Why did Russian peasants sing lullabies about DEATH to their kids?

The so-called ‘death lullabies’, which peasants regularly sang until the early 20th century, have long intrigued researchers of Russian folklore. Indeed, what mother would wish death on her child? Then why did peasant women lull their children with words, such as:

“Bai-bai and lyuli!

Even if you die today.

Tomorrow there will be frost, they'll carry you to the cemetery.

We'll cry and howl and bury you in a grave!”

Or:

“Today, Vanyushka will die,

Tomorrow is the funeral,

We'll bury Vanya,

Ring the big bell!”

Initially, folklorists considered these songs a reflection of the difficult peasant reality: hard labor, hunger, disease and, as a result, a high infant mortality rate. Therefore, researchers were inclined to believe that the life-weary peasant did not cherish his child, was incapable of love or sensitive feelings and could easily wish the screaming infant to die quickly.

But, later, another explanation for the strange songs was discovered. It was a kind of charm, a magical protection for the infant from otherworldly forces that could harm it.

According to folk belief, a newborn child was considered a being not yet fully part of the human world. Consequently, it was more vulnerable to otherworldly forces than an adult. If a child cried restlessly and did not sleep, it meant that some evil forces were interfering with it.

According to this logic, the ‘death lullaby’ was nothing more than a deception. The mother would sing about the death and funeral of her child to confuse the evil spirits. If the child was dead, there was no one left to visit, no one to frighten or torment. Thus, the evil spirits were supposed to leave the infant alone and allow it to sleep peacefully.