Misplaced Pages

#630369

71-473: In northern Russia, the rusalka was also known by various names such as the vodyanitsa (or vodyanikha / vodyantikha ; Russian : водяница, водяниха, водянтиха ; lit. "she from the water" or "the water maiden"), kupalka ( Russian : купалка ; "bather"), shutovka ( Russian : шутовка ; "joker", "jester" or "prankster") and loskotukha (or shchekotukha , shchekotunya ; Russian : лоскотуха, щекотуха, щекотунья ; "tickler" or "she who tickles"). In Ukraine,

142-466: A bolotnyanik ( Болотняник ). His usual appearance is that of a naked old man with a fat paunch of a belly and swollen face according to the Russian folklore collector, but a later English commentary using similar phraseology insisted the creature was not nude but bald, and concatenates additional commentary from the Russian source which says he is seen naked but covered in slime（ тина ), wearing

213-834: A seasonal lag of half a season or more is common, reckoning based on astronomical markers is shifted half a season. By this method, in North America, summer is the period from the summer solstice (usually 20 or 21 June in the Northern Hemisphere) to the autumn equinox . Reckoning by cultural festivals, the summer season in the United States is traditionally regarded as beginning on Memorial Day weekend (the last weekend in May) and ending on Labor Day (the first Monday in September), more closely in line with

284-474: A Bohemian version of the butcher tale, a man from Předměřice was really a vodník, regularly shopping from a butcher at Tuřice , but the out-of-town man's habit of pointing the finger at the piece of meat he wanted annoyed the butcher into cutting a finger off one day. But two days later, he was taking the valley path along the Iser ( Jizera ) and encountered a huge frog which the curious butcher, but it turned into

355-503: A dripping wet coat. He is known as the "green man" at the market, appearing like an ordinary man wearing a green coat, with the left coat-tip ( šos ) always wet, and also missing the thumb on his left hand. The merchants welcome him because when he makes purchases, business does well. The vodník lures people into the water to drown them, and those who bathe after hours are especially vulnerable, but he can only drown those who were fated to die that way. Fishermen were afraid of saving

426-428: A drowning man from the clutches of a vodník, because they would come in a bad way and wind up being drowned themselves. In one version the water demon spans a fine invisible net across the river to trap people. But he sits in the grass mending his nets on Friday, his day off from man-snatching. The peddler vodník displays some sort of trinkets hanging on a rack in order to lure his prey into water. Most especially

497-456: A frenzied dance. In Polish folklore, the term rusalka could also stand for boginka , dziwożona and various other entities. The rusalki were believed to be at their most dangerous during the 'Rusalka week' ( Cyrillic : Русальная неделя , romanized : Rusalnaya nedelya ) in early June. At this time, they were supposed to have left their watery depths in order to swing on branches of birch and willow trees by night. Swimming during this week

568-418: A high boyar hat  [ ru ] ) made of green " club-rush " (or other sedges ) and a green belt of that same "grass". He is also described as an old man with green hair and (long ) green beard The green beard turns white with when the moon wanes, as the immortal Vodyanoy ages or rejuvenates with the phases of the moon . Or, rather than wearing plant-based clothing, a different source states he

639-472: A high price it forewarns spike in market price, i.e., crop failure . But if he buys at low price, the bread will remain cheap. The vodyanik "owns" all the fish and aquatic creatures, and his control over them explains his ability to deliver fish. The vodyanik selects in particular the sheatfish ( сом ; Silurus glanis , aka "wels catfish") as his mount to ride on. But he will catch the farmers' cattle or horses (in water) and ride them till they drop dead in

710-592: A long green beard. The varying look has been attributed in commentary to his shape-shifting ability. 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. The vodník in Czechia or Slovakia were said to use colored ribbons (sometimes impersonating peddlers, but also tying them to grass, etc., as lures in

781-443: A magic wand. The vodník's wife instructs the woman to sweep and take home the sweepings (which later turn out to be gold and silver), but not to touch the covered pots. The godmother disobeys and overturns a pot revealing a soul had been captured inside. Then in a double pot she finds the soul of her two drowned children, who tells her they were thus captured by the vodník and could not ascend to heaven. She takes her childrens' souls in

