Customs and traditions of the Russian hut. Slavic building rituals and signs. Types of peasant buildings

Place. Landscape.

Our Ancestors had different views than ours on the place called home, where they were to live, raise children, celebrate, love, and receive guests.

Let’s try to turn to their experience, to restore for ourselves their sense of the space of being, which they “did” in compliance with customs and rituals in order to serve their lives as successfully as possible.
First of all, the choice of location was not accidental. The Russian village, as a rule, is very picturesquely located. A settlement was established on the banks of a river, lake, on a hill near the springs. The place was well ventilated and washed by energy flows of air and water.

When building a house, the peasant gave it orientation to the cardinal points. He placed the hut where the rays of the sun gave more heat and light, where from the windows, from the porch area, from the yard, the widest view of the land he cultivated opened up, where there was a good approach and access to the house. For example, in the Nizhny Novgorod province they tried to orient houses to the south, “towards the sun”; if this was impossible, then “face” to the east or southwest. The houses of single-row settlements are oriented only to the south. The natural shortage of places on the sunny side during the growth of the settlement led to the emergence of a second row of houses, with facades facing north. On a flat and dry area, he built a barn and a threshing floor, “before his eyes” - he placed a barn in front of the house. He raised a windmill to the top of the hill, and built a bathhouse below by the water.

It was impossible to build housing where the road used to pass. Space former road it was piercing, “blowing”; the energy of life did not accumulate in the house, but passed through it along the old route.
The place was considered unfavorable for construction if human bones, or someone was cut with an ax or a knife until they bled, or other unpleasant, unexpected events occurred that were memorable to the village. This threatened misfortune for the residents of the future home.

It was impossible to build a house on the site where the bathhouse stood. In the bathhouse, a person did not simply wash off the dirt from himself, but, as it were, plunged into a vessel with living and dead water, was born anew each time, subjecting himself to the test of fire and water, steaming under high temperature, and then plunged into an ice hole or river, or simply doused himself with ice water. The bathhouse was both a maternity hospital and a habitat for the spirit of the bannik. The bathhouse is an unconsecrated place - there are no icons there. The bathhouse is a place where a lot happens, if you do not adhere to the rituals of visiting it.

Based on all this, the house, built on the site of the bathhouse, was built in a space where a lot of things happened and it continued to preserve the memory of it. The consequences of living on the site of the bathhouse were unpredictable.
The place where cattle lay down to rest was considered favorable for construction. People attributed to him the power of fertility. Animals are more sensitive to the energy characteristics of a place. The ancients knew this and used it widely in life. The peoples of the world have many similar signs and rituals that use the senses of animals.
The entire house-building process was accompanied by rituals. One of the obligatory customs is making a sacrifice so that the house stands well.

Here it would be appropriate to recall that Orthodoxy has pagan roots, which Christianity has not destroyed. The paganism of a Christian reflects the reality of his existence among living nature, which he perceived as spiritualized, that is, manifesting itself as a subject equal to him. Our ancestors, the Slavs, as a rule, clothed knowledge in mythological metaphors, proverbs, sayings, and signs. This did not in any way reduce the value of the knowledge they accumulated, which today is forgotten and little used. We tend to turn to to the modern designer, relying again on traditional, but Chinese Feng Shui, rather than using the experience of one’s own ancestors.
Fragments of the worldview of the ancient Slavs were preserved by the Russians almost until the end of the 19th century. Speaking about the construction of a house, we can observe its manifestations in the ritual described below.

At the site of the future log house, a tree was installed, usually a birch or rowan tree, which symbolized the “world tree” - the “center of the world.” In our opinion, this ritual reflects the idea of our ancestors about their own time and place in the world. Let us note that the peasants of the 19th century hardly did this consciously or with understanding. The archaic meaning of the ritual could mean that it was here, in the space of the future house, that all the most significant events for the owner of the house would take place, his life, the life of his children and, possibly, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The ritual tree was replaced by a living one, planted near the house. It carried the sacred meaning of the world tree, and besides this, the person who planted the tree demonstrated that the space around the house was not wild, but cultural, mastered by him. It was forbidden to cut down specially planted trees for firewood or other household needs. The choice of tree species - most often rowan was planted - was also not accidental. Both the rowan fruit and the leaf have the graphic of a cross, which means, in the Russian worldview, they are a natural amulet.

Particular importance was attached to the laying of the first crown: it divided the entire space into domestic and non-domestic, internal and external. From the chaos of the surrounding nature, the elements, the promised island stood out - the macrocosm human life.

Estate. HOUSE.

