Can you explain Baba Yaga vs Baba Roga? And explain the stories of Baba Roga further in detail? I'm so curious to know more about slavic mythology!
Sure, let’s dive deeper into the differences between the two, as well as the similarities and interesting details. But before we start, I just want to say that “baba” means “grandmother” in Slavic.
Alright, so what I’ve noticed is that Slavs generally have a lot of respect for old women specifically. They often tend to be wise and protective, understanding and nurturing, mysterious at times. Many Slavs are raised by grandmas, listening to their interesting tales and looking up to them, which is why we consider them our heroes and ultimate caregivers. Such a strong presence of a grandmother figure in the lives of many Slavic people is reflected even in the names of many geographical locations, plants, and even surnames. For an example in Serbia we have the mountains Tresibaba, Babina Glava, Babin Zub, and villages Babe, Babica, Babušnica…etc. This has all lead to the idea of an ancient “Baba” as a strong and powerful deity. She is considered a distant ancestor of Baba Roga and her sister Baba Yaga. Baba Roga isn’t the South Slavic equivalent to the East Slavic Baba Yaga, because there is many differences between them, but still they are siblings.
In appearance, Baba Roga and Baba Yaga are pretty similar. They’re both very old and considered ugly. Both have missing teeth, a large hooked nose and hunched back, bony arms with long fingers and nails. The difference is, however, that Baba Yaga is taller and thinner than her South Slavic sister. That and the fact that, unlike Baba Yaga, Baba Roga has a large horn growing out of her forehead (which is where her name comes from - “rog” means “horn” in Serbian, so it’s literally “Grandmother Horn”).
Other differences include their place of living and overall personality.
As we all probably know, Baba Yaga lives in in the forest in a hut standing on chicken legs. She flies around in a mortar, wielding a pestle. Unlike her, Baba Roga lives in a cave, even deeper in the forest where the rays of sunlight only come trough once a year on Ivanjdan (Midsummer). She only ever leaves her cave at night, always carrying her large wooden staff with her. However, the homes of both sisters are surrounded by a fence with skulls impelled on it, and they both share a love for horses, owning the best ones by far.
At night Baba Roga visits sleeping children, she tucks them in and brings them pleasant dreams. However if a child wakes up in the middle of the night, she will frighten them back to sleep, because she knows it is better to be afraid of her now, than of the world that awaits them when they grow up. She usually means well, but she isn’t too good at showing it (except if you touch her horses, don’t do that, really don’t).
Baba Roga and Baba Yaga love and respect each other, but they often fight when they try to remember which one is older.
Baba Roga appears in the Serbian fairytale «Zlatna jabuka i devet paunica» (Golden Apple and Nine Peacocks).
Baba Yaga and Baba Roga by Ivica Stevanović
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