Russia's House Spirit: Moving House Requires Inviting It to Come Along

Elders in rural Russia, in the past, all believed in one thing: a "Domovoi", or house spirit, lived in their home.

He was a little old man; some say he had a face full of white beard and hair all over his body, while others say he looked exactly like the grandfather of the family. He usually hid behind the stove, under the threshold, or in the cellar, coming out at night to help with chores, look after the livestock, braid the horses' manes, and sometimes play tricks on people—for example, touching your face in the middle of the night, hiding your things, and then putting them in inexplicable places.

There were rules to how he touched you: if his hand was soft and warm, it was a good sign; if it was cold and furry, something bad was about to happen.

If the house was dirty, if there were too many quarrels, or if people cursed too vilely, he would throw a tantrum, smash things, and someone in the house would have bad luck.

So in the past, when people moved house, they would first speak to the old stove and ask him to come along: "Grandpa, come with us." Then they would take some stove ash from the old stove, or bring an old shoe, put it in a pot, and once at the new home, place it back in the stove, along with some bread, salt, and milk, to invite him to "move in." There was also a custom: when moving into a new home, let the cat enter first, because cats can see him.

It is said that some places still do this today—not necessarily out of belief, but out of habit. In 1984, the Soviet Union made an animated film called "Kuzka the House Spirit," about a little house spirit who was brought to a new apartment by a little girl from the city. To this day, when Russians mention the house spirit, the first one they think of is still him.

#Ghosts #网络转载 #世界民俗