Sibirian fairy tales
Of course there are lots of different fairytales and myths in Siberia. They are still told and can vary from time to time. Here are three of the most popular ones that crossed our way a few times. Maybe you also know one of the siberian fairytales or one will meet your way when travelling there, then we are always open for new ones.
The myth from the schamane`s stone or the old Baikal and his daughters
The old father had over 300 daughters with one more beautiful then the other and blue eyes bright like the sky or sparkling green like the leafs on the birch trees. The father was hiding them for the simple reason that he did not want to loose one of them. But his daughters loved to live with him and were happy. Only his favourite daughter, the brave Angara, was yearning for the distance and dreamed of the wide see.
One day she heard the animals of the forest talking about the fearless young man whose name was Jenissej. He came from the high mountains where the snow was deep, and full of power he was looking for the long way up north to the ice-see. Angara was not sure if she should go and hesitated for a long time because she did not wish to leave her father and her happy sisters. However one dark night she took all her courage and silently crept away.
The brave Angara had already covered a large piece of the long way when a jealous sea gull told her father about her travelling away. The old Baikal was so full of anger that he threw big and heavy stones after her to stop her from moving on. Nevertheless Angara did not want to go back and so she fled through the forest until she met the young traveller Jenissej. The young man was very happy about the beautiful companion and from this day on they go the long way up north together.
Today you can still see the most heaviest and largest stone the old Baikal threw after his daughter. The shamane´s stone arises out of the water near Listwjanka.
The Baikals Swan daughters - a buryatian fairytale
A long long time ago a young hunter watched a group of swans coming down to the Lake Baikal. They swam to the shore and to his surprise he saw them taking of their feather dresses and turning into thirteen beautiful young girls. He hid himself behind a rock and watched them having a bath.
Since the hunter did not want the swans fly away again he secretly stole on of the feathers. But the young girls heard him and quickly came back. They again turned back into swans and flew away. Only the thirteenth could not flee because the hunter had hidden her dress. However when the girl saw the young and strong man she liked to stay with him and followed him to his house.
For twenty years they happily lived together and had thirteen healthy children. But again and again the girl was yearning for her sisters and asked for them.
The time was passing by and when their children were old enough the mother asked her husband to give her back her feather dress so she could visit her sisters. The hunter did not want to loose his beautiful wife but he had pangs of conscience because he had stolen the dress, so unwillingly the he gave it back to her.
However she had hardly put on her feathers when she flew out the window and never came back again.Since that day her children and grandchildren wait for the coming back of the swans.
The fairytale of the broom
Once upon a time there was an old man living lonesome in the wood. He was very poor and had nothing but a pretty little pot, a carved spoon and an old broom.
One day he heard that a shamane was giving a feast for three days and invited everybody to celebrate with him. So the old man went to visit the shamane and took his little pan with him. The pan was very special because as soon as you took away his lid the pan was getting filled with lots of things to eat.
When the old man reached the shamanes house he put the pan on the window shelf and sat on the table to feast. The shamane saw the pretty pan and got nosey and when he saw the delicious food coming out the pan constantly, he took the pan and hid it. At the time when the old man wanted to go home he was looking for his pan but could not find it anywhere. The shamane was shaking his shoulders when he was asked about the pan, so the poor old man had to leave with empty hands.
On the next day the man went to the shamanes too house and this time he took his carved spoon with him. The spoon was very special because as soon as you bent it a little there was red wine flowing out.
When the man reached the shamanes house he put the spoon on the window shelf and ate because he was very hungry. The shamane saw the carved spoon and took it away and when he saw the wine he hid the spoon quickly. And again the shamane did as if he knew nothing about the spoon.
On the following day the old man again went to the shamanes house and this time he took his groom because it was something special. When he reached the house he leaned the groom on the window shelf.
Of course the shamane was nosey. What kind of wonderful things would the groom give him? The old man was hardly sitting down when a laud scream came across his ears and all the guests could see the groom dancing on the shamanes back. The shamane screamed and shouted at the old man to stop the groom. He however asked about his little pretty pan and his carved spoon. The shamane had to give both back to him and the old man stopped the groom. Then he took his pretty little pan, his carved spoon and his old broom and went back home.
