House in mythology. Slavic, Russian traditions

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house spirits

Many different spirits live in old houses. Some are the souls of former owners, others are just stray spirits, usually harmless. A sheep barn lives in a barn, a barnyard lives on a threshing floor, a barn in a barn, a bannik in a bathhouse, a chicken god in a chicken coop, a cage in a cage, a zakutnik in a corner, behind a stove there is a kikimora oven, shishigi and shilikuny, korgorushi, next to the wen-lizun lives on food, and in the house - the owner of all the brownie spirits - the brownie.

Brownie is a kind spirit, he is a zealous owner, helping a friendly family. Sometimes he is mischievous, naughty, if he doesn’t like something. He braids the manes of the horses he loves, and harasses the unloved ones. All house spirits serve him, and if you do not get along with the house spirits, then there will be no life. At night, shishigs and shilikuns will make noise and roam, and korgorushes, turning into black cats, will crawl under their feet, a wen-lizun will eat all the food in the hut.

And it’s especially trouble if there are navia in the house - the spirits of the hostile dead, or even ghouls who crawled from the cemetery. But sleep, the enemies leave alone the houses where the "dzyads", brownies live, good spirits ancestors who protect their descendants.

Therefore, the brownie is left in a secluded corner, on the stump, - porridge, in the chicken coop they hang a “urochny” stone with a hole (for the chicken god) and say: “Owner-father, take our porridge! And eat pies, take care of our house!

Domovoy is also called "Dobrozhil", "Dobrohot" and even (in the Vologda Oblast) "Breadwinner". In the Russian North, he is called "Susedkom", "Batanushkom". If he does not get along with the owner, then he is called "nekoshny".

The following legend is told about the origin of brownies: “When the Lord, at the time of the Creation of the World, threw down all the rebellious and evil heavenly power to Earth ... unclean spirits also fell on human habitations. Did those who were kinder than the others get here then, or did it just so happen that, having settled closer to people, they settled down and became limp, but only these spirits did not become evil enemies, like water, goblin and other devils, but, as it were, were reborn : turned into well-wishers and at the same time turned out to be with the habits of people of a cheerful and playful disposition. Most of the peasants are so accustomed to them that they do not agree to recognize the brownies as devils, "considers them a special separate good treat. (S.V. Maksimov. “Unclean, unknown and godly power”).

Brownie is the most popular character in Slavic mythology. It is believed in even today, and in the old days it was one of the most important spirits in a person's life. But today, someone considers him evil, someone good, and everyone is wrong. Brownie is not just a spirit. This is the essence of human habitation. It was not he who settled in a man's house, it was people who had the honor to live in his monastery.

It is worth noting that after the adoption of Christianity, they began to consecrate dwellings in order to drive away demons. And according to the canons of Orthodoxy, Domovoy was considered precisely a demon. Therefore, later the opinion about him changed. And that is why many today think he is an evil spirit. Well, how everything was with the ancient Slavs, we will now figure it out.

Appearance

Most often, he was portrayed as similar to one of the deceased ancestors, but with signs that indicated his otherworldly origin. These are long ears, nails, it could be covered with wool. Today, Brownie is often represented as a shaggy short man in a caftan and shirt, but in reality he looked like this only when the house was rich or wealth was waiting for him in the future. In a poor house, the brownie could walk without clothes.

Ideas about appearance There were many brownies. But this is not surprising, because he could take on any guise. Look like a person or an animal. Sometimes he looked like a living member of the family. But without a doubt, the most common image of Domovoy as a short and stocky dwarf with shaggy hair.

Where does the brownie live?

He can live in different places. Most often on the stove, at the threshold or in the attic. He could be seen in the stable, barn or barn. Sometimes he could live underground. The Slavs believed that if you take the place where Domovoy lives, you can get sick.

He could change his place of residence, but only if he was asked. The Slavs believed that if there was no Brownie in the house, then trouble should be expected. Therefore, if they moved to a new place, they always invited him with them. There were different rituals. For example, when moving to new house burning coals were collected from the stove in the old house and transferred to the new one.

If an adult child built his own house, then the children of Domovoy moved with him. And the Slavs who lived in the north believed that during a housewarming party, you need to drive out someone else's brownie and only then call your own.

Brownie behavior

We wrote above that he was represented as both good and evil, but the thing is that he could behave differently. The Slavs believed that it was necessary to address him respectfully and affectionately. He was often called "master", bread and milk were left overnight.

He loved order in the house, so if the owners were hardworking and tidy, then they could count on his help. Nothing broke in the house, there was order, all things went smoothly and simply. But if people made a mess, then Brownie was very annoyed and he began to behave outrageously.

good brownie

When he is pleased with everything, he guards the well-being in the house and family. Can carry out cleaning, monitor the fire in the stove. Sometimes he could look after cattle, but here everything depended on his character and preferences. Sometimes they loved the animals and sometimes they ignored them. Or they gave them at the mercy of Dvorovoy, who was the master in the yard, but at the same time obeyed Domovoy.

The Slavs believed that if he appeared before people, then this was a warning of danger. And if a family member was threatened with death, then he could slam doors, leave bruises on the body of a sleeping person, meow or even howl. The brownie could also avert trouble from the family, it was in his power, albeit not always.

If he was dissatisfied, then he could be appeased. First, it was necessary to restore order in the house. Secondly, an offering had to be made to him. The brownie himself is not evil, so if he was treated with respect, he was good and always helped.

bad brownie

It was possible to anger Domovoy different ways, not only when the house is a mess. He was annoyed by quarrels between people, loose hair in women, night work. If they took his place with different things, then this also pissed him off.

Most often he limited himself to pranks, which, however, were unpleasant. He could break dishes, pull blankets off sleeping people, chase a cat around the house, make noise at night and prevent him from sleeping properly. But in some cases, he could leave the house, which threatened with great misfortunes.

Sometimes the Brownie could be naughty for no reason, but this was more often done by young spirits who liked to play pranks simply because of their age. The old ones did not do this, because they had many more important things to do than mischief.

As we wrote above, they could see him only when he himself wanted it. This applies to both animals and people. The only exceptions are cats, which can always see it. It was believed that if a cat looks where there is no one, starts to hiss, then it sees the Brownie. In general, he had a special relationship with cats. And the tradition of launching a cat into the house ahead of everyone came precisely from the Slavs, who believed that Domovoy drove into the house on horseback.

In Slavic mythology, Domovoy is a positive and one of the most significant characters. Many creatures and spirits were forgotten over time, but not about him.

