In the sea-ocean, on the island of Buyan, there is a white-combustible stone Alatyr, an apple tree with rejuvenating apples grows on that stone. The wonderful bird Gamayun guards the wonderful tree, which gives happiness and predicts the future - to people who are ready to accept it. It helps with practical advice, and gives hope for a glorious outcome of the feats of war. Otherwise, a bird of paradise can inspire sadness and tell about death.
About title
In accordance with the main version, the name of the Slavic bird Gamayun has Iranian roots, and comes from the word “humayun”, which means “happy”, “good”. Interesting! Ho, not a single source says how “humayun” turned into the final version known to us.
However, in many old Russian dialects you can find the word "hamayun", which means a talkative, talkative person. Perhaps this is where the clue lies behind the name of the paradise feathered creature, which was distinguished by a love of long conversations.
A bit of history
About the bird Gamayun in Slavic mythology was first mentioned in the XV century. In the writings of the Byzantine merchant Kozma Indikoplov, to be more precise. In his treatise called Christian Topography, he writes about a bird of paradise without wings and legs, flying with its tail and never touching the ground. If she needs rest, she grabs hold of tree branches with feathers. Gamayun bird visited fabulous islands located in the eastern sea, not far from paradise.
Such inventions were based on the fact that at the beginning of the 16th century, stuffed birds without wings and legs were popular in Europe. They were called birds of paradise, but in fact, the cut off parts of the body of these creatures were used as amulets from evil forces.
Later, Gamayun was portrayed with the head and chest of a beautiful virgin. The body remained avian. Some sources say that this wonderful creature could turn into a beautiful girl with amazing multi-colored hair and a magical voice.
The image of the Gamayun bird was formed quickly and became quite popular. He managed to earn a continuation in fairy tales, paintings and music, because he was perceived as a symbol of eternal happiness and prophecy.
Songs and tales of a bird of paradise
This can be described in more detail. Gamayun bird was the embodiment of the wisdom of Veles himself - the god of luck and fertility. She could tell about everything in the world! About heaven and earth, about stars and nights, and also about many other things that are not subject to ordinary people.
It was she who could sing the golden book of the Vedas in a sweet voice. This is the most beautiful song of the Gamayun bird! She was also subject to teach man divine hymns, so that the gods heard the requests of mortals; show how to speak on their behalf with those who deserve it.
It was believed that if a bird of paradise flew low and touched the head of a person with wings, that would be accompanied by luck in everything. Ho, besides fortune, patronage and protection, Gamayun could predict the future. And if someone managed to get her feather, then he received fame and fortune.
Tale of the Glorious Hunter
There is one interesting legend that mentions a wonderful bird. They say that a glorious hunter lived in the world, whose arrows did not know a miss. Once he saw a wonderful bird. She had an extraordinary color! I realized that in front of him a prophetic bird Gamayun. This is an amazing creature with wonderful feathers. The hunter pulled the bowstring, and it was already fired, but saw a birch bark bundle in the paws of the bird, on which it was deduced: "You will bypass the whole world in truth, but you will not return back." He hesitated, reading the inscription, saw his marvelous bird, and lulled him to sleep.
The hunter is sleeping, and he wonders what Gamayun is talking to him in a magical voice. He asks what he will choose. Truth or Untruth. The man chose the second, because power and glory promised a lie, and, waking up, went to travel the world.
The hunter became a rich and famous person, he wanted to return home, to see relatives and share the joy of good luck, but he did not find his own home. Then he recalled a magic bird, and recalled the words written on a bundle of birch bark: “By untruth the whole world will go round, but you won’t go back.”
Since then, many tales and songs of Gamayun begin with these words. Loved the bird of paradise to tell o Jav, Nav and Prav - three parts of the world. She sang about how the Fiery Magus was born, how he defeated his father, how he took Lelu to marry, how glorious Perun fought with the beast-Skipper, about where the Russian family and laws of Svarog came from, and much more.
Mythology
There is a saying about the appearance of things of the Gamayun bird. They say that the earth was reborn and appeared, and in the middle of the sea-ocean, Buyan Island grew. Many wonderful trees were on that island. A duck of Roda sailed to Buyan, laid eggs gold, silver, and iron. Different birds hatched from them, but not simple, but magical.
Paradise thing bird with a wonderful voice has chosen a tall apple tree. She spread feathers to the ground and broadcast wonderful, glorious and happy songs. Here, by the way, is the answer to the question of where the Gamayun bird lives, which is of interest to many.
In Slavic mythology, a magic bird, in addition to luck and happiness, could inspire sadness and become not only a predictor of death, but also a guide to the kingdom of the dead. Having a wonderful voice, she could “play around”, that is, lull her to sleep. It is believed that the bird of prey controlled the weather, flying from east to west, from sunrise to sunset, carrying with it a terrible storm. Water boils in the seas and oceans, forests and fields burn. Thus, Gamayun reminds people of the meaning of being and higher values.
She also loves to be in the sacred gardens of Iria, where she conducts long conversations with other fabulous birds, telling them about people and gods.
The "Opposition" of Paradise Creation
Everyone has long known that in contrast to good, there is always evil, and vice versa. This case is no exception.
The opposite of the wonderful Gamayun is the bird Syrin. She is the product of the world of Navi, the kingdom of the dead.
An interesting fact is that Alkonost and Sirin, other birds that lived in paradise, were never portrayed together with Gamayun.
A meeting with things a bird
Many people wondered: where can I find the Gamayun bird and how to call it? After all, meeting with her was a dream for many. Naturally, without a special approach, this was impossible. Ho there were special conspiracies. Here is one of them: “Arrive, Gamayun, a bird of things, across the sea, through high mountains, through a dark forest, through a clear field. You sing, Gamayun, a bird of things, at the dawn, on a steep mountain, on a crust of bush, on a raspberry bar. ”
Also, this option was often used: “A proprietary bird, a wise bird, you know a lot, know a lot ... You say, Gamayun, sing, tell us ... Why did the whole White World conceive? Red Sun how did it conceive? The month is bright and stars are frequent why, say, were born? And they blew like violent winds? Flushed like dawns clear? ".
But the pronunciation of the conspiracy did not guarantee the appearance of a wonderful feathered creature. The bird of paradise appeared only to those who were known as a good and worthy person.
Gamayun in heraldry and art
The mysterious and bright image of the bird of paradise excited the imagination of many artists, writers and poets. Therefore, it is not surprising that many artists depicted it on their canvases and sang it in poetry and songs.
B. Vasnetsov in his painting endowed the image of a bird with a tragic meaning, depicting it in dark colors with a beautiful gloomy face.
At the poetess Anna Akhmatova, Gamayun takes the traveler off the right track and instills sadness and longing.
Vladimir Vysotsky gives her a symbol of hope, capable of awakening Russia from sleep.
With a face filled with horror and with gore on her lips, A. Blok shows it in her poem "Gamayun - a bird of things."
She is also depicted on the arms of the Smolensk region. And on the coat of arms of the city of Mikhailovsk, located in the same region, the bird is shown with a human face.
The image of Gamayun in heraldry means the pursuit of happiness, the culture of the people, protection from war, patronage and rebirth.
Did a bird of paradise really exist? The answer to this question does not exist in any source of Russian folklore. Ho her image is present in almost all genres of Slavic mythology. He is a kind of allegory to the unity of the Sort, connecting the thread between the living and the passing generations. After all, it is not without reason that Gamayun is called a bird of paradise mediator between people and gods.