Question of Typology of the Image of Stepan Gorinoch in Russian
Legends
Madinabonu Akhmedova
Tashkent University of Applied Sciences, Gavhar Str. 1, Tashkent 100149, Uzbekistan
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10439294
Keywords:
typology, legends, image, myth, folklore text, V.Ya.Propp, Zmey Gorinoch.
Abstract:
This article considers the issue of typology of the image of Stepan Gorinoch in Russian legends. Works of
folklore - Legends that genetically go back to these myths, as well as to the ritual practices associated with
them, represent a cultural heritage, interest in which has not waned for many centuries. The problem of the
nature of mythological ideas, found, in particular, in the symbolic subtext of legends, has been repeatedly
considered in the works of many researchers in the field of folklore. A special place among the works devoted
to the typology of the image in Russian legends, as well as the issue of the relationship between works of
folklore and mythological ideas, is occupied by the works of the famous philologist and ethnographer
Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp, a researcher who stood at the origins of the modern theory of structural analysis
of folklore text.
1 INTRODUCTION
Stepan Gorinoch is one of the most famous and
unforgettable heroes of the Slavic epic. As a rule, he
appeared before the listeners and readers as an anti-
hero, a terrible and insidious creature who stood in the
way of Russian heroes and, as a result, appeared as an
obstacle that they had to overcome. Since the anti-
hero
was
Serpent,
he
did
not
have
an
anthropomorphic appearance but had the distinct
appearance of a relic dinosaur with multiple heads
spitting fire. In the works of several Russian
researchers, Stepan Gorinoch is called "a dragon from
Slavic mythology" [2].
In this regard, the question arises: "Is this epic
character a dragon, and does it have any connection
with the dragons in the legends of other peoples?"
First of all, it should be noted that dragons are heroes
of legends among many peoples of the world: for
example, the Sumerian god Zu, the ancient Greek
Lernean Hydra, and the Persian AjiDahaka. Often,
these dragons burned fire and could fly. All of them
were a test for the main character, overcoming which
he could get treasure or gain courage. However, this
fact applies primarily to European dragons, including
Stepan Gorinoch, while in Asian countries dragons
are revered as real gods. In this study, we will conduct
a comparative analysis of the characteristic features
of Chinese and European dragons, as well as the
snake in the Russian epic.
In scientific literature and journalism, many
symbols are used to distinguish dragons from various
legends and vice versa. Based on these features,
whole theories are formed, the most popular of which
are discussed below. "Theory of Good and Evil"
According to this theory, dragons are evil in the flesh
and are considered symbols of Satan. This point is
common in the legends and legends of European
countries. Among the various mythological images in
Chinese culture, the dragon occupies a central place
and is considered particularly significant [4].
The Chinese dragon is a symbol of masculinity
("yang") and the Chinese people as a whole. Unlike
the European dragon and the Gorinoch snake, the
Chinese represent a good beginning. According to
legend, the Chinese dragon is a mythical creature that
patronizes fertility: it brings clouds and rain and
brings benefits to people. Thus, in China, we can say
that the dragon is the god of moisture and rain,
because it is closely related to the cult of fertility, the
cause of rain, and rituals were incomplete without
dragon images from the 5th century BC.
2 LITERATURE REVIEW
In this study, we will focus on
Russian mythology, culture, and
folklore. Based on Russian folk
literature and folklore legends, the
phenomenon of the image of
"Zmey Gorinoch " was studied and
researched by various specialists.
They tried to develop some
algorithms, with which you can
identify and at least try to give some
features and shape the features.
Korinfsky A. A. “The Serpent
Gorynych”,
Ivanov
Vyachislavovich, Toporov V.N.
“Zmey Gorynych”, Gura A.V.
“Snake”,
Levkievskaya
E.E.
“Mountain”,
Propp
V.Ya.
"Historical roots of the Fairy Tale".
Along with this information about
the Serpent Gorynych, it is
reflected in the material “Smok” of
the Etymological Dictionary of the
Russian Language “Russisches
etymologisches Wörterbuch”, as
well as the Chernykh Etymological
Dictionary [4,5,6,7].