He differs from demons in that he does not do evil, but only jokes sometimes, even renders services if he loves the owner or mistress. Before death, someone from the family howls, sometimes even shows himself to someone, knocks, slams doors, etc. According to general belief, he lives in the winter near the stove or on the stove, and if the owner has horses and a stable, then he is placed near the horses . If he likes the horse, then the brownie grooms it, braids its mane and tail, gives it food, which makes the horse kinder, and vice versa, when he doesn’t like the animal, he torments him and often beats him to death, knocks him under the manger, etc. From Of this opinion, many owners buy horses of the color that is in the court, that is, loved by brownies.

If the brownie fell in love with the household, then he warns of misfortune, guards the house and yard; otherwise, he beats and smashes the dishes, screams, stomps, etc. He who he loves, curls his hair and beards into braids, and whom he does not love, pinches him to bruises at night. Some kind of trouble is judged by these bruises, especially if the bruise hurts a lot. It also leans on the sleeping person during the night and crushes him, so that at this time you can neither move nor say a word (see Sleep paralysis). Usually this attack falls on the one who sleeps on his back, at this time they ask, for worse or for better, and the brownie answers in a gloomy voice - “yes” or “no”.

It is believed that he does not like mirrors, also goats, as well as those who sleep near the threshold or under the threshold. Sometimes they hear how he, sitting in the master's place, is engaged in the master's work, while none of this is visible. In the common people they have respect for the brownie, so that the peasant is afraid of offending him with something and is even careful not to pronounce his name without purpose. In conversations, they do not call him a brownie, but "grandfather, master, big or himself."

When moving from one house to another, it is considered an indispensable duty on the last night, before leaving the old house, to ask the brownie to a new place with bread and salt. The economy of each, in their opinion, is under the influence of the brownie. They say that the brownie does not like the lazy. If the brownie does not love the owner, then he begins to play pranks, in this case, before the threshold of the house, a goat's skull or head is buried in the ground, and if his pranks are expressed in spontaneous combustion of objects, bad graffiti on the walls, and other things of that kind, then the brownie should show Who is the head in this house. You need to take a puga with an iron tip (whip) or a belt in your hand and go around the house and quilt furniture, walls, floors and things and say in an authoritative and strong voice:

“Know your place, know your place.
You must guard the house, take care of the economy,
Yes, to please the mistress, and not to fight,
Know your place, know your place."

You can say any words, the main thing is that they be spoken by the owner of the house.

It is believed that a brownie is born as an old grandfather and dies as a baby. Spirits related to the brownie: kikimora (maybe even a wife), bannik, bean goose (aka "ovinnik"), field.

According to ESBE, in the northern regions of the Olonets province, the spirit of the hearth was called Zhikharko. He is short, disheveled, with a large beard, very good-natured, harmless and a great joker.

Most often, the brownie gives information to the oldest person in the family. It can be dreams, prophecies, signs, hints, knocks, any images seen with peripheral vision. Drug addicts and small children can see the brownie: for example, sometimes even playing with a child and answering his questions.

The brownie also has enemies, the spirits of the lower astral plane. These are the souls of suicides who have not been punished according to Christian customs, who are not accepted, neither heaven nor earth. But they need to go somewhere, so they are trying to force a good brownie out of the house. The spirits of the lower astral do not settle anywhere, but in troubled families. So, intending to scandal, think before it can be fraught.

Brownies are the only representatives of evil spirits who are not afraid of the Holy Image. Therefore, they can safely live in the homes of believers. Brownie is easy to offend by calling him a "representative of evil spirits."
There is a belief that when the Lord God expelled Lucifer and his associates from Heaven, they went straight to hell. But not everyone got there...
Those of them who were heavily burdened with sin fell into the very center of the Underworld, others less, closer to the surface of the earth. Thus, evil spirits are represented everywhere.
As for the appearance of brownies, the same belief reports about certain “spirits” who repented of their sins before the Exile, but were never forgiven by God.
This means that brownies are not afraid of icons, but they are “a burden” for them, because they constantly remind them of the punishment - to live with a person and help him.
Forgiveness comes if the brownie has helped the owner of the dwelling in every possible way for 70 years. Then the brownie (spirit) gets the opportunity to get into the Kingdom of God.
But the dark side of the brownie's soul prevents him from being an assistant for seventy years, so they live a long time with people.

Painting by Boris Kustodiev "The Merchant and the Brownie", 1922.

There are brownies that always bring harm. They are called villains. They "pissed off" at all people, each for his own reason. Some of the villains consider a person unworthy to serve him (but are forced to do this), others - for many insults.

It's bad for the house where the evildoers live. In the old days, it was believed that every house should have a brownie, if the house is new, they “invited”.
Brownies help with the housework, save property, often count it (this is well played out in the cartoon about brownie Kuzya), they love livestock, especially horses. Brownies protect the house from thieves, fires, and other evil spirits.
There are many ways to call a brownie, for example:

1. Go outside at midnight, on a full moon, with your left shoe tied to a string, and pull it along. Under no circumstances should you look back. As soon as you feel "heaviness", this means that the brownie has agreed to live with you.
2. More bloodthirsty, but the most effective. You need to take a live rooster (preferably black) and cut off his head in the house, sprinkle the floor with blood. It is believed that if a lonely brownie roams the area, he will immediately accept this “sign”.

* Since the stove was no longer installed in the houses, behind which, according to legend, the brownie lived, his place of residence was moved behind the heating radiator.
* In the early 90s, the concept of "Barabashka" appeared. By all indications, Barabashka's actions corresponded to the allegations of an angry brownie.

The image of a brownie is very loved in Russia and by ordinary people, starting from the brownie Kuzi in the cartoon of the same name and ending with the work “Russian Sword” by Perumov. Christianity does not reject people's confidence in its existence, although it has attributed it to dark, diabolical forces. Orthodoxy calls on people to sanctify their houses and apartments in order to drive away all evil spirits, and severely condemns those who flirt with the demon.

In the Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling, "house-elves" are mentioned. They serve in wealthy magical families and can only get freedom when the owner gives them clothes. But these creatures have nothing to do with real brownies - they are pure elves, and they became “brownies” due to an inaccurate translation: house-elf is a tracing paper from houseman / maid, servant / maid.

Brownie - kind in Slavic mythology house spirit who lives in every home. Basically, brownies are considered the souls of the previous owners, but there are also stray ones. Brownie is a kind spirit, zealous owner, helping a friendly family. Sometimes he is mischievous and naughty, if he doesn’t like something. All house spirits ( Yard, Ovine, Bathhouse etc.) serve him, and if you don’t get along with the brownie, then there will be no life. The spirits of the ancestors were also honored under a different name "churila" or " squint". In the event of any trouble in the old days they said:" Chur, protect me, "referring to the brownie as well.

