direct prototype from the mythological birds, namely the Phoenix. This fabulous bird, a character in Russian fairy tales, is usually the target of a hero search. The feathers of the firebird have the ability to shine and amaze a person with their brilliance. The catch of the firebird is fraught with great difficulties and is one of the main tasks that the king (father) sets in the fairy tale to his sons. Only the kind youngest son manages to get the firebird. Mythologists (Afanasyev) explained the firebird in the form of the personification of fire, light, sun. The Firebird feeds on golden apples, which give youth, beauty and immortality; when she sings, pearls fall from her beak. The singing of the firebird heals the sick and restores sight to the blind. Leaving aside arbitrary mythological explanations, one can compare the firebird with medieval stories, very popular in both Russian and Western European literature, about the Phoenix bird rising from the ashes. The Firebird is also the prototype for peacocks. Rejuvenating apples, in turn, can be compared with the fruits of the pomegranate tree, a favorite delicacy of the Phoenixes.

Prophetic birds of the Slavs

Stratim bird

The ancestor of all birds and bird-people was the Stratim-bird (or Strefil-bird). Where she flew from to the sea-ocean, to the White Stone, no one knows, but her name came from the Greek word strufokamil (ostrich). The stratim bird flapped its wing - the sea began to agitate, screamed - a storm arose, and when it flew - it covered up the white light. Huge shafts rose on the sea, ships went to the bottom, and the water washed away all living things from the shores. The bird embodied the most destructive forces of nature.
Ancient legends say that Stratim-bird - the progenitor of all birds - lives on the sea-ocean, like Alkonost. When the Stratimbird screams, a terrible storm rises. And even if she just guides her with a wing, the sea waves, sways.
But if the Stratim-bird takes off, then such ramparts rise up that the sea sinks ships, opens up the deepest abysses and washes away the cities and forests from the shores. In this sense, she is like the Sea King. In some legends, she helps the hero get out of the deserted island and fly to the ground - for the fact that he saves and has mercy on her chicks. A strange and mysterious prophecy has survived: "When Stratim trembles in the second hour after midnight, then all the roosters all over the earth will sing, and the whole earth will light up at that time."

"... Which bird is all mother birds?
And Stratim is a bird to all mother birds.
And she lives on the Ocean-Sea,
And builds a nest on a white stone;
How the shipwreck guests will come
And for that is the nest of the Stratimbird
And on her children on the little ones,
The stratim bird will rage
The ocean-sea is rising up
As if fast rivers overflow,
He sinks the living room ships,
Sinks many scarlet ships
With precious goods! "

("The Pigeon Book")

Bird Alkonost

Alkonost (alkonst, alkonos) - in Russian and Byzantine medieval legends, the bird of paradise-maiden of the sun god Khors, bringing happiness. According to the legend of the 17th century, the Alkonost stays near paradise and when he sings, he does not feel himself. Alkonost consoles the saints with his singing, announcing their future life. Alkonost lays eggs on the seashore and, plunging them into the depths of the sea, makes it calm for 7 days. Alkonost's singing is so beautiful that he who hears him forgets about everything in the world.

The image of Alkonost goes back to the Greek myth of Alcyone, turned by the gods into a kingfisher. This fairy-tale bird of paradise became known from the monuments of ancient Russian literature and popular prints.

Alkonost is depicted as a half-woman, half-bird with large multi-colored feathers (wings), human hands and a body. A maiden's head, shaded by a crown and a halo, in which a short inscription is sometimes placed. He holds heavenly flowers in his hands or an unfolded scroll with an explanatory inscription. The legend of the Alkonost bird echoes the legend of the Sirin bird and even partially repeats it. The origins of these images should be sought in the myth of the sirens. There is a caption under one of the popular prints with her image: “Alkonost stays near Paradise, sometimes it happens on the Euphrates River. When he emits a voice in singing, then he does not feel himself. And whoever is close then will forget everything in the world: then the mind departs from him, and the soul leaves the body ”. Only the Sirin bird can compare with Alkonost in sweet sound.

Bird Sirin

Sirin [from the Greek. seirēn, cf. siren] - bird-virgin. In Russian spiritual poetry, she, descending from paradise to earth, enchants people with singing, in Western European legends, she is the embodiment of an unhappy soul. Derived from Greek sirens. In Slavic mythology, a wonderful bird, whose singing dispels sorrow and longing; appears only to happy people. Sirin is one of the birds of paradise, even its very name is consonant with the name of paradise: Iriy. However, these are by no means bright Alkonost and Gamayun. Sirin is a dark bird, a dark force, a messenger of the ruler of the underworld.

Sometimes the beautiful Sirin bird is found in the form of a real bird, without any human components. Its feathers are covered with an invisible mass, symbolizing the Elements. "Her wings were white with blue and red stripes, like caramel, her beak was pale purple, pointed, like a blade, and her eyes were bright, green, the color of young foliage, and wise, supportive."

Bird Gamayun

Gamayun - according to Slavic mythology, a prophetic bird, the messenger of the god Veles, his herald, singing divine hymns to people and foreshadowing the future for those who know how to hear the secret. Gamayun knows everything in the world about the origin of earth and sky, gods and heroes, people and monsters, birds and animals. When Gamayun flies from sunrise, a deadly storm comes.

Originally from Eastern (Persian) mythology. Depicted with a woman's head and chest. The collection of myths "Songs of the bird Gamayun" tells about the initial events in Slavic mythology - the creation of the world and the birth of pagan gods. The word "gamayun" comes from "gamayunit" - to lull (obviously, because these legends also served as bedtime stories for children). In the mythology of the ancient Iranians there is an analogue - the bird of joy Humayun. "Songs" are divided into chapters - "Balls".

The Firebird is a fabulous bird, a character in Russian fairy tales, usually the target of a hero search. The feathers of the firebird have the ability to shine and amaze a person with their brilliance.

The catch of the firebird is fraught with great difficulties and is one of the main tasks that the king (father) asks his sons in the fairy tale. Only the kind youngest son manages to get the firebird. Mythologists (Afanasyev) explained the firebird in the form of the personification of fire, light, sun. The Firebird feeds on golden apples, which give youth, beauty and immortality; when she sings, pearls fall from her beak. The singing of the firebird heals the sick and restores sight to the blind. Leaving aside arbitrary mythological explanations, one can compare the firebird with medieval stories, very popular in both Russian and Western European literature, about the Phoenix bird rising from the ashes. The Firebird is also the prototype for peacocks. Rejuvenating apples, in turn, can be compared with the fruits of the pomegranate tree, a favorite delicacy of the Phoenixes.

