VINTAGE TALES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

THE SHROUD (Russia 🇷🇺)

Russia is the largest country in the world in terms of land area. It spans across 11 time zones and covers parts of both Europe and Asia. Russia shares borders with 14 countries and has coastlines along the Arctic, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. The country is known for its vast forests, plains, mountains, and rivers. Russian culture is rich and diverse, with a strong tradition in literature, music, art, and dance. Many world-renowned writers, composers, and artists hail from Russia. The country's culture has been shaped by both Eastern and Western traditions.

Russian Fairy Tales (also known as Russian Folk Tales) is a collection of almost 600 fairy and folktales that were collected and published by Alexander Afanasyev between 1855 and 1863. The collection includes fairy and folk tales from Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia. Afanasyev's literary work was inspired by Grimm's Fairy Tales. Russian fairy tales have deep roots in Slavic Mythology. They are captivating and poetic tales that feature gods and demons, heroes, and witches. Pagan Slavic religion had deities for everything, including water and household spirits. These stories were intended for children and taught people about manners, and traditions, and warned against natural dangers.

Russia is known for its frightening ghost stories, which are not just urban legends, but real and provable scary stories that have been passed down through generations. From haunted houses to ghostly apparitions, the country has a rich history of supernatural phenomena that will send a chill down your spine. Whether you're a believer in the paranormal or not, the spine-tingling tales from Russia are sure to leave you feeling unsettled.

Let's dive into some interesting stories about life beyond the grave. In some tales, the dead are depicted as friendly ghosts who remember their old friends and lead an almost genial existence. But in other stories, the dead are represented terrifyingly. They are depicted as vitalized corpses with superhuman strength and a wicked disposition. They often come back to trouble mankind and are driven by human appetites. These corpses refuse to part with their grave clothes and can't bear to be separated from them. One such story is recounted below.

At the beginning of this story, we are introduced to the idea of a woman as a spinner. It is mentioned that the lazy girl tries to make the others spin for her by doing them favors. The story indirectly disapproves of this mutual exchange, perhaps as a lesson in self-reliance.

Let's Read;

In a certain village, there was a girl who was lazy and hated working. She decided to host a spinning party and invited other girls. In the village, lazy people host spinning parties and those who like sweets attend them.

On the appointed night, she gathered the spinners, and they spun while she fed and feasted them. During the party, they discussed who among them was the boldest.

The lazy girl said, "I'm not afraid of anything!"

The spinners challenged her to go past the graveyard to the church, take down the holy picture from the door, and bring it back to the party.

The lazy girl agreed but asked each of them to spin a distaff-ful for her in return. She went, took down the picture, and brought it to the party. However, the picture had to be returned, and it was midnight. Finally, the lazy girl said, "You girls continue spinning. I'll take it back myself. I'm not afraid of anything!"

So she went and put the picture back in its place. As she was passing the graveyard on her return, she saw a corpse in a white shroud, seated on a tomb. It was a moonlight night; everything was visible. She went up to the corpse and drew away its shroud from it. The corpse held its peace, not uttering a word; no doubt the time for it to speak had not come yet. Well, she took the shroud and went home.

"There!" says she, "I've taken back the picture and put it in its place; and, what's more, here's a shroud I took away from a corpse."

Some of the girls were horrified; others didn't believe what she said and laughed at her.

But after they had supped and lain down to sleep, all of a sudden the corpse tapped at the window and said:

"Give me my shroud! Give me my shroud!"

The girls were so frightened they didn't know whether they were alive or dead. But the lazybones took the shroud, went to the window, opened it, and said:

"There, take it."

"No," replied the corpse, "restore it to the place you took it from."

Just then the cocks suddenly began to crow. The corpse disappeared.

Next night, when the spinners had all gone home to their own houses, at the very same hour as before, the corpse came, tapped at the window, and cried:

"Give me my shroud!"

The girl's father and mother opened the window and offered him his shroud. "No," says he, "let her take it back to the place she took it from."

"Now, how could one go to a graveyard with a corpse? What a horrible idea!" she replied. Just then the cocks crew. The corpse disappeared.

The next day the girl's father and mother sent for the priest, told him the whole story, and entreated him to help them in their trouble. "Couldn't a service be performed?" they said.

The priest reflected awhile; then he replied: "Please tell her to come to church tomorrow."

The next day the lazy girl went to church. The service began, number of people came to it. But just as they were going to sing the cherubim song, there suddenly arose, goodness knows from where so terrible a whirlwind that all the congregation fell flat on their faces. And it caught up that girl, and then flung her down on the ground. The girl disappeared; nothing was left of her but her braid.

(It seems that the Russian church was unable to protect against evil or the supernatural, as shown in the story. The building did not offer any protection to the hunted girl, who was taken away by a whirlwind. Nature is portrayed as a force of the supernatural and revenge or justice, depending on one's perspective. Only the girl's braid remains in the normal world. It appears that Russians had a strong belief in the power of nature, overshadowing that of religion. Despite the conversion to Christianity, the pagan roots ran deep, and Russians were not entirely convinced of the all-powerful nature of the new religion. On the other hand, Russian nature, with its ancient and formidable manifestations, was deeply feared but also seen as a protector against evil and the unnatural.

So, the moral of the story is: "It's important to respect the dead." Perhaps the girl in the story was facing a challenging dilemma, regardless of whether or how she returned the shroud.)

Source: (1873) A Russian Folktale, by William Ralston Shedden.

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