SECTION 10

#1732765915631

852-516: A mermaid, though she is pictured as having legs rather than a fish tail ... The current view of the rusalka as a seductive or seduced woman was probably influenced by written literature. In the past, her image was more complex and she more closely resembled a nature spirit, found not only near water but in fields, forests, and mountains, rather like the vila ...". Vodyanoy#Vodyanitsa In Slavic mythology , vodyanoy (Russian: водяной , IPA: [vədʲɪˈnoj] ; lit. '[he] from

923-779: A minimum in February and March and a peak in early September. In the North Indian basin, storms are most common from April to December, with peaks in May and November. In the Southern Hemisphere , the tropical cyclone season runs from the start of November until the end of April with peaks in mid-February to early March. Thunderstorm season in the United States and Canada runs in the spring through summer but sometimes can run as late as October or even November in

994-453: A peasant encounters a waterman (from a lake in Kriváň (village) ) pursuing another waterman who stole his wife, guiding him to the lake of the perpetrator. The peasant watches as an underwater fight ensues, culminating in bubbling froth turning red, signaling a bad outcome, and the peasant flees as forewarned. Slovakian folklore also speak of the vodník's pot ( vodníkove hrnce ), attested in

1065-416: A pinch of tobacco in the water and saying, "Here's your tobacco, Lord Vodník, now give me a fish." The Bohemian male water demon came to be called vodník or Hastermann , but their ancient names have not been found in older sources. It dwells in every river, stream, or pond. Though several may share a body of water, they keep themselves apart since they are antagonistic towards each other. Sometimes

1136-460: A poor day-laborer woman's eldest daughter becomes the Hastermann's servant, and when she sweeps, the dust she collects is gold. She liberates a soul from a noisy jar, which turns out to be her brother. She is forgiven, but after serving many years, homesickness hardens her decision to flee, and she frees all the souls on departure. The hastrmann pursues but she returns home to her siblings. In

1207-463: 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

1278-528: A seasonal shift in the prevailing winds , it is known as a monsoon. In the northern Atlantic Ocean, a distinct tropical cyclone season occurs from 1 June to 30 November. The statistical peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is 10 September. The Northeast Pacific Ocean has a broader period of activity, but in a similar timeframe to the Atlantic. The Northwest Pacific sees tropical cyclones year-round, with

1349-732: A summer vacation in mid-July and resume in the later weeks of September or the first week of October. A wide range of public holidays fall during summer, including: People generally take advantage of the high temperatures by spending more time outdoors during summer. Activities such as travelling to the beach and picnics occur during the summer months. Sports including cricket , association football (soccer), horse racing , basketball , American football , volleyball , skateboarding , baseball , softball , tennis and golf are played. Water sports also occur. These include water skiing , wakeboarding , swimming , surfing , tubing and water polo . The modern Olympics have been held during

1420-419: A tale and a legend concerning the hastermann or vodnik living near mills. The net-casting vodník (cf. § Man-snatching below) is described as a green man, and comes out of the water combing his green hair on a day he does not hunt drowning victims. But in several accounts he manifests himself as an ordinary human being (cf. § As frogs ), or the peddler by the pond north of Přeštice , wearing

1491-467: A vodník can be identified because the left side of his coat ( kabát ) is always dripping wet. Some ascribe long flowing hair, or blazing eyes as large as dishes ( tanier ). It allegedly appeared out of the stream in the form of a "little green boy", according to one witness. The boatmen on the Váh claim to have witnessed the vodník looking like a man with the head of a black ram, though another that

SECTION 20

#1732765915631

1562-555: Is an isolated Czech example of the water-demon being human-like but transforming into frog, but the water-demon's wife being froglike is commonplace . A widely known tale type of vodník or wife hiring a woman as godmother or housekeeper tale is found in Czech and Slovak versions. Czech, Slovenian and Slovak tales have both evil and good watermen (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