Raven

The RAVEN is the Prophetic bird, the faithful companion of the Ruler God Varuna. He accompanies the Souls of the dead to the Gate of Vyriya in the Great Svarga of the Most Pure and informs the Souls-Navyas about what lofty goals they have achieved in their Spiritual and Soul development and in fulfilling their Life Purpose.

If God Varuna decides that a person needs to be given the opportunity to complete the deed he has begun, which he did not manage to complete due to the sudden death, then he directs his assistant, the Crow, to the Soul of the deceased person.

The Raven is the keeper of the Living and Dead Water, gives the Soul of the deceased the opportunity to return to its own body, so that the person, having returned to the World of Reveal, could complete his unfinished business. In the world of Revelation, they say about such a person: "He experienced clinical death" or "He returned from the other world." Oddly enough, but after the return of a person to his former life by the God-Ruler Varuna, a person changes his way of behavior, or wastes his life in vain and completes a task that he did not manage to finish.

In fairy tales, he sometimes helps the hero and even saves him, warning of danger. In the image of Voron, Voronovich kidnaps the hero's sister or mother and either enters into mortal combat with him, or becomes a faithful friend and observes the laws of kinship.

Bird Simurg

Simurg is a prophetic bird, initially found only in Iranian myths, but later the Turkic tradition also became its habitat (Simurg flew there, leading a flock of Peri and Devas).

In the new place Simurg settled down completely, as evidenced, for example, by the fact of his presence in Uzbek dastans. In fairy dastans, Simurg is a positive image: a giant bird, as a rule, helps the hero by providing him with transport services, for example, transfers him to his relatives. In classical Turkic lyric poetry, the image of Simurg already carries a different semantic load - a mysterious bird lives on Mount Kaf - a mountain range that encircles the earth and supports the heavens - that is, it lives at the very end of the world.

Simurg is a phantom, nobody can see him. In the language of poetry, the expression "to see Simurg" means - to realize a pipe dream. This image was further developed and interpreted somewhat differently in Sufi literature. In "Conversation of Birds", the famous poem of the Persian poet Farididdin Attar, Simurg is an allegorical expression of true knowledge, a symbol of the identity of the creator and creation. Alisher Navoi presented his version of this poem in the Turkic language, calling it “The Language of Birds”.

In Navoi's poem, the birds go in search of the wise Shah Simurg, so that he would save them from the suffering of life. Having passed the seven valleys (seven steps on the path of perfection), having passed many trials, the birds at the end of the journey reach the lush gardens of unity - the monastery of Simurg - where in each rose, as if in a mirror, they see their own reflection.

It is revealed to the birds that Shah Simurg is they, thirty birds (out of a huge flock, only thirty reached the goal). The word "si" in Persian is thirty, "murgh" is a bird.

Simurg and his subjects are one:

He who was lifted up to unity at once
The secrets of the one god reached his mind.
The shine of the rays of unity will give light to his gaze,
Between “you” and “me” it will destroy the barrier.
(Navoi, "The Language of Birds")

Embodying such abstract ideas, Simurg, nevertheless, is not devoid of quite material plumage: the poem "The Language of the Birds" tells how, flying over China, he dropped a feather of unusual colors - sparkling so brightly that the whole of China (in the poem - a city) dressed in radiance. From that day on, the entire Chinese population acquired an addiction to painting. The most virtuoso painter was Mani, the legendary founder of Manichaeism (a religion that combines features of Zoroastrianism and Christianity) - in classical oriental poetry Mani is the image of a genius artist.

Thus, Simurg, in addition to the three above-mentioned hypostases, can also serve as a symbol of art.

Bird Bennu (Ben-Ben)

Bennu (Ben-Ben) - in Egyptian mythology, a bird is an analogue of a phoenix. According to legend, it is the soul of the sun god Ra. The name is associated with the word "weben", which means "to shine".

According to legend, Bennu emerged from a fire that burned on a sacred tree in the courtyard of the Ra temple. According to another version, Bennu escaped from the heart of Osiris. She was depicted as a gray, blue or white heron with a long beak and a tuft of two feathers, as well as a yellow wagtail or an eagle with red and gold feathers. There are also images of Bennu as a man with the head of a heron.

Bennu personified the resurrection from the dead and the annual floods of the Nile. Symbolized the beginning of the sun.

... "Why don't people fly like birds?" * Anyone, probably, a person knows the feeling of flight - everyone flew in childhood in a dream. And then all our lives we lack this feeling, and therefore we are so envious of birds. And we readily accept them as mysterious creatures endowed with mystical abilities, capable of predicting the future, bringing happiness or just good luck.

The images of birds that have come down from the depths of time are very diverse, which is explained by the huge territories inhabited by Slavic peoples. In general, for the sake of simplicity, I would divide the birds, endowed with folk consciousness with mystical qualities, into three groups.
The first must include mythical creatures - half-birds, half of people with the gift of prophecy and the ability to bring people misfortune or happiness, grief or good luck. These include Gamayun, Alkonost, Sirin, Stratim and Phoenix.

Messenger of the Slavic gods, their herald. She sings divine hymns to people and proclaims the future to those who agree to listen to the secret.

In the old "Book, Verb Kozmografiya", the map depicts a round plain of the earth, washed on all sides by a river-ocean. On the east side is marked “Makariysky Island, the first under the very east of the sun, near the blessed paradise; because it is so denounced that birds of paradise Gamayun and Phoenix fly into this island and wear out a wonderful fragrance. " When Gamayun flies, a deadly storm emanates from the east of the sun.

Gamayun knows everything about the origin of earth and sky, gods and heroes, people and monsters, animals and birds. According to ancient belief, the cry of the Gamayun bird portends happiness.

This is a wonderful bird, an inhabitant of Iria, a Slavic paradise.

Her face is feminine, her body is that of a bird, and her voice is sweet, like love itself. Having heard Alkonost singing with delight, he can forget everything in the world, but there is no evil from her to people, unlike her friend Sirin the bird. Alkonost lays eggs "at the edge of the sea", but does not incubate them, but plunges them into the depths of the sea. At this time, the weather is calm for seven days - until the chicks hatch.

