Myth and Legends: Baba Yaga & Lysistrata

Staff Writer

I was reading the famous play known as Lysistrata by Aristophanes when my friend appeared on a WhatsApp call. Her hair was unkempt.

            ‘What happened to your hair?’ I inquired.

            ‘I’m like Baba Yaga.’ She spoke.

            ‘Who’s Baba Yaga?’ I asked.

Then, she began to tell me the legend of this Slavic folklore. According to her, Baba Yaga is considered a superhuman creature with many attributes, of course ensconced by humans. Baba relishes the human adulations of her power and enigma. Baba Yaga has other three sisters who are also called Baba Yaga. In appearance, she appears misshapen and has bony legs and a nose that sticks out. She could be seen accessorized with a mortar and a pestle. She separated herself from humans and dwelled in the deep forest in a hut that stood on chicken legs.

Being a puzzle to the entire Slavic People, she has been variously described as having many sides. Some could view her as Death, a totem, Bird, or Earth-goddess, others could also view her as Moon, Winter, a female initiator, phallic mother, or a certain kind of being who could exhibit some nefarious behaviors. Baba Yaga could also be helpful to humans as noted below.

My friend said to me that Baba Yaga means different things in different Eastern European languages. Baba’s meanings could range from a midwife, sorceress, grandmother, or old woman to an old, foolish, smelly, and dirty woman. The latter description is very disapproving of her. The term ‘baba’ could be used to disapprove and describe a man without a spine or a person of effete tendencies. Then, the term ‘Yaga’ also is not without some problems in the interpretation of meaning and usage. Among many Eastern European cultures, there is no common agreement as to what ‘Yaga’ means. It has been variously understood as horror, shudder, anger, witch, evil woman, or even a disease.

As I listen with interest, I begin to draw some comparisons between the story of Baba Yaga and Lysistrata. Then, she excused herself and went to the kitchen and made herself a cup of coffee.

            ‘There’s a typical folklore associated with Baba Yaga.’ She spoke as she settled her cup of coffee on the table.

            ‘I would love to hear it.’ I beckoned.

This story was told by Alexander Afanasyev in The Maiden Tsar. It was about the visit of Ivan, a gentle and handsome son of a merchant, who visited one of the three Baba Yagas in her chicken-leg hut. As legend has it, the moment she saw him, she was outraged and said: ‘From their hut deep in the forest, they could not hear or see the Russian smell, but the smell is everywhere in this hut.’ She asked Ivan whether he visited on his own accord or was forced to do so. In reply, he was a bit ambiguous. He said that he was both of his own accord and compelled to do so. Then, Ivan posed a question to Baba Yaga. Do you know the location of the three-tenth kingdom? She answered that she did not know but told him to consult her second sister for an answer.

Ivan went to the second Baba Yaga and posed the same question. But the second sister did not know either. She directed him to consult the third sister. However, she advised him that if her sister became angry at him and was about to eat him ask for three horns and with her permission blow them in a form of symphonic order: first horn – softly, second horn – louder, and third horn – more loudly.

Finally, Ivan met the third sister, who was the youngest. She asked him the same question that was asked by the first sister and immediately wanted to eat Ivan. He nervously requested three horns. He blew the horns in symphonic order as described above. The sound from the horns attracted different kinds of birds and they filled the hut. Among the birds was a firebird, which whisked Ivan away as he hopped on its back. He was saved from the Baba Yaga’s claws of death by a firebird.

            ‘That’s the end of my story about Baba Yaga.’ She spoke.

            ‘Excellent!’ I spoke. It was both interesting and informative.

            ‘Now, tell me what you’re reading before I appear like a Baba Yaga.’ She asked.

I picked up the book and cleared my throat.

            ‘I will only give you a summary.’ I advised.

Lysistrata is a drama by Aristophanes that painted a picture of how the Athenian women wanted to end the Peloponnesian War. The Athenian women were led by a woman whose name was Lysistrata. They planned to occupy the Acropolis, starve the city of a source of income to fund the war, and force their husbands to make peace by denying them sex.

They started the campaign in good faith but halfway through, the burden of missing sex and the desire to have sex with their husbands was becoming so unbearable that some of them contemplated reneging on their oath. But Lysistrata held her grounds and reasons with Myrrhine to seduce her husband, Cinesias but leave him at the climax of sexual feelings.  

The way Athenian women felt was not different from the Spartan women. Lysistrata had a consultation with the Athenian magistrate, and they agreed to a quick peace talk. The peace talk resulted in the embracing and kissing of 12 old men (the first semichorus) and 12 old women (the second semichorus), which marked the reconciliation of the two semichoruses.

Finally, to concretize the reconciliation pact, Lysistrata brought a delegate from Sparta, whose name was Lampito (reconciliation). She was young and elegant. Her beauty dazzled and nobody took their eyes off her. Under her charm, the delegates signed the peace declaration.

