Which Slavs have yellow skin? Ethnic skin types

The largest study of skin pigmentation in the Russian population of the USSR was conducted by Soviet anthropologists in 1964. Then the expedition was able to collect anthropometric data from more than 17,000 men and women living in 107 regions of the country, including the central part of the USSR, the Vitebsk Territory and the Russian north up to Arkhangelsk.

Skin color is important

Such a large-scale study of scientists was largely prompted by the desire to further debunk the Nazi theory that Russians are an inferior race, incomprehensible and wild, and most importantly, a motley horde that does not have the right to independence.

Already in the 19th century, anthropologists believed that the defining feature of race was skin color. Russian anthropologist Eduard Yulievich Petri wrote about this, who pointed out that determining pigmentation is the most elementary way of identifying a person’s race, and spoke about the importance of self-determination of a people in the general society of the world (“Anthropology”).

In the same century, special tables were developed that made it possible to accurately determine a person’s race. Initially, tables printed on paper quickly faded, and so scientists began to use colored glass, which retained their color much longer.

Lauchen table

For example, the German anthropologist Felix von Lauschan (Luschan) developed a special scale with 36 shades of skin color, where the first fourteen light shades are the skin tones of Europeans, the last 10 shades are the skin colors of Africans, and the intermediate shades belong to Asians and mestizos.

At the same time, the original Lauchan table also included rather dark yellowish shades, which were numbered 4, 5 and 6. Colors numbered 1, 2 and 3 had a bluish tint, and from 7 to 11 had light and white-pink accents.

Since Lauchan’s table, like the tables of other scientists, had its drawbacks, the main one of which was the unevenness of the distribution of shades, the head of the Soviet anthropological expedition, Viktor Valerianovich Bunak, developed his own method for determining skin tones. He took 10 light skin tones and distributed them in such a way that the variability in the scale was even.

Soviet anthropologists determined skin color on the inside of an untanned forearm by applying probes to the skin in daylight falling from a window.

Whiter than white

Unexpectedly, it turned out that almost everyone examined by St. Petersburg scientists had skin of three shades: “light” (No. 8), “very light” (No. 9) and “pinkish-white” (No. 10). Occasionally, skin tones such as “slightly yellowish” and “dim neutral” were encountered.

That is, it turned out that the “wild hordes” for the most part have “very light” skin - this was the case for 4/5 of all those examined. The rest had “light” skin or were the owners of an even less pigmented variant than “very light” – “pinkish-white” skin. In this embodiment, the pinkish tint of the skin is due to the blood vessels being visible through it. Moreover, pinkish-white was much more common than just “light.”

At the same time, Soviet anthropologists noticed that in men the variability of skin color is more pronounced - that is, among them, options No. 8, No. 10 are more common, and among women, the average option No. 9 - “very light” – is more common.

Another feature that anthropologists under the leadership of Bunak noticed is that the number of people with very light skin color is unchanged in different regions, but among northerners (scientists drew a mental boundary along the upper reaches of the Volga) the lightest shade, “white-pink,” is more common skin.

In 10 of the 38 northern districts, the white-pink skin color was more than a third of the population surveyed, while in the remaining 60 districts such a percentage of the population with skin tone 10 was found only twice.

How can one not recall the Arab writer and geographer Akhmet Fadlan, who lived back in the 9th century, who, describing in his works the Rus he met on the Volga, spoke of them as “beautiful and ruddy” people.

In his work “The Origin and Ethnic History of the Russian People,” Viktor Bunak provides a map according to which white-pink skin is most often found among the Ilmen-Belozersky, Western Upper Volga, Valdai-Upper Dnieper, Vologda-Vyatka and Vyatka-Kama types of Russians, and light and a very light shade predominates in the center of Russia and in the south, where the Don Sur, Steppe, Middle Volga and Desno-Seima types of Russians live.

Russian is Russian

Bunak characterized the Russian population as relatively homogeneous, and the average Russian as a typical representative of the European race, which in many ways coincides with the characteristics of Western Europeans and does not go beyond their variability.