Let's consider the typical form of traditional housing. A hut is a cage, which is a rectangle, above which rises a gable roof. Let's try to read this in the Feng Shui system. According to the elements, it is earth heated by fire. That is, energetically the house was like a continuation of the element Earth, but so that it was not washed away by the element of water pouring from above, the roof - the fire - protected and warmed. Fire connected the space of the house with the Fire of Heaven, the Sun, the Light of the Stars and the Moon. Energy flows down the gable roof onto the house, washing it. For comparison: our today's box houses lack verticality, which would facilitate, like an antenna, connection with the energy of the Cosmos. This is directly related to the well-being of a person living in such a house and among such flat architecture. In the architecture of Nizhny Novgorod, for example, over the last 10 years they have been trying to make a tower, a spire, a high roof reaching towards the sky, and, moreover, like residential buildings, as well as administrative ones. This is an intuitive desire to compensate for a long period of a kind of gray stagnation in external decoration and well-being. What can we remember from " architectural styles» Soviet period? “Stalin buildings”, “Khrushchev buildings”, panel construction. How are they appearance, so interior decoration cannot be called comfortable for a person.

On the facades of the houses of our ancestors, for example, in our forested Nizhny Novgorod region, the picture of the world of our ancient ancestors was reflected in wooden carvings, or some of its details were present, as if hinting at it. The essence of ornamental decoration is the image of the three worlds. The pediment is the upper world, the middle part of the facade is the earth. The lower part, as a rule, not filled with ornaments, is the chthonic, unmanifested world. The abundance of solar signs, signs of fertility, the world tree - everything was intended not to decorate, but to carry certain meanings through which space unfolded required quality. That is, it was assumed that the house should be a full bowl, its space should contribute to health and happy life families. This was what the façade ornaments served.

Interior.

Sacred meanings in a simple Russian hut, manifested in rituals, dominated over cleanliness and comfort from our modern point of view.

Almost everything home space seemed to “come to life”, participating as a place for holding certain family rituals associated with the growing up of children, weddings, funerals, and receiving guests
Let's start, as usual, from the stove.

The Russian stove is the largest volume in the interior of the house. They occupied an area of 2.5 - 3 square meters. m. The heat capacity of the stove ensured uniform heating of the living space around the clock, making it possible to keep food and water hot for a long time, dry clothes, and sleep on them in damp and cold weather.

The stove, as we have already noted, is a home altar. It warms the house and transforms food brought into the house with fire. The oven is a place near which various rituals take place. For example, if you came into the house dressed up clothed woman and almost without words he approaches the stove and warms his hands by the fire, which means that the matchmaker has come to make a match.
And a person who spends the night on the stove becomes “one of our own.”

The point here is not the oven as such, but the fire. Of all the elements, fire is the most revered. Not a single pagan holiday was complete without the lighting of ritual bonfires. Then the fire moved to Orthodox church: lamp lights, candles lit with prayer. In traditional Russian culture, a room without a stove was considered non-living.
Let us note that, for example, in the Nizhny Novgorod region the stove was heated black, and there was no talk at all about any convenience in our understanding - cleanliness, fresh air. The white furnace fire transformed the house. At the same time, traditional furniture and interior of the Volga region peasant hut remained unchanged. Back in the middle of the 19th century, P.I. Melnikov-Pechersky wrote: “The Great Russian hut in the north, east and along the Volga has almost the same location everywhere: to the right of the entrance in the corner there is a stove (rarely placed to the left, such a hut is called “non-spinner”, because on the long bench opposite the stove, It’s not easy to spin from the red corner to the bunk - right hand close to the wall and not in the light). The corner to the left of the entrance and the counter from the door to the corner is called “konik”, here is a place for the owner to sleep, and harness and various belongings are placed under the bench. The front corner to the right of the entrance is the “woman’s kut”, or “cooking room”; it is often separated from the hut by a plank partition. The shop from the holy corner to the cooking corner is called “big”, and sometimes “red”. The counter from the woman’s kut to the stove is a “cooking shop”, next to it up to the stove itself is a “cooking station”, like a cupboard and a table together, on which dishes are prepared.” (5, p. 199)

Each family member had their own space in the house. The place of the housewife, the mother of the family, is at the stove, which is why it was called “woman’s kut.” The place of the owner - the father - is at the very entrance. This is the place of the guardian, the protector. Old people often lay on the stove - a warm, comfortable place. The children were scattered like peas throughout the hut, or sat on the flooring - a flooring raised to the level of the stove, where they were not afraid of drafts during the long Russian winter.

The infant was swinging in a swing attached to the end of a pole, which was attached to the ceiling through a ring fixed in it. This made it possible to move the shifter to any end of the hut.

Red corner .

