In Slavic mythology, vodyanoy (Russian: водяной, IPA: [vədʲɪˈnoj]; lit. '[he] from the water' or 'watery') is a water spirit. In Czech and Slovak fairy tales, it is called vodník (or in Germanized form: Hastrman), and it is considered to be the equivalent creature as the Wassermann or nix of German fairy tales. In Ukrainian fairy tales, it is called “водяник“ (vodyanyk).
Vodyanoy is said to appear as a naked old man with a frog-like face, greenish beard, and long hair, with his body covered in algae and muck, usually covered in black fish scales; сonsequently, he is often dubbed "grandfather" or "forefather" by the local people. He has webbed paws instead of hands, a fish's tail, and eyes that burn like red-hot coals. He usually rides along his river on a half-sunken log, making loud splashes. Local drownings are said to be the work of the vodyanoy (or rusalki).
When angered, the vodyanoy breaks dams, washes down water mills, and drowns people and animals. Consequently, fishermen, millers, and also bee-keepers make sacrifices to appease him. The vodyanoy would sometimes drag people down to his underwater dwelling to serve him as slaves.
It is believed that vodyanoys have a ruler: the Tsar Vodyanik, or the Vodyan Tsar. He is described as an old man armed with a club, who can rise to the sky sitting on a black cloud and create new rivers and lakes.[1]
In Czech, Slovene, and Slovak folklore, the features of the vodník are markedly different from the East Slavic conception; he has a completely human constitution and habits, except for few differences – vodníci (plural of vodník) have gills, webbed membrane between their fingers, and their skin is algae-green in colour (as well as their hair, which is typically of pale green tone). Their overall dress and appearance is bizarre, sometimes even resembling a vagrant; patchy shirts and (by modern standards) odd hats — often boaters with long speckled ribbons — are commonplace. They can withstand lingering for hours outside their ponds. When they do so, one can easily discern them by their coattails, which are always dripping wet. The vodník's face is usually unshaven and it is not uncommon for a vodník to have a large, wet, tangled beard.
Czech, Slovenian and Slovak tales have both evil and good vodyanoys (relative to human beings) who do (or don't, respectively) try to drown people when they happen to swim in their territory. Vodníci would store the souls of the drowned in porcelain teapots. They consider their teapots their most valuable heritage and display their "work", using the number of teapots to represent their wealth and/or status among other vodníci. When the lid of such a pot is removed, the soul within (in the form of a bubble) will escape and be liberated. Except for fish (or perhaps fish spirits), they do not have servants. Otherwise, vodníci spend their time running their territory or – in their spare time – playing cards, smoking pipes or just sitting at the water surface (on rocks or willows nearby) and loitering. Fishermen ask the vodník for help by placing a pinch of tobacco in the water and saying, "Here's your tobacco, Lord Vodník, now give me a fish." In Czech, Slovak and Slovene tales vodníci live in ponds or rivers; there is no mention of a particular dwelling and the "half-sunken log" does not appear. There are almost no references to vodníci in connection with seawater, probably because they belong to the folklore of mostly landlocked nations.
|
Main article: Bolotnik |
Bolotnik (Russian: болотник) is the owner of the swamp. He is often considered a relative of the vodyanoy and the leshy. There are many descriptions of him, but most often he was imagined as an old man with long green beard and his body covered in fish scales and algae. The bolotnik is dangerous, and he would pose an especially huge threat to those who play shepherd's pipe at night. In order to lure the person to the swamp, he would parody the sounds of various animals, create wandering lights and grow intoxicating plants. This spirit is often said to be a loner, although in some beliefs he has a wife, a bolotnitsa.[2]
Vodyanitsa (Russian: водяница) is a beautiful green-haired water maiden, and she is often said to be the wife of a vodyanoy. This spirit sometimes appears in the form of a golden-finned fish or a white swan. Vodyanitsy (plural: Russian: водяницы) prefer forested lakes, mill ponds, wells and (less commonly) seas as their habitat. They are considered harmless spirits, although sometimes they tear the nets and spoil the millstones; the sea vodyanitsy are more aggressive than freshwater ones and are dangerous to ships. According to some beliefs, the main difference between the vodyanitsa and other water spirits is that she is a baptized drowned girl.[3] The term is often used synonymously for rusalka.[4]