The brownie is left in a secluded corner, on the cuff, - porridge, in the chicken coop they hang a “uronic” stone with a hole (for chicken god ) and say: “Owner-father, take our porridge! And eat pies, take care of our house! Domovoy is also called "Dobrozhil", "Dobrohot" and even (in the Vologda Oblast) "Breadwinner". In the Russian North, he is called "Susedkom", "Batanushkom". If he does not get along with the owner, then he is called "nekoshny".

The brownie usually settled down to live underground, under the stove. He was presented as a little old man, similar in face to the head of the family. By his liking, he is an eternal troublemaker, grouchy, but caring and kind. People tried to maintain good relations with Domovoi, take care of him as an honored guest, and then he helped keep the house in order and warned of impending misfortune. Moving from house to house, Domovoy was always invited to move with his family with the help of a conspiracy.
The construction of a house was filled with the deepest meaning for the ancient Slavs, because at the same time a person was likened to the Gods who created the Universe. Here is how, for example, the trees were selected. The creaky ones were not suitable, because the soul of a tortured person was crying in them, those dried in the vine were not suitable - they have no vitality, which means people in the house will get sick. Cutting down trees, the pagan Slav blamed the tree souls driven out of the trunks, while he himself fasted for a long time and performed cleansing rites. But the ancient Slav was still not completely sure that the cut down trees would not begin to take revenge on him, and in order to protect himself, he made the so-called "construction sacrifices". The skull of a horse or a bull was buried under the red (eastern) corner of the house, in which carved statues of the gods were placed, and later icons. And from the soul of the slain animal, the Brownie actually arose.

In the Slavic mythological tradition, it was believed that brownies obey God Yarile and his father - Veles.
He was also often presented as a person, on the same face as the owner of the house, or as a small old man with a face covered with white wool, etc. Closely associated with the well-being of the house, especially with cattle: from his attitude, benevolent or hostile, livestock health. Some of the rites related to Domovoi could previously be associated with the "cattle god" Veles, and with the disappearance of his cult, they were transferred to Domovoy. An indirect argument in favor of this assumption is the belief that married woman, "shone with her hair" (showing her hair to a stranger), aroused the wrath of Domovoy - cf. data on the connection of Veles (Volos) with beliefs about hair. There were two types of Domovoys - a housewife (cf. the mention of a demon-horseman in the medieval "Word of St. Basil"), who lived in a house, usually in the corner behind the stove, where it was necessary to throw garbage so that "The Brownie would not be transferred" (also called good-natured, well-wisher, breadwinner, neighbor) , and the courtyard, often torturing animals (Domovoy generally often approached evil spirits). According to popular beliefs, Brownie could turn into cat, a dog, a cow, sometimes a snake, a rat or a frog. Brownies could be people who died without communion. Sacrifices for Domovoy (some food, etc.) were brought to the barn, where he could live. By analogy with the names of the female spirit of the house (marukha, kikimora), it is assumed that the most ancient name of Domovoy could be Mara. Similar beliefs about the spirits of the house existed among the Western Slavs and many other peoples.

Domovoy-domozhil

The older brother stood out from the orphaned family and decided to build a hut for himself. He chose a habitable place for construction. The forest was cut down with "hut help"; a hundred logs - a hundred helpers to cut down and take out each log. With a dozen axes, they managed to knock down the forest in late autumn, when the tree was not in the juice, and they took the logs along the first pass: the work was easier, and the horses broke less. The carpenters undertook to "cut down and put up a hut", and if the owner manages with the money this time, then "dress up" it, i.e. to make all the interior decoration available to an ax and a scraper. The carpenters crept up, reliable children, from the near neighborhood, from time immemorial they have been engaged in this craft and have managed to become famous for distant detours. They prayed at sunrise, drank "hands-on" and began to sip from early dawn until late.

When they put the two lower logs - the first two crowns so that where the log lay butt, they piled it on top, the owner came, brought vodka: they drank "stowing". Under the front, holy corner, at the request of the owners, they buried a coin for wealth, and the carpenters themselves - a piece of incense for holiness. Let them not think bad things about them, from woman’s nonsense, and don’t talk that they know evil spirits and can arrange it so that a house for living becomes uncomfortable.
The transition to a new hut or "inlets", housewarming - especially a terrible time and a dangerous business. In a new place, it seems as if you need to be reborn in order to start a new hard life in the dark and groping. Burning pain lies on the heart, which does not feel (but wants to know) what to expect ahead: I would like good things when there is more bad around. First of all, an irresistible desire to tell fortunes suggests itself. For this, a rooster and a cat are allowed into the new hut. If trouble is destined to happen, then let it strike over them. Behind them, you can already safely enter with an icon and bread and salt, it is best on a full moon and always at night. At night, the cattle are driven to a new house. Happy days for housewarming are the twelfth holidays, and between them in particular the Entry into the Temple of the Mother of God.
Tempted by worldly experience, the housewives-women, placing the icon in a red corner, cut off one edge from a loaf of bread and put it under the stove. This is for that invisible owner, who is generally called a "house-home dweller". In the same places, where they completely believe the brownie and only sometimes, through a sinful deed, allow themselves to doubt, a very ancient custom is observed, which in other places has long been forgotten.
In some places (for example, in the Novgorod province, near Borovichi), the hostess of the house before dawn (so that no one can see) tries to run around the new hut naked three times, with a sentence: “I will put an iron fence near the yard, so that not a fierce beast through this fence he jumped, not a bastard crawled over, not a dashing man stepped over with his foot, and the forest grandfather did not look through him. And to make this “lock” strong, the woman in the gate is also thrown head over heels up to three times and also with a memorized sentence wish, the main meaning of which expresses one cherished thought, so that “the family and the fetus in the new house will increase.”
The following legend is told about the origin of brownies. When the Lord, during the creation of the world, threw down on earth all the rebellious and evil heavenly power, which became proud and rebelled against its Creator, unclean spirits also fell on human habitations. At the same time, it is not known whether those who were kinder than the others got here, or it just so happened that, having settled closer to people, they settled down and became limp, but only these spirits did not become evil enemies, like water, goblin and other devils, but how would have been reborn: turned into well-wishers and at the same time even ended up with the habits of people of a cheerful and playful disposition. Most of the peasants are so accustomed to them, so reconciled with them, that they do not agree to recognize the brownies as devils and consider them to be a special separate good breed.
No one dares to curse their name. Always and everyone speaks of them with obvious good nature and even tenderness. This is quite definitely expressed in all the stories and is confirmed by all the information received from the staff in response to programmatic questions on "Demonology" from different parts of Great Russia.
Each residential village hut certainly has one such invisible tenant, who is the guard not only of the building itself, but mainly of all living people: people, cattle, and birds.
He usually lives and is known not under his innate name "brownie", which not everyone dares to pronounce out loud (partly out of respect for him, partly out of hidden fear of offending him with such a nickname) But they call him, for obvious and proven services, the name of "master" and for the antiquity of the years of his life in Russia - "grandfather" (* Talking about the brownie, most often they call him simply - "He" or "Himself", but even more often "Good-hearted" and " Dobrokhotom", and in the Vologda province even the "Breadwinner" Throughout the forest north of Russia, for his willing cohabitation with the Orthodox Russian people, the brownie is called" Susedcom" and " Batanushkom"(Batan - not in the sense of a father-father, not a bro, i.e. sibling) In the families of the Olonets Territory, I even call the honorary name "the other half" In any case, he "homemade" and for the customs of housing in warmth and cold - "wen", for some everyday habits - " slime"For the fact that he is all the same an invisible being, an indisputable and genuine" non-human "(neither a spirit, nor a person), a brownie, bypassing his real direct title, is also considered a "posten" (as well as "in a stey" - from the steppe or
shadows), like a ghostly creature, a ghost. They sometimes call him "corn-eared" for the fact that, unlike real people, he lacks one ear. As a special exception, they also call him "nekoshny" (nekoshny) in those cases only when he does not get along with the owners of the hut, although this nickname is more decent (and more often applied) to all other devils, for example, to water and flyers, but it does not fit in with the house spirit and, in fact, does not fit))