An obligatory accessory of a peasant home was a shrine (“tyablo”, “kiot”), which was located in the front corner above the dining table.

This place was called the “red corner”. It was a home altar. A man began his day with prayer, and prayer, with his gaze turned to the red corner, to the icons, accompanied his entire life in the house. For example, prayer was required to be read before and after meals.

The red corner - the Christian altar and the stove - the “pagan” altar, created a certain tension, located diagonally across the space of the house. It was in this - the front part of the hut - that there was a red bench, a table, and food was prepared in front of the stove. The events of everyday life took place in a very powerful energy space. A guest entering the house immediately saw the icons of the red corner and crossed himself, greeting the owners, but stopped at the threshold, not daring to go further into this habitable space, preserved by God and Fire, without an invitation.

In addition to the first level of the interior already described above, there was a second one, located on the stove column, which was located at external corner stove - almost in the middle of the hut and reached the height of the stove's shoulder. From the stove pillar, leaning on it, there were two thick beams - one to the front, the other to the side walls opposite the stove. They were located approximately at a height of 1.6 - 1.7 meters from the floor. The first is a ward one, since he served load-bearing structure ward flooring - traditional sleeping place. The bread beam limited the height of the “babiy kut” oven. Freshly baked breads and pies were placed on the bread beam as if on a shelf. As we see, the second residential tier is directly related to the life processes of household members - meals and sleep. If you open the door and look into the hut, then what is going on in the tents will not be visible at all - they are located above the head of the person entering, and the place near the stove will be hidden by a protruding stove pillar and a curtain, which was sometimes used to fence off a woman’s kut just along the upper border, marked by a beam of bread . Naturally, many rituals are associated with the stove pillar - as if it were the strongest supporting structure in the house. For example, when a child stood on his feet and took his first steps, a midwife visited him. She placed her pet with his back to the stove pillar with the sentence: “As the stove pillar is strong, so be you healthy and strong.”

Among the movable furniture we can name only a table and one or two saddle benches. The space of the hut did not imply excesses, and they were not possible in peasant life. A completely different space in the house of wealthy Volga region or always free northern peasants.

Windows and doors.

The entrance to the hut was preceded by a vestibule, the entrance to the house was preceded by a porch. The porch is a few steps up, then a door leading to the vestibule, a vestibule, and a door leading to the hut. The doors were never located on the same straight line. The flow of air and everything it carried seemed to swirl, weaken, and enter the hut itself, already “purified,” filled with the good aroma of herbs drying in the hallway and the smell of a cow coming from the yard.

Windows and doors, like some kind of highways, passages into and out of the house were always framed externally and their intersection was accompanied by rituals. Before the owners went outside, it could be like this: “God bless you for a good day, protect you from bad ones, evil people! Before entering someone else's house, a prayer was also read.

These customs are connected with the fact that a person, on a subconscious level, distinguished between the space of the house, where nothing threatened him, and the external space, where anything could happen.

The window is also a connection with the world of the dead. For example, dead unbaptized children were carried out through the window: they died, although they had not yet been accepted by the world of the living. "God gave - God took." That is, there is almost no time in their earthly life and the child’s soul is returned to the world from which he just came.

Through the window they will serve Christmas carols to the carolers - that is, to those who brought divine wishes to the owners.

Space exploration.

The house was, as it were, a model of man himself and by its very design was designed to help life in it.
The dwelling was likened to the human body. Forehead, face (platbands), window (eye), mouth (mouth), forehead, backside, legs - etc. general terms to describe a person and a home. This is reflected in rituals. For example, at the birth of a child, the doors of the house, which was thought of as a woman’s body, opened.

A fully rebuilt house is not yet a living space. It had to be populated and settled properly. A house was considered inhabited by a family if any event important to the household took place in it: the birth of a child, a wedding, etc.
To this day, even in cities, the custom of letting a cat in front of you has been preserved. In villages, traditionally, in addition to the cat, the house was “inhabited” by a rooster and a hen left overnight. According to popular beliefs, the house was always built “on someone’s head”: this meant the possible death of one of the household members. Therefore, the house was inhabited in a certain sequence, first by animals, then by people.