However, some differences between European peoples and Russians still exist - these are lighter skin pigmentation, moderate facial width, a slower growing beard than Europeans, a medium-high nose bridge and a more clearly defined profile - all this in anthropology is called the Eastern European complex .

It is curious that the latest research by a group of Russian geneticists from the Russian Academy of Sciences, carried out jointly with geneticists from Great Britain and Estonia, confirmed the conclusions of the 20th century Soviet expedition that the Russians are a monolithic people with minor variations along the geographical axis northeast - southwest .

No significant admixtures of Turkic or Asian peoples were found in Russian blood; The research was published in the American journal Human Genetics.

Color symbols in Slavic mythology

The Slavs were very responsible when choosing one color or another in their lives. The Slavs chose certain colors for everyday life, and others for religious and ritual purposes. The costume was also made in accordance with one’s gender, social status and even mood.

In Slavic mythology, colors also have clear meanings.

But all this variety of color meanings is quite simple to arrange in a logical chain, and all the ambiguity and interestingness of interpretations of this or that color immediately begins to emerge.

The researcher of the worldview of the ancient Slavs, M.V. Popovich, studied a little about color symbols. We are interested not only in the color symbols used in clothing by the ancient Russians, but also in the color symbolism used in myths, epics, and fairy tales.

White color is the sun, air, insight, purity, innocence, purity, holiness, sacredness, salvation, spiritual power. Winter. This color represents daylight hours. Time for work and good deeds.

White color is absolute freedom from all obstacles, freedom for all possibilities. White is also a solution to problems, a new beginning.

Belbog was present in the pantheon of gods as the personification of all light forces.

The symbol of Svyatovit is white. This is due to the fact that Belbog and Svyatovit in tradition are the same force, only in different incarnations, and accordingly they have the same meaning.

Phrases are often found in myths: “white tent” - to designate the Slavic army, “white hands” - to dissociate the Slav from the Pecheneg. The epithet of the Danube River is “white river”. Also, the epithet “white” is associated with “living water.” The “white duck” is always a positive hero in a fairy tale, going back to the ancestor duck from the myth of the creation of the myth. “White birch” is a constant epithet in mythology for one of the Slavic sacred trees.

“Bel is a flammable stone” (Alatyr) – in mythology a sacred, pure place.

“White stone chambers” are a clean, bright, safe living place.

In the folk calendar, “white” days are Maslenitsa days among the Serbs and Macedonians (“white week”); holy days (when there is no fasting) in Serbia and Pomerania (“white days”); Holy Week for Ukrainians and Belarusians (Biliy Tyzhden, Biyela Nyadelya); Holy Saturday among Croats, Slovenes, Czechs and Slovaks (“White Saturday”).

The white shirt was used by the Slavs for religious and ritual purposes, for example, before a battle they dressed under chain mail or without it, just on a clean body.

Black appears almost universally as the color of negative forces and sad events. Black color is also a negation of earthly vanity and splendor.

Black, as the antagonist of white, expresses the idea of “nothing”, nothing like absolute refusal, like death or like “no” in militant protest (like a concentrated clot of aggressive persistence). Black color symbolizes night. This is the time of dark forces. This is the time of sleep, temporary non-existence.

The most specific and unambiguous symbolism has the black color, which is associated with darkness, earth, death (acts as a sign of mourning; cf.: in families where there was mourning, Easter eggs were painted black or other dark colors - green, purple, blue) .

The characters of the Pekelny world are usually black in color (they also appear in the form of a black animal or object): bannik, ovinnik, field spirit “uselnitsa” (Russian). Wolfhound turns into a black horse (Serbian), vampires torture people by turning into a black chicken (Slovenian), witches turn into a black cat, dog, pig (O.Slav.). The appearance of a black animal after the death of the sorcerer is evidence that Viy (Serb.) came out of him.

In magical practice (apotropaic, love, healing), black objects were used, for example: a knife in a black sheath as protection from fright (Serb.), from pestilence (Slovenian); a black thorn thorn was driven under the nail of a dead man so that he would not walk (Serb.); the bone of a black dog scared away the veštica (Serbian); a black chicken was carried around crops to prevent hail (Serb.)