The Slavic myth about Alkonost is similar to the ancient Greek legend about the girl Alcyone, turned by the gods into a kingfisher.

This is one of the birds of paradise, even its very name is consonant with the name of paradise: Iriy.

However, these are by no means bright Alkonost and Gamayun.

Sirin is a dark bird, a dark force, a messenger of the ruler of the underworld. From the head to the waist, Sirin is a woman of incomparable beauty, from the waist - a bird. Whoever listens to her voice forgets about everything in the world, but soon is doomed to troubles and misfortunes, or even dies, and there is no strength to make him not listen to Sirin's voice. And this voice is true bliss!

Ancient legends say that Stratim-bird - the progenitor of all birds - lives on the sea-ocean, like Alkonost. When Stratimbird screams, a terrible storm rises. And even if she just guides her with a wing, the sea waves, sways.

But if the Stratim-bird takes off, then such ramparts rise up that the sea sinks ships, opens up the deepest abysses and washes away from the banks of the city and the forest. In this sense, she is like the Sea King. In some legends, she helps the hero to get out of the deserted island and fly to the ground - for the fact that he saves and has mercy on her chicks. A strange and mysterious prophecy has survived: "When Stratim trembles in the second hour after midnight, then all the roosters all over the earth will sing, and the whole earth will light up at that time."

Of the birds-fairy-tale characters, the Firebird most likely has a direct prototype from the mythological birds, namely the Phoenix. This fabulous bird, a character in Russian fairy tales, is usually the target of a hero search. The feathers of the firebird have the ability to shine and amaze a person with their brilliance. The catch of the firebird is fraught with great difficulties and is one of the main tasks that the king (father) asks his sons in the fairy tale. Only the kind youngest son manages to get the firebird. Mythologists (Afanasyev) explained the firebird in the form of the personification of fire, light, sun. The Firebird feeds on golden apples, which give youth, beauty and immortality; when she sings, pearls fall from her beak. The singing of the firebird heals the sick and restores sight to the blind. Leaving aside arbitrary mythological explanations, one can compare the firebird with medieval stories, very popular both in Russian and in Western European literature, about the Phoenix bird rising from the ashes. The Firebird is also the prototype for peacocks. Rejuvenating apples, in turn, can be compared with the fruits of the pomegranate tree, a favorite delicacy of the Phoenixes.

The third group includes all birds that do not carry something unprecedented in their appearance, but are simply endowed with fabulous properties to talk, help or harm fabulous human characters and are, as a rule, companions of such characters as Baba Yaga or Kashchei the immortal. These are crows, owls, blackbirds.

In Russian literature and painting, birds are quite common. In poetry, such poets as Blok and Klyuev turned to images of mythological birds, in painting - Vasnetsov, Vrubel, Bakst.

* A. Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm"

Birds of paradise in Slavic mythology. Alkonost, Sirin, Gamayun.

(Bilibin-bird Alkonost)

The famous song by Vladimir Vysotsky "Dome" contains the following words:

Like seven rich moons
It gets on my way -
Then me a bird gamayun
Gives hope!

It is difficult to say why, for Vysotsky, the bird gamayun is associated with the appearance of seven moons: in no sources such a connection has been noted. But this bird is mentioned in a number of other representatives of the feathered kingdom, well known in Russia, - these are Sirin and Alkonost. And if by the end of the XIX century. all these three birds began to be perceived as paradise (each, however, with some specific characteristics) and even portrayed almost the same, then they came to Russian culture and the Russian language in different ways.

Alkonost and Sirin are, so to speak, Greeks in origin, and each of these birds is associated with mythological legends coming from Ancient Greece, colored in the Middle Ages with various fantastic details.

Alkonost (or alkonos) had another name - alkion. In the dictionaries of the Russian language, we find the following interpretations of these words: “Alkonost (alkonos). The same as alkion "; "Alcyon. Sea bird (kingfisher) "(1); "Alkonost. Sea bird ”(2). IN AND. Dahl in his dictionary separates the meanings of these two words. This is how he interprets the word alkyon: "Alcyon, alkyd, bird Alcyon, alcedo, glacier, ivanok, kingfisher, martenok." About Alkonost V.I. Dahl writes the following: “Alkonost. A fabulous bird of paradise with a human face, depicted in our popular prints ”(3). In all these interpretations, as we see, firstly, there is no indication of the connection of the bird alkion (or alkonost) with ancient Greek mythology and, secondly, no explanation is given of the connection between these two words (they are either simply equated to each other, or are considered in different words).

Let's start by answering the second question. As a specialist in the ancient Russian names of animals, O.V. Belova, the original form should probably be recognized as alkion (from the Greek alkion). The name alcuonest in the list of the 13th century. the first Slavic encyclopedia  "Six-day" by John Exarch of Bulgaria is a distorted alcuon est. Subsequently, this form took root in the form of aconost, alkonos, although along with the new form, though very rarely, the original form  "alkion" was also used. O.V. Belova summarizes: “So, as a result of incorrect reading of the text and further fixing the error in writing, the fabulous bird gets its own name and becomes Alkonost” (4).

The name of the bird alkyon (kingfisher) goes back to the ancient Greek myth of Alcyone (or Galzion), the daughter of the god of winds Aeolus, the wife of the Thessalian king Keik, son of the god of the morning star Eosphorus. As Ovid says in Metamorphoses, Keik died tragically in the stormy sea. Alcyone was waiting for Keik at the top of the cliff. When the body of her deceased husband nailed to the cliff, Alcyone threw herself from the top of the cliff into the waves of the raging sea. And a miracle happened: the gods turned Alcyone into a kingfisher sea bird. Then Alcyone the Kingfisher revived her deceased husband. The gods and Keika were turned into a bird, and they became inseparable again.

The Greeks believed that when Alcyone incubates eggs, a calm is established in the Ionian and partly Aegean seas for two weeks (a week before and a week after the winter solstice), since Alcyone's father Aeolus, the god of the winds, keeps the winds under his control at this time. Ovid writes about this in Metamorphoses:

In winter, sometimes for seven serene days Alcyone sits at attention on eggs in a nest, above the waves of the soaring sea. By the sea, the path is safe then: guarding its winds, Not releasing, Aeolus, presenting the sea to his grandchildren.