1633-504: Is associated with the Christmas and New Year holidays. Many families take extended holidays for two or three weeks or longer during summer. In Australia and New Zealand , summer begins on 1 December and ends on 28 February (29 February in leap years). In Chinese astronomy , summer starts on or around 5 May, with the jiéqì ( solar term ) known as lìxià (立夏), i.e. "establishment of summer". Summer ends around 7 August, with

1704-498: Is covered in weeds and slime, and scaly-skinned in his true form. Or rather a figure of giant stature covered in grass and moss. Or be "quite black with enormous red eyes and a nose as long as a fisherman's boot". Or that he is human-faced, but has huge toes, paws instead of hands, long horns, a tail, and eyes that burn like red-hot coals. He has the capability of shape-shifting. and this has been suggested as an explanation of its varied descriptions. He may crawl out of water in

1775-493: Is often said to be a loner, although in some beliefs he has a wife, a bolotnitsa. 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

1846-603: Is used in countries including Australia , New Zealand , Austria , Denmark , Russia and Japan . It is also used by many people in the United Kingdom and Canada . In Ireland , the summer months according to the national meteorological service, Met Éireann , are June, July and August. By the Irish calendar , summer begins on 1 May ( Beltane ) and ends on 31 July ( Lughnasadh ). Days continue to lengthen from equinox to solstice and summer days progressively shorten after

1917-579: The rusalka . 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. The Russian vodyanoy answers to Czech (and Slovak ) vodník , Slovene vodeni mož ("water-man"), and Polish topielec ("Drowner"). These water demons of West and South Slavic lore are similar to

1988-489: The Latin " Rosālia " as a name for Pentecost and the days adjacent to it. Long-standing, likely pre-Christian, annual traditions resulted in that time of year being associated with spirits ( navki , mavki ) which were subsequently named for the holiday. According to Vladimir Propp , the original "rusalka" was an appellation used by pagan Slavic peoples, who linked them with fertility and did not consider rusalki evil before

2059-590: The Southern Hemisphere , and vice versa. The modern English summer derives from the Middle English somer , via the Old English sumor . From an astronomical view, the equinoxes and solstices would be the middle of the respective seasons, but sometimes astronomical summer is defined as starting at the solstice, the time of maximal insolation , often identified with 21 June or 21 December. By solar reckoning, summer instead starts on May Day and

2130-404: The fall . These storms can produce hail , strong winds and tornadoes , usually during the afternoon and evening. Schools and universities typically have a summer break to take advantage of the warmer weather and longer days. In almost all countries, children are out of school during this time of year for summer break , although dates vary. Many families will take holidays for a week or two over

2201-474: The summer solstice , daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice. The earliest sunrises and latest sunsets also occur near the date of the solstice. The date of the beginning of summer varies according to climate , tradition, and culture. When it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere , it is winter in

Rusalka - Misplaced Pages Continue

2272-420: The vodník enters into a loving relationship with a human woman, and will live together with the family he has formed, but otherwise the bachelors are solitary. Those in the pond are considered more feral, living amongst the reeds, but those in the river are believed to live in crystal palaces in a whole expansive world found underwater, where they keep the souls of the drowned dead, inside pots. There are also

2343-657: The 19th century. They came out of the water in the spring to transfer life-giving moisture to the fields and thus helped nurture the crops. In 19th-century versions, a rusalka is an unquiet, dangerous being who is no longer alive, associated with the unclean spirit . According to Dmitry Zelenin , young women, who either committed suicide by drowning due to an unhappy marriage (they might have been jilted by their lovers or abused and harassed by their much older husbands) or who were violently drowned against their will (especially after becoming pregnant with unwanted children), must live out their designated time on Earth as rusalki. However,

2414-614: The East Slavic (Russian, Ukrainian, etc.) conception, though there are certain differences. The Czech and Slovak vodníci (plural of vodník ) can also take on an appearance of ordinary humans, but often with water dripping from their clothing, which makes their false identity easily discernable. But their version says the demon, sometimes impersonating peddlers, use colored ribbons to lure humans. Some accounts give them green color, and also long hair or beard in Slovak versions. There