The symbol of Chernobog is black. He personifies the totality of all the dark forces of the Pekel kingdom.

In mythology, black epithets meant: “Black Army” - the enemy army, “Black River” - the one that brings death, “Black Stone” - the entrance to the Pekel kingdom, “Black Raven” - the harbinger of death, etc.

“Black Velvet”, “Black Sables” - the black color here acts as an indicator of the character’s wealth and stature.

Protective braid, as well as black clothing, was not used in ritual activities. In everyday life, she had no symbolic color.

In general, the color red is considered aggressive, vital and full of strength, akin to fire and denoting both love and life-and-death struggle. It is also the color of the sun (Vladimir Red Sun). Red color in Rus' is synonymous with beauty. Red color is blood - a symbol of life, but at the same time a symbol of death.

Bogatyrs in Rus' usually preferred red clothes (pants, boots, caftan, cloak, etc., only the shirt is usually white) hence the epic “red is well done”, and in the meaning “red maidens” - beautiful.

Red - The color of life, fire, fertility, health and at the same time - chthonic characters (red clothes or hats are worn by a brownie, a merman, shulikuns; red eyes, teeth, hair are worn by a witch, shulikuns, mermaids). Particularly significant in folk beliefs are the red thread, red cloth, and red (Easter) egg, which are endowed with protective properties and are used as a talisman.

The color of Yarila, the sun, red is primarily associated with spring, fertility, life and, of course, the spring sun that revives nature to life.

“Spring is red” - in epics and fairy tales it means the arrival of the Spring sun Yarila.

The choice of red clothing characterizes the fact that the owner is confident in himself.

Blue is the color most often seen as a symbol of all things spiritual. Unlike the energetic color red, blue has a “restraining” effect and makes most people thoughtful. This is the color of wisdom. Infinity, eternity, truth, devotion, faith, purity, chastity, spiritual and intellectual life. The blue color of the sky is the calmest and least “material” of all colors.

The color blue is associated with “dead water.” The mysterious “blue lightning” and “blue wine” also have a symbolic meaning and are associated with the Cumans. The black clouds coming from the sea are hordes of Polovtsians advancing on the Russians, and the blue lightning is the sparkling Polovtsian sabers. Blue is the color of the sea. “Deep blue sea” - there is a miracle there - the Yudo fish whale.

Buyan Island. And this epithet means thoughtful, wise infinity.

Blue braid on shirts is used by people who have embarked on the path of spiritual self-improvement.

Green color is ambiguous in meaning. It is life in bright green and death expressed in a deathly grey-green fluorescent light. Youth, hope and joy, but at the same time change, impermanence and jealousy. Green is spring, reproduction, joy, confidence, nature, paradise, abundance, prosperity, peace.

Green denoted the Tree of the World. It is also the color of the devil. But the most important thing is the symbol of the Forest. Also, the symbol of a sown field and young shoots was always painted in green.

The color green correlates with vegetation, variability, immaturity, and has productive symbolism (for the Serbs, the predominance of green in the rainbow means the harvest of cereals; in the Rhodope Mountains, evergreens were used at engagements and weddings).

At the same time, the green color is an attribute of a “foreign” space where evil spirits live: in South Slavic conspiracies on the “green mountain”, “green grass”, “green tree”, evil spirits are expelled. The color green characterizes the characters of folk mythology: green hair on the goblin, mermaid, and merman; water green; Leshys, mermaids, pitchforks, and mermen have green eyes.

“Green garden” - in mythology it is usually used in the metaphorical meaning of “blooming life”.

“Green Wilderness” - usually this phrase is close in meaning to “In the distant kingdom”, that is, very far away.

“Green wine” is a bready young wine. Close in semantic meaning to “green snake” is strong intoxication to the point of hallucination.

In Belarus, green color predominates in national clothing.

Symbol of evergreen nature.

