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Turu-turu, shepherd, do you sound far off?

From the sea to the sea, to the Keiev city

There is our homeland, in the homeland there is an oak tree,

An owl is on the oak, an owl is my mother-in-law, and she grazed horses One of the most difficult and mysterious in the Russian calendar rites, of course, is a holiday called Maslenitsa. All ethnographers, without exception, noted and note the strange circumstance that Maslenitsa (or Maslyanitsa) is the only major pre-Christian holiday that was not timed to coincide with a Christian holiday and did not receive a new interpretation. And really why? After all, if we look at the ritual cycles of the so-called «cross of the year», that is, the winter and summer solstices, the autumn and spring equinoxes, then there is a paradox. The winter solstice (Christmastide or Kolyada) is associated with the Nativity of Christ. Summer solstice (Kupalo) is the Nativity of John the Baptist. The autumnal equinox (Oat tree) is the Nativity of the Virgin. And spring – nothing. Have you forgotten the spring equinox?

In order to deal with this strange phenomenon, we will have to plunge into the depths of millennia. And remember that during a huge time interval – from 7 thousand BC. until the middle of the 1st millennium BC in the north of Eastern Europe (from 69° N to 55° N), the average summer temperatures were 4—5° C higher than at present. Spring began a month earlier than now. Accordingly, the arrival of autumn shifted, the winter pattern changed, in which the temperatures were close to 0° С, winter was very mild.

Since spring practically began already at the turn of February and March, the rituals of meeting spring, which lasted in antiquity (like the winter Christmastide) month, began at the end of February and ended on the day of the vernal equinox – March 22 (more precisely, on the night of March 21—22). It was from this day that a new agricultural year began, marked by the rites of Maslenitsa – «the only major pre-Christian holiday not timed to coincide with a Christian holiday.» Judging by the Western European and Slavic traditions, in which dressing was, adopted everywhere for these days, and zoomorphic masks were mainly used, the addition of these traditions can be attributed to the common Indo-European period, i.e. no later than the turn of 4—3 thousand BC. The fact that Maslenitsa, as a holiday of the beginning of the agricultural year – spring, took shape in the common Indo-European period is evidenced not only by the traditions of European peoples, preserved up to the present day, but also by the traditions of India, which came from ancient times.

In ancient Indian rituals, many elements of Maslenitsa (and subsequent Easter) are traced in one of the brightest holidays on the border of winter and spring – Holi, which is celebrated in February – March (the end of the cold season). N. R. Guseva emphasized that «all ritual actions of the holiday are inseparable from the magic of fertility and historically go back to the pre-Indian period of the life of the Aryans». The ritual and magical manifestations associated with the vernal equinox are extremely close to the Easter ones, going directly back to paganism, which passed into the Easter rituals of the Slavic peoples.

The common ceremonies of Maslenitsa and Holi included: performing obscene songs of an erotic content, drinking alcoholic beverages, preparing ritual food from dough and cottage cheese. In India, during the Holi festival, the effigy of Holiki, which is made from straw, is necessarily burned. For the ritual bonfire collect: brushwood, straw, old things, cow dung.

In Russia, fires were also burned on Shrovetide. Moreover, the material for the fires was hay, straw, old things. Cow dung was also used. And they also burned an effigy of Maslenitsa, which was made of straw.

In Indian tradition, there is a custom during Holi to sprinkle the ash from the fire on the floor of the house and sprinkle it on each other. But in the Vologda province, for example, at Maslenitsa, mummers often poured ashes and ashes on the floor of the hut and danced on them, and also smeared with soot and sprinkled ashes and ashes on all participants in the ceremony.

We should especially note that in the East Slavic tradition one of the main elements of the Maslenitsa ritual, a holiday associated with the commemoration of the dead, was ritual food – pancakes. Being a very ancient ritual food by origin – fresh cakes baked on hot stones – pancakes are in no way associated with the cult of the sun, but are a common Indo-European symbol of the moon – «the sun of the dead». Russians, for example, baked pancakes on «parental Saturday». In some villages, the first pancake was smeared with honey, butter and put on the goddess – «parents». Sometimes the first pancake was carried to the churchyard and laid on the grave. Note that pancakes are a must (along with oatmeal jelly), and the latter is food for funerals, funerals and weddings. And another interesting circumstance is that the dough for pancakes on Shrovetide was necessarily created by the oldest woman in the house, and in secret from family and strangers and always in the light of the month. And if she was the mother of adult married daughters, then her name was Mother-in-law. It was to the mother-in-law (and not to the father-in-law and mother-in-law) that they went «for pancakes». Mother-in-law – as a character of Maslenitsa, is, in our deep conviction, the greatest interest of everything connected with this archaic ritual complex.

