The interior of the Russian hut is an integral part of the history and culture of Russia. It was she, the old hut, that became the main part of folklore and even the heroine of many fairy tales and legends. Recall at least the hut on chicken legs - the fabulous home of Baba Yaga, a terrible sorceress who scares young children. She is often fooled by the main fairy tale characters.
So, Ivan Tsarevich turns to her for help in order to save his beloved from the terrible fate, and not without cunning receives the gifts of the old sorceress. Grandmother Yozhka is a negative character who helps Koshchei the Immortal, the Serpent Gorynych and the Cat Bayun in the creation of atrocities. But at the same time, this "heroine" is quite cheerful, funny and satirical.
About origins
The word "hut" in Russia had many interpretations depending on the place of residence of people, and therefore was called differently. There are such synonyms as: yzba, istba, izba, fire and source. These words are often used in Russian chronicles, which, again, speaks of the inseparability and connection of housing with human life. Such a phrase has a direct connection with such Russian verbs as "drown" or "stoke". This building had, first of all, a functional load, since it was designed to warm in frosts and shelter from natural conditions.
What was the hut in general
It is difficult to imagine the interior of a Russian hut without a stove, since it was it that was the center of the room and its favorite part. It is known that many East Slavic peoples, Ukrainians, Russians and Belarusians, retained the term "stoker". Well, as mentioned earlier, it denoted a heated building. These were pantries for storing stocks of vegetables, and living quarters of various sizes.
To know how to draw the decoration of a Russian hut, you need to understand what it meant to a person. A significant event was the construction of a house for a peasant. It was not enough to solve a practical problem and secure a roof over your head. First of all, the house was a full-fledged living space for the whole family. The decoration of an old Russian hut should have been filled as far as possible with all the necessary blessings of life, provide the residents with warmth, give them love and a sense of peace. Such housing can be built only according to the ancient precepts of the ancestors, and the peasants have always observed the traditions very carefully.
About traditions
Special importance during the construction of the house was given to the choice of location, so that the building would subsequently be light, dry and high. Ritual value was just as important.
A happy place is one that has passed the strict test of time and was inhabited earlier: it became prosperous for the former owners,who lived here. Territories near burial places, baths that were built there earlier, as well as near the road were considered unsuccessful. It was believed that the devil himself walks along this path and can look into the dwelling.
About building material
Materials for the construction of the hut were chosen very carefully. The Russians used pine or larch logs for the construction. These trees have long and even trunks, lie evenly and tightly adjoin each other. They keep the internal heat well and do not rot for a long time. The choice of logs in the forest was a rather difficult task; for centuries, a set of rules, an algorithm for selecting a log, were passed from fathers to children. Otherwise, if you choose the wrong, unusable material, the house will bring trouble and misfortune.
Even the interior decoration of the peasant hut could not be cut down sacred trees. They could bring serious illnesses into the house. There was a belief that said that such special breeds should only live in the forest and die a natural death. If you break the ban, they will bring death and grief to the house.
Dry wood was also unsuitable for construction. The place where the trees grew was also important. A tree that grew at the crossroads of forest roads is "violent" and can bring great misfortune to the house - destroy the log house and thereby kill the owners of the house.
Rites
The process of building a house was not complete without rituals among the Slavs. At the beginning of construction, a sacrifice was made. In this case, a chicken or a ram was considered a victim. Suchthe process was carried out when laying the first crown of the hut. Money, wool and grain were placed under the logs as symbols of we alth, prosperity, love, family warmth. Also, incense was placed there as a sign of the holiness of the house, as well as a kind of amulet against evil spirits. At the end of the work (construction), all participants in the process sat down at the table and treated themselves to delicious dishes.
The terrible rite of sacrifice was carried out for a reason. The sacrifice was to create a fortress for the house and protect it from adversity. Sometimes a person was brought as a gift to the gods, but this is in rare cases in order to protect the entire tribe from enemies. Most often, cattle were betrayed to suffering: a bull or a horse. During archaeological excavations on old houses, it was their skeletons, as well as horse skulls, that were found.
