Jan Hanuš Máchal

“ The Rusalky are extremely fond of music and singing; and their fine voices lure swimmers to deep places, where they drown. The water-nymphs also divert themselves by dancing in the pale moonlight, and they inveigle shepherds to play with them, the places where they dance being marked by circles in which the grass is particularly luxuriant and green. Fond of spinning, they hang their yarn on trees; and after washing the linen which they weave, they spread it on the banks to dry. If a man treads on such linen, he becomes weak and lame. ”

“ During the winter he remains in his dwelling; and in early spring, when he wakes from his slumber, he is hungry and troublesome, breaking the ice, setting the waves in commotion, and frightening the fish. To propitiate him a horse, smeared with honey, is sacrificed, and for three days he impatiently awaits this offering, betraying his greediness by making the waters heave and by howling dismally. Fishermen pour butter into the water as a sacrifice to him, while millers kill a black, well-fed sow and offer it in his honour that he may not tear down their dams or trouble their sleep. ”

“ More rarely mention is made of "Wild Men." They live in forests, and their entire bodies are covered with hair or moss, while a tuft of ferns adorns their heads. If they catch a young girl, they take her to wife; and if she runs away from them, they tear her child to pieces. They appear to lonely wanderers and, accompanied by terrible gusts of wind, they frighten them and lead them into morasses. The "Wild Men" like to tease gamekeepers and forest-rangers by imitating the hewing, sawing, and felling of trees; and they chase deer in the woods, hooting horribly all the while. ”

“ He then fills a glove with kernels of wheat, and adding a silver coin, he strews the grain upon the floor, as if sowing. The children throw themselves upon the wheat, picking it up like poultry; and the one who succeeds in finding the coin will have good luck. Around the hearth straw is spread and covered with sweets for the whole family; and the farmer, hiding behind it, thrice asks the household if they can see him. ”

“ The Russians believe that the Poludnica has the shape of a tall and beautiful girl dressed in a white gown. She not only lures small children into the corn, but walking about the fields at harvest-time, she seizes the heads of those whom she finds working there at midday, and twisting their necks, causes them violent pain. The Siberian Russians picture her as an old woman with thick, curly hair and scanty clothing; she lives among the reeds, or in the dense thickets of nettles, and kidnaps naughty children. In other parts of Russia she appears as guardian of fields. ”

“ The household spirit shares in the joy and sorrow of his home. If an inmate dies, he will show his grief by howling at night, while bitter sobbing and wailing forebode the death of the master of the house, and sorrowful moanings are heard if plague, war, conflagration, or some other calamity is threatening. ”

“ When the Lěšiy walks through the forest to look after his property, a rustling of the trees accompanies him; he roams through the wood, rocks upon the boughs, whistles, laughs, claps his hands, cracks his whip, neighs like a horse, lows like a cow, barks like a dog, and mews like a cat. The echo is his work; and since a strong wind constantly blows around him, no man has ever seen his footsteps either in sand or in snow. ”

“ Bulgarian tradition speaks of the soul as approaching the body on the fortieth day, trying to enter it and to live anew; but being frightened by the disfigured and decaying corpse, it flies away into the world beyond the grave. The belief that the soul remains for forty days in the places where it had lived and worked is universal among the Slavs. ”

“ During the day he usually lies concealed in deep places, but rises to the surface at night, clapping his hands and jumping from the water like a fish; or sometimes he sits on the mill-wheel, combing his long green hair.
The Vodyanik is the master of the waters; but although he is endowed with terrible strength and power so long as he is in the water, he is weak when on dry land. He likes to ride a sheat-fish, or saddles a horse, bull, or cow, which he rides till it falls dead in the morasses. All that happens in the waters is done by his will. ”

“ Sometimes the Rusalky appear as girls seven years old, sometimes as maidens in the full bloom of youth. They cover their beautiful bodies with green leaves, or with a white shirt without a belt; and at Whitsuntide they sit on trees, asking women for a frock and girls for a shirt, whence women hang on the branches strips of linen or little shreds torn from their dresses, this being meant as a sacrifice to propitiate these water-nymphs. ”