The transition to a new residence was preceded by rituals associated with the “relocation” of the brownie.
To this day, the brownie in villages is revered as the owner of the home, and when moving into new house, asking his permission:

“Master of the brownie, let us stay” or:
"Master and Mistress,
Stay with us
Give life a good one.
It's not a night for us to spend the night,
And the century will last forever.” (3, pp. 24, 21)

In our fast-paced age, people especially need to feel protected and safe somewhere. And the natural place that gives such a feeling is one’s home. No wonder the popular saying says: “my home is my fortress.” But for a house to be a home, it must be properly built and equipped. Today, everyone is familiar with the art of home improvement, Feng Shui, which came to us from China; a little less people know the ancient Indian “Vastu Shastra”. However, our Ancestors – the Slavs – had their own art of home improvement, which developed over thousands of years and was in tune with our ancestral Spirit. In the ancient Slavic Volkhov art “VoyYarg” there was a whole section dedicated to the design and arrangement of a house, which was called “Lady House” or “House-Amulet”.

If we turn to the worldview of our Ancestors, we will see that the entire universe for them was built on the principle of similarity, where the small - Yar, reflects the great - Yarg. So the house was a semblance of the Universe, a kind of universe created by the owner and connecting him with the outside world. But in order for a house to become a semblance of a living Universe, it must be filled with Life Force - Vein. To do this, it was necessary to meet a number of conditions, the first of which was the choice right place for future housing.

There are strong, neutral and bad places. It is impossible to build housing on the latter; such places include cemeteries, places near existing temples and sanctuaries, or places where temples and sanctuaries stood and were destroyed. Also, places where one should not settle included steep bends of rivers, places where the road used to pass - it was believed that in such a place happiness and wealth would not linger in the house. The strong place is rich in underground springs, trees and bushes grow even and tall on it.

There was also a special ritual that helped determine whether the place was chosen to build a house.

The location of the house was also important; it was consistent with the cardinal points and, accordingly, with the so-called. geomagnetic network or, in the old way - Navi Lines. The house itself was built in the traditional span system of measures, which was tied to the human body. This means that it was initially friendly with its owner and was created exclusively for him. And a person in such a house felt free and comfortable. Internal layout at home was consistent with the Kolovrat, generated by the elemental Streams of Heaven and Earth. The external decoration of the house was framed with protective patterns in order to attract positive elemental Currents into the house and eliminate the impact of bad Currents. In the rooms of the house special Objects of Power were placed, dedicated to the patron Gods of these parts of the house.

When building a house, a mortgage was placed under its foundation - special amulets with runic symbols and spells that were supposed to attract, attract Zhilot into the house. The same amulets and signs were placed or drawn on the floor under the top covering, placed in corners, under baseboards and under the jambs of doors and windows.

The house itself was arranged according to a certain principle and every part of it was interconnected with the Gods. Horizontally, the house was divided by Perun's cross into four sectors, correlated with the four Gods - the organizers of the home space. Moreover, each of these sectors could also be divided according to the principle of nested spaces. Vertically, the house repeated the three-part structure of the world: the lower part - the foundation and the underground or cellar - Nav, the past, the foundation; the middle part is residential - Reality, the place where the life of the household takes place; the attic and roof are the vault of heaven, Rule is the abode of higher Powers. Heavenly Streams flow through the roof into the house, which is why in the old days the roof of any house had slopes, so that the Power flowing from Heaven would not stagnate and create unnecessary tension, but would wash the house like rain. Gable roof usually located in the east-west direction, and on the skates it was carved with horse heads, symbolizing the chariot or boat of Dazhbog the Sun, in which he sails across the Sky.
The southern side of the house was considered the strongest, the side in which the Strib (element) of the earth ruled along the earthly Kolovrat elements, and the Strib of solar fire ruled along the heavenly Kolovrat. It was on the southern side, along which the Sun walks, that the facade was located - the face of the house. This side usually had the most windows.