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In Russian folklore, the image of the
dragon depicted by Zmey Gorinoch, like
its European counterparts, usually has an
evil bent. This is, in my opinion, from the
very beginning of the appearance of
Zmey Gorinoch in Russia and his illegal
actions, violence, including kidnapping
people
and
later
conversion
to
Christianity,
that
is,
certain
life
instructions were changed, and the
ideology of life. Christian values were
established, and in this case the fault of
the "temptation" was placed on the
Serpent, that is, when he invited Eve to
taste the forbidden fruit, after which God
expelled him and Adam from Paradise
[4].
At the same time, I would like to point
out that there are some elements of
"similarity" between the Serpent and the
Dragon, but more on that below. Thus,
since there is a certain external similarity
between the snake and the dragon, the
view that the dragon, like the snake, is a
symbol of evil and falsehood is
widespread in European mythology. An
example of Zmey Gorinoch's cunning
can be his behavior in the fairy tale "The
Wonderful Dress", where Gorinoch acts
as a snake charmer. According to the plot
of this tale, the merchant's son Ivan
defeats the Dragon, but agrees to keep
him. After Ivan, the merchant's son,
brings home the Dragon and then goes
hunting, Ivan seduces his wife, Elena the
Beautiful, to learn the secret of why the
merchant's son Ivan is so wise and strong.
Consequently, Zmey Gorinoch has
common features with the archetypal
snake-tempter, which brings him closer
to the heroes of European mythology as
a hero of the Russian epic. As a symbol
of falsehood and evil, the image of a
winged snake is even depicted on the
Russian state coat of arms: on a shield
located on the eagle's chest, an evil snake
is pierced by a silver rider, which
symbolizes the victory over good.
On the one hand, such a living tribute
is necessary for the food of the Snake, on
the other hand, when the hero comes to
rescue any girl kidnapped by Zmey
Gorinoch, he always finds her alive and
well, in prison. in the upper room and
guarded by the same fiery Dragon [6].
It is worth noting that some local
cultural legends mention that Zmey
Gorinoch has gentler, friendlier features.
His image is famous not only as a
threatening enemy, but also as an ally and
even a friend of the hero.
In general, it can be noted that the
theory of good and evil in Christian
discourse is one of the main arguments
that allow us to connect the Russian epic
Dragon with the European dragon. At the
same time, on the same basis, Zmey
Gorinoch and the Chinese dragon are
significantly different. The theory is also
widespread in scientific literature and
journalism, according to which people
took real representatives of the animal
world for dragons. This theory seems to
be one of the most plausible, despite the
fact that, among other things, it is based
on mythical ideas about dragons.
According to Dahl's dictionary
"Explanatory dictionary of the living
Great Russian language", the dragon is a
"wonderful winged snake", according to
the encyclopedia "Legends of the
Peoples of the World", the dragon is a
flying (winged) snake, a mythological
creature.
The
most
common
representation of a dragon is that of an
enormous lizard with four clawed claws
and wings, a long tail, a long neck, a
toothy mouth, and a horned head. In
general, it can be concluded that the
dragon is a reptile, which in legends is
given some additional features - horns,
wings, etc. At the same time, it should be
noted that even today many amphibians
resemble dragons in one way or another:
long tails, blackened bodies, etc. For
example, the family of agama lizards has
such a representative as the "flying
dragon" - an analog of wings - a small
lizard that can move up to 30 m in the air
due to long ribs. It cannot be denied that
our ancestors, who saw such a flying
reptile, imagined it as a large-scale,
flying monster. A similar situation can
occur in iguanas of various sizes and
colors, which have an elongated
serpentine div, four legs, and a black
div [3].
Do not forget about the most ancient
pterosaurs - despite the fact that they died
out 65 million years ago, our ancestors
saw surviving specimens or found the
remains of huge flying creatures and
formed ideas based on them, about the
possibility of the existence of flying
monsters, to his imagination clawed
claws, itchy skin , can be said to have
resulted from the addition of a found
"skeleton" with gruesome details such as
a horned head, fiery breath, and more.