A special hole was made for the ceremony, the remains had to be placed there. She was under the red corner, where the icons and other amulets were located. There were other favorite animals for building sacrifice. Such a favorite for the Slavs was a rooster or chicken. This is evidenced by the tradition of placing weathercocks in the form of cockerels, as well as the image or statuette of this animal on the roof of the house.
One can cite as an example the immortal classical work of N. V. Gogol "Viy". All evil spirits disappeared after the cock crow. Therefore, the "screamer" is called upon to protect the dwelling from evil spirits. Photos, the decoration of the Russian hut, which is shown in all its glory, are presented in this article.
Roof arrangement diagram
The roof was also made according to a special pattern:
- chute;
- stupid;
- stamic;
- slightly;
- tinderbox;
- princely slezha (knes);
- common slug;
- male;
- fall;
- prichelina;
- chicken;
- pass;
- bull;
- oppression.
General view of the hut
The decoration of the Russian hut outside, the way our great-grandfathers imagined and built, was special. According to the old traditions, the huts were built for thousands of years. The Russian decoration of the hut depended on where the person lived and what tribe he belonged to, since each tribe had its own traditions and laws by which they could be distinguished.
And even now it is impossible not to distinguish the huts on the European territory of Russia. After all, log houses predominated in the north, since there were plenty of forests there. In the south, there were huge reserves of clay, so mud huts were built from it. The interior decoration of the Russian hut was also designed in the same way. The photos are a good example of this.
According to ethnographers, not a single folk thought was created immediately in its original form, such as we can observe now. History, culture, and with them the thought of people, is changing and developing, bringing harmony, beauty and the great power of love to everything that has been created. This also applies to the dwelling, which was formed and became more and more functional and comfortable. These statements are proved by the mass of archaeological excavations.
The Russian decoration of the hut largely depended on the climatic conditions in which people lived, and on the available building material. So, in the north there was moist soil anddense forests full of logs suitable for the construction of dwellings, and in the south other products predominated and were actively used. Based on this, a semi-dugout was common in the southern regions. This doom was with a recess of one and a half meters into the ground, respectively, had a bulk floor. This type of dwelling in Russia existed until the 14th-15th centuries.
After this time period, they began to build ground buildings with a wooden floor, as they learned how to process logs and make boards from them. They also made houses raised above the ground. They were more multifunctional as they had 2 floors and provided opportunities for a comfortable life, storage of vegetables, hay and livestock housing in one house.
In the north, with an abundance of dense forests and a fairly damp cold climate, semi-dugouts quickly turned into ground houses, faster than in the south. The Slavs and their ancestors occupied a fairly large territory and differed from each other in centuries-old traditions, including in the construction of housing. But each tribe in the best way adapted to the surrounding conditions, so it cannot be said that some huts were worse. Everything had its place. Now you can understand how to draw the decoration of the Russian hut.
More about construction
Below is a photo. The decoration of the Russian hut on it is demonstrated the most typical for Ladoga, corresponding to the time period of the 9th-11th centuries. The base of the house was square, that is, the width was equal to the length, which reached 5 meters.
Constructionthe log hut required a careful and thorough approach, since the crowns had to match, and the logs had to fit snugly against each other, otherwise all the work was in vain.
The bars had to fit as tightly as possible in order to protect the inhabitants from cold winds and drafts. Therefore, recesses were made in the log house through one log. Another beam was placed in this hole with a convex edge. The grooves between them were insulated with swamp moss, which carried not only thermal insulation value, but also antibacterial. From above, this building was smeared with clay.
About the nuances of construction
The interior decoration of the Russian hut sometimes assumed an earthen floor, which was poured with water and compacted, which made it hard and smooth. During cleaning, a layer of dirt was simply swept away with a broom. But most often, the interior decoration of a peasant hut assumed a wooden floor and raised above the ground to a height of one and a half meters. This was done in order to build an underground. A hatch led from it to a living room with a stove. All vegetable stocks were kept underground.
