The minstrel Sadko
The musical theme of
Sadko’s story made it
attractive to composers.
The Russian composer
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
(1844–1908) wrote an
opera based on the tale.MYTHS OF WOOD AND WATERWATER SPIRITS
Like the Rusalkas, water spirits and nixes lived in lakes
and, especially, mill ponds. A legend from southeastern
Europe tells of a nix who helped a mortal. There was a
young mill-hand who loved the miller’s daughter. But
the miller wanted his daughter to marry a rich man
from the local castle. One day, the two rivals fought and
the mill-hand was pushed into the mill pond, where he
was found by a nix. The mill-hand entertained the nix
on his violin. The two got on so well that when the
mill-hand was about to leave the water, the friendly
nix gave him a magical ring, which would grant the
wearer three wishes. So the mill-
hand’s wish to marry the miller’s
daughter was fulfilled, thanks to
the kindly spirit of the pond.
SADKO
A popular Slavic myth tells of the minstrel Sadko who
was invited by a water spirit to play in his palace. The
spirits danced to Sadko’s music till he grew tired and
could play no more. A wise water spirit advised Sadko
to stop the dance by breaking the strings of his lute.
If he did this, the sea god would ofer him a wife in
return for his playing – but he must choose the last
of the women ofered to him, and even then he must
never touch her. Sadko did as he was told, choosing
the last woman the sea god ofered, and lying apart
from her. But at night, his right foot accidentally
touched her. To his amazement, Sadko woke up alone
on the river bank, to find he was lame in his right foot.THE WOOD DOVE
The magic of both woods and water come together in the Slavic legend
of the wood dove. There was once an old woodcutter who was poisoned
by his wicked wife because she wanted to marry a handsome young
man with whom she was in love. Soon after his death, the
woman married her lover and they had a lavish wedding
feast. At first they lived together happily. Meanwhile, grass
grew over the woodcutter’s grave and a young oak tree took
root there. Whenever the woman passed the grave, a wood dove
perched in the tree cooed at her accusingly. Each time she
heard the wood dove, she felt it was the voice of her murdered
husband. Deeply tormented, she drowned herself in the river.Vodyanoi
The Vodyanoi was the most familiar
Russian water spirit. Unlike the kindly
nix, he was a dangerous creature who
lured passers-by into his watery lair,
where they subsequently drowned.Voice of the dove
Birds often speak in folk tales
because their song has a vocal
quality. To the woodcutter's guilty
wife, even the cooing of a
dove sounded accusatory.Carp
Water spirits often sorted
the fish in the pond, sending
eels on their regular
migrations. Fishermen in
search of carp placed a
pinch of tobacco in the
water to please the spirits.
Sadko's lute
Sadko was a minstrel who had
fallen on hard times. His most
prized possession was the
gusli, or lute, with which he
made his living as a musician.Woodcutter
Forests were sources of fuel and
building material for the Slavic
peoples, and woodcutters often
figure in their myths of the forest.77