Since all this variety of names and nicknames testifies to the vitality of the domestic spirit and its closeness to human interests, to that extent it is both elusive and invulnerable. Rare can boast of having seen a brownie with his own eyes. Whoever says this is either deceived out of fear and good-naturedly misleading others, or deliberately lies to boast. It’s impossible to see a dray, it’s beyond the power of a person (in which most knowledgeable people, who have been tempted by long life experience, are completely in agreement). his guesses only on the assumption that the brownie, like any invisible spirit with inhuman properties, is endowed with the ability to transform, taking on various guises and even, as if most willingly, the image of the owner of the house himself. Those who would like to see him are offered difficult tasks. He must put on, without fail on Easter night, a horse collar, cover himself with a harrow with teeth and sit between the horses, whom he especially loves, all night. They even say that if the brownie sees a person who is spying on him in this way, he arranges it so that the horses begin to hit the harrow with their backs and can beat the inquisitive to death. Only one thing is true and completely proven, that one can hear the voice of a brownie (and everyone without exception agrees on this), hear his quiet crying and muffled restrained moans, his soft and affectionate, and sometimes abruptly short and deaf voice in the form of fleeting answers, when skillful and quick-witted hosts have time to call out and will be able to ask her on suitable occasions. However, everyone who is smarter and more cautious does not try to see these spirits or talk to them, because if the ego succeeds, there will be no good. It can even be dangerous to fall ill. However, the brownie, due to his good disposition (to the head of the family - mainly and to other members - as an exception), has a cherished habit of leaning on his chest in a dream and pressing. Who wakes up and hurries to ask him "For better or worse?" - he will answer with a human voice, as if the wind rustled the leaves. Only those chosen and especially beloved managed to find out that he is shaggy, overgrown with soft hair, that even the palms of his hands are covered, exactly the same as those of a person, that he finally has superpositions, horns and a tail. Often, too, he strokes the sleepy ones with his soft paw, and then no questions are required - it is quite clear that this is good. He does not do evil to people, but, on the contrary, he even tries to warn against future misfortunes and temporary danger.
If from time to time he knocks at night in the hut, or fiddles with the stove, or rumbles in the crockery, then he does this simply out of boredom and, by the nature of his cheerful disposition, amuses himself. It has long been known to everyone that the brownie is generally a big prankster, a kind of joker, and where he settles down, he frolics carelessly and for no reason. He tickles the sleepy ones, and also leans on the young with his shaggy chest from idleness, for the sake of a joke. He fools around and disappears with such speed that there is no way to notice what kind he is (which, however, we managed to find out about the goblin, water and other spirits - genuine devils). In the Smolensk province (Dorogobuzh district) they saw a brownie in the form of a gray-haired old man, dressed in a white long shirt and with his head uncovered. In the province of Vladimir he is dressed in a roll of yellow cloth and always wears a large shaggy hat; the hair on his head and on his beard is long and matted. From near Penza they write that this old man is small, "like a stump or a log", but with a large gray beard and clumsy. Anyone can see him on a dark night before the second rooster. In the same places, near Penza, he sometimes takes the form of a black cat or a bag of bread.
Settling for permanent residence in a residential and warm hut, the brownie takes root in it as an owner so that it fully deserves the name given to him in some areas. If he notices an attempt on his beloved dwelling by a neighboring brownie, if, for example, he convicts him of stealing oats or hay from horses, he always enters into a fight and leads it with such bitterness, which is characteristic only of powerful undead, and not of weak human strength. But only sensitive people can hear this noise in the barns and stables and distinguish the fuss of the dray from the horses' trampling and the shying of stray rams.
Each brownie gets used to his hut to such a strong extent that it is difficult, almost impossible to evict or survive. The well-known prayers and ordinary methods are not enough for this. It is necessary to possess special attractive good properties of the soul, so that he would heed the prayers and would not recognize petting pleas for a hypocritical trick, and the offered gifts, indicated by custom and the advice of the healer, as a playful trick. If, when moving from an old crumbling hut to a newly rebuilt one, they fail to lure the old brownie, then he will not think about staying on the old ashes among the dust of ruins in a cold hut, despite his driven love for warm housing.