            ‘That’s interesting.’ She spoke.

            ‘One more thing,’ I noted. Lysistrata means ‘She who breaks up armies.’

The above stories tell us these: Two different characters, one a creation of an artist’s imagination and the other, a Slavic myth. One on the advocacy of peace and structures of conflict resolution, the other in humble admission of their limited knowledge even though they have been ascribed supernatural powers by humans.

The current war going on between Russia and Ukraine could be averted if men would listen to women. Many women are mothers, and no loving mother will sanction war instead of peace. Men approve of wars because they have no feelings, too egotistic, self-obsessed, inhumane, boastful, and unemotional. I think if more and more women become leaders of nations, the world might know more peace than the marginal peace the world has known. 

 

Popular posts from this blog

Early Contacts between Christianity and Islam

Staff Writer
Table of Contents Early Contacts between Christianity and Islam Monk Bahira The Migration to Axum Kingdom Christianity and Islam have always been two noxious bedfellows and yet always proclaim and wish peace on earth. It would not be a crass assumption to state that the two religions have over the centuries crossed paths and re-crossed paths many times. Crossing paths might have been in their ideologies, conflicts, doctrinal interpretations and even sharing some physical spaces. Therefore, in this brief writing, we will explore the early contacts between Christianity and Islam and see how they have influenced each other. Early Contacts between Christianity and Islam The early contacts between Christianity and Islam were not short of frames.  According to Kaufman et al., “frames are cognitive shortcuts that people use to help make sense of complex information.” They are means of interpreting our world and perhaps, the world of other people around us.  Such interpretations helped them to
Read more

The Connection between a Personal Name and Name Groups in Shawnee Social Organisation

Staff Writer
Table of Contents Shawnee People The Divisions The Name Groups and Personal Names I’m always attracted to and interested in the culturally distinct and characteristic elements of different traditions or societies. Reading about the Shawnee people of Native American tribes is no different. I immediately fell in love with the linkage between Shawnee name groups and personal names. The name groups seem to present the Shawnee as a one-descent group with five major divisions. To examine this connection between a personal name and name group, a brief description of Shawnee will help in understanding the Shawnee social organisation. Shawnee People The term ‘Shawnee’ written in different forms ( Shaawanwaki, Shaawanowi lenaweeki, and Shawano ) is Algonquian like the archaic term ‘ shaawanwa ’ meaning ‘south.’ Thus, the term ‘Shawnee’ is (pronounced shaw-nee ) meaning the ‘southern people.’ The Shawnees are categorised as Algonquian-speaking North American Indian people whose pristine ho
Read more

The Akamba – Concept of the Supreme Being & Totems

Staff Writer
Table of Contents Supreme Being (Worships and Venerations) Mulungu   Mumbi  Mwatuangi  Ngai  Asa  Ancestors Totems Here is a brief account of the religious beliefs of the Akamba. Spanning through Central Bantu, the Akamba ethnic group is estimated to be about 4.4 million people and occupies Southeastern Kenya in areas, such as Kangundo, Kibwezi, Kitui, Machakos, Makueni and Mwingi Districts and the Ukamba. A swathe of the Akamba population can also be found in the Mazeras and Kwale Districts of the Coast Province in Shiba Hills. The Akamba languages are Kikamba and Swahili. Globally, the Akamba are not exclusively a Kenyan or African tribe. They can be found in Uganda, Tanzania, and Paraguay, which makes it partly an indigenous group and partly an autochthonal group. Argument from migration theory suggests that Akamba came from Kilimanjaro (a word that means ‘mountain of whiteness’), basing their arguments on the similarity of certain cultural features with the Wachagga people of Kili
Read more

Begrudging & Infightings: Aztec’s Theogony & Cosmogony

Staff Writer
Table of Contents Tezcatlipoca Quetzalcoatl Tlaloc Chalchiuhtlicue Nanauatzin Cosmic Order – The Balance Aztec is a name used to describe the Nahuatl-speaking people who thrived in central Mexico circa the 14 th  and 16 th  centuries as an empire and dominated large parts of Mesoamerica. Variously, the Aztecs had different names. They are known as Aztlan (which means ‘White Land’), the Tenochca (a name adopted from one of their ancestors called Tenoch), and the Mexica, which was a derivative from Metzliapan (which stands for ‘Moon Lake’). Ancient Aztec religious beliefs and practices were tied to their understanding of the world; the people were deeply amazed by the thought of the unknown, the universe and the end of time. These thoughts arouse some curiosity and awareness to understand better their world and how it came about. I used the term ‘theogony’ to describe the Aztecs’ generations of gods however, not in the context of Greek mythology where the ‘primordial deities’ were the fi
Read more