On the south side of the house there was also a living room and a kitchen, since the south side is the side of fertility, prosperity and health. Moreover, the living room connected with the eastern side, for the eastern side carries wandering, nomadic streams - just to welcome guests. The living room was patronized by Belobog, the organizer of manifest life, and Striver, the master of space, the Father of the Winds. That's why all important family matters were decided in the living room, family councils and here guests who came to the house were greeted. The kitchen merged with the western side, since the west brings Streams of material wealth and stability. The kitchen is under the control of Chislobog - the keeper of time, numbers and the Deity of counting and calculations and Mokosha - the heavenly spinner, the patroness of women. The kitchen space from the stove to the southern wall was called the women's quarters - here the woman was a full-fledged mistress. In the kitchen there is also one of the most significant Places of Power in the house - the oven. According to ancient Slavic legends, the first thing that the heavenly forge Svarog cooked was a stove. And his first words were: “Let there be fire in this hearth!” And the light, already from the fire, appeared on its own. The first stove maker was God Svarog, that’s why all stove masters are Svarog’s brothers. The stove is the gateway to Nav - ancient world humanity. Behind every furnace lives the God of the beginning, our First Ancestor. He still lives there, but people have forgotten about it; those who are friends with the stove can see Him. He usually appears in flames as a Fireman. The female womb is designed in the image of the furnace, inside which Svarog placed the Life-giving fire. You put something raw into it, but you get it ready, with Spirit and Soul. The oven takes you from death to life, from the past to the future. The hearth in the house is life in the house. A house without a hearth is not a home at all; even a temporary home has a hearth. IN modern apartments The kitchens have gas and electric stoves. Fire can have any nature. Any furnace is a child of that Divine First Furnace. Any fire by which you warm yourself and on which you cook food turns your house into a temple. You need to handle the hearth with understanding, according to all the rules: keep it clean, just as you keep your body clean, wipe it down every day. If you ask for the stove well, it will protect the house from all evil spirits, and it will drive away illness and all kinds of sadness. You can burn your sadness in the oven, drive away any misfortune. You can also tell bad dreams and bad premonitions to a stove fire. The oven is almost like God, omnipotent! Prabog lives in a world called Nav, the Navyas - the Souls of the Ancestors - live there, and we will go there after death. From there new Souls come into the world. The stove is an image of Mother Earth. At the stove they pray for future children and bake premature and sick ones. In the oven, wild fire turns into tame fire and serves man.

From the west to the south side there was usually an enclosure or veranda. Moreover, the entrance to the house should be from the rear side, so that Streams of material wealth and stability flow into the house. The hallway and entrance are under the control of Perun - he rules the streams flowing into the house. And standing guard over the boundary separating the space of the house from the alien world behind the house, he rules the flow of Lives in the house. WITH outside on the porch above the front door they usually hang a potkova, which has certainly been under a horse and found independently. To attract happiness and prosperity, they hang it with its horns up. A horseshoe placed in this way also symbolizes a full cup in the house. But with inside needles or a knife are usually stuck under the casing to interrupt the flow of bad streams and discourage those who come into the house with bad intentions. The platbands themselves above the front door and the pediment of the porch are decorated with carved signs of Perun - Gradins.
All material assets should be located on the back side of the house, be it money, jewelry or pantries with food supplies. Then prosperity and well-being will continuously reign in the house. In the West, it is necessary to develop a business place, then any business will bring tangible material results.

These are just some of the principles of arranging a Good House by our Ancestors, which can be a talisman and a real family nest for those who inhabit it. The Slavic knowledge on home improvement itself is very extensive, and includes information about the creation of home amulets that ward off misfortunes and illnesses, and bring goodness, ancient rituals that call into the house the Power and Grace of the Gods and the Elements. And many many others.

And even if you don't live in own home, and in a high-rise apartment, using the wisdom of our Ancestors, you can turn it from a gray typical cold crypt into a native corner that warms the Soul and Heart.

Perunov - a cross is one of the variants of a protective sign placed in the house.

In 2012, home improvement according to Russians became very popular. Feng Shui laws. Wisdom of China firmly entrenched in our minds.

But the Slavs have a very rich heritage, With unique system knowledge about how to make your home and life in it prosperous, successful and healthy!

Slavic traditions of home improvement

We try improve your house or apartment by any methods: some with the help of beliefs, and some adhere to Feng Shui rules. Applying the traditions of the Slavic people in your home will help. The term feng shui (風水) in this article I use, meaning ours, Slavic traditions home improvement. Let us recall some half-forgotten customs that can still be used today.

House threshold

Start, foundation of the house- his threshold. Since ancient pagan times it was considered place of residence of ancestral spirits. This is apparently where the tradition of not talking to a guest on the threshold came from, so as not to needlessly disturb the spirits. On the front door or directly above it they hang or draw a horseshoe or cross- symbols and bringing happiness into it.

Feng Shui Kitchen

For ours
great-grandmothers room with stove was a place where they spent a lot of time preparing food for their numerous household members. Yes even now life of the whole house revolves around the kitchen.

In the kitchen - always clean and hospitable, they cook, conduct conversations, and greet guests. House Guardian Spirit, according to legend, also lives here.

In this cozy and most popular place at home, it is good to place:

Wooden spoons - symbolize a satisfying life
Decorative keys - symbol of wealth, abundance
Dried up sunflower inflorescences and corn cobs - children's amulets that protect babies from diseases and the evil eye
Bells, whistles, brooms - protect from various troubles
“Braids” of garlic, onions and peppers - give good health

Living room arrangement

Common room, where the whole family gathers in the evenings and where you invite guests should be the lightest and most spacious. It’s very good when there are big windows, covered with light-transmitting curtains, as well as several lamps.

Because the more there will be air and light in the living room, the more pleasant life in the house will be. And so that harmony and grace do not leave your home, the living room should not be empty for a long time.