The realism of this interpretation is
explained by the fact that in some
African countries they still find a
mysterious flying creature similar to a
pterosaur near water bodies. The creature
is called Kongamato, and according to
eyewitnesses, it looks like a medium-
sized pterosaur. It seems that it is not
unrealistic for our ancestors to get
acquainted with the specific features of
the fauna in legends and myths and to
have a visual experience of forming the
image of a dragon based on it. We
believe that such precedents could have
occurred, and perhaps the European and
Chinese dragons and even the Zmey
Gorinoch of Russian legend originated
from here.
There are also reasons to believe that
in ancient times in China, almost without
exception,
creatures
with
some
extraordinary characteristics were called
dragons. And this means that a variety of
reptiles can fall under this definition.
Nevertheless, in ancient China, a
universal image of the dragon was
formed, which has survived to this day
and, unlike European dragons, had a
uniformity. This single image is "Lu-
wan, the Dragon King of China, whose
div was a snake, deer antlers, demon
eyes, carp scales, a camel's head, tiger
claws, and eagle claws." Although other
Chinese dragons differed from the Long-
wan in size and whether or not they had
horns, they were generally similar [2].
In Chinese mythology, as in the
mythologies of other countries, the image
of the dragon is integrally associated with
having a long, elongated cylindrical div
covered with scales. The same div,
according to legends, there are dragons.
Specialist in heraldry as G. I. Korolev
points out, the history of the use of the
words "snake" and "dragon" indicates
that they are used to refer to the same
creature. Chinese, European and Russian
epic dragon (Zmey Gorinoch), for
example, despite the fact that they may
have different claws, the presence or
absence of horns on the head, they all, in
some way, have a serpentine, div,
which is not only the temptation of a
snake in the form of a snake of our
ancestors, but also means that a real
reptile that exists in our world can create
a dragon image inspired by especially
large snakes and other reptiles.
Based on the above, the theory of
natural origin is common to all dragons,
including Zmey Gorinoch. All other
characteristic
features
may
vary
depending on the mythology of a
particular country. For example, Zmey
Gorinoch is always multi-headed: in
various tales and legends, he had from 3
to 12 heads, although this three-
headedness is considered the most
familiar feature. Adding many heads to
the image of Gorinoch, according to the
"theory of good and evil", this snake can
show the many faces of the evil it
embodies.
Another
oft-mentioned
characteristic of the snake is its ability to
fly. Its important feature can also be
called the ability to ignite fire, which
indicates a fiery nature [7].
In Russian legends, as well as in
Chinese legends, Zmey Gorinoch is also
associated with the element of water: for
example, it is said that he lives in water
or sleeps on a rock in the sea. Although
the Serpent's name - Gorinoch - may
indicate that he lives in the mountains, in
some legends, when the main character
approaches the Serpent's lair, he comes
out of the water to meet him. This
characteristic brings the Russian snake
closer to the Chinese: China has always
been a large country with developed
agriculture,
and
therefore
has
traditionally experienced the need for
water. Therefore, in Chinese legends, the
dragon's
seasonal
patronage
of
agriculture is mentioned (in the spring,
the dragon ascends to the sky, in the fall,
it descends into the ocean again). The
breath of the dragon, according to ancient
Chinese beliefs, contributes to the
formation of clouds, brings rain with
them, and helps people water crops
during the growing season. Thus, in
Chinese
mythology,
the
dragon
represents
auspicious
beginnings,
helping people cultivate the earth.
Although Zmey Gorinoch does not help
people in Russian legends, he is also
connected in one way or another with
water as his main habitat. In our opinion,
this case indicates that the image of the
Russian Dragon was probably inspired
by the image of the Chinese Dragon,
although it did not copy all its
characteristics.
The theory that dragons never existed
is also of particular interest. According to
him, people took various unfavorable
weather
phenomena
for
terrible
monsters, for example, black thunder or
lightning emitted by them, which had a
certain "snake" character. From all this,
an image of a fiery monster flying in the
sky could be created. However, the
"natural theory" still loses to the natural
theory, because even if our ancestors
recognized mythical monsters in natural
phenomena, at the same time, reptiles
already existed in nature, which they
could clearly perceive as dragons [6].