Yellow (gold)

Yellow is the light of the sun, intelligence, intuition, faith, honey. Dark yellow means betrayal, betrayal, jealousy, ambition, stinginess, secrecy, deception, disbelief, theft. Golden yellow is a symbol of the sun and divinity. This is the color of Nobility and dignity.

Gold is an image of light, it symbolizes the light of the sun and in connection with this is an attribute of Russian princes. The sun, gold, Russian princes - they all emit light: the sun is “bright” and “three-bright”.

The color yellow also has a negative meaning; it is often interpreted as a symbol of death (the appearance of a yellow spot on the hand foreshadows death; eggs intended for commemoration are painted yellow). Mythological characters are characterized by yellow hair (the brownie, female forest spirits - “povitruli”); The soul of a woman can turn into a yellow butterfly. Plants with yellow flowers (roots, juice) and yellow objects are used in the treatment of “yellow” diseases (jaundice, fever).

The color symbol of Dazhbog is gold. This is due to the fact that Dazhbog is an image of the small solstice (day). Many artists depict it in golden tones.

"Yellow curls" are used in mythology to designate a character as a Slav.

The choice of clothes in yellow tones characterizes freedom. M.V. Popovich believes that in clothing the color gold is associated with the idea of sacredness, with splendor and glory. White is close to gold as its semantic nuance.

Silver is the color of moderation, the color of old age, knowledge and wisdom acquired over many years. Many attributes of the Magi were made of silver, thereby emphasizing their significance, and they characterize the owner in an appropriate way. They silvered Perun's beard, that is, they aged him.

Silver has a powerful disinfecting property, so the Slavs, well aware of this property, used silverware.

Silver is the metal of the goddess Lelya. It symbolizes love, which, by definition, is true and, accordingly, wise.

According to legend, creatures who were inherently Dasun were afraid of silver weapons.

Magi often wore silver braid on their clothes during holidays.

It is a neutral color with a subtle beauty. The color of inconspicuousness, secrecy. Gray goes almost as well with other colors as black or white, but is often more expressive. The color of undyed linen. The Slavs wore such clothes in everyday life, and it was not scary to get dirty, and it was not noticeable. This color of clothing emphasized everyday life.

In mythology, the epithet “gray” can be given to both a hare and a wolf.

On the one hand, there is a cowardly animal, and on the other, a predator, and both are given the same epithet. This is due to the ability of animals to merge with the world around them.

Gray is the color of Stribog. It most accurately characterizes the neutrality and color invisibility of the wind.

Gray colors in clothes are preferred by those who are characterized by increased sensitivity or rudeness.

Blue - day, sky, life.

Svarog is sky blue. Everything is clear here, Svarog is the prince of heaven.

The choice of clothing in a Blue tone characterizes the fact that a person has achieved satisfaction or strives not to stand out. Girls often use blue colors in their outfits.

The blue color of the eyes made the Slavs stand out from other nations.

Brown

It was associated among the Slavs, first of all, with Mother Raw Earth - the wet nurse. Cheese's Mother Earth gives and takes away life. And the second, no less important image associated with this color is the brown bear, which is included in the circle of cult totem animals of the Slavic people. Often, Slavic knights were personified with this beast.

This color was rarely used in clothing and therefore did not acquire clear symbolism.

Nationality is a set of character traits that have developed over centuries of history and external data that distinguish an individual from representatives of another nationality. It is noteworthy that people living in neighboring regions differ only slightly in national characteristics, while representatives of different continents differ radically. Such differences between nationalities turn into racial ones. Before determining a person’s nationality, you must know the basic characteristics in appearance by which you can distinguish representatives of different nationalities - hair and skin color, shape and shape of the nose, as well as eyes. Representatives of different nationalities also have speech differences, but they will not always allow one to determine a specific nationality, since half the world speaks English, not just the British.

National differences of Africans

The skin of Africans (or blacks) ranges in color from brown to black. Pure-blooded Africans will never have blue or gray eyes - only black or brown. The shape of the eyes can be either round or almond-shaped. The nose is slightly flattened, with wide nostrils. Representatives of the African continent have dark and, as a rule, curly hair, broad shoulders and long legs, and they are tall.