He will live in anguish and in the cold and in complete solitude, even without the neighborhood of mice and cockroaches, which, along with other tenants, manage to get over uninvited. Remaining, out of stubbornness, for personal reasons, or left behind by the forgetfulness of his slow-witted owners, he prefers to suffer, languishing and bored, as did, by the way, the brownie whom the settlers forgot to invite to Siberia. He wept and groaned for a long time in an empty hut and could not be consoled. The same case was in the Oryol province. Here, after the fire of an entire village, the draymen were so bored that their cries and groans could be heard all night long. In order to somehow console them, the peasants were forced to put together hastily temporary huts, scatter slices of salted bread near them and then invite brownies for temporary residence:
- The owner of the yard, go calmly, do not fight back from your yard.
In the Chembarsky district of the Penza province, brownies are beckoned into a bag and transferred to a new ashes in it, and in Lyubimsky district (Yaroslavl province) they are lured with a pot of porridge, which is placed on a lid.
When choosing a certain place in the hut for housing, the brownie is not picky: he lives behind the stove and under the hearth, settles under the threshold entrance doors, and in the hut, and on the ceiling, although they notice in him the greatest desire to spend time in cabbage rolls (plank rooms near the stove with a descent into the underground) and in closets. The wife of a brownie "domanya" (in some places, for example, in the Vladimir province, brownies are endowed with families) loves to live underground, and the peasants, when moving to a new hut, call her for a housewarming party and, saying: "House-brownie, come with me, lead and the housewife-mistress - as I can reward.
When a “neighbor” settles in the open air, for example, in the yard, then it is already called “yard”, although it hardly represents a separate spirit: this is the same “owner”, who has taken over the supervision of all family goods. He is also not mixed with the bathhouses and bathhouses living in the baths (if he is female, they are called "hairy"), with the barns who settled on the threshing floors, etc. (see related articles). This is more and more unkindness, evil spirits: to the misfortune of people, they wound up, and it would be great happiness when they all disappeared from the face of the earth, but how to do without a brownie? Who will warn of the impending misfortune, who will say what color horses should be bought, what wool to choose cows so that they are kept for a long time? If they say that the cattle is "out of court", then this means that a kind of capricious "yard owner" disliked it. Whoever knows how to listen and hears sensitively, the brownie himself will tell him in his own voice what kind of cattle to buy. Riding on an unloved horse, the brownie can turn it from a well-fed round horse into such a nag that the skin will hang like on a stick. In Melenki (Vladimir province), one householder hid in a manger and sat there as the brownie jumped off the dryer, went up to the horse and let's spit in her face, and rake her food with her left paw. The owner was frightened, and the brownie grumbled to himself, but in such a way that it is very audible:

I would have bought a little filly, little white back!
They listened to it and bought it. And again, from under the manger, the owner saw how a brownie jumped off the dryer in a shaggy hat, in a yellow roll, went around the horse, examined it, and spoke:
- That's a horse! This one is worth feeding, otherwise I bought some kind of nag.
And the brownie began to stroke her, braided a braid on her mane and began to scoop up oats right under her muzzle.
In one village in Cherepovets Uyezd (Novgorod Gubernia), a brownie, leaning on a peasant at night and pressing on his chest and stomach, asked bluntly (and so angrily!):
- Where is Serco? Bring him back home.
I had to go the very next morning to the village where the owner had sold the horse, and exchange. And they are happy about that: even with them, when they brought the horse into the yard, it snorted and balked, and the next morning they found it all covered in soap.
One owner pointedly asked the brownie what kind of wool to buy a horse, and the brownie answered him imperiously: "Though old, but roan", etc.
There are horses "two-stranded" (the transition from the neck to the withers is bifurcated), they are not suitable for work: they serve only for the brownie. Anyone who finds out about this is in a hurry to sell such a horse for nothing, because if it dies in the yard, then no matter how many horses you buy later, they will all rest (up to twelve), and it will no longer be possible to keep this cattle. That's just in this single case, every brownie; no matter how kind he is, he is uncompromising, and in order to prevent his anger, they try to pull the stupefied horse not through the gate, but into a hole deliberately broken in the wall of the barn, although this does not always help.
Knowing about such misfortunes and not forgetting the leprosy and whims of the brownie, people worked out but all great Russia customs common to all in buying and selling horses and cattle, as well as in caring for them. When they buy a cow or a horse, then the rein from the bridle or the end of the rope is passed from floor to floor and wishes are said " light hand". The buyer takes off his hat from his head and runs it from the head and neck, along the back and belly of the "new purchase". And when the "new purchase" is brought home, then a sliver or stick is lifted from under the feet along the road and driven. When they bring the cow into the yard, they throw this goad:
- As a sliver does not visit the old place, as a stick does not grieve and yearn for the same thing, so the purchased animal would not remember the old owners and would not dry up for them. Then the “new purchase” is fed with a piece of bread, and they directly address the brownie and openly, in front of witnesses, bow in the stables in all four corners and ask: to drink, feed), caress and groom this new one, as experienced former ones.
From livestock, a good brownie transfers his worries to people. Most willingly, he tries to warn of misfortunes, so that skillful hosts have time to prepare for the meeting and avert attack from themselves in advance. People who are quick-witted in such cases understand without words those signs that he will give when he pleases. So, for example, if the crying of a brownie is heard, sometimes in the hut itself, then the deceased should be in the house. If the chimney on the roof plays a damper, there will be a court because of some business and resentment; wet the brownie at night - that person will get sick; pulls her hair - beware, wife: do not get involved in an argument with your husband, do not squabble with him, keep silent, otherwise he will surely beat him and it will be very painful. The brownie will thunder in the supply of dishes - be more careful with the fire and keep a vigilant eye, do not light a spark, an unextinguished firebrand would not flare up, a big fire would not start, etc. The brownie cries and groans - to grief, but jumps to joy, plays songs, laughs; sometimes, playing along on the scallop, warns about the wedding in the family, etc.

Everyone knows very well that the brownie loves those families who live in complete harmony, and those owners who are zealous about their goodness, keep their yard in order and cleanliness. If one of these forgets, for example, knead the cows forage, give hay to the horses, then the brownie will take care of him. But he willingly helps the lazy and negligent to start the economy and tries to harm everything: he drives horses, tortures and beats cattle; he drives it into the corner of the manger, puts it upside down in a pile, litters the yard with manure, crushes it every night and throws the owner, the mistress and their children from the stove and beds onto the floor, etc. However, it is not difficult to make peace with an angry brownie - for this you just need to put snuff under the manger, for which he is a great hunter, or even make some kind of gift, like multi-colored rags, an old penny with the image of Yegory on a horse, or just a crust of bread, cut off from an unopened loaf. However, sometimes it also happens that, while loving good owners, he, meanwhile, torments the cattle, and whom he loves, he fell on him in a dream and in reality, not analyzing either day or night, but preferring, however, twilight. Whether the brownie wants to appear with sad or joyful news, or to joke and play pranks, he prefers in all such cases to take on the appearance of the owners themselves. Only (as some have managed to notice) he does not know how to hide his horse ears at the same time. In this image, the brownie is not averse to helping the workers, and treating another even with smoking tobacco, and preventing horse thieves, dressing up for this in the master's dress and walking around the yard all night with a pitchfork in his hands, etc. Near the city of Orel they say that Once, brownies got so good for their beloved owners that they helped them in the field work, and one unfortunate owner was saved by setting him up for trade and giving him the opportunity to bargain with such success that everyone was surprised and envied. Another “domestic” extends his cares and love for his families to such an extent that he interferes with the secret sins of the spouses and, where he does not arrive in time, punishes the guilty one by leaning on him and strangling him every night. At the same time, since it is forbidden by God himself for all evil spirits to touch the human soul, having power over one body, the brownies do not miss the opportunity to use both slaps to pain and pinches to bruises. Before the guilty person, having gone to bed, will forget herself well, she will feel heaviness in her legs, and this heaviness will go up to the throat, and there it will begin to crush so hard that the bones will crack and it will take your breath away. In such cases, there is only one salvation - prayer, and even then you need to contrive, be able to gather your courage and have time to say out loud the very one that all unclean people do not like: "May God rise again" * (* In many remote places of the Kostroma province, and in Kaluga, the customs of hanging "chicken and horse gods" above the stalls of stables and perches in chicken coops were preserved. For horses, such a "god" was a special stone with a hole, or the neck of a jug.)

