Why in Russia they were wary of whistling and why there was a penny behind the cheek

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Remember how adults were angry with you, still a child, if you whistled in the house? "Come on, stop it, don't whistle - there will be no money!" Perhaps everyone has heard this phrase. Why can't you whistle in the house? What can happen to its inhabitants in this case? Read in the material why in Russia they were wary of whistling, how it could bring trouble and deprive money, and what does evil spirits and, in particular, Brownie have to do with it, and how an old penny coin is connected with a whistle.

The wind that can bring trouble, as well as evil spirits whistling at people

Some Slavic peoples were afraid of whistling, as it was associated with bad events, with evil spirits, even with death. The overhang and the wind, according to the Slavs, were also inextricably linked.

For example, the Poles feared that the whistle would turn the wind into a storm. It was also said that the whistle of the wind is heard when a person has committed suicide. In Ukraine, there was an epic about a strong wind, followed by someone whistling. The result was a storm and the entire crop was destroyed.

Perhaps that is why, while sowing a field in some regions of Russia, the peasants not only did not whistle, they had to be silent, so as not to whistle accidentally and attract trouble.

The people believed that whistling is characteristic of evil spirits, witchcraft. There were even sayings about it, for example, "You whistle - you call the devil." If you whistle in the forest at night, you could "whistle" until the devil appeared or prevent the devil from sleeping. It was also impossible to whistle in the stable, because the disturbed Sennik in revenge sent pestilence to the horses. When lightning flashed in the sky, the whistle could "attract" evil spirits, which would throw lightning at a person.

In general, Russian folklore considers whistling as a strange sound made by evil spirits. There is no desire to disturb the evil spirits - no need to whistle. Then the kikimora will not stomp and rattle, the goblin will scare travelers, the lunar (inhabitant of the hayloft) will snore, howl and gasp.

Don't wake up the brownie with a whistle, and how to get him back if he escaped

In Russia, it was not allowed to whistle in a hut. This, according to the peasants, attracted evil spirits and angered the Brownie. The latter could take cruel revenge, for example, send illness to people, kill livestock, or even leave home altogether. How to live without him? Ethnographers note that the peasants used to say: "There is one longing without a brownie."

There were ways to bring the brownie back. For example, in Siberia there was a special love spell. It was necessary to put a small well made of a torch on the table, put a container of clean water in it and read the plot. They waited for three days, after which the "well" should have been disassembled and the splinter sent to the oven. The water that remained had to be drunk, thereby showing respect to the Domovoi. There was only one chance. The brownie could return, but if people forgot the rule and whistled again in the hut, then the capricious spirit left the house forever, leaving the peasants without their protection.

Whistle connection with the other world

Our ancestors perceived whistling as a way of addressing the other world and associated it with painful death. This sound was called a sign that somewhere nearby the soul of a suicide or a baby who did not have time to be baptized was hovering. For example, in the Vyatka province there was a tradition during memorial days to spend "whistlers" in cemeteries, to dance and whistle. And the soul of the murdered could be scared away using a special toy-whistle.

But in Serbia, with the help of a whistle, they called a bird-svirats (the name in Serbian means "to whistle"). They said that the souls of unbaptized babies live in this bird. The bird stayed awake at night, flew and woke people up with a whistle. But that is not all. She cruelly used people and livestock - feasted on their blood. The consequences were not pleasing: children were sick, livestock fell, pregnant women suffered from miscarriages. It was impossible to imitate the voice of a bird, it could end very sadly.

The attitude of the church to whistling was definite: it is paganism and sin. The demonic nature of the whistle caused a ban on this action. It was impossible for a believer to imitate the devil (namely, he was distinguished by the ability to make whistling sounds). About those who loved to whistle, they said that they "whistled like hell."

And one more reason why the whistle was not liked: the church called it "fun for idlers." A person who works hard has no time for such entertainment. In ancient times, parasites were called "fistulas", women of easy virtue - "whistles", and revelers - "whistles". The people associated whistling with poverty, dissolute life. If you open Dahl's dictionary, you can read that the person who squandered the whole state "whistled." And if someone lost everything because of an addiction to alcohol or a riotous life, they said: "There is only one money, but that whistle too."

How in Russia they held a penny by the cheek and what does the whistle have to do with it

In the works of the linguist Alpatov, one can find an entertaining story about the emergence of an old omen that a person has no money due to a whistle. When in the 16th century people went to the bazaar, they often took with them only a few kopecks, which are silver scales with the image of a horseman. In his hands he held a spear. Some scholars believe that this is why such coins are called “kopeck”.

These coins were very light and easy to lose. Even a pocket was not suitable for preserving wealth - it could be torn, twisted, and so on. In order not to lose money, people kept a penny in their mouths, pressing their tongues to the sky. All is well, but up to the point when the man whistled. When making such a sound, money easily flew out of the mouth. In this case, they said about confusion: “Well, you’re a bit of a fool! Don't whistle, otherwise you won't have money! Today, no one carries a penny or even rubles in their mouths, but the saying still exists.

It was not so simple with the Russian bath. It was used not only for its intended purpose, but, for example, for fortune telling, wires of the deceased and other things.