National differences of Chechens

Both Chechens and Ingushets have light skin. Eye color - brown or black, small eyes. Dark and thick hair, eyebrows fused on the bridge of the nose are distinctive features of Chechens, who also have a straight and large nose with a wide bridge. The height of representatives of this nationality is approximately average. The figure is proportional.

National differences of Georgians

Very often, belonging to a particular nationality can be determined by last name. For example, native Georgians have a surname ending in “dze”. Therefore, how to determine nationality by last name is written in the relevant literature. In addition to their surname, Georgians can be distinguished by their light skin, almond-shaped brown or black eyes, an elongated nose with a hump, and thick, pitch-black hair. Representatives of this nationality have a proportional figure; in terms of height, Georgians are usually tall people, and not only men, but also women.

National differences of Jews

Jews have light skin, often with freckles, protruding and round eyes, gray or brown in color, and they have a large nose with a downturned tip. As a rule, the edges of the nostrils of Jews are slightly raised upward. This nationality has either dark or red hair. If you need to identify a Jew from the male half of society, then take a closer look at his facial hair - it is often different in tone from that on his head. Jews are a short nation, so there are no tall people among them, and often men are characterized by below average height. The Jewish figure has a disproportionate structure - they have a wide pelvis and narrow shoulders.

National differences of Armenians

Before determining nationality by appearance, take a closer look at the eyes - perhaps an Armenian is standing in front of you if the person’s eyes are almond-shaped, wide-set, and brown in color. Armenians have fair skin and thick and curly hair. Especially in men, dense vegetation is observed throughout the body. Armenians have a long, hooked nose, medium to tall stature, and a proportional build.

National differences of the Chinese

In order to determine the nationality of a person, it is not necessary to see him in person, since you can determine the nationality from a photo. The Chinese nationality, the most numerous on our planet, is characterized by a small and narrow nose, slanted and wide-set eyes - they are black. The Chinese have yellowish or brownish skin color and short stature. The physique of representatives of this nationality is proportional. The hair of the Chinese is dark and coarse, straight, and there is practically no hair on the body of men.

National differences of the Tatars

Tatars have a yellowish skin tone and dark or red hair, and representatives of this nationality often begin to go bald at a young age. Their eyes are brown and narrow, as is their nose, which in profile practically does not protrude above the rest of their facial features. Therefore, the face of Tatars often appears flat. Proportional physique and average or below average height are the national differences of this nation.

We hope that this information has helped you in deciding the question of how to determine your nationality or the nationality of your friend or friend.

Chapter I. Fabric as a thing and a sign in Russian traditional culture

§2. Semantics of color

Color is one of the characteristics of an object. For a modern person, a change in color does not mean a change in the essence of an object in most cases, however, there are exceptions: black mourning clothes, a white wedding dress, blue clothes for a boy and pink for a girl, etc. All of the above examples refer to the colors of clothing. These symbolic expressions of the purpose of certain things appeared in our culture relatively recently, some of them have no roots in it and came from outside, but their influence is quite strong, so strong that, when faced with a deviation from the rules, a person is perplexed. It is fair to assume that if the color of our far from traditional clothing, and perhaps some other things, is important to us today, then the symbolism of color in folk culture is quite important. Thus, color is a sign that receives a symbolic interpretation in folk culture.

The Russians used fabrics of a wide variety of colors, dyeing them with white, black, blue, red, and yellow dyes. The most significant are the oppositions of white and black (light and dark), correlated with the oppositions life/death, good/bad, etc., as well as the triad white-red-black. The symbolism of each of these colors is ambiguous; they often have directly opposite interpretations.

White color, white - in folk culture one of the main elements of color symbolism, contrasted primarily with black and red. White and black colors are at the polar points of the color spectrum, and their names and symbolism are antonymous. White color represents a generalized range of colors in light tones, as well as high color intensity, while black color generalizes dark colors and is associated with low color intensity or its absence. In addition, white represents the absence of color, it is neutral and can be turned into any other color and given any interpretation.