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Brownie - in Slavic mythology, a kind house spirit that lives in every house. Basically, brownies are considered the souls of the previous owners, but there are also stray ones. Brownie is a kind spirit, diligent host, helping a friendly family. Sometimes he is mischievous and naughty, if he doesn’t like something. All house spirits (Dvorovoy, Ovinny, Banny, etc.) serve him, and if you do not get along with the house spirits, then there will be no life. The spirits of the ancestors were also honored under a different name "churila" or "shur". In the event of any trouble, in the old days they said: “Chur, protect me,” referring to the brownie as well.

The brownie is left in a secluded corner, on the stump, - porridge, in the chicken coop they hang a “urochny” stone with a hole (for the chicken god) and say: “Owner-father, take our porridge! And eat pies, take care of our house! Domovoy is also called "Dobrozhil", "Dobrohot" and even (in the Vologda Oblast) "Breadwinner". In the Russian North, he is called "Susedkom", "Batanushkom". If he does not get along with the owner, then he is called "nekoshny".

The brownie usually settled down to live underground, under the stove. He was presented as a little old man, similar in face to the head of the family. By his liking, he is an eternal troublemaker, grouchy, but caring and kind. People tried to maintain good relations with Domovoi, take care of him as an honored guest, and then he helped keep the house in order and warned of impending misfortune. Moving from house to house, Domovoy was always invited to move with his family with the help of a conspiracy.
The construction of a house was filled with the deepest meaning for the ancient Slavs, because at the same time a person was likened to the Gods who created the Universe. Here is how, for example, the trees were selected. The creaky ones were not suitable, because the soul of a tortured person was crying in them, those dried up on the vine were not suitable - they have no vitality, which means people in the house will get sick. Cutting down trees, the pagan Slav blamed the tree souls driven out of the trunks, while he himself fasted for a long time and performed cleansing rites. But the ancient Slav was still not completely sure that the cut down trees would not begin to take revenge on him, and in order to protect himself, he made the so-called "construction sacrifices". The skull of a horse or a bull was buried under the red (eastern) corner of the house, in which carved statues of the gods were placed, and later icons. And from the soul of the slain animal, the Brownie actually arose.

In the Slavic mythological tradition, it was believed that brownies obey God Yarila and his father, Veles.
He was also often presented as a person, on the same face as the owner of the house, or as a small old man with a face covered with white wool, etc. Closely associated with the well-being of the house, especially with cattle: from his attitude, benevolent or hostile, livestock health. Some of the rites related to Domovoi could previously be associated with the "cattle god" Veles, and with the disappearance of his cult, they were transferred to Domovoy. An indirect argument in favor of this assumption is the belief that a married woman who “shone her hair” (showing her hair to a stranger) aroused Domovoy's wrath - cf. data on the connection of Veles (Volos) with beliefs about hair. There were two types of Domovoys - a housewife (cf. the mention of a demon-harmonizer in the medieval "Word of St. Basil"), who lived in a house, usually in the corner behind the stove, where it was necessary to throw garbage so that "the Brownie would not be transferred" (also called a dobrozhil, well-wisher, breadwinner, neighbor), and a courtyard, often torturing animals (Domovoy generally often approached evil spirits). According to popular beliefs, Brownie could turn into a cat, dog, cow, sometimes a snake, rat or frog. Brownies could be people who died without communion. Sacrifices for Domovoy (some food, etc.) were brought to the barn, where he could live. By analogy with the names of the female spirit of the house (maruha, kikimora), it is assumed that Mara could be the most ancient name of Domovoy. Similar beliefs about the spirits of the house existed among the Western Slavs and many other peoples.

Domovoy-domozhil
The older brother stood out from the orphaned family and decided to build a hut for himself. He chose a habitable place for construction. The forest was cut down with “hut help”; a hundred logs - a hundred pomochen to cut down and take out each log. With a dozen axes, they managed to knock down the forest in late autumn, when the tree was not in the juice, and they took the logs along the first pass: the work was easier, and the horses broke less. The carpenters undertook to “cut down the gb and set it up. hut”, and if the owner manages with the money this time, then “dress up” it, i.e. to make all the interior decoration available to an ax and a scraper. The carpenters crept up, reliable children, from the near neighborhood, from time immemorial they have been engaged in this craft and have managed to become famous for distant detours. They prayed for the sunrise, drank the "hand" and started tyapach from early dawn until late.

When they laid the two lower logs - the first two crowns so that where the log lay butt, they piled it on top, the owner came, brought vodka: they drank "stowing". Under the front, holy corner, at the request of the owners, they buried a coin for wealth, and the carpenters themselves - a piece of incense for holiness. Let them not think bad things about them, from woman’s nonsense, and don’t talk that they know evil spirits and can arrange it so that a house for living becomes uncomfortable.

The transition to a new hut or “inlets”, housewarming is an especially terrible time and a dangerous business. In a new place, it seems as if you need to be reborn in order to start a new hard life in the dark and groping. Burning pain lies on the heart, which does not feel (but wants to know) what to expect ahead: I would like good things when there is more bad around. First of all, an irresistible desire to tell fortunes suggests itself. For this, a rooster and a cat are allowed into the new hut. If trouble is destined to happen, then let it strike over them. Behind them, you can already safely enter with an icon and bread and salt, it is best on a full moon and always at night. At night, the cattle are driven to a new house. Happy days for housewarming are the twelfth holidays, and between them in particular the Entry into the Temple of the Mother of God.