Towels

One of
main home amulets in Rus' embroidered linen towels were considered. A symbol of life, a guarantee of the health of the inhabitants of the house, a line of fate - that’s what they meant embroidered towels and napkins, and they decorated all the rooms in the house.

Flowers

Our ancestors attached great importance surrounding flora: flowers, trees, herbs were healers, water providers, and amulets. For example, so that at the entrance to the house they plant juniper, fern and calendula. It is very useful to grow in an apartment agave, various geraniums, delicate violets.

Home construction

Beginning construction of any building, and especially at home for your own family, pay attention to. For the successful completion of work, the result of which will be a strong and well-ordered house, the beginning of this important task must be timed to coincide with growing moon.

Slavs, before laying the foundation, a tree was planted in the yard. Well, now the owner-developer, depending on what breed of this symbol of life he prefers, then “spells up” for the future.

If you plant oak, You can attract strength and luck to your home.
Cedar will bring longevity
Nut health
Pine promotes recovery and helps with money
Cherry and maple will be endowed with material wealth, devotion and fidelity

House windows

Windows are a kind of peculiar connection with the surrounding nature. The personification of life, warmth, summer in Slavic traditions is east and south. Therefore, our ancestors sought to build their houses in such a way that The windows of the rooms faced southeast. And the kitchen, pantries and other rooms, as well as the entrance to the house, were with north or west side.

Unnecessary things

Not in vain
the house has always been considered a family nest, protection from evil and bad weather.“Houses and walls heal” is an indisputable truth. Our Slavic ancestors made their lives safe and meaningful with the help of images and spiritual ideas.

According to them, each an item in the house serves a specific purpose. Unnecessary, meaningless items in the house create chaos and disorder. These are the ones that need to be systematically gotten rid of, and it is best, according to custom, to do this before Christmas and.

Conclusion

Appeal to folk Slavic traditions, connection with the origins will help us make the “home universe” a full cup and add harmony, good luck and goodness to life. How is this Slavic feng shui it will succeed, it depends only on good thoughts, hard work and desires of the owners of the house themselves.

Home for each of us is a place where we want to come. At home, a person rests his soul and body. His family and loved ones are waiting for him there. There he eats food and raises children. And it is not surprising that the ancient Slavs paid great attention to the competent construction of their housing. The man has always been in the form of a house-builder, and the woman has always been the keeper of the hearth, home comfort. We receive basic information about the buildings in which our ancestors lived from written sources, as well as from archaeologists.

As soon as the Slavs appeared and began their settlement across the vast expanses of Europe and modern Russia, they lived near rivers. Agree that a source of water nearby was a great necessity in the household. Of course, the first dwelling of the Slavs was very primitive. Not much information has been preserved about him. Some sources describe that the entire community (while the communal system still existed) lived in a very long building along the shore of the reservoir.

Dwellings Eastern Slavs were built of wood. Of course, no other materials existed at that time. But the Slavs did not use all types of trees for construction. After all, some were considered dangerous and bringing troubles and misfortunes. The optimal species for buildings were conifers (spruce, pine). They both protected the house from excessive moisture and were useful. In no case did our ancestors use aspen. She was considered an unclean tree.

To others an important condition was how old the tree was and where it was cut down. Firstly, it was forbidden to cut down trees from the cemetery. Secondly, it was impossible to take a tree that was too young or too old. Thirdly, it was impossible to use a tree trunk that had a hollow, growths or unusual shape. Since cutting down trees among the Slavs was akin to killing a person, they necessarily made sacrifices to nature.

After the tree was cut down and delivered to the future construction site, it had to be processed. To begin with, they peeled off the bark and chopped off the branches. So the tree was left for a while so that the tree spirits would leave it. The main tool for construction would be an axe. Although the Germanic tribes already had saws at that time, they caused the wood to deteriorate faster and cracks appeared on it.

There were certain rules when building a home. For example, it could not be erected in the following places:

Where there once was a bathhouse.
Where the road once ran.
Where were the remains of the victims found?
Where there was someone's confrontation with blows with cutting objects.
Where once a cart overturned.
Where there used to be a house that was struck by lightning.

All these places were considered energetically negative and even life-threatening for the future owners of the new home. Where then should you build your house? In places where cattle rest. For example, in Ukraine they specially released cattle and looked at where they would lie down to rest. In addition, the choice of construction site could be determined using fortune telling.

We also paid attention to the start time of construction. In some areas, this most important mission was performed by fortune tellers. They gave a specific start date. In Siberia, for example, the beginning of spring and the new moon were considered a good time. There was also a belief that the construction process must necessarily fall on Trinity.

