Buyan
In theDove Bookand other medieval Russian books,Buyan(Russian:Буя́н,sometimes transliterated asBujan[1]) is described as a mysteriousislandin theoceanwith the ability to appear and disappear with the tide. Three brothers—Northern, Western, and Eastern Winds—live there, and also theZoryas,solar goddesses who are servants or daughters of the solar godDazhbog.[2]
Background
[edit]The island of Buyan features prominently in many famous myths;Koscheithe Deathless keeps hissoulof immortality hidden there, secreted inside a needle placed inside an egg in the mysticaloak-tree;other legends call the island the source of all weather, generated there and sent forth into the world by the godPerun.Buyan also appears inThe Tale of Tsar Saltan, of His Son the Renowned and Mighty Bogatyr Prince Gvidon Saltanovich, and of the Beautiful Princess-Swan(an opera byNikolai Rimsky-Korsakov,set partially inTmutarakanand in Buyan's magical city of Ledenets (Russian:Леденец,"sugary" )) and in many otherSlavicskazkas.Furthermore, Buyan has the mythical stone with healing and magic powers, known as theAlatyr(Russian:Алатырь), which is guarded by the birdGaganaand by Garafena the serpent.[3]
Some scholars (such as V. B. Vilibakhov) assert that Buyan is actually aSlavicname for some real island, most likelyRügenin the Baltic Sea.
Influence
[edit]- TheBuyan-class corvetteis a class of corvettes used by theRussian Navy.
- Buyan, an uninhabited island on the northern parts of theSevernaya ZemlyaArchipelago off the northern coast of Russia.[citation needed]
- Buyan Insula, an insula (island) withinLigeia MareonSaturn's moonTitan.[citation needed]
- Buyan is mentioned inCatherynne M. Valente's novelDeathlessas the "Country of Life", a grotesque island nation ruled by Koschei where everything (even the flesh-like buildings) is organic and alive. It is also mentioned in another work by Catherine M. Valente,The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making,in which the Marquess of Fairyland has conducted a peace treaty with the island country.[citation needed]
- Buyan is used as the name of one of the planets inSignalis.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Dietrich, Anton(1857).Russian Popular Tales.p. 23.
- ^Dixon-Kennedy, Mike (1998).Encyclopedia of Russian and Slavic myth and legend.ABC-CLIO. p. 48.ISBN978-1-57607-130-4.
- ^Meletinsky 1990,p. 33.
Bibliography
[edit]- Meletinsky, E.M., ed. (1990).Алатырь[Alatyr] (in Russian). Советская энциклопедия. p. 333.ISBN5-85270-032-0.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help)