“ Roaming about the woods on horseback or on stags, the fairies of the forests chase the deer with arrows; they kill men who defy them; and they like to perch on trees with which they are inseparably united. The Water-Vily live in rivers, lakes, springs, and wells, although for the most part they stay outside the water. When, on moonlit nights, they leave their abodes, the waters rise and foam; and the fairies, dancing on the banks, drown young men who happen to be bathing there. If they perceive a man on the opposite bank, they grow in size so as to be able to step across the stream. ”

“ The soul flutters about the cottage in the shape of a fly, sitting down, from time to time, upon the stove and witnessing the lamentations of the mourners as well as the preparations for the funeral; and in the courtyard it hovers around as a bird. ”

“ When in good humour, he drives the fish into the fisherman's net and guides sailors to safe places in stormy weather; but when his mood is irritable, he lures them to dangerous coasts and upsets their boats. He tears the spikes out of the mill-wheels, diverts the water from its course, and floods the mill; and if the miller wishes to succeed, he should bury some living being in the foundations of his mill, such as a cow, a sheep, or even a man. There is also a wide-spread belief that the Vodyanik drowns those who bathe at midday or at midnight. ”

“ With the exception of the Lithuanians, who erected a considerable kingdom in the Middle Ages, only to share the unhappy fate of Poland, the Baltic peoples have played little part in history. In a backwater of civilization, retaining in extraordinary measure the primitive forms of their tribal organization, their mode of life, their religion, and their language,5 they were no match for those who sought to subdue them, though they fared less hardly at the hands of the Slavs than at those of the Germans. ”

“ Rising to the surface of the stream on clear summer nights, they bathe, sprinkling the water around them and frolicking in the waves; they like to sit on the mill-wheel, splashing each other, and then they dive deep, crying, "Kuku." In late spring especially they come out of the water, and run about the neighbouring woods and thickets, clapping their hands and turning somersaults upon the grass, while their laughter resounds far and wide in the forests. ”

“ The Southern Slavs believe that any person upon whom an unclean shadow falls, or over whom a dog or a cat jumps, may become a Vampire; and the corpse of such a being does not decay when buried, but retains the colour of life. A Vampire may suck the flesh of his own breast or gnaw his own body, and he encroaches even upon the vitality of his nearest relations, causing them to waste away and finally die. ”

“ In the happy days of yore, when the fields produced wheat and other sorts of cereals without the help of man, when people lived in peace and contentedness and mutual goodwill, the fairies helped them to garner their harvests, to mow their grass, to feed their cattle, and to build their houses; they taught them how to plough, to sow, to drain meadows, and even how to bury the dead. ”

“ Abundance of good food and a neat and tidy house are supposed to attract the souls and to fill them with pleasure. In the evening the members of the household bathe, and having put a pail of fresh water, with a wisp of straw in it, for the Dziadys to wash in, the family, together with the relations who have been invited, assemble in the room arrayed in their Sunday best. ”

“ These genii, regardless of nationality, sex, or age, assemble on mountain-tops, where they battle either singly or in troops, the victors bringing to their countrymen a rich harvest and success in breeding cattle; but if a man's soul perishes in this fight, he will never awake. ”

“ According to Bulgarian tradition in Macedonia, the Navi and Navjaci are invisible genii soaring in the depths of the firmament, appearing in the shape of birds, and crying like infants. They are the souls of children who have died un-baptized, and in their search for their mothers they attack and trouble women in childbed. ”

“ There are as many men on earth as there are stars in the sky. At his birth each man receives a star of his own; and when his end is drawing near, that star falls to earth, the man dies, and his soul floats upward to the clouds. ”

“ The Mora, assuming various shapes, approaches the dwellings of men at night and tries to suffocate them; she is either a piece of straw, or a white shadow, or a leather bag, or a white mouse, a cat, a snake, a white horse, etc. First she sends refreshing slumber to men and then, when they are asleep, she frightens them with terrible dreams, chokes them, and sucks their blood. For the most part she torments children, though she also throws herself upon animals, especially horses and cows, and even injures and withers trees, so that various means are employed to get rid of her. ”