According to archeology, the Slavs lived in dugouts until the ninth century. That is, these are dwellings that were completely in the ground. And a little later they began to “get out” to the light, building real ordinary huts. Historians say that the dwellings of the Slavs could easily be distinguished from those of other tribes. This applies to both the building itself and the interior decoration of the house.

What did the dwellings of the Slavs look like? They differed from each other in different time periods. Let's briefly look at the main varieties.

Dugouts and half-dugouts

The first dwellings of the ancient Slavs were dugouts. How was it made?

Dug up big hole about one and a half meters deep.
They surrounded the walls of the dwelling with logs.
Clay was placed at the bottom of the pit to form a floor.
They made the roof.
They furnished the dugout from the inside with existing household items.

When the Eastern Slavs formed their first state - Kievan Rus, then the main type of dwelling was the half-dugout. In order to build it, they dug a huge square hole. Its depth should be about a meter. The walls of the pit were surrounded by a frame (boards), which rose another meter above the ground. Thus, a dwelling was obtained that was half in the ground and half above it. The entrance to it was from the south. Be sure to make a ladder to make it convenient to go down.

As for the roof, it had two slopes (like today in wooden village houses). It was also made from wooden planks which were covered with straw and earth. The log house “sticking out” from the ground was covered with earth to retain heat in the home and protect it from the “red rooster.”

After building the main frame, we began to build the stove. It was built in a corner that was as far away from the entrance as possible. The material for the furnace was clay or stone, depending on their availability. They were most often rectangular or square in shape, with a hole for storing firewood. And when the oven was ready, they placed a table and benches along the walls.

The southern Slavs had interesting semi-dugouts. For the first time, the so-called canopy appears. This small space allowed to keep heat in the home. But semi-huts were quickly replaced by completely above-ground huts (from the tenth to eleventh centuries).

Why did this happen so quickly? There are a number of important reasons for this:

The dimensions of the dugouts and semi-dugouts were very small, which meant that it was cramped for an entire family to live there.
There were no windows in these types of dwellings. That is, it did not penetrate sunlight, nor air.
It was often very humid in the “house” (after all, underground - groundwater). The situation got worse when it rained.

Huts

For the first time, huts appeared in the northern regions.

This can easily be explained by the fact that the ground there was either too cold and damp, or swampy. In the huts they initially made only one large room. A canopy was usually built in front of the entrance. The window problem has been resolved. But there was only one window, and it was very small. Its main function was not the entry of light, but the ventilation of the home. The stove was built in the same way as in a half-dugout. If the owner built a pipe in the hut for the smoke to escape, then it was called white. Otherwise - black. In the huts, the so-called red corner reaches its heyday. It was opposite where the stove stood.

The entire hut was made of logs, forming a kind of crown. It could have a basement - this is the lower floor, such as an underground or cellar. The roof was usually covered with straw or clay. Over time, the Slavic hut improved. If at first windows were simply cut into a log wall, then later they began to make them full-fledged, with frames. And they always carved out various ornaments and patterns on the facade of the house, which, according to the ancient Slavs, protected their home from evil forces and the evil eye. Progress was also expressed in the creation of a room in the hut, that is, there were essentially two rooms. And in the north, they generally built two full-fledged huts connected together.

Of course, the appearance of the hut was an important step in housing issues. They were spacious and warm. In addition, the hut retained optimal humidity. All these conditions significantly improved the quality of life of people, especially if there were small children in the family.

The structure of the dwelling of the ancient Slavs

The hut for the Slavs was a micro-Universe. Its angles corresponded to the cardinal points, the roof to the sky, and the floor to the earth.

It was important to plan your home in such a way as to protect yourself as much as possible from evil and bring good luck and prosperity into your home. As we remember, the doors were located on the south side. After all, the Slavs associated the south with the sun, warmth, and the triumph of life. And when windows appeared, they were also facing south or east. The furnace was always built in the northern part. In general, the stove played an important role in the life of the Slavs. Firstly, it was a source of heat. Secondly, food was prepared in it. Even today, some national restaurants are trying to revive the tradition of cooking in a Russian oven. The fact is that the cooking in it turns out simply delicious. Thirdly, the stove was used as a sleeping place.

And of course, interior decoration the house was also decorated with signs and symbols that were protective and protective. This applied to walls, furniture, and household utensils. If the outside of the house was decorated from external threats (robbers, fire, envy of passers-by), then from the inside - from possible ill-wishers.