Why? We will try to answer this question. First of all, let us note that the text of the Veles Book (translated by Valentina and Yulia Gnatyuk) contains a list of the main holidays of the year.

These are Kolyada, Yaro, Krasnaya Gora and Ovseni (Great and Small). Kolyada, of course, is our Winter Christmastide with ritual songs – «kolyadki» and performing those mummers – «kolyadniki», «kolyadovshchiki». The very term «Kolyada» (that is, «kolyada» – giving a circle) is directly related to the end of the divine day, when the Night of the Gods, which ends on the night of December 21 to 22, is replaced by a new Divine Day, starting from December 22. The entire period of Winter Christmas (December 19 – January 19) is dedicated to the worship of the Divine Light – the Creator of the Universe, whom our ancestors called the Immutable Law – Grandfather. During this month, those who were able to comprehend the Cosmic Law in earthly life and after death acquired a light body («holy») returned to the world of people, that is became a Saint.

Thus, Winter Christmas is a period of worshiping the Light – the Creator, summing up the results of the annual circle and meeting the new Kolo – the Sun.

Yaro or Yarilin Day (Kupalo) – June 22 – the summer solstice and the beginning of the Divine Night. Note that this is a celebration of youth, those who were to find a mate and pass the test of Divine Fire on the right to enter into marriage with a chosen one or chosen one. And after marriage, to fulfill the cosmic law of reincarnation, giving life to new people. It is no accident that our ancestors said: «To be born to death. To die for life». And again: «Children eat us from the nave (dead)», i.e. in the form of newborns bring us back to this world.

The next most important holiday in the list of the «Veles Book» is Krasnaya Gora, followed by Ovsen (Avsen, Usen, Tausen), i.e. the holiday of the autumn equinox. But here we stop at a paradox – today’s Krasnaya Gorka has nothing to do with the vernal equinox. We don’t have a holiday close to this calendar date – March 22. Krasnaya Gorka today is a holiday of the Easter fortyda.

In most cases, Krasnaya Gorka is called either Fomino’s Sunday (the next after Easter), or the first three days of Fomin’s week (including Sunday), or the entire Fomin week. B. A. Rybakov, analyzing the ancient Slavic calendar ritual, wrote in «Paganism of the Ancient Slavs»

that: «The church calendar, which in many cases has adapted to the old pagan times of prayers and festivities, greatly shattered these dates in cases where the church used a movable Easter calendar, at which the amplitude of fluctuations of the „great day“ (Easter) exceeded a month – from March 22 to April 25 according to the old style, or April 4 to May 8 according to our Gregorian style. A seven-week great fast was associated with Easter, drowning out all pagan festivity: the Trinity day also depends on the period of Easter. For these reasons, the ancient pagan holidays were shifted in one direction or another. The ancient Shrovetide was supposed to be celebrated in one of the solar phases – on the days of the vernal equinox, March 20—25, but in reality a wild spring holiday… moved away to February».

So, apparently, the ancient name of Shrovetide is «Red Mountain». And many facts confirm this. First of all, the presence of the appeal «Krasnaya Krasigorka» to the deceased mother, recorded at the beginning of the twentieth century in the Arkhangelsk province (White Sea coast). Here, the bride is an orphan, going out to the crossroads, just like this: «My Red Krasigorka», addressed the deceased mother. We have good reason to believe that the mountain (be it a grave mound, a pyramid or an ice mountain that was built on Shrovetide) was a symbol of the mother’s womb of Mother Earth, Foremother or Mother-in-law.

There are enough grounds for conclusions. Recall that the wife of Zeus – «blonde Hera» – the supreme Olympic goddess, daughter of Kronos and Rhea, whose name means «guardian», «mistress», is called «Mother-in-law» in ancient hymns. Researchers note that in her image «features of the great female deity of the pre-Olympic period are seen» and indicate her connection with the chthonic forces. This great matriarchal Deity had a zoomorphic incarnation – a cow, and was called «drawing.» And her ancient fetish in the temple of Hera of Samos on the island of Samos was a wooden carved spinning board. We also note that the famous love scene of Zeus and Hera from the Iliad takes place among fragrant flowers on the top of Mount Ida. But Ida Mountain and the Ida River are in the north of Russia, in the Subpolar Urals.

Thus, «mother-in-law» in the archaic tradition, judging by the above, was called not only and not so much the wife’s mother as the oldest woman in the family or the Foremother. Here I would like to cite a number of ritual songs recorded by folklorists in the Vologda and Vladimir regions. The Vologda version was recorded in 1978 by a Leningrad folklorist (A. M. Mekhnetsov) in the village of Karmakino, Totemsky District:

Turu-turu, shepherd, do you sound far off?

From the sea to the sea, to the Keiev city (option «Kiev») There is our homeland, in the homeland there is an oak tree, an owl is on the oak, an owl is my mother-in-law, she grazed horses The «Keyev City» of this song is of unconditional interest. So in the ancient Greek tradition, the inhabitants of the north of Eastern Europe – Hyperboreans were considered the descendants of the titans – «who grew out of the blood of the most ancient titans.» But in the same tradition, Kei is the titan, the son of the heavens of Uranus and the land of Gaia. His daughters are Asteria (Star) and Leto. The first (Asteria), taking the form of a quail, rushed into the sea and turned into the wandering island of Delos. It was on Delos that the second sister, Leto, gave birth to Artemis and Apollo of Hyperborean, the great Olympic gods of Ancient Greece. Thus, the titan Key, who lived on the shore of the Kronian (Arctic) Ocean and owned the «Keyev city», where «our Motherland» of the Vologda ritual song was located, was the grandfather of the ancient Greek Apollo and Artemis. As for Leto, she was married to Zeus in the form of a quail (Zeus accordingly took the form of a quail). It makes sense to cite the ritual Kupala song recorded in 1969 in the Smolensk region:

And I’m from a kind

And I’m from a good kind,

And I’m from a kind.

And I’m dad,

And I’m a rich dad

And I’m dad.

And my dad,

And my dad – the month is clear,

And my dad.

And my mom,

My mom is a red sun

My math.

And my brothers,

My brothers are nightingales in the forest

My brothers.

And my sisters,

My sisters are in the life of the quail,

My sisters.

The month is clear

The moon shines at night,

The month is clear.

Red sun,

The red sun warms in summer

Red sun.

Siza nightingales,

Nightingales are singing in the summer,

Gray nightingales.

In the quail field

In the field, quails are calling for the harvest,

Quail in the field.

Let us return to the Vologda ritual song recorded in 1978, which refers to the «mother-in-law». In the Vladimir version, it sounds as follows:

Tutu-turu, shepherd boy,

Viburnum podozhok,

Where do you graze?

– From sea to sea,

From sea to sea

To the city of Toev.

There is my homeland.

An oak stands at home.

An owl sits on an oak tree.

The owl is my mother-in-law.

(Vladimir region, Murom district, Popolutovo village)

The second option:

Tutu-turu, shepherd boy,

Viburnum podozhok,

Are you chasing a breakaway? —

From sea to sea

To Chiev city?

An oak stands on the city.

An owl sits on an oak tree.

The owl is my mother-in-law

The little calf is motley.

(Vladimir region, Gorokhovets district, Bykosovo village).

Third option:

The man went on the water

To Kiev city.

There is my homeland.

There is an oak at home

An owl sits on an oak tree

The owl is my mother-in-law.

(Vladimir region, Melenkovsky district, the village of Levino).

The Tale of Tsar Saltan. I. Bilibin

As we can see, despite the considerable distance from Srednyaya Sukhona to the Vladimir region, the texts are almost identical. And what is most interesting – everywhere is an owl – Mother-in-law. In the Vologda text, she «grazed horses», and in the Vladimir text she is also called «the motley little heifer.» And here it is pertinent to recall that in the ancient Iranian (Avestan) tradition, the motley cow is a symbol of Mother Earth, she is the magic cow Bermaie in the Iranian epic. Khlopin notes that: «The image of the Bermaye cow is very interesting: firstly, it was spotted, and secondly, it symbolized Khvanirasa – the land of the ancient Aryans».

Consequently, the drawings of a spotted cow and her sculptural images of the Eneolithic time (ie 5—3 thousand BC) can be considered as a symbol of the middle world, inhabited by people and livestock of the land.» Note that in the ancient Greek Orphic hymns about Earth-Gaia it is said: «You are the basis of the immortal world, the all-motley virgin», i.e. is no longer a «motley little calf», but Virgo. Thus, the Vladimir text, recorded in the second half of the 20th century, is actually more archaic than the ancient Greek one.

In the Vologda text, «Owl – mother-in-law grazed horses». But E. E. Kuzmina notes that

«the horse played a large role in the cult of the goddess – the mother.» In the Indo-European tradition, the image of the goddess, the mistress of horses, was widespread. «She was represented standing between two horsemen», personifying the opposite elements – life and death, over which the Goddess – Mother, is in control. Sometimes, instead of horsemen, just two horses were depicted.» On Shrovetide, the newlyweds, who got married last year, went «to their mother-in-law for pancakes» in a sleigh, which rushed horses decorated with bells, ribbons, and paper flowers. Moreover, it was on Shrovetide that the horses were dressed most richl Horses in the Indo-European tradition are symbols of the Sun. So in the ancient Russian ritual practice one of the names of the Sun was «Khors». But in English «Khors» is a horse, and in Sanskrit «hara» or «hari» is golden, sparkling, and an appeal to a deity. We emphasize once again that the Indo-European peoples had a widespread idea of the Goddess – the Foremother as the Lady or Lady of the horses. Suffice it to recall the images of the goddess with two horses on the sides, so widespread in embroidery and weaving in the Russian North, and found in a vast territory – from Scandinavia to India. Here it is worth remembering our «Baba Yaga» – the mistress of horses, holding in her hands the threads of life and death. And when she is the mother of Vasilisa the Wise or the Beautiful, (i.e. the Lady of wisdom or the Lady of beauty), she is also a mother-in-law. And the birds of Baba Yaga, besides the geese-swans, were owls.

Turning to the «owl» hypostasis of Mother-in-law – Pramateri, we note that in the ancient Greek tradition, in the esoteric Orphic hymns, which have preserved the deepest archaic, «Tovis» is called the wife of the Ocean. But Tethys or Tefida is one of the most ancient deities of ancient Greek mythology, the Titanide, the daughter of Gaia and Uranus. Her name is derived from the Indo-European teta – «mother», «grandmother». We note here that in the archaic Indo-European tradition, horses (whom the owl – mother-in-law grazed in the Vologda song) are associated not only with the sun, but also with the waters (seas, oceans, rivers) and the cosmic heavenly Ocean), whose wife in the hymn is called «owl» Tethys.

Among the characters of Hellenic mythology, having a zoomorphic version of the image of an owl, of course, Athena should be called. «Powerful, scary, scythe goddess of archaic», she was conceived as fate and the Great Goddess – Mother, who is known to archaic mythology as «the parent and destroyer of all living things.» This image originates in the ancient period of development of Greek mythology – matriarchy.

The «bright-lighted Athena» of the Greek archaic is very close, as it may seem strange at first glance, the Old Testament Lilith. She was also called the «Foremother» or «The Great Mother», «The Holy Ruler». Lilith is associated with the Etruscan goddess Leith, who met the dead at the gates of the Underworld. She, like Athena of the archaic, is the parent and destroyer of all living things.

But the most interesting – her name «Lilith» is translated as «nocturnal,» nocturnal ghost “, „nocturnal owl. The Sumerian bas-relief of the beginning of 2 thousand BC is known with the image of Lilith with owl wings and paws, and on her sides – two owls.

«Folk etymology connects the name Lilith with the Jewish lyl – night… the names of Lilith herself – Batna (aram.» Womb»), Odem («redness»), Amorpho (Greek.«Without form») – reports the Encyclopedia of Myths.» Thus, Lilith is the first wife of Adam, who gave birth to him «sparkling sons and radiant daughters», whose attributes were an owl and a snake – the twin sister of Greek Athena, whose attributes were also an owl and a snake.

Well, now it’s time for us to return to the Russian ritual song about «owl – mother-in-law».

Remember:

At home – that oak

On the oak there is an owl,

An owl is my mother-in-law…

It is worth recalling that the head of the pantheon of the gods of Ancient Greece – Zeus (Dyaus) in the archaic tradition is represented by an oak by the water (Zeus Dodonsky).

According to the myth, the goddess of wisdom, sacred knowledge, the maiden warrior Athena emerges from his head. That is, returning to phyto and zoomorphic codes, we get an oak tree, on top of which an owl sits. Moreover, elevated to the rank of the eternal virgin by the patriarchal tradition, which replaced the matriarchy, Athena, even in late antiquity, was surrounded by Kurets, who were sometimes called the «children of Athena.» Interestingly, earlier they were surrounded by the Great Mother of the gods Rey-Cybele and were considered children of the Earth (Gaia).

The Orphic hymn «Kuretam» says about them:

You were the first to institute sacraments among mortals,

You, oh immortal kuretes, you who are in the armor of Ares,…

You pestun deities, but you are destroyers too.

…kuretas, lords… children of the highest Zeus!

Pestun souls, invisible, everlasting spirits…

But since ancient Greek mythology, already at the level of Homer’s poems, fixes the stage at which Athena is only a virgin – a warrior and mother cannot be, because of her eternal virginity, we must emphasize that in the Vologda and Vladimir ritual songs, preserved in the Russian folk tradition almost until the end of the 20th century, the image of the Great Mother – «owl-mother-in-law» is much more archaic than the ancient Greek. She is not a virgin here, but the Foremother and her hypostasis – an owl – a nocturnal bird associated with the most ancient maternal lunar cults.

In the Russian North, in the archaeological sites of the Neolithic (6—4 thousand BC), there are images of women made of stone, bone and wood, ending with an owl’s head. S. V. Oshibkina notes that among the anthropomorphic images at the Kubenino site (basin of the Sukhona River, west of the Vologda Region), a bone figurine was found; one leg of which (the other was lost) ends with a hoof. She has an extended head and in general «there is a similarity of anthropomorphic figurines with an owl.» We repeat, this is the Neolithic, the new Stone Age.

There is no future Ancient Greece yet. The Indo-Europeans did not come to the territory of Western Europe yet. The palace of the Minotaur has not yet been built in Crete, which was guarded by an owl and a snake. The book of Job has not yet been written. And in the north of Eastern Europe, images of women are created – Mothers with the head of an Owl. The same goddesses with owl heads and wheat grains in clay stomachs are also characteristic of the sacred plastic art of the Trypillian culture (4—3 thousand BC). Owl – Foremother (Mother-in-law) is a symbol of divine wisdom, the one that embodies this wisdom in the manifested world, i.e. reflects. And to reflect is the function of the moon. Let us recall that the main ritual food and the symbol of Maslenitsa were pancakes associated with the world of the Ancestors and the Moon.

We have already noted earlier that in ritual pre-wedding texts in the Russian North, an orphan bride turned to her deceased mother, who became part of the Universal Feminine Principle, with the words «My Red Krasigorka». But it was on Maslenitsa that Ice Mountains were built, from which every young couple, after a three-time kiss, had to move down. The mountain (hill) has been a symbol of the Great Goddess – Mother Earth since ancient times.

«The mountain is often perceived as an image of the world, a model of the universe, which reflects all the basic elements and parameters of the cosmic device. The mountain is in the center of the world – where its axis runs. The continuation of the world axis upward (through the top of the mountain) indicates the position of the North Star, and its continuation of the North Star, and its continuation downward indicates the place where the entrance to the lower world is located», – the «Encyclopedia of Myths» reports. Suffice it to recall the first hill of Egyptian mythology, which rose from the universal waters, on which the «great Gogotun» laid an egg, from which the sun appeared. The Great Goddesses – Mothers of many nations were presented to the archaic consciousness as a certain first raise rising from Chaos. Such a first mountain was the ancient Greek Gaia – the Earth «from itself, which gave birth to Uranus – the sky and took it as a spouse.»

The mistress of the mountains of Cybele. The symbol of Mother Earth was the grave mounds of our ancestors. And we note here that in the ritual text Mother, who has gone to another world, i.e. merged with the eternal universal principle, with Mother Earth, is naturally called the «Red Krasigorka».

Turning again to the image of Lilith, let us recall that her names Batna and Odem meant «womb» and «red», «redness». In the North Russian tradition (as, indeed, in the Hebrew), the Foremother is called «Red» and «Red Mountain». Why exactly «Red»? Beautiful? Hardly. We will find an explanation of this phenomenon in the oldest texts of the Indo-Europeans – the epic Mahabharata, the main block of which, apparently, was formed on the circumpolar ancestral home of the Aryans.

In the first book of the epic «Adiparve» it is said that according to the Almighty, (which in another book – «Forest» is called «the Creator of Light dispersing darkness», «Those who Exist, Was and Will Be», «The visible eternal God, the Immutable Law»), and to His Word (which is voiced by thought)», a huge egg appeared, forever, like the seed of all creatures… In it the true light was the eternal Brahmo, wonderful, unimaginable, omnipresent, the one who is the hidden and elusive reason for the real and unreal and unreal».