In the symbolic sphere, the correlation white/black (light/dark) can be included in an equivalent series with the pairs good/bad, male/female, living/dead, partly young/middle-aged (old), etc. A correlation between white/non-white is possible, and then the white color can mean sacredness, purity, fertility, light.

The mythological semantics of white color is most clearly manifested in fortune telling, omens, and beliefs. The semantic pair good/bad is identified in relation to the characteristics white/black in a series of signs associated with a butterfly or a sheep, bringing happiness or misfortune according to their color.

The idea of the “kingdom of darkness” as an afterlife, opposed to the “white light,” is characteristic of all Slavs. A Vologda peasant, for example, believed that dead, unbaptized children live in “a dark place and do not see the white light.” White light is ours, “this” light, and it is opposed to “that”, not white light, just as day is opposed to night. White light, like white day, is motivated by the sign “clear, bright, clean.” A similar distinction is made between bad and good weather, predicted by the color of the cow walking ahead of the herd. Sunlight - and the sun itself - is white, so on the first day of the harvest, work must be completed before sunset so that the bread of the new harvest will be white.

The mythological connection of individual objects and phenomena is carried out according to the principle of similarity. So, sometimes the appearance of white moths or butterflies promises an abundance of milk. On the basis of similarity, some productive actions are also carried out: Belarusians placed a stone on a bed of cabbage and covered it with a white scarf so that the cabbage would be white as a scarf, and large and strong as a stone; the peasant put on a white shirt (women wore a headscarf) when going to sow wheat, “so that it would be clean and white, like a shirt,” flax. However, the Slavs were afraid of white things that could cause hail and frost: white things were not taken out into the yard or into the field on some holidays.

Many Indo-European peoples know white mourning. Russians traditionally announced death by hanging a white “plate” or towel on the hut, with which “the arriving dead person wiped away his tears for forty days.” In the Russian North, white funeral clothing is known; dressing deceased girls in white is associated with the funeral-wedding ritual. The image of a woman in white robes represented death. The phraseology “white death” is well known; in some conspiracies, the sick person is called white, and the healthy person is called red. Ryazan peasants believed that picking white flowers in a dream was a sign of a dead person. Death was foreshadowed in a dream by white geese, horses, goats; illness - a girl in white seen in a dream.

White clothes are typical for spirits and mythological characters. Belun is sometimes called a brownie, a white woman is a mermaid, and a huge white creature is a ghoul. Women performing some ritual roles were dressed all in white. Thus, almost all evil spirits dress in white, while the devil wears a black suit and is black himself. White animals and birds, especially rare or non-existent ones, are considered special, witchcraft or kings over their relatives. Treasures lying in the ground turn into white animals. At the same time, white color can protect against the evil eye and damage; Some (clean) days of fasting and holidays were considered white.

The most specific and unambiguous symbolism has the black color, which is associated with darkness, earth, death, and acts as a sign of mourning (in families where there was mourning, Easter eggs were painted black or other dark colors - green, blue, purple). Black characters are usually demonological characters (appearing in the form of a black animal or object): devil, banner, barn, field spirit. Black animal motifs are common: horse, chicken, cat and pig. The appearance of a black animal after the death of a sorcerer is evidence that the devil has emerged from him.

In magical practice, black objects and sacrificial animals were used. A knife in a black sheath protects against fright; a black thorn thorn was driven under the dead man’s nails “so that he would not walk”; A black chicken was carried around the crops to prevent hail and was sacrificed to the plague. The egg of a black chicken helped against night blindness, and the milk of a black cow extinguished a fire started by lightning.

