Chut, or Khut, ( be, Хут) is one of the

household spirit A household deity is a deity or spirit that protects the home, looking after the entire household or certain key members. It has been a common belief in paganism as well as in folklore across many parts of the world. Household deities fit into ...

s in

Belarusian mythology Slavic mythology or Slavic religion is the religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and the 13th century. The South Slavs, who likely settled in the Balk ...

. He brings

money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as ...

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

and success to the hosts of the house, but, not being fed, Chut could perform a cruel revenge to them.

Description

Belarusian language Belarusian ( be, беларуская мова, biełaruskaja mova, link=no, ) is an East Slavic language. It is the native language of many Belarusians and one of the two official state languages in Belarus. Additionally, it is spoken in some p ...

Chut has masculine

grammatical gender In linguistics, grammatical gender system is a specific form of noun class system, where nouns are assigned with gender categories that are often not related to their real-world qualities. In languages with grammatical gender, most or all nouns ...

– that's why in most cases Chut is described as a male. Chut is the

polymorphous Polymorphism, polymorphic, polymorph, polymorphous, or polymorphy may refer to: Computing * Polymorphism (computer science), the ability in programming to present the same programming interface for differing underlying forms * Ad hoc polymorphis ...

spirit: he could look like little

boy A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is described as a man. Definition, etymology, and use According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy is "a ...

dwarf Dwarf or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore * Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...

; he is also able to take the form of inanimate objects — gnarled piece of wood, old

wheel A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle Bearing (mechanical), bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the Simple machine, six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction wi ...

, dry

stump Stump may refer to: * Stump (band), a band from Cork, Ireland and London, England * Stump (cricket), one of three small wooden posts which the fielding team attempt to hit with the ball *Stump (dog): Clussexx Three D Grinchy Glee (born 1998), 200 ...

and so on. Chut appears in the houses, where perverted daughter of host killed her illegitimate child or tried to raise him or she without

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

Belarusians , native_name_lang = be , pop = 9.5–10 million , image = , caption = , popplace = 7.99 million , region1 = , pop1 = 600,000–768,000 , region2 = , pop2 ...

believe, that the soul of this child transforms into Chut. Chut saves the childish features of character forever: he is foolish, playful, joking and emotionally labile. This spirit likes to make fun of the guests: to hide somebody's

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

, to spill the

beans A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...

and

peas The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

(and then gather them again at night). If Chut lives in the house, the host must feed him with

ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...

(and, at the same time, children's) food:

fried eggs A fried egg, also known as sunny-side up is a cooked dish made from one or more eggs which are removed from their shells and placed into a frying pan and fried. They are traditionally eaten for breakfast in many countries but may also be serv ...

with ( be, абаранкі). Belarusians usually eat such kind of food on

weddings A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marria ...

, baptism,

Kupala Night Kupala Night ( be, Купалле, pl, Noc Kupały, russian: Иван-Купала, uk, Івана Купала, Купайла), also called Ivanа Kupala, is a traditional Slavic holiday that was originally celebrated on the shortest night of ...

, Trinity Holiday and young women rituals. The host uses special words to invite Chut to take the meal: "Chut, Chut, come here! I'll give You fried eggs and abaranki!" ( be, Хут, Хут, ідзі сюды, дам яечаньку, абараначку!).Беларуская міфалогія: Энцыклапедычны слоўнік / С. Санько � інш. склад. І. Клімковіч. – 2-ое выданне, дапоўненае. – Мінск: Беларусь, 2006. – 500 с.: іл.

References

Slavic mythology {{mythology-stub Slavic household deities

Description

See also

References