Slavic Lore

Illustration of a Leshy by N. N. Brut

Leshy - a pale-green human-like forest spirit, with a long beard and pinecones in his hair. Walking behind trees.

Some Slavic creation legends claimed that the devil himself fashioned the domestic and nature spirits when, in imitation of God, he struck one rock against the other and “from the fragments appeared domovye, leshie, rusalki, and creatures like them.”
Russian Folk Belief - Linda J. Ivantis
#folklore

Artwork by unknown artist. Source commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%D...

Information source ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%...

Women gathered in the woods, and in the middle two women kissing through a wreath.

Kumlenie is an initiation rite of the Eastern & Southern Slavs. Girls or women approached a birch tree wreath, in which a cross or eggs were hung. They kissed and exchanged gifts, and became each other's godmothers. The union was ritually reversed in a week, but was sometimes left for a lifetime.

The Mistress of the Copper Mountain YouTube video by Slavic Lore

'The Mistress of the Copper Mountain' and it's author Pavel Bazhov who survived Stalin's Great Purge

Art: Vyacheslav Nazaruk

Sources: Russian Magic Tales from Pushkin to Platonov,
The Iron Bridge and Digging deep by Rebecca Hurst #folklore #slavicfolklore #slavicmythology

youtu.be/hW8jS8NZDNc?...

Art used in the video:
Julia Tar. Instagram: julia_tar_art
Diana Khomutina. Instagram: dianakhomutina
Boris Vasilyevich Zvorykin
Viktor Anatolyevich Korolkov
Vera Smirnova
Ivan Bilibin

Baba Yaga's Skulls YouTube video by Slavic Lore

Who's skulls are hanging on Baba Yaga's fence? Let me tell you the story.

#babayaga #slavicculture #slavicpaganism #slavicwitch #spooky #folklore #slavicfolklore #slavicmythology #slavic #skulls #witch

youtube.com/shorts/1wArL...

Art - "Valkyrie" by Karl Kopinski.
Story: Krali Marko and the Vida Samodiva (Fairy).
The Samodiva's fondness for fighting is reminiscent of the Valkyrie.

A Valkyrie with a snake around her arm. Art: "Valkyrie" by Karl Kopinski

I take issue with fairytales that introduce cool characters just to have them die in in the end.
Vida the Fairy locked 13 streams in her tree. When the hero came to free them, she caught a grey deer, & seized 3 venomous snakes. 2 she wrapped around her arms & the 3rd she made a whip. Ready to fight!

A Samovila and her deer. The Samovila has long golden hair, has golden armour, with green and brown clothes inbetween, adorned with purple feathers. She is holding a bow in one hand and petting the deer with the other. The deer has golden eyes and golden-tipped red antlers.

Samovila - The South Slavic Wood Nymph.
They can hurt people as often as they can heal them - it depends on how they are treated. In many stories they form a ritual blood-kinship with a human (often a famous historical figure), and would lay down their lives for them.
Art by me. #folklore

Mariya Tobischek 🖤

I spent my childhood in Zauralie, and there’re tales about witches shape-shifting into hens at night. Also, a black hen gets passed over a fresh grave as a final funeral ritual (nobody can explain me why though, my guess – to keep the dead stay buried)

#dailyspooklore #folklore

Figuring by Vesper-On, painted by Angel Terol.

From a Russian tale from Russkoe Ust'e, a remote region located along the Indigirka River in Northeastern Siberia.

Source - Baba Yaga: The Ambiguous Mother and Witch of the Russian Folktale By Andreas Johns

A painted figurine of Baba Yaga riding in her mortar, blood spilling over from the front of the mortar. She is holding a pestle in one hand and a skull in the other. Figuring by Vesper-On, painted by Angel Terol.

Princess Marfita goes to ask for fire from Yaga-Baba, who sucks blood from the princess's breasts. The hero catches Yaga-Baba & forces her to reveal where she has healing water. He fights Yaga-Baba & cuts her head off, but the head continues to run on its braids. #LegendaryWednesday #babayaga

🤣 Loved it

I agree! She's everywhere, has many names, and takes many forms. I'm looking forward to sharing more about her. Thank you for the mention 😊

This speech lives rent free in my brain nowadays.

I looove slavic culture so much I joined this social media for this very post. ❤️

Hi Haru! Welcome! Hope you like it here. I'm happy this post brought you here.

They were thought to fear metal, hence the horseshoes, meant to hem them in to the tree.

Image source: The Green Man Tree Oracle cards

A hawthorn tree with a human face in it.

A Slavic tradition has people present sacrificial objects before a hawthorn tree: cakes, flowers, herbs, even horeshoes. It links to an ancient belief that it might be home to demons, who would remain in the tree if given offerings, otherwise they might venture into the village hungry.
#FolkyFriday

Source: The Slavic Myths by Noah Charney and Svetlana Slapšak.
Image: Vampedia

Woodens stakes and hammer, with crosses painted on them.

Black hawthorn was used in the Balkans to pierce the heart of a suspected vampires or werewolf. The wood is very strong, and the blood-red berries of the tree were used as heart medicine. Thorns were sometimes put in the corpse's bellybutton, as a preventative measure.
#FolkyFriday #vampire

Baba Yaga in the form of a snake, wrapped around a wooden mortar, holding a pestle with her arm, and a broom with the end of her tail. Sculls adorn her mortar. She is wearing a white shirt and red dress, and has bright, greenish hair.

Baba Yaga as a Snake Goddess of Death.
In some tales she is able to turn into a snake, and in others has snake-like attributes. Some consider her to be an ancient Slavic Goddess of Death who originally had the form of a snake.

#LegendaryWednesday #WyrdWednesday #babayaga #folklore #dailyspooklore

I find the translation of the name hilarious - "customarily eats human hears". How horifically nonchalant

Beautiful song and touching lyrics!

That's cool! I love hearing new takes on her character.

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. What was your favourite theory about her name?

The meaning of Baba Yaga’s name YouTube video by Slavic Lore

What does the name Baba Yaga mean? The answer will shed some light on her role in Slavic folklore as well as her possible origin in Slavic mythology.

#babayaga #slavic #slavicfolklore #slavicmythology #witch #slavicgoddess #mythology #snakegoddess #folklore

youtu.be/aTKdId2ZDbE

I really enjoyed your retelling. Something about stories with a king or queen of snakes makes them feel very ancient and mythical.

A collage of screenshots from the movie. One shows a young woman dressed in a while gown and a chamomile crown, behind her orthodox icons and candles. Another has a group of green corpses. The next, a closeup of the woman's face, eyes closed, a blood tear running down her cheek. The next has an old woman holding a broom, sat on the sholders of a young man. The last has the young woman and man in a dark room, her arms up in the air, the man is over a table. They're in an old house. Green creatures are in the background.

Viy - a 1967 Soviet Gothic horror fantasy film.

While on a vacation in a remote village, Khoma, a seminary student, is summoned to keep an eye on a corpse. His faith is tested as evil spirits, witches and a demon haunt him to get to the corpse.

#FolkloreSunday #folklore
#dailyspooklore