In the book «On the Sacrifice of the Horse» («Ashvamehikaparva») Brahmo is called «ether». The text reads: Ether is the highest of the elements… It has only one property and it is called sound. Ether produces seven sounds and a chord. Then the waves of the ether or the «heavenly Ocean» generate «wind» or movement, which already has two properties «sound and touch». Moreover, the intrinsic property of movement is «touch», i.e. inertia. Then visible Light is born, which already has three properties – «sound, touch and image.» The property of Light, which carries in it (as a visible image of the seven first sounds) the seven colors of the spectrum, is the Image, i.e. the entire visible material World. But the first color in this process of manifestation is precisely red. Hence, the «Sun is red» – as an image of materialized light or, as they said back in the 12th century: «A thing is more sun to Light.» And the first, as the prototype of the Earth, is also «Krasnaya Krasigorka».

But why are Old Testament Lilith and «Owl-Mother-in-law» born, seemingly so far from each other, so close to each other?

As it turns out, this distance is only apparent.

Thus, at the end of the 19th century, the first rector of Boston University, William Warren, spoke about the correlation of the image of the World Mountain «with the axis of heaven», i.e. with the North Pole and wrote about that «the Akkadians, who were the forerunners of the most ancient empires of the Tigris and Euphrates, also knew a similar World Mountain, unlike all other mountains, since the sky rested on it and revolved around it. They called her Harsak Kurra.» He also stressed that the Harsak Kurra of the Akkadians is the north-polar «mountain of life» of the Egyptians. He writes: «Joachim Menard believed that» the mythological Akkad was a circumpolar native, in memory of which the Akkad of the Tigris-Euphrates Plain was named».

He supports this assumption with the following facts: «Both names, Akkad and Sumer, are not Assyro-Babylonian, but borrowed from an older prehistoric language; the etymological meaning and common noun of the name «Akkad» clearly brings it closer to a distant country on the north-polar peak of the Earth. «W. Warren also notes that according to the Jews, «Heaven, the refuge of the supreme God, was in the north, in the circumpolar part of heaven, that is, in the sacred region… Job claims that» God makes in the North», in Ezekiel the true God appears from above and from the north (Job 37:22). «Bright weather comes from the north and around God terrible magnificence.»

Speaking about the ideas of the ancient Jews, recorded in the Old Testament, W. Warren cites the words of the prophet Isaiah, addressed to the ruler of Babylon: «How you fell from heaven, dear woman, and son of the dawn! Crashed to the ground, trampling on the peoples. And he said in his heart: «I will ascend to heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on a mountain in the doubt of the gods, at the edge of the North; I will ascend to the cloudy heights, I will be like the Most High». Thus, the place and time of the birth of the images of «Owl-Mother-in-law» – «Red Beauty» and «Lilith – Night Owl», apparently, were the same.

Moreover, the very name Lilith raises a number of questions. So the proximity of the Slavic and Indo-Iranian languages is well known. Back in the 19th century, K. Zeiss, A. Kuhn, F. Bopp noted the special ties of the Aryan within the Indo-European with Slavic, Greek and Armenian.

E. A. Grantovsky in his «Early history of the tribes of Asia Minor» wrote that «the supporters of the predominant Aryan-Slavic or Aryan-Balto-Slavic affinity refer the contacts of the predecessors of the Slavs (and the Balts) and the ancestors of the Aryans to the era of the Indo-European community that did not completely disintegrate (and in absolute dates to a very early period», at least 5—4 thousand BC.

Back in the 50s of the twentieth century, the outstanding Indian Sanskritologist R. Sankrityayana introduced the term «Indo-glory» into scientific circulation, and Professor D. P. Shastri said in 1964: «If I were asked which two languages of the world are most similar to each other, I would answer without any hesitation: Russian and Sanskrit.» The numerous similarities in the modern Russian language and Sanskrit were repeatedly written by N. R. Guseva.

My book «The Golden Thread» gives examples of analogues in the North Russian dialects and classical Sanskrit, as well as the names of the rivers of Russia, which can be explained only through Sanskrit.

Based on the above, it makes sense to remember that in Russian ritual songs such chorus as «lyuli-lyuli», «leli-leli», «leli-leli» is quite often encountered. Turning to Sanskrit, we learn that «li» literally means «to touch, caress, stick, sink, sit down, melt, melt, and dissolve.» Hence «lila» – «game, fun, beauty». In the Hindu tradition, the «love pastimes of Krishna and the cowherd boys fascinated by him» are called «lila». Here «lul (lolati) means» to move here and there, to rush, move, worry, sway, and disappear.» But in the same row there is the word «lulita», which has the same meanings – «to rush, move, worry, and wobble.»

«Lulita» and Lilith – isn’t it too similar both in sound and in meaning? And the folk etymology connecting the name Lilith with the Hebrew lul – «night», apparently, is close to the truth. After all, night is the time of lulita – or lul (to move here and there, rush, sway, etc.), i.e. carnal love. In any case, the Laws of Manu (text 175) directly states that «a twice-born man who has intercourse (sexual) … in the daytime must completely wash himself in clothes to atone for his sin. This is, firstly.

