Page:RussianFolkTales Afanasev 368pgs.djvu/358

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342
RUSSIAN FOLK-TALES

of Pagan pilgrimage, contaminated, of course, with other fantastic elements.


Katomá. This is one of the marvellous servants whom fortunate princes possess in folk-lore. In Russian folk-tales they have magical attributes, and are often described by their caps, e.g. oaken-cap, blue-cap, etc.


Koshchéy the Deathless. The meaning of this name is very hard to determine. There are at least three disparate ideas involved. First of all the most ancient is that which occurs in the Word of Igor's Armament, in which the word Koshchéy is used for a warrior of the hostile Pólovtsy; and, when Igor is said to be put on a Koshchéy saddle, it means he is taken into captivity. Hence the word koshchéy came to be used in Russian as meaning a slave, or a groom, originally a captive slave from the Pólovtsy who fought the Russians for over two hundred years. Consequently the word has a meaning in Russian folk-lore which has a widespread Aryan notion, that of a fearful Enchanter who lives in a mountain fastness far removed; runs away with the beautiful princess, and can only be slain by the valiant lover, going through unfordable streams, impenetrable forests and unpassable mountains, so as to catch hold of his soul which is contained in a casket, or in some other manner is always terribly enclosed. He takes this soul, which is as a rule lastly contained in an egg, up to the Monster's palace, scrunches it in his hand, and the monster dies. Thirdly, the word became confused with kost', bone, and so came to mean a skeleton or miser, and a wandering Jew. The epithet 'deathless' does not mean indestructible, but that he can only be slain in an extraordinary manner and will not die in a natural way.


Kutúzovo. The Kutúzovy are one of the most ancient of Russian families; this particular village from which they derive their name must be somewhere on the trade route of the Dniepr.


Kvas. A liquid made from various kinds of flour and fermented with sour milk to which is added malt or yeast.