IS392 Final Paper, by Christie Gibbons, May 3, 2005, page 1

Nature Theology Within Russian Folklore

In an agricultural society the sun and the seasons are the focus of the economic, social, and spiritual life of the people. In spring they plant and sow; in summer they watch over and rejoice in their forthcoming harvest; in fall they reap; in winter they rest and await the return of the sun’s warming rays. With their very survival dependent on the beneficence of nature and the success of the harvest, nothing could be left to chance. 1

In this paper I seek to better understand the role of nature and spirituality within Russian folklore. But no account of Russian folk culture would be complete without first mentioning the skomorokhi, or traveling minstrels. The skomorokhi were a class of Russian medieval society that is now nearly entirely forgotten. Yet, if we examine Russia’s historical records, we find scores of them living in many major cities and towns. Russell Zguta, author of Russian Minstrels, tells us thatthough the skomorokhi were among the poorest of society, barely eking out an existence with their petty earnings, they, in many instances, outnumbered the butchers, bakers, shoemakers, carpenters, and other artisans in towns and villages alike. 2

For almost 700 years (between the eleventh and seventeenth centuries) the skomorokhi provided entertainment for both peasants and upper-class society members, including such amusements as: dancing bears; tightrope walking; dramatic recitations of fables, proverbs and riddles; juggling; magic; music, singing and dancing; and puppet shows. Yet, while these sound to be harmless fun, all skomorokhi were relentlessly persecuted by the church. 3

Ecclesiastical leaders in the Russian Orthodox Church vehemently persecuted the skomorokhi because they maintained strong links with Russia’s pagan past. These early Slavic performers invoked and appeased nature by performing certain ceremonies and seasonal festivals, each of which punctuated the calendar year. They even performed during religious observances, wearing masks, dancing, and playing instruments (which particularly upset the church). 4 As soon as Prince Vladimir had introduced Christianity to Russia in 988 the church deemed all musical instruments pagan, thus holding them in great contempt. 5

Naturally, though, the conversion to Christianity of the largest country in the world could not have been entirely complete. So, it logically follows that there occurred a fusion of pagan and Christian culture. Zguta asserts that Prince Vladimir fell far short of his goal to quickly and completely convert his people from a nation of heathens to one of enlightened Christians, saying:

It was urban paganism…that was officially disavowed and forsaken. The majority of the people in the countryside were largely unaffected by the conversion and would not be affected for a long time to come; they continued to practice the ancient cult of their ancestors and to call upon the skomorokhi for spiritual guidance. 6

Zguta, further clarifies the integration of ancient pagan customs and newly adopted Christianity, saying:

As paganism progressively lost more ground to Christianity, the rites and rituals associated with it…were transformed into ordinary folk games and festivals. 7

This fusion of pre-Christian folk culture and Russian Orthodox Christianity has come to be known as dvoeverie, or dual faiths. This idea may have been introduced by the volkhvy, or wisemen, who acted as priests or soothsayers among the peasants and skomorokhi, overseeing public worship and sacrifice, practicing medicine, and exercising judicial authority. 8  Zguta asserts that these pagan priests were probably the earliest skomorokhi, whom he describes as:

[T]he rustic counterparts of the urban volkhvy, who ministered to the people of the countryside in a variety of ways, ranging from fortune telling and healing to presiding over their sundry community festivals and celebrations. 9

It is nearly impossible to state exactly how far back the skomorokhi origins extend, but we can reasonably claim that they were already professional traveling minstrels in 988, as this date marks a major turning point in the history of the skomorokhi, the beginning of a long period of persecution.

This persecution consisted of frequent accusations of skomorokhi involvement in satanic games and witchcraft. Zguta explains these attacks, saying:

One can better appreciate the nature and extent of this persecution by reading the anonymous ‘Instruction’ on church discipline addressed to all clergy and faithful of the late fifteenth century, where the skomorokhi and those who associate with or listen to them are explicitly barred from Holy Communion for a year and are declared anathema (in effect, are excommunicated). Should any Orthodox Christian persist in his associations with them, he is to be kept physically out of the church, his stipend for its upkeep is to be spurned, and no priest is ever to set foot in his house. 10

Clergy were also given the task of asking all penitent parishioners the following questions: “Did you seek out the games of the skomorokhi? Did you seek out satanic games, look upon these, or yourself take part in them?” 11 And if their response to any of these was affirmative, they were required to beg pardon for their terrible sins, claiming they had delighted in such things as hearing the sounds of musical instruments.

Yet, these threats were only the initial tough blow for the skomorokhi. The second destructive blow was to come about six hundred years later under Tsar Ivan IV, who, in the early 1570s, ordered the decimation and scattering of Novgorod’s social and cultural elite. Among these skilled craftsmen and artisans, the skomorokhi were also forced to leave Novgorod, heading for Moscow. 12 We may never know if the intentions of Ivan IV were, in fact, to disperse the skomorokhi by deciding to clean out Novgorod in 1570. Yet, despite his intentions, he did precipitate the “first great dispersal of the minstrel-entertainers, a dispersal that involved the most talented of the skomorokhi, and one from which they would never recover.” 13

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1  Russell Zguta, Russian Minstrels, (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1978), 108.

2   Zguta, Russian Minstrels, 36.

3   Zguta, Russian Minstrels, xi & 16.

4   Zguta, Russian Minstrels, 2.

5   Zguta, Russian Minstrels, 4.

6   Zguta, Russian Minstrels, 15.

7   Zguta, Russian Minstrels, 3.

8   Zguta, Russian Minstrels, 7.

9   Zguta, Russian Minstrels, 15.

10   Zguta, Russian Minstrels, 31.

11   Zguta, Russian Minstrels, 58.

12   Zguta, Russian Minstrels, 52.

13   Zguta, Russian Minstrels, 53.

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