And secondly: remember that Lilith is associated with children, i.e. with those who are legally conceived at night. She gives them, but she can take them away. After all, this is the mistress of Life and Death, the Great Mother of matriarchy. Perhaps that is why in Russia since ancient times (and even today), when they put them to bed, they rocked small children in a cradle (lul), singing «lyuli-lyuli». After all, sleep is an intermediate state between life and death. The cradle «moves here and there, sways, hesitates,» and the child «plunges» into the night, into sleep, in order to return to this world in the morning.Thus, a close connection is being built between three ethnic traditions: Russian, Indian and Hebrew, where a common block of ideas associated with the term «lul, lulita» is preserved.

In the ancient Indian tradition (Sanskrit) this is a term denoting the concept of «moving here and there, rushing, stirring, swaying, and disappearing.» In addition, and this is very important, the active principle of Brahma – Shakti – is called «lolita» or «lulita» and represents the «feminine» principle of the universe. In Hebrew – Lilith is the name of the «night Goddess», whose symbol was the Owl.

In the Sumerian-Babylonian texts, Lilith is «The Holy Ruler», «The Great Mother and Mother», giving and taking life. The Hitto-Huritic goddess of love and fertility, the chthonic goddess who combines the male and female principles of Shavushka (Russian. Shovushka – Sovushka), also correlates with her.

And, finally, in the Russian tradition, this word «cradle» is a baby cradle and the chorus «lyuli-lyuli», «leli-lely», inherent in both lullabies and calendar ritual songs.

All this, taken together, testifies to the fact that the above-mentioned traditions have one source and, consequently, one Ancestral home – the North of Eastern Europe – the Polar region.

And the birth of this single tradition goes back thousands of years.

The question of what caused the Old Testament tradition to turn Lilith from the Great Goddess and the All-Mother into a bloodthirsty demon, an evil spirit that abducts newborns and drinks their blood, corrupts pregnant women and rapes sleeping men in order to give birth to children from them, remains open. Perhaps the answer lies in the legend of Cain and Abel – the farmer and the shepherd and their antagonism, which ended in the murder of Abel – the «shepherd of the sheep.» Is this not too similar to a split in the Indo-Iranian unity, when mutual hatred led to the fact that even the previously common gods were turned into demons. The «Asuras» of antiquity – radiant and blissful, became symbols of evil in ancient Indian mythology and good in ancient Iranian mythology. «Devas» are demons of ancient Iranian mythology, in ancient Indian they were deities. But before, everything was the same. And the Russian language testifies to this. We are still shouting «Urra!» invoking the light. And in Russian villages, a girl can still be called «devka», which is analogous to «ancient Indian (Sanskrit) devika» (daivika) – «divine, or even «deva "– (daiva) “ deity, divinity, fate, fate, destiny».

Here it is appropriate to recall again Greek mythology, in which there is a shepherd Lilai or Lily, «who revered of all the gods only Selene (ie, the Moon – the Goddess of the night) and sent her a night cult. The gods sent two lions on him, which tore him to pieces, but Selena turned Lily into a mountain.» The name of this «shepherd» sounds like a dull echo of the ancient mother cult.

And two lions are also appropriate here. Indeed, in the Sumerian image of Lilith (2 thousand BC) with owl wings and paws, and two owls on the sides, she stands on two lions.

And the mountain into which the shepherd Lilai (or Lily) has turned is also a symbol and embodiment of the Great Mother of matriarchy. It is hard to say where this boundary of mutual rejection passes, and the power of Mother Earth is replaced by the supremacy of the Patriarch-Shepherd. But the fear of freedom and independence of a woman is already recorded in the «Laws of Manu» which says: «Neither day nor night should men allow women to be independent and free in their actions: women inclined to worldly pleasures should always be under the control of men. In childhood, a girl is under the protection of her father, in her youth – under the protection of her husband, in old age – under the protection of her son, but she should never be left to herself, in other words, a woman should not have independence. But all the different hypostases of the ancient Mother Goddess, be it the Akkadian Ishtar, the Sumerian Inanna, Lilith, the ancient Greek Gaia, Hera, Aphrodite, Athena, etc., were distinguished by one main quality – independence. Therefore, it is not surprising that in a patriarchal society, Lilith turned into an evil demon.

Returning to Sanskrit, we note that among the many analogues of Russian words, the Sanskrit terms of kinship are of undoubted interest.