The image of Zmey Gorinoch may
seem a more reliable theory, which
includes all the difficulties that Russia
faced during the invasions of steppe
nomads at the end of the 1st - beginning
of the 2nd century. 17th or 7th-8th
centuries AD and found its embodiment
in a threatening legendary creature. In
particular,
representatives
of
the
Shanghai Foreign Languages University
Z. Venning and Z. Hayshan, as well as
historian A. Soyustov.
According to A. Soyustov, many of
the fire heads attributed to Zmey
Gorinoch may be Chinese fire heads,
which have the shape of a ball and
therefore look like the head of a monster.
In addition, A. Soyustov refers to the
"black blood" of Zmey Gorinoch, which
was not absorbed by the Russian soil,
was on the ground and was associated
with the blood of the Dragon, which
could indicate the leakage of oily liquid
from the shells, which was necessary to
spread the fire [4].
Thus, A. Soyustov compares the
characteristic features of the Dragon as
an epic creature (hero) and the
information about the medieval artillery
of the nomads, and on this basis
concludes that the formation of the
legendary image of Zmey Gorinoch was
caused by the fear of our ancestors from
the unknown and deadly firearms of the
nomads, this because of this, artillery fire
has
acquired
metaphorical
characteristics. In connection with the
need to resist foreign invaders, Russian
mythology developed the idea of fighting
dragons, and this is its symbolism, which
led to the spread of its symbolism,
including the image of the "winged
snake"[1].
Based on the material presented, it can
be concluded that the image of the
dragon is reflected in the mythology of
different countries and therefore it can be
considered universal. This means that
Zmey Gorinoch is most closely related to
European and Chinese dragons, despite
some differences in appearance and
cultural significance in many of its
features and characteristics.
CONCLUSIONS
So, for example, in the Christian culture of the
West, which is completely related to Russian culture,
the image of the dragon is always associated with the
fall of the first people and their expulsion from
heaven due to the treachery of the serpent. In Chinese
culture, the dragon is a legendary symbol of the
beginning ("yang") and a respected symbol of the
entire Chinese people, the helper of the people and the
patron of agriculture. The European dragon, as well
as Zmey Gorinoch, is usually depicted as cunning and
evil, and in late legends, he is represented as a helper
of Russian heroes.
In this regard, we can confidently say that Zmey
Gorinoch and the dragon are not strangers, because
European and Chinese dragons had the most direct
influence on the formation of the image of the
Russian epic Dragon. Perhaps most of the features of
the dragon were taken from the image of Zmey
Gorinoch, or vice versa, the images of Zmey
Gorinoch were taken from the image of the dragon.
Thus, it is necessary to continue studying the image
of Zmey Gorinoch.
So, who is "Zmey Gorinoch " - a real hero or a
mythological figure? To answer this question,
additional studies were conducted to study the
realistic image preserved in folklore and its
characteristics. At the same time, for many years, it
was determined how "necessary" information
security was implemented, "need" information
protection was implemented or, on the contrary, how
the fight against information was formed. During the
study, a map created by the researcher-scientist Nikita
Petrov was considered, when transferring the image
of the created map to a real geographical map, many
places in the epic epics are the real places of the
designated objects, which are known to belong to that
period. For example, below Kiev, at the junction of
two rivers and a bridge, the site or residence of "Zmey
Gorinoch " is clearly located, and the mountains are
also indicated there. Of course, they could not pass by
such a colorful image, and representatives of various
arts, paintings and literature actively used it in their
works. At the same time, in all works, the image of
Zmey Gorinoch is treated as a living being and on a
very large scale.
Thus, from all the above works, it is possible to
observe the transformation of the image of "Zmey
Gorinoch" from folk art to modern images. Also, the
figure of "Zmey Gorinoch" became full-fledged,
colorful and interesting, mandatory and necessary for
a multifaceted story, which made it possible to turn
him into a negative or positive character, depending
on the narrative of the story.
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