The days of calm at sea, when Alcyone the kingfisher hatched its chicks, the Greeks called "alkyonins, or kingfisher days." In the Old Russian language they were called Alkyonite, Alkyonite, Alcuonite or Alkonost (5), as well as  Alkonot, Alcuont, Alkyon, Alkyon, Alskon, Chalkion, etc. (6)

(Bird of Paradise Alkonost. Late 18th - early 19th century. Unknown artist. Ink, tempera)

In ancient Christian monuments, the legend about Alcyone is found in the "Six Days", which, as already mentioned, were encyclopedias of that time (the name recalls the six days of the creation of the world  folkor.ru). These are the "Six Days" of Basil the Great, Ambrose of Mediolan and Pseudo-Eustathius. In "Physiologists" ("Descriptions of nature" in translation from Greek  folkor.ru) and "Bestiaries" ("Descriptions of animals" in translation from Latin  folkor.ru) this legend got later. In Russia, they learned about the alkion-alkonost, most likely, from the "Six-Day" by John Exarch of Bulgaria (7).

The legend of Alcyone-Alkonost gradually underwent various kinds of changes and additions. In "Six Days" by John Exarch of Bulgaria, it is simply said that the alkion builds a nest on the seashore and hatches chicks in winter:

“Alcyon (kingfisher) is a sea bird, makes a nest for itself on the seashore, lays eggs in the very sand. It lays eggs in the middle of winter, when the sea hits the ground due to frequent winds and storms. But, nevertheless, all the winds cease [to blow], and the waves subside at the time when the alkion incubates eggs for seven days, for on these days he hatches chicks. But since they also need food, the great giver God gave this little belly the other seven days for raising the chicks. All sailors know this and call these days alkionic ”(8). The following is the interpretation of this legend: if God for the sake of a small bird restrains the winter sea, what is, what cannot he create for the sake of man, created in the image and likeness of God?

An early version of the legend of the Alkonoste-Alkyon can be transmitted as follows:

Alkonost hatches chicks by the water,
On wet sand, among the coastal stones.
And the sea, so that the bird does not make trouble,
There are fourteen days calm.
The Lord also cares about the fate of birds.
And what can I say, man, about you?
(Poetic arrangement by the author)

In the future, this legend was supplemented by the message that Alkion-Alkonost lays eggs not on the shore, but in the depths of the sea. Here is what, for example, the ABC of the 17th century writes about this:

“There is a bird named Alkonost, has a nest on the edge of the sand at the edge of the sea, and that one lays its eggs; the time of her child's withdrawal in the winter year happens, but he always respects the withdrawal of her child, collects his own child in the eggs and carries it to the environment of the sea and lets it into the depths, then the sea fights against the shore with many storms, but always lays the eggs in one place and it will sit on them on top of the sea and as an egg of it, in the depths of existence, and the sea is unshakable for seven days, until the Alkonost's eggs will be thrown in the water, in the depths, having gone out, they will know their parent; This seventh days of the shipwreck will give Alkonostskaia ”(9).

In later collections, alkonost is attributed to the property of strufokamil (ostrich), which does not take its eyes off the eggs in the nest until the chicks hatch. It is also said that if an alkyon egg is "idle" (ie does not have a chick inside the embryo), then it floats to the surface; it does not deteriorate and is hung under the chandelier in the church (10).

Alcyon-Alkonost in this, its first hypostasis, the kingfisher was depicted as an ordinary bird, sometimes of large size, often laying eggs in the depths of the sea. Such is he, for example, in the personal list of the 18th century. "Collection on certain properties of the nature of animals" by Damaskin Studite. In contrast to the image, the name of this bird in the Old Russian language varied significantly. You can build the following range of options:

Alkion, alkydon, alcuon (eat), alcyon, lakion, halkion, alkonost, alkonos, alkonot, alkonost, alcoholic, alkonost, antonost, etc. (11)

Alkonost in its second hypostasis is not a kingfisher, but a mythical bird of paradise. This is how it is described in the wall print "The Bird of Alkonost and the Bird of Syria":

"Bird of Paradise Alkonost:
Abides near paradise.
Once upon a time, the river also happens on Euphrates.
When, in "singing, he emits a voice
then she does not feel it to herself.
And who will be in her vicinity,
that everything in "this world will forget."
Then um to depart from him and d (y) sha from his body emanates.
With such songs from (vya) tyh you comfort
and proclaims their future joy.
And many good things will tell
then it will show it with a finger ”(12).

In its second hypostasis, Alkonost practically did not have spelling variants, and its images did not differ much either: on popular prints of the 17th – 18th centuries. he is depicted as a bird with a girlish face, a crown on his head, sometimes with arms. The popular print image of Alkonost is not much different (of course, except for the technique and skill of the image) from Alkonost in the famous painting by V.M. Vasnetsov "Songs of Joy and Sorrow".

So in Russian culture, the Greek woman Alcyone went through an even more amazing chain of transformations than in Ovid's Metamorphoses:
girl - kingfisher bird - fantastic sea bird Alkion-Alkonost - beautiful bird of paradise Alkonost.

(Sirin bird-image on the chest)

No less interesting than that of Alkonost was the centuries-old history of which eventually became his indispensable companion

Sirina, leading origin from the Greek sirens.

In ancient Greek mythology, sirens are demonic half-women, half-birds, or rather birds with female heads. There are many myths about the origin of sirens. According to one version, they were the daughters of the river god Aheloy and the muse of Terpsichora or Melpomene. According to the other, the daughters of the guardian of all sea monsters Forkis and the muse of Terpsichora or Steropa, the daughter of Portaon.

According to legend, Aphrodite turned sirens into half-birds, half-women, angry that the sirens out of pride did not allow either people or gods to deprive themselves of their virginity. Another myth says that sirens were turned into women with bird bodies by muses for the fact that they, possessing beautiful voices, challenged the muses to a singing competition.