Yellow color, yellowness is a sign endowed with a predominantly negative assessment in folk culture. The color yellow is often conceptualized as a symbol of death; In Slavic beliefs, the appearance of a yellow spot on the hand foreshadows death. Eggs intended for commemoration in Easter, Semitic and Trinity rites are painted yellow. On Easter, when commemorating the dead in cemeteries, they carried red and yellow eggs with them; In Semik, when cumming, girls, kissing through a wreath, give each other a yellow egg. In the “baptism of the cuckoo” ritual, participants in the nepotism ritual at the cemetery exchanged yellow eggs, broke them and left them on the graves. On Saturday, on the eve of Trinity Day, when they commemorated those who died a death other than their own and unbaptized children, eggs were painted not red, but yellow, and distributed to children. Yellow is one of the traditional epithets in the conspiracies of the Eastern Slavs. Plants with yellow flowers are used to treat “yellow” diseases (jaundice, etc.)” Yellow objects (scarves, rings, dishes), chickens with yellow legs, yellow butterflies are endowed with healing properties.

Yellow is rare in the color characteristics of mythological characters. Mythical creatures that lead souls to the “other world” appear in yellow tones, the brownie has yellow hair, one of the fevers is called yellow. Yellow circles appear on the grass where an old man “became a sorcerer” or the eldest woman in his family committed suicide with witches; sometimes the places of round dances and meals of mermaids are marked with yellowed, dried grass. Yellow, along with red, can act as a substitute for gold. In omens, yellow means misfortune, illness or death; whoever sees a yellow butterfly in the spring will be unhappy and in poor health this year.

In the Russian tradition, there is a perception of gold as a sign of chosenness, happiness and the highest court; a similar idea arose within the framework of the solar cult. Golden symbolism, pre-Christian in essence, functioned under conditions of gradual Christianization of culture, merging with religious concepts of retribution and retribution, good and evil. Gold is usually associated with a hero's test and is only received by a select few. Thus, gold objects are sacred in folklore. The mythology of pure, sacred, gold is manifested in conspiracies where the conspirator seeks heavenly protection; Thus, in a conspiracy for a good path, he imagines himself dressed in golden vestments, covered with a golden shroud.

Green color, green - in folk culture correlate with vegetation, variability, immaturity, youth. The perception of green color as shiny, shining, similar to gold and yellow is noted. Such ideas are especially typical for the southern Slavs.

The productive symbolism of the green color is manifested in spring and wedding rituals, for example, Trinity - green Christmastide, Trinity Week - green week. In wedding songs, images of green life, forest, and meadows are often found. In funeral and memorial rites, green acts as the color of the “other world.” Green eggs are known as a funeral meal among the Eastern Slavs. At Easter, eggs were painted green if there was a dead person in the house during the year; this procedure was designed to renew the life of the inhabitants of the house, cleanse them, and free them from the presence of the inanimate. Green color can be an attribute of a “foreign” space, where evil spirits live, where spirits are banished: a green mountain, etc. The color green is present in descriptions of chthonic creatures.

Red color, red - in folk culture one of the main elements of color symbolism, appearing in the opposition white/red, or in the triad white/red/black, where red is opposed to white as non-white, “colored”, “dark”. The symbolism of red is ambivalent. Red is the color of life, sun, fertility, health and the color of the other world, chthonic and demonic characters. The color red is endowed with protective properties and is used as a talisman. Particularly significant in folk ideas are the red thread, the red cloth, and the red egg.

The connection of red with fire is reflected in the language (let a red rooster fly), legends explaining the presence of red in the color of animals; Russian beliefs: about a red flying fiery snake (Russian North Siberia); about “a woman in a red cauldron” (personification of a fire; Russian North); about the fiery red field grass, which seems to people like a scattering of sparks (Vologda). The connection of red with blood is manifested in wedding symbolism; often a red belt is an integral part of the costume of an underage girl. The presence of fresh blood in the body of the “unclean dead” (ghoul, sorcerer) explains the red color of their faces.

The meaning of red as an extraordinary, exceptional color is determined by the evaluative semantics of red “beautiful, valuable, ceremonial.” According to popular beliefs, the main snake has a red crest (Russian North).