Russian – Sanskrit: mater’ – matr’ (mother), pramater’ – pramatr’ (foremother), mat’, mama – mata, ma (mother), syn – suna (son), tyatya, tata – tata, tyatya (daddy), dever’ – devr’, devar (brother-in-law), zhena – dzhani (wife), svoyak – svaka (brother-in-law), svat’ya – svatva, svata (matchmaker), zyat’ – dzhata, dzhati (son-in-law), snokha – snusha, snukkha (daughter-in-law), vdova – vidkhavva (widow), svokor-svakar (father-in-law).

Going deeper into the meaning, you understand that in essence it is all about the same thing in Sanskrit «papu, dad» – «protector», but should not «papa, dad» be the protector of his children. «Svakha, Matchmaker» in Sanskrit is an exclamation made when a new fire is ignited.

And the name of the wife of the god Agni (Fire). But does our «Svakha, matchmaker» not incite new family hearths, connecting the bride with the groom.

By the way, the word» nevesta, bride» is also in Sanskrit («nivesta») and it means «shell, packaging, case, tire», and the word «nivesaya» – «soothe, marry.»

In this rather extensive series, for some reason there are no sounds close to the Russian term «toshcha, mother-in-law».

But, knowing how it sounds in Russian, we will try to find an analogue in Sanskrit. It turns out he is – «tesu». And this term means literally the following: 1) that, that, that, 2) this, this, this, 3) he, she, and it.

Indeed, the Earth is indeed the Great Mother of God, which is on it. That, that, that, that, that, that, he, she, and it – everything is born by her and everything returns to her! So much for Maslenitsa – «Krasnaya Gora» of the Veles book! The great ancient holiday dedicated to Mother – Earth, the Eternal Universal motherly principle, whose awakening was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox – March 22. Waking up for a whole month (from February 21 to the night of March 21 to 22), she woke up completely to give birth to all living things. And she was asked about the offspring of livestock, about healthy offspring, about a rich harvest. They asked, riding on luxuriously decorated horses, whose mistress she was – «The Lady of the Horses.» They asked, rolling on spinning wheels from the icy mountains dedicated to her. And here it is appropriate to recall the wooden fetish of the ancient Greek Hera, which was a spinning-like wooden carved board that stood in the temple of Hera on the island of Samos. Note also that the same carved board was a symbol of the Great Mother Goddess of the inhabitants of the Hindu Kush (Afghanistan).

In the Russian tradition, it was women, girls and girls on the spinning wheels, who were holding pancake in the apron’s pocket, from the mountain to Shrovetide. But the spinning wheel in Russian ritual practice was by no means a simple tool for obtaining a thread. She was the embodiment of the Tree of Life, with which the Goddess – the Mother of God is directly connected. This tree carried the Eternal Time on its branches – past, present and future.

The spinning wheel was a grave monument and connected the world of the living and the world of those who passed away, ancestors and descendants. As the embodiment of the original deity, combining both feminine and masculine principles, the spinning wheel was a symbol of fertility and contributed to an increase in the fertility of everything living on Earth. And the threads obtained on a spinning wheel are not so simple. The very word «niti» in Sanskrit means literally «correct behavior, life wisdom, custom», and nitka – «musical melody, song».

And here it is appropriate to recall the ancient Egyptian goddess Neith (Nit), who was worshiped as «the father of fathers and mother of mothers», «All-Creator», combining both male and female principles, «Lady of the Waters» at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC during the first dynasties of the kings of Egypt. Her hypostases later became Hathor, Isis, Nephthys and Serket. Herodotus identified Neith with Athena, the owl Goddess, the Mother of matriarchy. It is worth emphasizing that the sacred city of the goddess Neith was called «Lunyt» (Lunit), and the ancient Greeks called it Latopolis (city of Lato), Polis Laton (city of Latona) or simply Lato.

Together, they personified Mother Earth, which cannot be loved or praised. Awakening from a long winter sleep, she was glorified by songs, and bonfires, and violent merriment. People asked Mother Earth for happiness, abundance and a rich harvest, burning a scarecrow from the straw left after threshing last year’s grain. And giving this symbol of the past year the elements of fire, they returned to the Earth ashes and ashes so that they would be reborn with new breads (note that in the Lithuanian tradition, Sauvius is the founder of the tradition of corpse burning and the guide of souls).

Everything returned to the eternal mother’s beginning. And the women who gave birth, raised and married their daughters, represented this Universal and Eternal Mother in the world of people, calling her by the most ancient name Mother-in-law.