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Abstract

The article attempts to connect the sources of appearance of the folklore images of Old Women-Villains with a prehistoric epoch, when a replacement of matriarchy by patriarchy took place in a primitive society, and people began to demonize former female deities (goddesses) with the help of their priests. Subsequently these images passed into folklore, in particular, fairy tales and heroic eposes.

Key words

Amazons, female deities, the Kam-Storyteller, demonize, the Bahshi-Storyteller, the epos, a fairy tale, a folklore image