Rusalka (opera), Rusalka
In Slavic folklore, the rusalka (plural: rusalki; , plural: русалки; , plural: ''rusałki'') is a female entity, often malicious toward mankind and frequently associated with water. It has counterparts in other parts of Europe, such as the French Melusine and the Germanic Nixie. Folklorists have proposed a variety of origins for the entity, including that they may originally stem from Slavic paganism, where they may have been seen as benevolent spirits. Rusalki appear in a variety of media in modern popular culture, particularly in Slavic language-speaking countries, where they frequently resemble the concept of the mermaid. In northern Russia, the rusalka was also known by various names such as the vodyanitsa (or vodyanikha/vodyantikha; ; lit. "she from the water" or "the water maiden"), kupalka (; "bather"), shutovka (; "joker", "jester" or "prankster") and loskotukha (or shchekotukha, shchekotunya; ; "tickler" or "she who tickles"). In Ukraine, the rusalka was called ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Iwan Nikolajewitsch Kramskoj 002
An iwan (, , also as ''ivan'' or ''ivān''/''īvān'', , ) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called , a Persian term for a portal projecting from the facade of a building, usually decorated with calligraphy bands, glazed tilework, and geometric designs. Since the definition allows for some interpretation, the overall forms and characteristics can vary greatly in terms of scale, material, or decoration. Iwans are most commonly associated with Islamic architecture; however, the form is pre-Islamic Iranian in origin and was invented much earlier and fully developed in Mesopotamia around the third century CE, during the Parthian period. Etymology ''Iwan'' is a Persian word that was subsequently borrowed into other languages such as Arabic and Turkish. The New Persian form is ''eyvān'' and its etymology is unclear. A theory by scholars like Ernst Herzfeld and Walter Bruno Hen ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Encyclopedia Of Ukraine
The ''Encyclopedia of Ukraine'' (), published from 1984 to 2001, is a fundamental work of Ukrainian Studies. Development The work was created under the auspices of the Shevchenko Scientific Society in Europe (Sarcelles, near Paris). As the ''Encyclopedia of Ukrainian Studies'' it conditionally consists of two parts, the first being a general part that consists of a three volume reference work divided in to subjects or themes. The second part is a 10 volume encyclopedia with entries arranged alphabetically. The editor-in-chief of Volumes I and II (published in 1984 and 1988 respectively) was Volodymyr Kubijovyč. The concluding three volumes, with Danylo Husar Struk as editor-in-chief, appeared in 1993. The encyclopedia set came with a 30-page ''Map & Gazetteer of Ukraine'' compiled by Kubijovyč and Arkadii Zhukovsky. It contained a detailed fold-out map (scale 1:2,000,000). A final volume, ''Encyclopedia of Ukraine: Index and Errata'', containing only the index and a list ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Summer
Summer or summertime is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice. The earliest sunrises and latest sunsets also occur near the date of the solstice. The date of the beginning of summer varies according to definition, climate, tradition, and culture. When it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it is winter in the Southern Hemisphere, and vice versa. Etymology The modern English ''summer'' derives from the Middle English ''somer'', via the Old English ''sumor''. Timing From an astronomical view, the equinoxes and solstices would be the middle of the respective seasons, but sometimes astronomical summer is defined as starting at the solstice, the time of maximal insolation, often identified with 21 June or 21 December. By solar reckonin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Circle Dance
Circle dance, or chain dance, is a style of social dance done in a circle, semicircle or a curved line to musical accompaniment, such as rhythm instruments and singing, and is a type of dance where anyone can join in without the need of Partner dance, partners. Unlike line dancing, circle dancers are in physical contact with each other; the connection (dance), connection is made by handhold (dance), hand-to-hand, finger-to-finger or hands-on-shoulders, where they follow the leader around the dance floor. Ranging from gentle to energetic, the dance can be an uplifting group experience or part of a meditation. Being probably the oldest known dance formation, circle dancing is an ancient traditional dance, tradition common to many cultures for marking Ceremony, special occasions, rituals, strengthening community and encouraging Solidarity, togetherness. Circle dances are choreographed to many different music genres, styles of music and rhythms. Modern circle dance mixes traditiona ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rusalka Bilibin
In Slavic folklore, the rusalka (plural: rusalki; , plural: русалки; , plural: ''rusałki'') is a female entity, often malicious toward mankind and frequently associated with water. It has counterparts in other parts of Europe, such as the French Melusine and the Germanic Nixie (water spirit), Nixie. Folklorists have proposed a variety of origins for the entity, including that they may originally stem from Slavic paganism, where they may have been seen as benevolent spirits. Rusalki appear in a variety of media in modern popular culture, particularly in Slavic language-speaking countries, where they frequently resemble the concept of the mermaid. In northern Russia, the rusalka was also known by various names such as the Vodyanoy#Vodyanitsa, vodyanitsa (or vodyanikha/vodyantikha; ; Literal meaning, lit. "she from the water" or "the water maiden"), kupalka (; "bather"), shutovka (; "joker", "jester" or "prankster") and loskotukha (or shchekotukha, shchekotunya; ; "tickler" ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Explanatory Dictionary Of The Living Great Russian Language