(John William Waterhouse, Odysseus and the Sirens, 1891)

There is another version of their transformation. The Sirens were originally nymphs from the entourage of the young goddess Persephone. When she was kidnapped by the lord of the underworld Hades, the angry mother of Persephone, the goddess of fertility Demeter, gave the sirens their half-bird appearance. In another version of this myth, they themselves wanted to turn into birds in order to find Persephone. When people refused to help them, the sirens settled on a deserted island in order to take revenge on the human race. Since then, they began to lure sailors with their sweet-voiced singing and killed them on the shore, sucking their blood out of them. The cliffs of Siren Island were littered with the bones and dried skin of their victims. The habitat of the sirens was called either the coast near Sorrento (!), The island of Capri, or the small islets in the Strait of Messina, not far from the location of Scylla and Háribda. According to legend, the dead body of one of the sirens, Parthenope, was washed up by waves to the coast of Campania and gave its name to the city, now called Naples (13).

Homer in the "Odyssey" tells that Odysseus, wanting to hear the singing of the sirens and stay alive, plugged the ears of his companions with wax, and ordered himself to be tied to the mast. The sirens, seducing him, promised him omniscience:

Not a single sailor passes here with his ship,
Without listening to the heart of sweet singing in our meadow;
Whoever heard us returns to the house, having learned a lot,
We know everything that happened in the Trojan land and what
The fate of the immortals befell the Trojans and the Achaeans;
We know everything that is happening in the bosom of the blessed earth.

Sirens underwent an interesting transformation in classical antiquity, losing their wild chthonic character. In Plato's The State, they find themselves in the retinue of the goddess of inevitability Ananke, mother of Moir. Sirens sit on each of the eight spheres of the world spindle sandwiched between the knees of Ananke, creating the harmony of the cosmos with their singing.

The mythical bird with a human face and captivating people with sweet singing was well known in Russia and was called sirin. Here is what one of the ancient Russian ABCs writes about this:

“Sirin is a bird from the head to the waist, the composition and image of a man, from the waist a bird; Nezii are lying about this, verbally sweet song of being to her, as if whoever listens to her voice, forget all this life and go into the desert along it and in the mountains I will make a mistake and die ”(14).

The word siren meant a creature resembling a mermaid:

(Herbert James Draper)

“Sirens: divas of the sea, to the waist is Panianskiy, and the distant ribey” (ie to the waist  female body, and then  fish);
"Siren, her sex is a girl, her sex is like a fish";
“Sirins (...) like a kind of sea surprise. From top to waist, the body is girlish, and from waist to foot, the corpse of fish, which kill people with their sweet singing, put them to sleep, and drown them with sea water ”(15).

In Western Europe, the first appearance of sirens with fish tails, so to speak, mermaid sirens, in miniatures and reliefs refers to the 12th century. An interesting miniature from a medieval bestiary depicts three sirens with female faces, torsos and arms, with bird's wings and legs, but at the same time with fish tails (16). It is a hybrid of the classic siren and mermaid siren.

The idea of \u200b\u200bmermaid sirens has long existed in Europe, especially among sailors. The explanation for this can be found in the resemblance to mermaid sirens of such sea animals from the order of herbivorous whales, as the sea cow, which has already been completely destroyed today, or cabbage, as well as manatee and dugong.

In addition, in the ancient Russian monuments there is a description of the kind of "inverted" classical sirens with a bird's top and a human bottom, in their actions they are quite classic sirens like: "... they sit on the island and by their sweet singing they attract to themselves, alas, they hold him to death. And with the vision of the wife from the waist to the top, the appearance of the face of a struss is imitated, the stream of a bird and a feather is red, like tii have, and from the floor to the legs is a woman's body ”(17).

Some ancient Russian monuments and some Sirins are mentioned, which have a human image up to their loins, and below - a goose one (18). O.V. Belova notes the comparison of these sirins with demons, which apparently goes back to the Hebrew original, where se "irim means" zoomorphic demons living in desert places. "Probably, these sirins were depicted as anthropomorphic creatures with a covered head and a snake tail or with forelimbs in the form of webbed feet and with a sharp, goose-like tail (19).

And, finally, it should be noted, so to speak, "realistic" meanings of the words "sirin" and "siren" in Russian. First of all, let us turn to the sphere of zoological terminology. IN AND. Dahl writes: “Sirin is the name of a long-tailed owl that looks like a hawk; flies during the day, Sumia. " He also indicates the meaning of the word siren (or sirens): "American swamp, two-legged lizard" (20). The Dictionary of Foreign Words specifies that sirens, or rather sirens, are “a family of tailed amphibians, whose external gills persist throughout their lives; live in fresh water bodies of the southeast of North America ”(21).

As already noted, representatives of the order of herbivorous whales vaguely resemble sirens-mermaids, which was given the general name "sirens". A.E. Bram describes these animals in such an unpoetic way: “Caring for food consumes all their attention, but perhaps even protecting the cubs; these lazy, stupid creatures are quite indifferent to the rest of the world. Their voice is not at all similar to the wonderful singing of fairy-tale mermaids, from which they got their name, but consists of a faint, dull groan ”(22).

And, of course, it is very far from the voice of the classical sirens of antiquity, sirens-mermaids or the Sirin bird, the sound made by such devices, also called "siren", such as: “1. High intensity sound wave emitter used in lighthouses, ships, etc .; 2. Alarm horn with a sharp howling sound ”(23). However, these useful devices differ from their beautiful namesakes in that the sounds they make do not plunge people into danger, but warn against it.

In the XVII-XVIII centuries. Sirin was numbered among the birds of paradise along with Alkonost. His singing served as a designation of the divine word entering the human soul, and on popular prints he was depicted very similar to Alkonost, only Sirin did not have arms, and around his head you can often see a halo instead of a crown.

An interesting transformation of the idea of \u200b\u200bSirin's singing as the word of God entering into the soul of man underwent an interesting transformation in the work of N.A. Klyuev, who wrote:

I am a tree and my heart is hollow
Where are the Sirina-birds winter quarters.
He sings - and the canopy is light,
Will fall silent - will cry in blood.

Klyuev's Sirin-bird is his muse, and his song is poems emanating from the poet's soul and entering the souls of those who listen. The poet becomes, as it were, a repeater of the divine word transmitted by the Creator through the Sirin.

("Sirin and Alkonost. Song of joy and sorrow" 1896 V.M. Vasnetsov)

As already mentioned, the birds of paradise Sirin and Alkonost became characters in the famous painting by V.M. Vasnetsov "Songs of Joy and Sorrow", which inspired the young Alexander Blok to his early poem "Sirin and Alkonost. Birds of joy and sorrow ”, dated February 23-25, 1899 Sirin, both for Vasnetsov and Blok, becomes a symbol of joy, unearthly happiness. This is how the young poet describes this bird of paradise:

Throwing back the waves of thick curls,
Throwing my head back
Sirin throws full happiness,
The full glance of the bliss of the world.

Alkonost, on the other hand, appears as a symbol of inescapable sadness, the focus of the power of dark forces:

Another - all powerful sadness
Exhausted, exhausted ...
Longing daily and all-night
All high breasts are full ...
The chant sounds like a deep groan
A sob lay in my chest,
And over her branchy throne
A black wing was hovering.

It must be said that neither the joyful, happy Sirin, much less the Alkonost, exhausted with grief, find a match in the history of the legends associated with these birds. Greek half-bird sirens, medieval mermaid sirens or mysterious half-duck sirens have never been associated with anything joyful. On the contrary, as we remember, the tragic motives of the death of those listening to their enchanting songs or meeting them on their way in deserted places are associated with them. Alcyone-alkion-alkonost had, of course, a good reason for the deepest sadness when her husband Keik died. But the gods worked a miracle, saved them, turning, however, into birds, but not leaving them with their care in the form of a bird. It is no coincidence that the alkonost in "The Six Days", "Physiologists" and "Bestiaries" is a symbol of God's concern for even his smallest creation.

On popular prints of the 17th – 18th centuries. the birds Sirin and Alkonost were portrayed as both cheerful, close to God in his heavenly abode and could hardly be considered as symbols of joy and sorrow.

The dualism of both Vasnetsov and Blok is, of course, already phenomena of modern times, signs of the thunderous lightning of history that illuminated the horizon of the terrible future XX century. At the turn of the century, the artist and poet created their new myth, reflecting a new understanding of the essence of the world by man of the outgoing golden age of Russian culture.

The Alkonost bird as a bird of sadness and sorrow is also found in the works of N.A. Klyuev, who was especially close to ancient Russian mythology. This is how the myth about Alkonost appears in Klyuev's poem "Pogorelytsin" in a rethought, if I may say so "Russified" form:

Carver Olyokha is a forest miracle,
Eyes - two geese, ore on the lip,
Raised a bird with a girlish face,
The lips are cursed with a secret cry.
The cheeks of the trees also swell,
And the voice is weak, like the splash of sedge,
The carver smelled: “I am Alkonost,
Tears will drink from the eyes of the goose!

And here Alkonost, born under the incisor of the Russian Pygmalion Olyokha, promises many sorrows for the human race.

A new interpretation of the word alkonost also appears in various kinds of reference publications. So, the encyclopedic reference book "Characters of Slavic mythology" calls the Alkonost "the bird of sadness and sorrow" (24).
(V.M. Vasnetsov "Gamayun, the prophetic bird", 1895)

Another bird of paradise gamayun - unlike Sirin and Alkonost, came to Russia not from Greece. Its roots are being sought, according to academician O.N. Trubachev, in the East, and not in Arabic, but in Iranian. The ancient form with which the word gamayun is associated is the Young Avestan humaiia  "skillful, cunning, miraculous", whence the proper name * Humaya was used in the ancient Iranian world (25). IT. Trubachev notes that the bird, the prototype of the gamayun bird, “was not only heavenly, but also cunning. This image, which was probably born on the soil of Iranian folklore, crossed the borders of countries and cultures early and became international ”(26).

In Russia, the gamayun bird was well known from various works of natural science and geography. First of all, the source of information about it was various "Cosmographies" (ie Cosmography or, bringing this name closer to modern terminology, geography). So, in one of the "Kozmographia" XVI or early XVII century. we read: "In the same part of Asia Simov there are lots, there are many islands on the eastern sea: the first Makaritsky island is near the blessed paradise and therefore they say it near that the birds of paradise Gamayun fly in from there, and the Phoenix will wear out the fragrance."

The “eastern” origin of the gamayun bird owes its appearance in the titles of eastern rulers, first of all, of course, the Turkish sultan, as well as the shah of Iran. Card file of the Old Russian dictionary, stored at the Institute of the Russian language named after V.V. Vinogradov Russian Academy of Sciences, contains extracts from various letters and letters to the Eastern rulers, containing a mention of this bird, and always in the same stable form. For example, here is the full title of the Turkish Sultan Ibrahim from one royal charter sent with ambassadors to Constantinople:

“Gamayun to imitator Ibrahim Sultan Sovereign of Constantinople, White Sea (ie the ruler of the Western Sea, Adriatic  folklor.ru), Black Sea, Anatolian, Urum, Roman (from the name of the region Rum, Rumelia  folklor.ru), Karamansk and others Great Sovereign to our brother and good friend. "

And here is how Tsar Vasily addressed the Turkish ruler:

"To the highly worthy power and exalted honor like the horn and son of the horn to the imitator of Gamayun and by this most desirable lordship of the face not even the song of Sirin ... To the Sovereign of Constantinople Salim-shakhan-diker." It is curious that in this address Gamayun is mentioned along with another bird of paradise - Sirin.

Boris Godunov's writing style to the Shah of Iran Abbas is characteristic, combining the glorification of the Shah with the self-deprecating characteristics of Boris: Boris Fedorovich Godunov, the courtyard and governor of Kazan and Astrakhan, Boris Fyodorovich Godunov, will beat your Highness with his brow.

The appearance of the turnover gamayun (or gamayun) imitator in the titles of the eastern (including Iranian) rulers once again confirms the etymologization of this word proposed by O.N. Trubachev.

Curious information about the "royal" greatness of the gamayun bird can be found in the article by V.K. Trutovsky about the Smolensk coat of arms (the article may not have been published):

"The bird Gamayun, called by the Tatars" Gyumay ", and in the Turkish language" Gyum ... "is considered among Muslims especially important and meaningful, both for every ordinary believer and for Muslim rulers ... over whom it will fly so close, whatever blows his wings on his head, he will certainly be the ruler. Hence, in the Turkish languages, the word "humayun" was created, which in its original meaning is equivalent to the word "august" "(27). The bird Gamayun was so popular in Russia that its name was even used as an intra-family name, from which the surname Gamayunov originated (28).

The gamayun bird entered not only diplomatic correspondence, but also the life of the Russian tsars. So, in 1614, Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich bought several outlandish things from a Moscow guest Mikhail Smyvalov, including:

"The bird Gamayun near the neck is studded with pearls from above, in the middle there is a large pearl, behind it on the back is a silver burr, on the burr there is a pearl grain" (29).

