The Chuvash folk legend connected trees with legends mainly in northern territories, where earlier the Volga region was covered with impassable primeval forests, where even now there are dense forests. Imagination settled the forestland with monsters like upate, areuri and created a cult of forest, which in Chuvash mythology plays a considerable role. Trees and places of sacrifices to kiremets, as well as some graveyards, were situated in forests. The spirit of the Chuvash found in the heart of the forest mysticism and fright. Crackling of branches of trees, rustling of leaves in the wind as a ghostly sound inspired horror on them. Superstitious Chuvash were afraid being alone on the clearings of the forest. Formerly villages were situated on the clearings of the forests, and from all sides they were surrounded by the forest. As we see this is the reason of the fact that the Northern part of the Chuvash Republic abounds in dialects. Villages and people rarely contacted with each other, and didn’t dare go far into the heart of the forests. Accordingly in the dialect of every village there are some distinctions, that didn’t present in the dialect of a neighboring village.

The southern part of the Chuvash Republic is less wooded, its lowest part in Simbirsk province – is a woodless steppe lowland. As forests disappear the influence of the cult of the forest lessens. In southern hilly steeps rarely strikes an eye a separately standing birch, and the folk doesn’t know, from where it appeared, since it was standing there in time of fathers and grandfathers. People are afraid of lonely trees growing in the steep and consider that this is the place of living of certain evil spirits. They fear to cut it, that’s why the tree rots or withers on the vine, if it’s not burnt down with lightning.

There are popular beliefs (legends) about some of the trees.

A birch (huran) is not only one of the most beautiful trees of the northern land, but one of the most useful stocks. Its bark is used to make all kinds of dishes and house utensils. According to the legends of northern Chuvash, kiremets willingly live on the place where birches are in abundance. The tree of kiremets, where they live, where sacrifices are made is usually a birch. In some places in the northern territory it is considered to be a “sacrificial tree” (chyuk yyvashche), it’s branches are broke off and then they are used to sprinkle a sacrificial animal with water, to the bottom of this tree people pour bones of an animal or ashes of burnt bones and other inedible parts of an animal, which is sacrificed.

Aspen (avas). Folk popular beliefs consider it to be cursed, a bad tree (see the legend about tobacco). Its wood is not used when building a church; the furniture and benches needed for a church are not made of aspen. People believe that sorcerers (magicians) come at night out of the graves and even after their death put the evil eye on people, making much evil. But if one digs out their graves and drives into their heart an aspen stake and covers the grave up with earth again, they won’t be able to come out of it anymore. (Chantar).

With the help of a piece of linden accompanied by magic one can make a woman barren.

Mountain-ash (pilesh). Its leaves and pieces of branches are used to protect oneself from the evil eye of the magician. Going to wedding, northern Chuvash women pinned its leaves up to their hair and to their head-dress, since there is a great possibility to catch the evil eye on the wedding. The one who always wears a piece of mountain-ash together with him, protects oneself from charms of a magician. It’s also considered to be an effective means from an overlook (see Overlook).

Bird cherry tree (shchemert). Upate – a scarecrow (monster) living in the forest fears very much of crackling of bird cherry tree branches. A popular belief says that in the forest upate usually approaches woodcutters and charcoal burners, when they warm themselves by the fire at cold nights. He also sits near them by the fire and warms himself up. But if people put the branches of a bird cherry tree into the fire, the branches crackle a lot and sparks scatter in all directions. He fears to approach, fears that his hair will burn down.

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