Terra Incognito

Text by Natalia Zourabova

I.Take it seriously

During the past century a poem “Ruslan and Ludmila” by Pushkin became very popular in Russia.

It was classified as “classical “ so every child had to learn it by heart. The cliché- images, such as : “The cat on a tree, the battle between Ryslan and the Head” and others appear everywhere: from painted walls of a children garden to a name of a restaurant… In such a situation it is rather difficult to realize images and meanings of the poem. Everything is dead, but a possible way to avoid it and go ahead is to take everything seriously and try to follow hidden details.

II.The campaign in the North.

The general thing, which in the poem “Ruslan and Ludmila” seems to appear very important, is a geographical location of a great campaign. Because of some names (“Naina”, “Finn”), some elements of landscape, which are changed during the story: moss, stone cave where Finn retires, snowy plain from the window of a tower, the name “Chernomor” (which literally means “Black sea /Black pestilence”, but here such a south (Black sea) direction emphasizes the huge geographical territory, which belongs to Chernomor), it is understandable that the campaign is moving in the North.

The campaign has been begun in East-European city Kiev kept on deepen in the North, where winters are cold, long and snowy and summers are short. From the historical examples we know that a lot of great campaigns in the North Russia (Napoleon’s campaign, Hitler’s campaign) were failed and surprising severe frost played not the last role in the failure.. No one warrior appeared to be ready for it.

But the campaign in the North described in the story was successful! The Northern Tower of Chernomor was been taken and captive Ludmila returned home. Hence we can imagine how

competently might be the victor prepared : skilled, trained, dressed! Hard winter shirts and a variety of fur belts, hats, mittens, felted winter boots (valenki) are widely used in the equipment of Ryslan and Northern residents (Naina, Finn, Chernomor).

During the further reading a feeling of some discomfort appears: it seems strange how human beings react to any miracle they meet. For them miracle is usual, familiar, they immediately begin to collaborate (of course, that world is full of surprises, but no one reflects on the nature of a miracle).

Christianity took roots in Russia by accident, there were no pioneers who brought the new knowledge but the regent picked it up between others religions, having a pragmatically aim. The Pagan cult was so strong in Russia that till nowadays there are a lot of superstitions in a common life of people. Through Shaman (Bayan, narrator, teller, musician, physician) the connection between people and a miracle committed. His will could transform the miracle into different substances: magic objects, magic energy, magic persons, etc. By examples of Naina and Finn we understand that common people could receive such magic energy and become magicians. Therefore it is clear that every human being potentially could be transformed. In costumes magic persons are very much related to people (in forms and materials) but only a sign (horned crown) distinguishes them. Ludmila also receives such a crown when she appears bewitched. The only Finn, who is out of the work and retired, does not have the sign.

III. Cypher.

Some relations between personages are encrypted in signs on costumes:

Bayan is out of the system. He has no visual connections with anybody; his position is upon the others because of his all-embracing magic skills. The color of his garment (violet) is never repeated.

Naina- Finn.

They came from the same village. Both of them had a love affair long time ago. Both of them live in solitude in the North.They wear felted winter boots and white winter coats.

Naina-Chernomor

They are magicians, who collaborate with each other. They wear horned crown, also felted winter boots (hence both of them are related to Finn, who has magical skills).

Finn- Ruslan.

They organize a “group of white strength”, where Finn helps Ryslan to achieve the aim.

They have a sign of a sunflower on coats, Ryslan also wears a fur belt as a sign of “Finn’s student").

Chernomor- his people.

Here the connection is between a master and his students. The whole costume of Chernomor is repeated in student’s one, but in pale color.

Chernomor- Ludmila.

They connected as a master and a victum. Both of them wear the same horned crown. Colors of “bewitched Ludmila” garment are gray and red, here red is a sign of blood and gray lies in non-colored scale.

Ryslan-Ludmila.

They have the closest family relations. Both of them wear a sign of a deer, which is divided by their wedding dresses on two parts.

Svjatozar-Bridesman-Brideswoman.

All of them have office charges, they are only the persons who knew gramatics, thank to them we can read now the story. On the dresses they have some elements of texts in Old Russian Language.

VI. Pagan cilt in Russia and Russian Embroideries.

In Pagan cult the embroideries on textile played the very important role. They were used as a

protection from mystery forces ( when used on cuffs, collars, laps, hats) and also had sacred meaning (when used on towels, sheets, curtains).

In Northern part of Russia a light day is short, that is why Russian women used to make embroideries, sitting behind a splinter (“lychina”) in dark rooms. The embroideries usually were not very colorful because pure bright colors are not common to the nature of those places. They have simple rectangular, triangular, round forms and used simple nature signs as sun, human persons, animals, trees, water or snow, fire.

The technique, in which women used to make them (sewing in “krestik” or “glad”) was rather laborious and took a lot of time but during centuries it never become more exquisite.

v.Persons

Ryslan-

is shown as a very frank young brave man. According to the times he is a famous knight, but as we can see he did not leave his human weak features. His image in the poem is very true and contemporary: we can feel his doubts, emotions, nervousness.

During his campaign he wears a garment, resembles of an admiral’s tunic. On the tunic he has got an embroidery of a red sacred sword (“mech”). He has got a sacred helmet (“shlem”) with two black eyes on it. They help him to see out-of-sight targets. On a tunic he has an apron with a black sun. He wears fur mittens (“varezki”), fur belt, fur boots (“ valenki”).

Ludmila-

came from a reach regnant's family she is rather delicacy young person, whose character is remarkable by her fiery provocative behavior. Although she loves to play a trick we can feel

that she is a highly educated young woman, who has a strong character and a sharp, vivid mind. She is very impressionable.

During the marriage she wears a simple dress with red hat, resembles of the thick curls with twisted fillets. She has a blue skirt with embroidery of fore-part of a deer, whose second part is shown on Ryslan’s marriage costume.

After the bewitching by Chernomor, Ludmila appears in an enchanted dress, depleted of colors (gray), with red embroiders all over the dress. She wears a mystery hat (a cap of darkness,“shapka-nevidimka”), with which Chernomor supplied her. The hat’s forms repeat the Chernomor’s one.

Finn-

is a very strange person in the poem. First he appears as a human, an old man living in a cave, who is a master of reading. (Reading was a very rare skill at the times). During the poem he transforms into a magician. He appears as a wise old man. In his young ages in a contrary he is shown as a hot-temper person. We can imagine how long and difficult was the way of self-education, during which his character became calm and deep. He wears a long topcoat, which remarks his origin as a shepherd. The embroidery of sunflower(sun) is a review of a sun on Ryslan’s dress. He has fur’s boots, mittens, hat. He has got a sacred staff (“posoh”), and a sacred rucksack.

Naina-

is shown as an eccentric person, having a magical power. Together with Chernomor she organized a “group of black strength”. We do not know a lot about her- the only information we have got is that in her young ages she was an extremely beautiful woman, but nobody knows how and why she became a magician. Probably that young lady with a garland (“venok”), whom young Finn met on the field in Finnland, was already a transformer who could obtain the image of a human.

She wears a black- and- white dress with a thin embroider of enchanted grass and huge decayed mystery hat. Her red gloves and blue-red fin determine the sophistication of her mystery master. The felted fur boots (“valenki”) unify her with Finn, as far as their relationship ( and discord) became the main impulse for all the story.


				* *Terra Incognito*



	Home