Tempted by worldly experience, the housewives-women, placing the icon in a red corner, cut off one edge from a loaf of bread and put it under the stove. This is for that invisible owner, who is generally called a "house-home-eater". In the same places, where they completely believe the brownie and only sometimes, through a sinful deed, allow themselves to doubt, a very ancient custom is observed, which in other places has long been forgotten.
In some places (for example, in the Novgorod province, near Borovichi), the hostess of the house before dawn (so that no one could see) tries to run around the new hut naked three times, with a sentence: “I will put an iron fence near the yard, so that through this fence not a fierce beast he jumped, not a bastard crawled over, not a dashing man stepped over with his foot, and the forest grandfather did not look through him. And in order for this “lock” to be strong, the woman at the gate is also thrown head over heels up to three times and also with a memorized sentence wish, the main meaning of which expresses one cherished thought, so that “the family and the fetus in the new house will increase.”

The following legend is told about the origin of brownies. When the Lord, during the creation of the world, threw down on earth all the rebellious and evil heavenly power, which became proud and rebelled against its Creator, unclean spirits also fell on human habitations. At the same time, it is not known whether those who were kinder than the others got here, or it just so happened that, having settled closer to people, they settled down and became limp, but only these spirits did not become evil enemies, like water, goblin and other devils, but how would have been reborn: turned into well-wishers and at the same time even ended up with the habits of people of a cheerful and playful disposition. Most of the peasants are so accustomed to them, so reconciled with them, that they do not agree to recognize the brownies as devils and consider them to be a special separate good breed.

No one dares to curse their name. Always and everyone speaks of them with obvious good nature and even tenderness. This is quite definitely expressed in all the stories and is confirmed by all the information received from the staff in response to the program questions on "Demonology" from different parts of Great Russia.
Each residential village hut certainly has one such invisible tenant, who is the guard not only of the building itself, but mainly of all living people: people, cattle, and birds.

He usually lives and is known not under his inborn name of “brownie”, which not everyone dares to pronounce out loud (partly out of respect for him, partly out of hidden fear of offending him with such a nickname) But they call him, for obvious and proven services, the name of “master” and for the antiquity of the years of his life in Russia - “grandfather” (* Talking about the brownie, most often they call him simply - “He” or “Himself”, but even more often “Good-natured” and “Good-natured”, and the Vologda province even “Breadwinner” Throughout the forest north of Russia, for his willing cohabitation with the Orthodox Russian people, the brownie is called “Susedok” and “Batanushk” (batan, either in the sense of a father-father, or a bro, that is, a brother) In the families of the Olonets Territory I call even the honorary name "other half" In any case, he "homemade" and for the customs of housing in warmth and cold - "wen", for some everyday habits - "lizun" For the fact that he is all the same an invisible creature, indisputable and genuine "(neither spirit nor person), brownie, bypassing the real p his direct title, is also considered a “posten” (as well as “post-stei” - from the steppe or shadow), as a ghostly creature, a ghost. They sometimes call him “root-eared” because, unlike real people, he lacks one ear. As a special exception, they also call him “nekoshny” (nekoshny) in those cases only when he does not get along with the owners of the hut, although this nickname is more decent (and more often applied) to all other devils, for example, to water and flyers, but it does not fit in with the house spirit and, in fact, does not fit))

Since all this variety of names and nicknames testifies to the vitality of the domestic spirit and its closeness to human interests, to that extent it is both elusive and invulnerable. Rare can boast of having seen a brownie with his own eyes. Whoever says this is either deceived out of fear and good-naturedly misleading others, or deliberately lies to boast. It’s impossible to see a dray, it’s beyond the power of a person (in which most knowledgeable people, who have been tempted by long life experience, are completely in agreement). his guesses only on the assumption that the brownie, like any invisible spirit with inhuman properties, is endowed with the ability to transform, taking on various guises and even, as if most willingly, the image of the owner of the house himself. Those who would like to see him are offered difficult tasks. He must put on, without fail on Easter night, a horse collar, cover himself with a harrow with teeth and sit between the horses, whom he especially loves, all night. They even say that if the brownie sees a person who is spying on him in this way, he arranges it so that the horses begin to hit the harrow with their backs and can beat the inquisitive to death. Only one thing is true and completely proven, that one can hear the voice of a brownie (and everyone without exception agrees on this), hear his quiet crying and muffled restrained moans, his soft and affectionate, and sometimes abruptly short and deaf voice in the form of fleeting answers, when skillful and quick-witted hosts have time to call out and will be able to ask her on suitable occasions. However, everyone who is smarter and more cautious does not try to see these spirits or talk to them, because if the ego succeeds, there will be no good. It can even be dangerous to fall ill. However, the brownie, due to his good disposition (to the head of the family - mainly and to other members - as an exception), has a cherished habit of leaning on his chest in a dream and pressing. Who wakes up and hurries to ask him "For better or worse?" - he will answer in a human voice, as if the wind rustled the leaves. Only those chosen and especially beloved managed to find out that he is shaggy, overgrown with soft hair, that even the palms of his hands are covered, exactly the same as those of a person, that he finally has superpositions, horns and a tail. Often, too, he strokes the sleepy ones with his soft paw, and then no questions are required - it is quite clear that this is good. He does not do evil to people, but, on the contrary, he even tries to warn against future misfortunes and temporary danger.

If from time to time he knocks at night in the hut, or fiddles with the stove, or rumbles in the crockery, then he does this simply out of boredom and, by the nature of his cheerful disposition, amuses himself. It has long been known to everyone that the brownie is generally a big prankster, a kind of joker, and where he settles down, he frolics carelessly and for no reason. He tickles the sleepy ones, and also leans on the young with his shaggy chest from idleness, for the sake of a joke. He fools around and disappears with such speed that there is no way to notice what kind he is (which, however, we managed to find out about the goblin, water and other spirits - genuine devils). In the Smolensk province (Dorogobuzh district) they saw a brownie in the form of a gray-haired old man, dressed in a white long shirt and with his head uncovered. In the province of Vladimir he is dressed in a roll of yellow cloth and always wears a large shaggy hat; the hair on his head and on his beard is long and matted. From near Penza they write that this old man is small, “like a stump or a log”, but with a large gray beard and clumsy. Anyone can see him on a dark night before the second rooster. In the same places, near Penza, he sometimes takes the form of a black cat or a bag of bread.

Settling for permanent residence in a residential and warm hut, the brownie takes root in it as an owner in such a way that it fully deserves the name given to him in some areas. If he notices an attempt on his beloved dwelling by a neighboring brownie, if, for example, he convicts him of stealing oats or hay from horses, he always enters into a fight and leads it with such bitterness, which is characteristic only of powerful undead, and not of weak human strength. But only sensitive people can hear this noise in the barns and stables and distinguish the fuss of the dray from the horses' trampling and the shying of stray rams.