The Russian decoration of the hut of we althy people assumed one more superstructure on top. From the outside, this house looked like a three-story house.
About outbuildings
The interior of the Russian hut also had several nuances. Russian people often attached a hallway with large wide windows to their dwelling. It was called Seni. So, at the entrance to the house, it was necessary to first go into the hallway, and then enter the upper room. This hallway was 2 meters wide. Sometimes canopyconnected to a barn for cattle, therefore, accordingly, they made them larger.
In addition, this extension had a lot of other purposes. Goods were kept there and something needed was made in bad weather, since the peasant never sat idle. In the summer, you can also put guests to bed after a noisy holiday. Archaeologists gave the name “two-chamber” to such a dwelling, since it consisted of 2 rooms.
The interior decoration of a peasant's hut could not do without a crate. Since the beginning of the 10th century, this room has served as an additional bedroom, which was used only in summer because it was not heated. Food could be stored there all year round. And in winter, even perishable food, because it's always cold there.
How the carpet was built
The roof in the hut was made according to several techniques: it could be wooden, shingled, plank or shingled. With the development of history, and with it the skills of the people, in the time period of the 16-17th centuries, the Slavs developed a unique concept of covering the roof with birch bark, which protected from leakage. It also carried an aesthetic purpose, as it betrayed the diversity of the building. A little earth and turf was laid on the roof. This was the old "smart technology" to protect the house from fire.
Dugouts and semi-dugouts, as a rule, did not have windows. Because of this, the interior of the Russian hut looked, of course, not the way we used to imagine. There were small window openings covered with the stomachs of cattle. However, laterwhen the hut "grew" above the ground, they began to make large glazed windows that not only let in light, but also made it possible to see what was happening on the street. The external decoration of the Russian hut assumed glazed window frames, which at the beginning (10th century) only we althy owners had.
The toilet in Russia was called the "back" and was located, as a rule, in the hallway. It was a hole in the floor, which "looked" down towards the ground level, where cattle were usually kept. He appeared in the huts since the 16th century.
About building windows
The Russian decoration of the hut at a later time could not be imagined without windows. Usually the window opening consisted of 2 adjacent logs, which were cut in half. A rectangular frame was inserted there, having a valve that "went" in the horizontal direction.
Internal space of the hut
The interior decoration of the Russian hut consisted of one to three living quarters. The entrance to the house began from the canopy. The room intended for habitation was always very warm and heated by a stove. The interior of the hut (photo) perfectly illustrates the life of the commoners of those times.
As for we althy peasants and people with high rank, in their dwelling there was a place and an additional room, which was called the upper room. The hosts received guests in it, and it was also very warm, bright and spacious. Heated with a Dutch oven.
The interior of the Russian hut could not be imagined without an oven, which occupies most of the room, which was located at the entrance. However, in the southern part of the country, it was located in the far corner.
The interior decoration of the Russian hut was distinguished by a special, but at the same time quite simple, placement of objects. The dining table usually stood in a corner, diagonally across from the stove. Directly above it was a "red corner" with icons and other amulets. There were benches along the walls, above them there were shelves built into the walls. Such interior decoration of the Russian hut (photo) was found almost everywhere.
The oven had a multifunctional load, as it not only brought warmth and delicious food, but also had a sleeping place.
The interior of the Russian hut also demonstrates that there was much in common with the traditions of the East Slavic peoples, but there were also differences. In the north of Russia, people built stone ovens. They got their name because they were built of stone without the use of any bonding solution.
In the areas of Staraya Ladoga, the base of the stone firebox was one and a half meters across. The decoration of a peasant hut in the Izborsk region assumed a stove made of clay, but on a stone base. In length and width, it reached up to 1 meter, as well as in height.
In the southern regions of the East Slavic countries, the oven was built larger and wider, its stone foundation was laid with an approximate calculation of one and a half meters in length and 2 in width. In height, such ovens reached 1.2 meters.
