discussing the theme

"twins" in flash

the background sound

things you can buy

the "knowing one"  

   One clerk in the municipal administration of Kudymkar agreed to show us the cottage of T.N., the most fabulous "todys'" in the town. When we came to the house, our guide crossed her fingers to defend herself. She, of course, rejected to enter the gate of the witch's yard, despite the fact that T.N. was a witch of a "light" reputation - she healed people and helped them in their everyday troubles using only the divine forces and not resorting to devils, as other "knowing ones" did.
   Be it as it may, Komi-Permians have a golden rule - not to communicate with wizards other than in case of a strongest need.
   The powers of T.N. are very famous. In those six or seven hours which I have spent with the "right woman", her house was twice visited by the guests from other districts. Mothers brought to her their daughters and asked the "knowing one" to dispose the girls of secret "heart sicknesses". T.N. amazed her guests by telling the cause of their coming at the moment they entered the doors. It was unbelievable indeed, and I could not find any rational explanations to it.
   Municipal authorities even installed the phone line to the witch. She respected the telephone with slight bewilderment. In short, the witch was recognized and respected in society.
   Following the advice, we bought some fruits in the market in order not to visit the "right woman" empty-handed. T.N. met us in the doors of her cottage and asked us harshly about the cause of our visit. We introduced ourselves as a scientists from the district center, and this proved to be quite a good visiting card.    "Well, so come in!" said T.N. "How can I leave you outside? see, bridegrooms came!"
   We looked at each other puzzled.
   "Sure it's bridegrooms! I am quite ripe for marriage, I've become eighteen these days!" - continued T.N. - "But I'm silly, I've reversed the number, wrote eight before one!"
   As we've found soon, this embarrassing way of talking was common for her. The admission went successful.
   T.N. was quite friendly and looked cheerful for her years, but rather too exotic, even taking her profession into account. For example, all buttons on her clothes were of different colours. Seeing her dress and remembering the words she met us with, it was quite easy to suspect that the old woman is not in her whole wits.
   But the first ten minutes of talk with her changed the impression. Me and my colleagues were disoriented by her speeches. T.N. reasoned cleverly and finely about lots of different things, answering our question prepared beforehand. But sometimes she inserted some sudden shocking comments which were connected not to the topic of the talk, but to whatever else, like the picture on the wall or my boots.
   The "right woman" controlled the situation perfectly. Serious "scientific" talk almost immediately turned into some kind of a game, obviously amusing the master of the house. By this T.N. created a double attitude to herself: she was very sympathetic and, in the same time, very alerting. She was constantly making us understand that she has to be kept eyes open upon, and even to be feared a little.
   My colleagues questioned the witch on rites and spells. Very friendly and kind of lazily she told us how she can heal with spells, how glamour can be created to deceive people's eyes, and lots of other things, more serious.

For example, we learned how local magicians pass their power to their successors. This power is of devilish origin, and this is why a magician can't die before he passes it to someone else. He will not be able to "let his spirit out", lying on the deathbed, and his torments will be terrible, until he would not manage somehow to pass the power. "Here, here, take it, take!" - he will be repeating, until someone near him would answer "Give it to me, I take it!" If no one wants to accept the gift, the dying magician goes into tricks and tries to pass the power with some thing such as a piece of bread. The one who takes something from the hands of the dying magician, can success his power against his own will. Having given his magic power to someone else, its former owner at last can die and let his spirit ("lov") leave for otherworld. His relations make a special opening in the roof of the house to let the lov go, otherwise the spirit of the magician may stay at home for a long time and will disturb those who live there.

   T.N. also affirmed several unbelievable stories told about her by the locals. For example, she told us how she quarreled with one guest who asked to bewitch someone whom he disliked.

T.N. refused, and the refusal was harsh. A quarrel started immediately, the visitor threw lots of insults and threats into the witch and slammed the door. When he was going back home in his car, he was taken by fear so strong that several times he had to stop and wait until it's over. But whenever he was going to stop, each time a figure of T.N. appeared before him, and scared ribald pushed gas. This happened many times. Unhappy driver decided at last to jump out of the car and run away, but suddenly his car went out of control and accelerated enormous speed. Then the car started to break apart at full throttle.
Loosing the last remnants of wit, the scared man caught hold of the bough of a tree whizzing close to him and hanged on it, using all his strength.
Soon it was all over and the driver opened his eyes in his own car which stood safe and sound in the ditch; the driver crouched himself up on the rudder and hold it with such strength that his knuckles were white.
On his returning home that man had to go to the hospital; his psychic was seriously deranged.

   "He was not punished for his reviling me," explained T.N. to us, "but for his thoughts and soul which was dirty. Even too dirty, far too much."

   We talked with the "right woman" for several hours that passed unnoticed. Soon I put my notebook aside; I wanted just to sit and learn. Talking with T.N. created wonderful feeling of easiness, trust and some special conviviality... Many things spoken of reminded some good history novel. The hostess told us of her youth, about how in childhood she was sent to Dissenters' cell where she spent several years. It was there T.N. learned to sing, in a very low voice and very lofty. She even sang for us a little...
   What a pity we had no recorder with us then! For several years after that I have planned to go to Kudymkar again for to record the amazing singing of the Komi-Permian "todys'"; but I never did.