If we turn to the history of the creation of myths, legends and epics, then many of them are based on real facts. Over the years and centuries they have been embellished, modified and endowed with new details, but the outline of the story has always remained the same. Sometimes it concerned the heroes, and sometimes the places where the events mentioned took place.
So the Smorodina River, often mentioned in ancient Russian epics and fairy tales, could indeed flow between Chernigov and the capital city of Kyiv. Scientists have not yet accurately determined the reality of its existence.
What does the old Russian word “currant” mean
For many readers, the exploits of the heroes of Kievan Rus do not raise doubts, since the cities mentioned in the epics, the names of princes and other heroes are a historical fact. So, the most revered hero among the people was Ilya Muromets, who was born in the village of Karacharova near Murom, a real place. According to legend, his relics rest in St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv.
Detailed descriptions of the way of life of people of those years, the appearance of heroes and historical events indicate that there is some truth in every epic. Collectors of Old Russian thought the same way.epos, which, starting from the 19th century, tried to find out where the Smorodina River is located, what its name means.
It has nothing to do with delicious berries, although for many it evokes a picture of banks overgrown with currant bushes. At its root is the old Russian word "currant", used since the 11th century, which means a strong smell. Even the bushes were so named because of the scent of their leaves.
Much later, the word began to apply exclusively to unpleasant odors, and its meaning appeared as “stench”. The Smorodina River in epics meant an unpleasant rotten place where possible death awaited people. It is often called the Puchay River, which further confuses researchers who certainly want to find it on a map.
Etymology of the word “Kalinov”
Another erroneous association is formed at the mention of the words "Kalinov Bridge". Its ancient compilers of epics “threw” it across the Smorodina River, meaning not the red viburnum at all. The etymology of the word originates in the root “hot”, that is, red-hot.
In all sources mentioning the Kalinov Bridge, it is associated with crossing the fiery river, perhaps that is why it was given such a name. Red-hot or made of copper, as it is described in fairy tales and epics.
The Smorodina River, Kalinov Bridge are symbols of the obstacle that a real hero must overcome. Usually a monster was waiting for the daredevils at this place: the Serpent Gorynych with the number of heads equal to three. In some tales it has three heads, in others it has six or nine heads.
Was this place really real and sohard to reach, that he was endowed with such a terrible guard in fairy tales, but in epics the Smorodina River is a reservoir near which a big battle took place, since it is often mentioned that its banks are strewn with bones and skulls. Perhaps this is where the name of the river came from, because the currant that came from the battlefield formed the basis of its name.
Kalinov bridge is another matter. It appears everywhere as a means of crossing from the world of Reveal to the world of Navi, the guardian of which was Mara (Marena). Veles translated the souls of the dead into the kingdom of death, which is in tune with the myths of other peoples of the world, for example, with Hades and the ferryman Charon among the Greeks or Pluto and Hades among the Romans.
The ancient Slavic epic combined the place of the fiercest battle with the belief in the existence of the afterlife. Many historians and ethnologists believe that the Smorodina River, Kalinov Bridge were the real place. Where this body of water is is the only thing they still don't agree on.
Location of the Currant River
If we take the description of the area indicated in the epic as a basis, then this river flowed between Chernigov and Kyiv. This is how the path of Ilya Muromets passed, who asked the peasants of Chernigov how to get to the capital city. The people answered him: “Yes, by that birch near the curse, or by that one by the Smorodina river, by that cross near Levanidov sits the Nightingale the Robber, Odikhmantiev’s son.”
According to some scientists, it could be the Smorodina River, which flows near Karachev in the Bryansk region, but thenwhy in the bylina the Chernihiv peasants show the way to Ilya Muromets? There is a reservoir with a similar name in the Elbrus region, and the Sestra River in Finnish (Siestar-joki) means “currant”.
This river appears in many legends, for example, Vasilisa Nikulishna crossed it, Dobrynya Nikitich died near it, Leviki, the nephews of the king of the Commonwe alth, stopped on its banks, Prince Roman Dmitrievich overcame it, turning into a wolf.
Each of the listed rivers could be the one mentioned in the epics, but its description casts doubt on the reasoning of scientists.
Smorodina River on the map
On the territory of modern Russia there are several rivers that could become the prototype of an epic source:
- The Smorodinka River flows in the Troparevsky forest near Moscow, in the Kursk, Tver and Vladimir regions.
- Currant is available in the Nizhny Novgorod, Smolensk and Leningrad regions.
- The river with the same name flows in Transbaikalia.
Each of these rivers could become a symbol of the separation of the two worlds, which the ancient Slavs believed in. Judging by the description, the qualities that the performers of epics endowed her with are similar to the description of rivers leading to the underworld in the myths of other peoples.
Description of the river in epics
Among the people, the Smorodina River, where the crossing from the world of Reveal to the world of Navi is located, caused awe. According to one version, its waters were black, a stench emanated from them, and according to another, it was fiery.
"Fierce river, angry itself" - sopeople were talking about it. Apparently, the Currant current was so strong, and the water was cold, that it “burned” everyone who entered it. Because of the spray, a drizzle always swirled over it, which people called smoke.
Thus, the river in their minds became fiery, and since it was difficult to cross it, they made it the place where the dead go to the world of Navi. Since in the days of Kievan Rus all the performers of epics knew which bridge was on the Smorodina River, the writers of fairy tales did not lag behind them. They "placed" on the Kalinov Bridge at the entrance to the world of Mary a guard - the Serpent Gorynych, so that he would not let the living into the afterlife. All folk epics from different countries have similar guards, for example, Cerberus in Greek myths.
The connection of ancient Russian epics with the myths of other peoples
If you believe the ancient legends, the Smorodina River was a serious obstacle for those whose path lay from Murom through Chernigov to Kyiv. Apparently, a lot of people died there, and not only on the battlefield, that it became a symbol of the river of death.
Some scientists believe that this river was one of the tributaries of the Dnieper, which is more logical if you go from Chernigov to Kyiv, but wherever it is, in folk tales, according to the description of Smorodina, it is similar to the river Styx, which the ancients Greeks went underground to Hades.
During the time of pagan Russia, people believed in the afterlife, and since it existed, then there had to be a way to it. The storytellers endowed the Smorodina River with this function, but instead ofboatman, “installed” the Kalinov bridge, through which the souls of the dead crossed.
The underworld of the ancient Slavs
The kingdom of Mary, the goddess of winter and death, lay beyond the Currant River. Not only the red-hot bridge was an obstacle on the way of the living to the land of the dead, but also the monster guarding it. In some fairy tales, this is the Serpent Gorynych, in others, the Miracle Yudo.
Sometimes the heroes had to fight Koshchei the Immortal himself, Mara's husband, in order to cross the bridge. On the example of ancient Russian legends, one can trace how a real river, which was deadly when crossing it, became a legendary place that separates the worlds.
Puchai River
In the old Russian epic, different names are used, but the most common are Smorodina and Puchay-reka (Pochaina). The second means that she has water swollen from a fast current.
In those days, this was the name of the channel that flowed between Vyshgorod and the Desna. Its length was only 8 km, and it ran along Obolon through Podol, after which it flowed into the Dnieper. The lower part of the river was separated from the Dnieper by a narrow spit, and the mouth of the Pochaina was a well-known Kyiv harbor, where the ships of merchants stopped. If you believe the legends, then it was in it that the baptism of Kievan Rus took place in 988.
In 1712 the spit was eroded by building a canal, thus it became part of the Dnieper.