Each brownie gets used to his hut to such a strong extent that it is difficult, almost impossible to evict or survive. The well-known prayers and ordinary methods are not enough for this. It is necessary to possess special attractive good properties of the soul, so that he would heed the prayers and would not recognize petting pleas for a hypocritical trick, and the offered gifts, indicated by custom and the advice of the healer, as a playful trick. If, when moving from an old crumbling hut to a newly rebuilt one, they fail to lure the old brownie, then he will not think about staying on the old ashes among the dust of ruins in a cold hut, despite his driven love for warm housing.

He will live in anguish and in the cold and in complete solitude, even without the neighborhood of mice and cockroaches, which, along with other tenants, manage to get over uninvited. Remaining, out of stubbornness, for personal reasons, or left behind by the forgetfulness of his slow-witted owners, he prefers to suffer, languishing and bored, as did, by the way, the brownie whom the settlers forgot to invite to Siberia. He wept and groaned for a long time in an empty hut and could not be consoled. The same case was in the Oryol province. Here, after the fire of an entire village, the draymen were so bored that their cries and groans could be heard all night long. In order to somehow console them, the peasants were forced to hastily put together temporary huts, scatter slices of salted bread near them, and then invite brownies for temporary residence:
- The owner of the yard, go calmly, do not fight off your yard.

In the Chembarsky district of the Penza province, brownies are beckoned into a bag and transferred to a new ashes in it, and in Lyubimsky district (Yaroslavl province) they are lured with a pot of porridge, which is placed on a lid.

When choosing a certain place in the hut for housing, the brownie is not picky: he lives behind the stove and under the hearth, settles under the threshold of the entrance doors, and in the hut, and on the ceiling, although they notice in him the greatest desire to spend time in cabbage rolls (plank rooms near the stove with a descent into the underground) and in closets. The wife of a brownie “domanya” (in some places, for example, in the Vladimir province, brownies are endowed with families) loves to live underground, and the peasants, when moving to a new hut, call her for a housewarming party and, saying: “House-brownie, come with me, lead and the housewife-mistress - as I can reward.

When the “neighbor” settles in the free air, for example, in the yard, then it is already called the “yard”, although it hardly represents a separate spirit: this is the same “owner”, who has taken over the supervision of all family property. He is also not mixed with the bathhouses and bathhouses living in the baths (if he is female, they are called “hairy”), with the barns who settled on the threshing floors, etc. (see related articles). This is more and more unkindness, evil spirits: to the misfortune of people, they wound up, and it would be great happiness when they all disappeared from the face of the earth, but how to do without a brownie? Who will warn of the impending misfortune, who will say what color horses should be bought, what wool to choose cows so that they are kept for a long time? If they say that the cattle is “out of court”, then this means that a kind of capricious “yard owner” disliked it. Whoever knows how to listen and hears sensitively, the brownie himself will tell him in his own voice what kind of cattle to buy. Riding on an unloved horse, the brownie can turn it from a well-fed round horse into such a nag that the skin will hang like on a stick. In Melenki (Vladimir province), one householder hid in a manger and sat there as the brownie jumped off the dryer, went up to the horse and let's spit in her face, and rake her food with her left paw. The owner was frightened, and the brownie grumbled to himself, but in such a way that it is very audible:

- I would buy a filly stag, little white back!
They listened to it and bought it. And again, from under the manger, the owner saw how a brownie jumped off the dryer in a shaggy hat, in a yellow roll, went around the horse, examined it, and spoke:
- That's a horse! This one is worth feeding, otherwise I bought some kind of nag.
And the brownie began to stroke her, braided a braid on her mane and began to scoop up oats right under her muzzle.
In one village in Cherepovets Uyezd (Novgorod Gubernia), a brownie, leaning on a peasant at night and pressing on his chest and stomach, asked bluntly (and so angrily!):
Where is Serko? Bring him back home.
I had to go the very next morning to the village where the owner had sold the horse, and exchange. And they are happy about that: even with them, when they brought the horse into the yard, it snorted and balked, and the next morning they found it all covered in soap.
One owner pointedly asked the brownie what kind of wool to buy a horse, and the brownie answered him imperiously: “Though old, but roan,” etc.

There are horses "two-stranded" (the transition from the neck to the withers is bifurcated), they are not suitable for work: they serve only for the brownie. Anyone who finds out about this is in a hurry to sell such a horse for a song, because if it dies in the yard, then no matter how many horses you buy later, they will all rest (up to twelve), and it will no longer be possible to keep this cattle. That's just in this single case, every brownie; no matter how kind he is, he is uncompromising, and in order to prevent his anger, they try to pull the stupefied horse not through the gate, but into a hole deliberately broken in the wall of the barn, although this does not always help.

Knowing about such misfortunes and not forgetting the leprosy and whims of the brownie, people developed common customs for all of Russia when buying and selling horses and cattle, as well as when caring for them. When they buy a cow or a horse, then the rein from the bridle or the end of the rope is passed from floor to floor and the wishes of a “light hand” are said. The buyer takes off his hat from his head and runs it from the head and neck, along the back and belly of the new purchase. And when the “new purchase” is taken home, then a sliver or a stick is picked up from under the feet along the road and driven. When they bring the cow into the yard, they throw this prod:

- Just as a sliver does not go to the old place, like a stick does not grieve and yearn for the same thing, so the bought animal would not remember the old owners and would not dry up for them. Then the “new purchase” is fed with a piece of bread, and they directly turn to the brownie and openly, in front of witnesses, bow in the stables in all four corners and ask: to drink, feed), caress and groom this new one, as experienced former ones.

From livestock, a good brownie transfers his worries to people. Most willingly, he tries to warn of misfortunes, so that skillful hosts have time to prepare for the meeting and avert attack from themselves in advance. People who are quick-witted in such cases understand without words those signs that he will give when he pleases. So, for example, if the crying of a brownie is heard, sometimes in the hut itself, then the deceased should be in the house. If the chimney on the roof plays a damper, there will be a court because of some business and resentment; wet the brownie at night - that person will get sick; pulls her hair - beware, wife: do not get involved in an argument with your husband, do not squabble with him, keep silent, otherwise he will surely beat him and it will be very painful. The brownie will rattle in the supply of dishes - handle the fire more carefully and keep a vigilant eye, do not light a spark, an unextinguished firebrand would not flare up, a big fire would not start, etc. The brownie cries and groans - to grief, but jumps to joy, plays songs, laughs; sometimes, playing along on the scallop, warns about the wedding in the family, etc.