Buyan

For the Albanian village, see Bujan.

For other uses, see Buyan (disambiguation).

Buyan Island, by Ivan Bilibin

In East Slavic folklore, Buyan (Russian: Буя́н, sometimes transliterated as Bujan) is a mysterious island in the ocean with the ability to appear and disappear with the tide.

Description

The island of Buyan features in many fairy tales; Koschei the Deathless keeps his soul of immortality hidden there, secreted inside a needle placed inside an egg in the mystical oak-tree; other legends call the island the source of all weather, generated there and sent forth into the world by the god Perun. Buyan also appears in Alexander Pushkin's Tale of Tsar Saltan.

It is mentioned in the medieval Dove Book as the place where the mythical stone with healing and magic powers, known as the Alatyr (Russian: Алатырь), which is guarded by the bird Gagana and by Garafena the serpent.

See also

• Kitezh
• Leđan
• Tír na nÓg
• Fortunate Isles

Bibliography

• Meletinsky, E.M., ed. (1990). Алатырь [Alatyr] (in Russian). Советская энциклопедия. p. 333. ISBN 5-85270-032-0. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)