At the sea-ocean, on the island of Buyan, there is a white-combustible stone Alatyr, on that stone an apple tree grows with rejuvenating apples. The wonderful tree is guarded by the prophetic bird Gamayun, which gives happiness and predicts the future - to people who are ready to accept it. Helps with practical advice, but gives hope for a glorious outcome of the feats of arms. Otherwise, a bird of paradise can inspire sadness and tell about death.
About the name
In accordance with the main version, the name of the Slavic bird Gamayun has Iranian roots, and comes from the word "Humayun", which means "happy", "good". Interesting! But no source says how "Humayun" turned into the final version known to us.
However, in many Old Russian dialects you can find the word "gamayun", which means a talkative, talkative person. Perhaps this is where the clue to the name lies.heavenly feathered creature, which was distinguished by the love of long conversations.
A bit of history
About the Gamayun bird in Slavic mythology was first mentioned in the 15th century. In the writings of the Byzantine merchant Kozma Indikoplova, to be more precise. In his treatise called Christian Topography, he writes about a bird of paradise without wings and legs, flying with the help of a tail and never touching the ground. If she needs rest, she grabs the branches of trees with the help of feathers. The Gamayun bird visited the fabulous islands located in the eastern sea, not far from paradise.
Such fictions were based on the fact that at the beginning of the 16th century stuffed birds without wings and legs were popular in Europe. They were called birds of paradise, but in fact, the cut off parts of the body of these creatures were used as amulets against evil forces.
Later, Gamayun began to be depicted with the head and chest of a beautiful maiden. The body remained birdlike. Some sources say that this wonderful creature could turn into a beautiful girl with amazing multi-colored hair and a magical voice.
The image of the Gamayun bird was formed quickly and became quite popular. He managed to win a continuation in fairy tales, painting and music, because he was perceived as a symbol of eternal happiness and prophecy.
Songs and Tales of the Bird of Paradise
This can be told a little more. The Gamayun bird was the embodiment of the wisdom of Veles himself - the god of good luck and fertility. She could tell everything aboutlight! About heaven and earth, about stars and night, as well as about many other things beyond the control of ordinary people.
It was she who could sing the golden book of the Vedas with a sweet voice. This is the most beautiful song of the Gamayun bird! She also had the power to teach a person divine hymns, so that the gods would hear the requests of mortals; show how to speak on their behalf to those who deserve it.
It was believed that if a heavenly feathered creature flies low and touches a person's head with its wings, good luck will accompany him in everything. Ho, in addition to fortune, patronage and protection, Gamayun could predict the future. And if someone managed to get her pen, then he received fame and fortune.
The Tale of the Glorious Hunter
There is one interesting story that mentions a wonderful bird. They say that there lived a glorious hunter in the world, whose arrows did not know a miss. One day he saw a wonderful bird. She had an amazing color! He realized that in front of him was the prophetic bird Gamayun. This is an amazing creature with wonderful feathers. The hunter pulled on the bowstring, and was about to shoot, but he saw in the paws of a bird a birch bark bundle, on which it was written: “You will go around the whole world with a lie, but you will not turn back.” He hesitated, reading the inscription, a marvelous bird saw him, and lulled him to sleep.
The hunter is sleeping, and it seems to him that Gamayun is talking to him in a magical voice. He asks what will he choose? Truth or False. The man chose the second, as the lie promised power and glory, and, waking up, went to travel the world.
The hunter became rich anda famous person, he wanted to return home, to see his relatives and share the joy of good luck, but he did not find his home. Then he remembered the magic bird, he also remembered the words written on a birch bark bundle: “You will go around the whole world with a lie, but you won’t turn back.”
Since then, many fairy tales and songs of Gamayun begin with these words. The bird of paradise loved to tell about Yav, Nav and Prav - three parts of the world. She sang about how the Fiery Volkh was born, how he defeated his father, how he married Lelya, how the glorious Perun fought with the Skipper beast, about where the Russian family and the laws of Svarog came from, and about many other things.
Mythology
There is a saying about the appearance of things of the Gamayun bird. They say that the earth was reborn and appeared, and Buyan Island grew in the middle of the sea-ocean. There were many wonderful trees on that island. The duck Soda sailed to Buyan, laid golden, silver, and iron eggs. Different feathered ones hatched from them, but not simple ones, but magical ones.
Paradise prophetic bird with a wonderful voice has chosen a tall apple tree. She spread her feathers to the ground and broadcast marvelous, glorious and happy songs. Here, by the way, is the answer to the question of where the Gamayun bird lives, which interests many.
In Slavic mythology, a magical bird, in addition to good luck and happiness, could inspire sadness and become not only a predictor of death, but also a guide to the kingdom of the dead. Having a wonderful voice, she could "gamayunit", that is, lull. There is a belief that the prophetic bird controlled the weather, flying from east to west, from sunrise to sunset, carrying with itterrible storm. Water is seething in the seas and oceans, forests and fields are burning. Thus, Gamayun reminds people of the meaning of life and higher values.
She also likes to visit the sacred gardens of Iriy, where she has long conversations with other fabulous birds, telling them about people and gods.
The "Opposite" of a paradise creature
Everyone has long known that in contrast to good there is always evil, and vice versa. This case is no exception.
The opposite of the wonderful Gamayun is the bird Sirin. She is a product of the Navi world, the realm of the dead.
An interesting fact is that Alkonost and Sirin, other birds that lived in paradise, were never depicted on a lubok together with Gamayun.
Meeting things with a bird
Many people wondered: where can I find the Gamayun bird and how to summon it? After all, meeting with her was a dream for many. Naturally, without a special approach, this was impossible. Ho there were special conspiracies. Here is one of them: “Come, Gamayun, a prophetic bird, through the wide sea, through the high mountains, through the dark forest, through the open field. You sing, Gamayun, prophetic bird, at a white dawn, on a steep mountain, on a willow bush, on a crimson twig.
The following variant was also often used: “A prophetic bird, a wise bird, you know a lot, you know a lot … Tell us, Gamayun, sing-tell us … Why did the whole White Light begin? How did the Red Sun begin? The month is bright and the stars are frequent, why, tell me, were born? And blew like violent winds? Blazed like clear dawns?”.
But pronunciationconspiracy did not guarantee the appearance of a wonderful feathered creature. The bird of paradise appeared only to those who were known as a kind and worthy person.
Gamayun in heraldry and art
The mysterious and bright image of the bird of paradise excited the imagination of many artists, writers and poets. Therefore, it is not surprising that many artists depicted her on their canvases and sang in poems and songs.
B. Vasnetsov endowed the image of the bird with a tragic meaning in his painting, depicting it in dark colors with a beautiful gloomy face.
At the poetess Anna Akhmatova, Gamayun leads the traveler astray and inspires sadness and melancholy.
Vladimir Vysotsky grants her a symbol of hope that can awaken Russia from sleep.
With a face filled with horror and with dried blood on his lips, shows her A. Blok, in his poem "Gamayun is a prophetic bird."
She is also depicted on the coat of arms of the Smolensk region. And on the coat of arms of the city of Mikhailovsk, located in the same region, the bird is shown with a human face.
The image of Gamayun in heraldry means the pursuit of happiness, the culture of the people, protection from wars, patronage and rebirth. Did the bird of paradise really exist? The answer to this question does not exist in any source of Russian folklore. But her image is present in almost all genres of Slavic mythology. It is a kind of allegory for the unity of the Family, a connecting thread between the living and past generations. After all, it is not for nothing that Gamayun is called the bird of paradise, an intermediary between people and gods.