I.E. Zabelin also mentions that on October 21, 1626, “clerk Zhdan Shipov carried the bird Gamayun to the top of the sovereign in the mansion, which in this case could be some kind of thing depicting such a bird as it is described above” (30). Perhaps, it is about this thing that the so-called "Book of the Verb Officer: The New Code and the Order of the Falconer's Path" (1656) writes. Here we read: "Vasily Botviniev, according to the sovereign's decree, take from Gamayun, a bird of paradise, a letter ... And the clerk ... unbuttoning Gamayun's bird, takes out the letter and ... read aloud" (31). In this case, the Gamayun described by Zabelin and in the "Uryadnik" can be made in the form of a bird of paradise as a box.

("Gamayun". Painting by V. Korolkov)

Lived at the court of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and quite alive Gamayun - his beloved gyrfalcon with the name of the bird of paradise. The book "Uryadnik", already cited earlier, writes about this, mentioning this gyrfalcon earlier than other birds: "Painting for the Tsar's hunters, who are instructed to keep the birds. First Parthentiev article. To Parfentia myself: Siberian color Gamayun "(32). I. Tarabrin notes: “Was this bird depicted on the centesimal banner of the falconers and stirrup grooms in the Riga campaign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich on May 15, 1656, at least in the Inventory of the banners of 1664 under No. 10 it was indicated that this was a black taffeta, a gamayun bird is sewn in the middle, the edge of the taffeta is white ”(33).

Another live bird, called Gamayun, but having nothing to do with hunting birds, was presented to Tsars Fyodor and Peter Alekseevich in 1686 by I.E. Zabelin remarks on this: “The merchants of Okhotny Ryad, summoned to the Kazenny Dvor to announce its price,” looking at Gamayun's bird, said that they had never had such a bird in their row and they did not know the price. It is not known how long this unprecedented bird lived in the palace, which the scribes considered to be paradise ”(34).

Gamayun, being a bird, nevertheless, along with such monsters as the asp and the basilisk (Folklor.ru: see the section "Articles"), gave the name of the gun-squeak, a description of which can be found in the Acts of the Moscow district of the 17th century. under 1696: "The great sovereign in the treasury at the cannon yard there are regimental pishchal ... squeaked gamayun with a cannonball and the same length weighing 25 poods 30 hryvnia in the Turkish camp" Judging by the weight, another pishchal with the same name is mentioned by I.E. Zabelin in his book "History of the City of Moscow" along with others collected by order of Peter the Great in Moscow to create the Museum of War Trophies: "Gamayun, weight 102 pounds, poured master Martyan Osipov 1690, with the image of the bird Gamayun" (35). Gamayun is depicted on this squeak as a legless bird (36). It is curious that the pishchal with such an image is like a real reproduction of the coat of arms of the city of Smolensk: a cannon and a legless bird Gamayun sitting on it.

(coat of arms of Smolensk, Soviet version)

The leglessness, and sometimes even the winglessness of the gamayun (sometimes also called mankoria, mantskodis, paradyzei  the last of the word “paradis”, Paradise  paradise) is noted by many written monuments. About this in the manuscript called "Book of Natural", the following is reported: "About gamayun. Gamayun is a bird that is also a mankoria, he calls it a bird of paradise, majesty perhaps has a tail of seven spans, does not have a leg and a wing, but I always take it out in the air with my tail flying, and never rests, the color of her peria is great and I wish to eat human vision ... "(37)

The coat of arms of Smolensk with the image of a cannon and a gamayun is ancient. On the seal of Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible, however, this coat of arms is depicted in the form of a grand prince's throne, on which Monomakh's hat is placed. But it happened, as the author of the now classic book "Russian Heraldry", A.B. Lakier, "either according to the symbol generally accepted for all the former great principalities ... or by mistake of the master" (38). At least on the silver plate of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1675), we find a well-known plot in the coat of arms of Smolensk: a cannon (without a gun carriage), and on it a legless bird sitting. In the diary of Korb, who accompanied the ambassador of the Holy Roman Empire in 1698 and 1699, who was sent to the Russian court to negotiate the war with Turkey, there is an image of the Russian state seal. Here we find the coat of arms of Smolensk: a cannon on a gun carriage and a legless bird on it. A similar coat of arms has survived on the seal attached to the letter of Prince Fyodor Kurakin addressed to Prince Nikita Ivanovich Odoevsky. It should be noted that here the bird is depicted not only legless, but also seemingly wingless, but with a magnificent, almost peacock tail. At the bottom of the seal there is a not very legible inscription: "bird gamayun" (39). It resembles the image of Gamayun in one of the editions of Karion Istomin's Front Primer, which can be confused with the image of a hedgehog (40).

In the register of coats of arms, presented by Count Minich in May 1729 to the Military Collegium, the coat of arms of Smolensk is described as follows: “a black cannon, a yellow machine, a yellow bird without legs on the cannon, a white field” (41). In approximately the same form, this coat of arms was imperially approved on October 10, 1780 as the coat of arms of both the city itself and the Smolensk Viceroyalty: in a silver field there is a black cannon on a golden gun carriage, and a bird of paradise on the cannon (42). An interesting explanation of the leglessness of the bird on the Smolensk coat of arms is given by Lakier: “As a rule, the Smolensk coat of arms consisted of an image of a gun carriage on which a bird of paradise sat shot down ... may suggest that Smolensk, a border and always properly armed fortress, has served more than once Poles and Lithuanians were repelled and defeated; and all the epics about the bird of paradise testify that it designated the most desired and inaccessible objects. Wasn't Smolensk the same for the Poles and Russians? " (43).

(Smolensk region 1780)

Over the years, the Smolensk bird of paradise, apparently due to the stabilization of the situation near Smolensk, got on its feet. In 1856, the emblem of the Smolensk province was imperially approved: "In a silver field, a black cannon, a carriage and wheels in a gold frame, on the heel of a bird of paradise" (44). On this coat of arms, the bird of paradise not only has legs, but also stands firmly on them and, proudly raising its magnificent tail and spreading its wings, confidently looks to the west, towards the already completely defeated Poland by that time.