Since ancient times, the Slavs had their own system of ideas about the structure of the house. Unfortunately, it has been forgotten by almost everyone and has survived to this day only in the form of isolated signs and superstitions. We know that we cannot, for example, sit on the corner of the table, hand a knife and fork to a neighbor with a sharp end, say goodbye across the threshold, and so on. True, we don’t know why such prohibitions exist. And this is a small piece of the ancient science of spiritual development and the interconnection of all phenomena and objects.

At all times, the house was considered a nest, protection from bad weather and evil. No wonder the proverb was born: “Houses and walls help.” Our ancestors brought the endless world of space closer to themselves with the help of images, building their lives in accordance with natural rhythms.

Here are a few rules that guided our ancestors when building a house (a house - both literally and figuratively). Construction of the house began on the waxing moon, that is, after the new moon. Simultaneously with laying the foundation, a tree was necessarily planted in the middle of the future yard.

Since time immemorial, a sign has remained: to ensure happiness and wealth, scraps of wool, grain or money were placed under the corners of the first logs. Before laying the ceiling, an inverted bear fur coat and a loaf of bread, a pie or a pot of porridge were tied to the base, and a green branch was placed in the front corner - it ensured the health of the family.

The threshold occupied a special place in the houses of our ancestors. They made him tall and strong. In pagan times, the ashes of ancestors were buried under the threshold after burning. With the adoption of Christianity this custom disappeared. But they did not stop attaching special importance to the threshold - over time it began to be considered as the habitat of ancestral spirits. The tradition has still been preserved - not to talk on the threshold, although few people know what exactly this custom is connected with. And it is connected precisely with beliefs in spirits who can eavesdrop on a person’s plans and interfere with him. It is customary to hang or draw a horseshoe above the threshold of the front door - a symbol of happiness or a Christian cross as protection from bad, negative energy.

The hallway should be spacious and bright, because this is the first room in which you meet guests and into which you enter when returning home. Through the hallway there is an exchange of energies between the house itself and the outside world.

Windows also connect us with the world around us - they need to be oriented towards sunny side. East and south symbolize life and warmth. Therefore, it is better that the windows of rooms and bedrooms face south and east, and Entrance door, kitchen, bathroom and toilet - to the west and north.

The central place in any Russian (and in general, in the Slavic) family was occupied by the stove. Subsequently, her role moved to the kitchen. It so happens that life is always in full swing here: the family gathers for lunches and dinners, talks with a neighbor who has dropped by, raises children, has intimate conversations with friends, some over a glass of beer, some over a cup of tea. Here, according to ancient beliefs, a guardian spirit lives - the brownie. Therefore, the kitchen should be beautiful and clean. In the kitchen, as in the most inhabited place of the house, you can hang amulets: decorative keys - a symbol of dowry, wealth, spoons, symbolizing a satisfying life; hatchets - a sign of the pagan Perun - the patron of the harvest; whistles, bells, brooms, shovels - all this is protection from various troubles. Well, if you need children's amulets, then these are corn cobs and dried sunflower caps.

According to Slavic customs, a table connects two spaces in the house - living and working, and on its main side - under the icons - the owner-breadwinner is seated. A samovar used to be placed on the table, covered with a beautiful hot-water bottle doll, sewn by the hands of the mistress of the house, the eldest woman in the family. By the way, the Slavs had a doll deep meaning- she protected and looked like an idol. Bereginya (a magnificent doll) was also placed above the porch, as well as on the windows. In the old days they believed that the doll protected children's sleep. She was dressed up, but the doll's face was never drawn. According to popular beliefs, a doll with a face acquired a soul and could cause harm. Many dolls were filled with grain - a symbol of prosperity and health. A house without toys was considered soulless and empty.

The most popular “amulets” and home decorations in Slavic-Russian culture were elegant linen towels. They were used to decorate images, kitchens and even bedrooms. A towel is a symbol of human life, a line of fate.

But the mirror symbolizes monetary well-being. It should be hung next to the table in the living room or kitchen - it will attract wealth into the house.

Recently, it has become very fashionable to decorate bedrooms with mirrors. However, under no circumstances should you hang a mirror near your bed: a mirror hanging near your bed can destroy your life and take away your strength and energy. You should also not hang shelves, cabinets or paintings with negative images or scenes above the bed. However, if you remember the popular wisdom “even an unloaded gun fires once every hundred years,” then you shouldn’t hang cabinets and paintings, even with the most positive images, over your bed: no matter the hour, they will break off and fall on your head.

But innocent home flowers in pots - geranium, aloe, delicate violets - will be very useful somewhere closer to the bed. Our ancestors generally gave great importance plants that were treated and fed and watered. They were used as amulets. For example, ferns, lilies, marigolds, and junipers were grown at the entrance to protect the house from evil spirits and the evil eye.