History
A mention of the ''banya'' is found in the '' Radziwiłł Chronicle'' in the story of Princess Olga's revenge for the murder of her husband, Prince Igor, by the Slavic tribe ofCultural significance in Russian culture
Since ancient times, the ''banya'' has been considered an important bonding place in Russian culture. Throughout Russian history, the ''banya'' was used by all social classes within Russian society, including villagers and nobles. Communal baths were very common in villages and towns. It is also currently used as a place where Russian businesspeople and politicians meet.Construction
''Banya'' buildings can be quite large with a number of different bathing areas or simple wooden cabins like the traditional Finnish cottage saunas. Russian ''banyas'' usually have three rooms: a steam room, a washing room and an entrance room. The entrance room, called a ''predbannik'' (предбанник) or pre-bath, has pegs to hang clothing upon and benches to rest on. The washing room has a hot water tap, which uses water heated by the steam room stove and a vessel or tap for cold water to mix water of a comfortable temperature for washing. The heater has three compartments: a fire box that is fed from the entrance room, the rock chamber, which has a small hole to throw the water into and a water tank at the top. The top of the water tank is usually closed to prevent vapour from infiltrating the ''banya''. Water from a bucket by the stove is poured over the heated rocks in the stove. There are wooden benches across the room. People enter the steam room when the stove is hot, but before water is poured on the rocks. Getting a good sweat is thought to protect and condition the skin from the steam.Black ''banyas'' and white ''banyas''
In a "black ''banya''" (or, more precisely, "black-way", по-чёрному, ''po-chyornomu''), the smoke escapes through a hole in the ceiling, while in "white ''banyas''" ("white-way", по-белому, ''po-belomu'') there are exhaust pipes to vent the smoke. In the former, the escaping smoke darkens the ''banya''s interior wood. Both styles are characterized by boulder stones, clay balls and large cauldrons for the hot water as well as stone stoves with a tank to heat the water. The firewood is usually birch. A black ''banya'' is more rudimentary than a white ''banya''.''Pokhodnaya'' or hiking ''banyas''
The ''pokhodnaya'' ''banya'' (походная баня) or "hiking ''banya''", is popular among the Russian military, mountaineers and people who travel for extended periods in harsh environments. It consists of a stone oven set up in a small makeshift tent. Hiking ''banyas'' are usually made near a lakeshore or riverbank where many big, round stones are available to build the ''banya''s oven and there is plenty of cool water available for bathing. Large stones are made into a dome-shaped circular oven, one to four meters in diameter and a half to one meter in height so that there is space left on the inside to make a large fire. Firewood is burned for several hours in this improvised stove until the stones on the surface of the pile become so hot that water poured on them turns into steam. Around the pile, a space is tarped to form a small tent and the ''banya'' is ready when it becomes very hot inside and there is a lot of steam. Fresh '' veniks'' (see "Bathing ritual" below) can be cut from nearby birch or oak trees and bathers can take turns cooling off in the ice-cold mountain water.Bathing ritual
''Banya'' temperatures often will exceed , and felt or wool hats are typically worn to protect the head from this intense heat and hair from heating to a point that might cause burns on contact. It is common to sit on a small mat brought into the ''banya'' to protect bare skin from the hot wood and nails of the interior benches, and for hygienic reasons. In Russia, special felt hats are commonly sold in sets with felt mitts, along with extracts for inclusion into the steam water. Use of homemade herb extracts and beer is common. Dried wormwood may be hung over walls as well. Bunches of dried branches and leaves from white birch, oak or''Banyas'' and Eastern Slavic mythology
InComparison with thermal bathing in other cultures
Ancient Roman thermae
Ancient Romans had a cult of bathhouse. Greeting each other they said: "How is your sweating?" In the bathhouse they not only washed themselves, but socialized, painted, read poetry, sang, and feasted. Their bathhouses had special rooms for massage, gyms, and libraries. Wealthy citizens went to the bathhouse twice a day. Both private and public baths were distinguished by exceptional luxury – swimming pools were made of precious marble, silver and gold were used to decorate sinks. By the first century BC there were around 150 thermae in Rome. Steam rooms were heated in the same way as Russian ''banya''s and Finnish saunas: the oven was placed in the corner, stones were laid on a bronze frame over red-hot charcoal. Rooms with wet and dry steam were also available. Hot air came through a pipe under the floor. The structure of thermae was complex: there were 5 rooms: a room for undressing and resting after bathing, a swimming pool for the first bathing, a room for washing with warm and hot water, and finally a room for dry steam and wet bath.saunahistory.com, "The Russian Banya – Its Relatives"Finnish sauna
The Russian ''banya'' is the closest relative of the Finnish sauna. In modern Russian, a sauna is often called a "Finnish ''banya''", though possibly only to distinguish it from other ethnic high-temperature bathing facilities such as Turkish baths referred to as "Turkish ''banya''". Sauna, with its ancient history amongst Nordic and Uralic peoples, is a source of national pride for Finns.Swedish Bastu
The Swedish Bastu is derived from the words Bad (bath) and stuga (cabin). Bastu began to be popular in cities in the Middle Ages. Due to many bastu in the cities, they were banned for a few years. Swedes enjoyed bathing around Christmasit was popular during the 16th century and 17th centuries. Swedish sauna buildings used to dry meat and grains were used to bathe in. It is common to see bastu in sports venues, gyms, swimming pools and arenas. In public bastu, for example in swimming pools, the bastu are separated for each gender but in private they can be mixed.Turkish hammam
The ''hammam'' (Turkish saunas / baths) are often as glamorous as Roman baths. A visitor who enters the bathhouse finds himself in a spacious hall, where he leaves his clothes and then proceeds down the stairs and through a long narrow corridor to the soap room. In this room he sees several niches for bathing and three narrow doors leading to steam bath, to a cooler room, and to the hall for resting. This is the order of the bathing procedure. Only after having completed it, one goes to a masseur. The source of steam is a gigantic tub of water inside the wall. The steam goes through a hole in the wall. Moreover, the entire bath is heated by hot air, coming through a special pipe located under a marble floor. The bather lies on the hot stone and sweats. When sweating is plentiful, massage starts.Sweat lodges in the Americas
In North America, the use of sweat lodges by Native Americans is similar in concept to the smoke saunas of Finland or the black ''banya'' and was recorded as early as 1643. There is evidence of the use of sweat lodges in Mesoamerica before the European arrival, such as the Temazcal which is still used in some regions of Mexico and Central America.See also
*References
External links
{{Nudity Bathing Russian culture Russian inventions Sauna