Rational 18th century gave his explanation of the leglessness of the bird of paradise that adorned the coat of arms of Smolensk. The "Commercial Dictionary", translated from French by Vasily Levshin and published in Moscow in 1790, describes in detail, among other goods and "the names of the main and newest things related to Commerce," and exotic birds of paradise brought by the Portuguese to Europe from the islands southern seas. Moreover, they were not brought in alive, but in the form of specially prepared stuffed animals: “This bird, sold dried, without legs and internal, and from such preparation can be preserved for a long time, is brought from the country of Papuan, inaco  New Guinea, to the Moluke Islands by the inhabitants of the Aro Islands , or Aru "(45).

The dictionary notes that the locals buy these dried and legless birds of paradise "for use in certain festivals celebrated by them at some time of the year", as well as "according to some superstitious opinions: the first carry them with them in wartime, going to battle, trusting that by their strength they cannot be wounded; the latter are hoping to gain the favor of their gods through keeping birds with themselves or wearing them in solemn passages ”(46).

The Portuguese, who saw these birds first among the Europeans, called them Pissaro del Sol, i.e. The bird is sun, "because it seems to fly near the sun", the Spaniards called them Pixaro del Cyclo, i.e. The bird of heaven; "For they are visible only as they fly in the air." “The inhabitants of the Ternat Islands of the Moluksky call them Manuko devata, which the Europeans turned into Manukodiyata, which means“ The Bird of God ”; because she appears to come from heaven, the abode of their false gods; no doubt from this imagination she was nicknamed the Bird of Paradise ”(47).

The explanations, as we see, are quite in the spirit of Cartesian rationalism, without any mysticism. However, it is curious that rational European scientists also believed in the leglessness of these pseudo-birds of paradise, and for this reason: “How they sell them without legs, and cannot find the remains of their torn branches in the dried ones, this gave the first travelers a chance to invent various fables , namely, that the birds do not have these legs, but for rest they cling to the tree branches with their tail. The Portuguese divulged this in Europe, which was believed not only by the vile people, but also by the great nature probes, such as Gesner, Scaliger and others, who described them as legless ”(48).

Be that as it may, but the name bird of paradise has entered into zoological terminology. Moreover, A.E. Bram writes: "The most famous of the birds that belong here is the legless bird of paradise (Paradisea apoda) called Linnaeus." Here, however, it is noted that this legless bird has “red legs” (49).

Whatever, however, may be, so to speak, military-strategic or biological-zoological reasoning about the leglessness of the heraldic gamayun in the coat of arms of Smolensk or the stuffed birds of paradise studied by Linnaeus, but the mythical bird of paradise gamayun has no legs for completely different reasons, and its eternal flight has a huge meaning. We already know what will happen if Gamayun blows his wings on someone's head: to be his ruler. If the gamayun interrupts its flight, it is fraught with big troubles. This is what the "Book of Natural Sciences" writes about this: "and whenever it falls to the ground, then by its fall it proclaims the death of kings or kings, or whose prince is autocratic" (50). Hence the idea of \u200b\u200bGamayun as a bird of things.

(a picture made using computer graphics by a person under the nickname flicker - flicker.ucoz.ru)

It is interesting to note that Gamayun, the same bird of paradise as Alkonost and Syria, was never depicted on the popular print with them. She, like a prophet, is always alone. Such is it in the picture of V.M. Vasnetsov. A. Blok, shocked by this picture, wrote in February 1899 a small poem "Gamayun, the prophetic bird":

On the smooth surfaces of endless waters
Sunset in purple robed
She broadcasts and sings
Unable to raise the confused wings ...
Broadcasts the yoke of evil Tatars,
A number of bloody executions are broadcast,
And a coward, and hunger, and fire,
The power of villains, the death of the right ...
Embraced by the primordial horror,
A beautiful face burns with love
But things sound true
Lips caked with blood! ..

In 1900, A. Blok tried to publish this poem, as well as the second, dedicated to Alkonost and Sirin, in the magazine "Peace of God". Having run through the verses, the editor of the magazine, the old liberal V.P. Ostrogorsky said: "Shame on you, young man, to do this when God knows what is happening at the university!" - and dismissed the poet "with fierce good nature" (51). The experienced editor did not understand, did not see that before him was a poet who was destined to become the prophetic Gamayun himself, that through his mouth an ancient bird foreshadowed a time of unheard-of catastrophes and upheavals, "and a coward, and hunger, and fire", and "executions a number of bloody , and "the power of villains, the death of the right" - everything that was destined to experience Russia in the coming XX century.

So the Iranian cunning bird, which came from the depths of time, turned at the turn of the century in the mouth of the great poet into a formidable thing of the fate of a huge country.

In the last third of the XX century. another poet and bard turned to the theme of birds of paradise - this was done by Vladimir Vysotsky in his already mentioned song "Domes". Vysotsky, unlike Vasnetsov and Blok, brought together all three birds in his song - both Alkonost, and Sirin, and Gamayun. There are also traditional, already known motives in their depiction, but new notes also appear, as it should be not in the imitator, but in the continuer of the tradition. First of all, the general stylistic tone of the entire work. There is something surreal about him, even visionary. All three birds for Vysotsky turn out to be prophetic, but at the same time fabulous, unreal:

How will I look now, how will I breathe ?!
The air is cool before a thunderstorm, cool and viscous.
What will I sing today, what will I hear?
Prophetic birds sing - yes, everything is from fairy tales.
The bird of Syria grins at me with joy 
Cheers, calls out from the nests,
And on the contrary - it yearns-saddens,
Poisons the soul of the wonderful Alkonost.
Like seven cherished strings
Ranged in their turn 
This is the bird Gamayun
Gives hope!

This, of course, is not a popular print, not Vasnetsov or Blok. Sirin, the bird of joy, appears as a playful and annoying coquette. The bird of sadness and sorrow Alkonost is some kind of almost Bosch vision from a drug nightmare. And only the tragic thing Gamayun suddenly becomes the embodiment of hope. The non-coincidence of this interpretation is emphasized by the fact that at the end of the song the verse about Gamayun with some variations will be repeated again. Well, in that sleepy state that, according to Vysotsky, “became limp, swollen from sleep,” even the cataclysms foreshadowed by Gamayun, perhaps, saw him as a hope for the best. A poet of the times of "stagnation", Vysotsky created his own, both traditional and updated, myth about the bird of joy Sirin, the bird of sorrow Alkonosta and things to the bird Gamayune.

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