Nigeria’s Pledge Vs the President’s Mandate: An Antithesis of Patriotism

Staff Writer
Table of Contents Nigeria’s Pledge The President’s Mandate Loyalty to the President or the Constitution? In recent years, the Nigerian polity has been bedeviled by one general term, ‘mandate.’ As years passed, the term mandate gained more ground and replaced the allegiance or any public or private declaration of loyalty to Nigeria, as a country. The contract the people signed with the country was gradually torn into bits by the politicians (or leaders) and by extension, the citizens, (and foreigners living in Nigeria). The current political and economic climate of Nigeria is the main reason for this article. The people have openly rejected Nigeria’s Pledge and have taken recourse to different political mandates of some politicians. The aim here is to bring to the fore the salient points of Nigeria’s Pledge against the mandate of the president. Nigeria’s Pledge The clear and concise words of Professor Felicia Adebola Adedoyin in 1976 describing the terms of the Nigerian oath of
Read more

The Aesir Vs the Vanir – The gods at War

Staff Writer
Image
Audio – The Aesir vs the Vanir – The gods at war Table of Contents Introduction Norse Mythology The different deities under the Aesir Family The different deities under the Vanir Family Other deities Ullr Loki Conclusion Introduction ‘The gods at war’ is a phrase or statement I have chosen as a theme that will help me understand the claim about the many conflicts between the Aesir and the Vanir gods and goddesses. The Aesir gods and goddesses are Odin, Frigg, Höðr, Thor, Baldr, and Tyr. Then, the Vanir gods and goddesses are Njörðr, Nerthus, Freyja, Freyr, Óðr, Hnoss, Gersemi, Skírnir, Kvasir, Gullveig. There is Jotnar, the giant gods who are constantly warring with the Aesir gods and goddesses and they are seen as chaotic and destructive. Then comes Kvasir. According to Norse mythology, Kvasir is a creation borne from the mixture of the saliva of the Aesir and Vanir gods and goddesses at the end of their wars. Kvasir is considered a wise god and he went up and down their sovereig
Read more

Nigeria’s 2023 Presidential Election - from preparation to verdicts

Staff Writer
Table of Contents Before the February 25, 2023, General Election During the Election – 2023 After the Election – 2023 The Verdicts – 2023 Moving Forward The insouciant and nonchalant comportment of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the face of angst that has inbuilt despair among Nigerians is the reason for writing about Nigeria’s February 25, 2023, presidential election, and the outcome. Yes, it’s seven months after the election was conducted by INEC and the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT) verdicts in Abuja on September 6, 2023. Some argued that the entire election was marred with violence, rigging, and corrupt practices and some others argued that it was the freest election ever held in Nigeria, by Nigerians (not ‘Nigeriens’) and for Nigerians. After the results were announced and Mr Ahmed Bola Tinubu was declared winner, his opponents filed petitions alleging that it was a rigged system. In this writing, an attempt will be made to describe
Read more

The Weyekin in Nez Percé Tribe and Catholic Angels

Staff Writer
Table of Contents The Nez Percé People Catholic Teachings on Angels The Spirit, Weyekin in Nez Percé Tribe This writing is to briefly identify and recognize some cultural values of the Nez Percé tribe, especially their belief in Weyekin, often described as a personal guiding angel. The concept of a guiding angel provokes Catholic teachings about angels and comparison with the Nez Percé Weyekin, as the guiding spirit. But that will be a new piece of writing for the future. There can be a cross-cultural gleaning of ideas from nature, beliefs, and interactions.     The Nez Percé People The term Nez Percé, meaning “pierced nose” is the French coinage to describe the Nimiipuu tribe. The term Nimiipuu, meaning “we, the people” is a name the tribe used for themselves and their language, a part of the Sahaptin family. Early contacts with the Europeans, especially French explorers made the name Nez Percé popular because they unfairly adopted the name Nez Percé and used it for the Nimiipuu and n
Read more

The Conflict between the Deities (Igwe and Amadioha) in Igbo Mythology over a Heat Wave

Staff Writer
Table of Contents Introduction The Deity – Igwe The Deity – Amadioha The Conflict between Igwe and Amadioha Introduction The current heat wave reminds me of the conflict between two Igbo deities, namely: Igwe and Amadioha. Just as it was noted somewhere in this blog: Nigeria's Diversity and the South-East/South-South Peripheral Inclusions: Biafra's Raison d'etre , November 15, 2021, the Igbo people are the third-largest ethnic group who live in southeastern Nigeria. They have a very rich culture and tradition among which is their concept of God which varies from one community to another but essentially, they believe that the gods guide and control their life and affairs in many ways. The Igbo concept of God stems from the idea of a chief god who creates everything. This god is supreme. The Igbo variously call this god Olisa bu uwa (the god who carries the world), Olisa bini Igwe , (the god who lives in the sky), Chukwu (the great god), or Chineke (the god who creates
Read more