The productive semantics of red is realized in a wedding ceremony, in calendar and economic rituals, where it symbolizes abundance and fertility: for example, the last sheaf is tied with red yarn, thread or a scarf. During the first pasture, the cattle were hung with a bell on a red cord. In native rites, the color red acts as a symbol of life and health; the umbilical cord was tied with a red thread; it was believed that the red color of the newborn’s skin indicated his longevity. Funeral rituals express the symbolism of the color red as belonging to the “other world” and at the same time protecting against dangerous contact with the other world. The hands and feet of the deceased could be tied with red thread; Belarusians placed a red thread across the body of the deceased; often the headdress for the deceased was made of red material. The coffin was wrapped several times from end to end with red woolen thread; the pregnant woman tied the red thread on her finger when she went to say goodbye to the deceased. Sometimes on memorial days everything red was taken out of the house. During Rusal Week before Trinity Sunday, drowned people were commemorated by breaking red eggs on their graves. The color red (scarf, ribbon) is present in the East Slavic rites of “baptism” and funeral of the cuckoo.

The red color acts as a talisman; its semantics correlates with the apotropaic semantics of a colored object (the most significant are thread and wool) or a plant. They drew a magic circle with red paint, and on Easter they washed themselves with water in which a red egg or plant was placed. Red thread was widely used as an apotropaic and healing agent; it was tied to an arm or leg and left hanging on plant bushes. For pain in the joints, they tied their hands with red wool, threads, and strips of fabric; it was believed that this would also protect against fever and fear. Red color can protect against snakes, mice, wolves; drive away evil spirits and bad weather.

Many mythological characters are marked in red: for example, a courtyard may look like a thick red snake. Witches and mermaids have red eyes; the skin of devils, mythical aliens; hair or hat of a brownie, mermaid, goblin; the goblin's dress and the brownie's shirt, the goblin's pants and the devil's scarf. "Women in red" are harbingers of misfortune.

Red in conspiracies is a constant epithet of mythical characters: red maiden, red horse. Everywhere among the Slavs, red thread and red plant seeds are used in love magic. When cattle go missing, they “take it” to the mermaids: bast shoes, onuchi, bread and salt are tied with a red ribbon and taken to the crossroads in the forest. In Christmas fortune-telling, a red ribbon symbolized the birth of a child. The predominance of red in the rainbow promises health and a good harvest, wealth. Red days in the folk calendar fall on Holy, Easter, and Fomina (Red Hill) weeks.

The combination of red-white is opposed to the combination of yellow-black in the meaning of life/death, light/darkness, health/illness. The combination of red and white is therefore typical for amulets. Red can also coexist with blue in the same meaning. The combination of red and black is typical for mythological characters and predominates in the costumes of mummers.

Within the framework of the Slavic tradition, it can be confidently stated that red is the dominant color in the semantic structure of the ritual. Marking in red is the most archaic and universal way of modeling ritual objects. This is clearly expressed in the functions of the red thread, the red belt, and the marking of ritual towels, the structure of which necessarily includes a red thread.

The semantics of red color is realized in the universal opposition white/black, which is transformed into a dynamic three-part structure white/red/black. This triad constitutes an invariant of color classification, on the basis of which a system of relations of color semantics in the traditional model of the world is built. The ritual meaning of the color red is ensured by its position as the middle member of the triad, marking boundaries in a system of binary oppositions. The intermediate position of red between white and black is identical to the position of shadow in the light/shadow/dark triad, where shadow is opposed to light, but at the same time does not coincide with darkness. This peculiar ambivalence of the red color forms the basis of its characteristics as a ritual symbol. In the time code day/morning (evening)/night, red corresponds to morning (evening), in the calendar cycle summer/spring (autumn)/winter, respectively, spring (autumn). In the spatial code, the red color corresponds to marginal zones: the threshold of a house, gates, fences - the essence of the boundaries of internal and external, one’s own and someone else’s space.

Thus, color is one of the features that determine the nature of an object. Color can determine the change in meaning of a thing; it is often more important than the name of the object, as, for example, in the case of a black cat. Using the example of the influence of color, one can see how the material qualities of an object “make” a sign, controlling its content.