“ The Bulgarians believe that every house has its own Stopan, who is descended from an ancestor distinguished for valour and bravery. The Stopan guards his family, securing them health, long life, and numerous progeny; he makes the sheep multiply and yield abundance of wool and milk; he promotes rich harvests and causes the vineyards to produce heavy grapes and the orchards to bear plenty of fruit, the only reward which he asks being that the family hold him in high honour and give him sufficient food. ”

“ They are tall in stature, their faces are thin, and their hair is long and dishevelled. They fling their breasts over their shoulders, since otherwise they would be hindered in running; and their garments are always disarranged. Groups of them go about woods and fields, and if they chance upon human beings, they tickle the adults to death, but take the young folk with them to be their lovers and playmates. For this reason young people never go to the woods alone, but only in groups. ”

“ These genii of fate are usually regarded as pretty lasses or as good-natured old women. The Southern Slavs speak of them as being beautiful like fairies, with white, round cheeks, and attired in white garments; their heads are covered with a white cloth, their necks are adorned with gold and silver trinkets and with jewellery, and in their hands they hold burning candles, so that on moonlit nights their ethereal figures may easily be seen. The Czechs entertain similar ideas: the goddesses of destiny appear like white maidens or old women ”

“ In the evening they like to rock upon slender branches, enticing unwary wanderers; and if they succeed in leading any one astray, they tickle him to death, or draw him down into the depths of the stream. ”

“ The souls of the deceased often appear as jack-o'-lanterns flickering about In churchyards or morasses, leading people astray in swamps and ponds, or strangling and stupefying them. Woe to him who ridicules them or whistles at them, for they will beat him to death ”

“ Their long hair is usually fair or golden, and their life and strength are believed to depend upon it, so that if a fairy loses a single hair, she will die. The Slovenians, however, assert that a Vila will show herself in her true shape to any one who succeeds in cutting off her hair. Their bodies are as slender as the stem of a pine, and as light as those of birds ”

“ The Rusalky live in woods, meadows, fields, and waters. Generally appearing when the corn begins to ripen in the fields, and concealed amidst it, ready to punish him who wantonly plucks the ears, they dance and make merry, adorned with the many-coloured blossoms of the poppy and with their hair flying loose. ”

“ IN Slavic belief the soul is a being quite distinct from the body, which it is free to leave even during life, so that there are many stories of human souls coming forth from the bodies of sleeping persons and either dwelling in trees or, in the shape of white birds, fluttering about in the world and finally returning to their normal habitations. It is inadvisable to go to bed thirsty, lest the soul, wearied by its search for water, may weaken the body. If a man faints, his soul leaves his body and uneasily flutters about the world ”

“ Shortly after harvest a great festival was held in honour of Svantovit, and on this occasion people assembled from all quarters of the island of Riigen to sacrifice cattle and to join in the rites. On the day before the ceremonies began the sanctuary was carefully swept by the priest, who alone had access to it. While he remained inside, he was very careful not to breathe; and when he could no longer hold his breath, he hastened to the door lest the presence of the deity be desecrated by the exhalation of a mortal man. ”

“ INTERESTING evidence of fatalism is recorded by the Greek historian Procopius, [1] who asserts that the Slavs knew nothing about fate and denied that it had any sort of influence on man; when threatened by death or overcome by illness, or when preparing for war, they vowed to offer a sacrifice to the gods, should the peril be luckily passed.
This evidence may be considered as proof that the Slavs were not blind fatalists, but believed in a higher being who dealt out life and death, and whose favour might be won by sacrifices. ”

“ The fairies are fond of singing and dancing; and enticing young lads and shepherds or singers to dance with them, they distribute happiness or misfortune among them. Places where the fairies have been dancing may be recognized from afar, being distinguished by thick, deep, green grass (fairy-rings) ; and if any one presumes to step inside, he must expect punishment. Their voices are so wonderfully sweet that a man might listen to them for many days without eating or drinking ”