The ''Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language'' (), commonly known as ''Dal's Explanatory Dictionary'' (), is a major explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. It contains about 220,000 words and 30,000 proverbs (3rd edition). It was collected, edited and published by academician Vladimir Ivanovich Dal (; 1801–1872), one of the most prominent Russian language lexicographers and folklore collectors of the 19th century. ''Dal's Explanatory Dictionary'' of the Great Russian language was the only substantial dictionary printed repeatedly (1935, 1955) in the Soviet Union in compliance with the old rules of spelling and alphabet, which were repealed in 1918. History and features The author shows his specific understanding of the Russian language on the cover, using the old spelling ''Толковый словарь живаго великорускаго языка'' (with single "s" in "Russian"). However, this is a unique ''spelling'' deviation from t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Undead
The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if they were alive. A common example of an undead being is a cadaver, corpse reanimated by supernatural forces, by the application of either the deceased's own Energy (esotericism), life force or that of a supernatural being (such as a demon, or other evil spirit). The undead may be Incorporeality, incorporeal (ghosts) or Human body, corporeal (mummy (undead), mummies, vampires, skeleton (undead), skeletons, and zombies). The undead are featured in the belief systems of most cultures, and appear in many works of fantasy fiction, fantasy and horror fiction. The term is also occasionally used for real-life attempts to Resurrection#Technological resurrection, resurrect the dead with science and technology, from early experiments like Robert E. Cornish's to future sciences such as "chemical brain preservation" and "cryonics." While the term usually refers to corporeal entities, in some cases (for ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Soul
The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that describe the relationship between the soul and the body are Interactionism (philosophy of mind), interactionism, Psychophysical parallelism, parallelism, and epiphenomenalism. Anthropology, Anthropologists and Psychology, psychologists have found that most humans are naturally inclined to believe in the existence of the soul and that they have interculturally distinguished between souls and bodies. The soul has been the central area of interest in philosophy since Ancient history, ancient times. Socrates envisioned the soul to possess a rational faculty, its practice being man's most godlike activity. Plato believed the soul to be the person's real self, an immaterial and immortal dweller of our lives that continues and thinks even after d ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dmitry Zelenin (ethnographer)
Dmitry Konstantinovich Zelenin (; November 2, 1878 – August 31, 1954) was a Russian and Soviet linguist and ethnographer. He was born in an Udmurt village near Sarapul, where his father was a parish clerk. He attended the Vyatka seminary and the Dorpat University. As of 1915, he read lectures on Slavic dialects at the Petrograd University. He argued that the East Slavs comprise four distinct branches (North Russians, South Russians, Little Russians and White Russians) and outlined some subtle differences between East Slavic dialects. In the early 20th century, Zelenin collected fairy tales and chastushkas in his native region and the Northern Urals. This collection of folk tales was extensively used by his disciple Vladimir Propp. He was also the first to explore the concept of " unclean dead" in the Slavic folklore. In 1927, Max Vasmer published Zelenin's magnum opus, ''Russische (Ostslavische) Volkskunde''. It was "the most comprehensive survey of research works and data ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Unclean Spirit
In English translations of the Bible, unclean spirit is a common rendering of Greek ''pneuma akatharton'' (πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον; plural ''pneumata akatharta'' (πνεύματα ἀκάθαρτα)), which in its single occurrence in the Septuagint translates Hebrew ' (). The Greek term appears 21 times in the New Testament in the context of demonic possession. It is also translated into English as spirit of impurity or more loosely as "evil spirit." The Latin equivalent is ''spiritus immundus''. The association of physical and spiritual cleanliness is, if not universal, widespread and continues into the 21st century: "To be virtuous is to be physically clean and free from the impurity that is sin," notes an article in ''Scientific American'' published 10 March 2009. Some scholarship seeks to differentiate between "unclean spirit" and "evil spirit" ('' pneuma ponêron'') or "demon" ('' daimonion''). The concept of ''pneuma'' In the Christian scriptures, the word ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pagan
Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the Roman Empire, individuals fell into the pagan class either because they were increasingly rural and provincial relative to the Christian population, or because they were not '' milites Christi'' (soldiers of Christ).J. J. O'Donnell (1977)''Paganus'': Evolution and Use, ''Classical Folia'', 31: 163–69. Alternative terms used in Christian texts were '' hellene'', '' gentile'', and '' heathen''. Ritual sacrifice was an integral part of ancient Greco-Roman religion and was regarded as an indication of whether a person was pagan or Christian. Paganism has broadly connoted the "religion of the peasantry". During and after the Middle Ages, the term ''paganism'' was applied to any non-Christian religion, and the term presumed a belief in f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vladimir Propp
Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp (; – 22 August 1970) was a Soviet folklorist and scholar who analysed the basic structural elements of Russian folk tales to identify their simplest irreducible structural units. Biography Vladimir Propp was born on 29 April 1895 in Saint Petersburg to an assimilated Russian family of German descent. His parents, Yakov Philippovich Propp and Anna-Elizaveta Fridrikhovna Propp (née Beisel), were Volga German wealthy peasants from Saratov Governorate. He attended Saint Petersburg University (1913–1918), majoring in Russian and German philology.Propp, Vladimir. "Introduction." ''Theory and History of Folklore.'' Ed. Anatoly Liberman. University of Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press, 1984. pg ix Upon graduation he taught Russian and German at a secondary school and then became a college teacher of German. His ''Morphology of the Folktale'' was published in Russian in 1928. Although it represented a breakthrough in both folkloristics ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |