VASILY BUSLAEV’S BATTLE WITH THE ELDER: ATTEMPT AT INTERPRETATION OF THE EPIC MOTIF

Abstract

The article analyzes the battle of Vasily Buslaev with the elder, presented in the epic “Vasily Buslaev and the Novgorodians,” which has already been discussed in domestic folklore studies. Contrary to the opinion of preceding researchers, who claimed that the elder personified Novgorod or the Christian church, while the battle reflected the struggle of the old system with the new, the author presents his vision of both the image of the elder and the essence of his battle with Vasily Buslaev. They are analyzed in the context of the mythology and practice of the fist-fighting organizations associated, in turn, with youth initiation rites. An analysis of the material, verbal and action codes showed that the elder appears in the epic as a “tainted” otherworldly character associated with the waters of the Volkhov and witchcraft. The attributes of the elder and the methods of his slaying also indicate the possibility of his correlation with the ancestor and the image of Perun. The methods of Vasily’s execution of the elder are clearly analogous to the ancient rituals of sending the ancestors’ souls off to the next world, widespread among the Eastern Slavs. They were associated with the idea of the ancestors’ souls coming to earth at certain points in the calendar year, and the need to send them back to the other world, by launching them on the water, among other ways. In full accordance with the structure and meaning of youth initiations, the battle and the death of the elder may be interpreted as a transfer of magical abilities, strength and a new share to Vasily, who was being initiated. This scheme is fully consistent with the mythology of ancient youth initiations, in which male ancestors (spirits) took an obligatory part.