2485-723: The Southern Hemisphere, school summer holiday dates include the major holidays of Christmas and New Year's Day . School summer holidays in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa begin in early December and end in early February, with dates varying between states. In South Africa, the new school year usually starts during the second week of January, thus aligning the academic year with the Calendar year . In India , school ends in late April and resumes in early or mid-June. In Cameroon and Nigeria , schools usually start

2556-487: The appearance of very pale little girls with green hair and long arms. In other beliefs, they were described as naked girls with light brown hair. In Poland and Czech Republic , water rusalki/rusalky were younger and fair-haired, while the forest ones looked more mature and had black hair – but in both cases, if someone looked up close, their hair turned green, and the faces became distorted. They killed their victims by tickling them to death or forcing them to participate in

2627-414: The bee-keeper wishing for a bounty of honey would choose the midnight hour of the feast days of Saints Zosimus and Sabbatius and dip a honeycomb into the water by the mill, while pronouncing an incantation. He will also foretell the coming harvest. He comes into the village disguised as human, but the edge of his coat ( балахон ) will be visibly wet, and gives himself away. If he buys corn (grain) at

2698-454: The boon of the vodyanoy, receiving a bountiful harvest in their fishing nets. He may receive this reward after returning a child which was accidentally netted. The fishermen offer sacred libation, especially melted butter or oil ( масло ) into the river. There seems to have been a cult recognizing vodyanoy as a patron saint of bee-keeping , as evidenced by the old custom of bagging the first swarm of bees and sacrificing it in water. And

2769-526: The client he maimed and dragged the butcher into water. Matěj Mikšíček  [ cz ] recorded a tale about the pregnant wife of a vodník ( vodníkova žena ) in frog form, which compelled a housekeeper named Liduška to be its child's godmother, though this tale type has been discussed elsewhere as a widely disseminated piece of Slovak folklore (see § Frog wives under §Slovakia). In this Moravian version (but recorded in Bohemian dialect [?]),

2840-452: The creature's finger-marks on his neck. In Ukraine, children were instructed to chant a certain rhyme before going bathing/swimming. He is known to take on a wife (or wives), and espouses "water-nymphs or drowned and unhappy girls who have been cursed by their fathers or mothers". According to Afanasyev , the "water-nymph" ("water-maiden") is known by various names in Russia, including

2911-414: The dark of the night and comb his (green) hair on shore, but he can also appear in the form of a naked woman combing her hair. He may be heard all along the shore while he is slapping the water with his palm ( ладонь , or paw ) on moonlit nights. He can appear as a giant moss-covered fish, a log or even a flying tree-trunk with small-wings, skimming over the water's surface. Since he tampers with

Rusalka - Misplaced Pages Continue

2982-429: The depths of said waterways where she would entangle their feet with her long hair and submerge them. Her body would instantly become very slippery and not allow the victim to cling on to her body in order to reach the surface. She would then wait until the victim had drowned, or, on some occasions, tickle them to death, as she laughed. It is also believed, by a few accounts, that rusalki can change their appearance to match

3053-534: The expression "Walks like a rusalka" ( Russian : Ходит, как русалка ) is applied to girls with unkempt hair. The hair of the rusalka can be fair, black, greenish or completely green. An important attribute of the water maiden is the comb, usually made from fish bones. While lore often says that the rusalki could not completely stand out of water, some fiction works tell of rusalki that could climb trees and sing songs, sit on docks with only submerged feet and comb their hair, or even join other rusalki in circle dances in

3124-610: The field. A particular feature of such stories revolves around the fact that this behaviour would be limited to only certain periods of the year, usually the summer (see Rusalka Week section). Specifics pertaining to rusalki differed among regions. In most tales they lived without men. In stories from Ukraine , they were often linked with water. In Belarus they were linked with the forest and field. They were usually pictured as beautiful naked maidens, but in some areas they were imagined as hideous and hairy. They were said to tickle men to death. According to some Russian beliefs, rusalki had

3195-432: The former Trencsén County (now Trenčín Region or District ), and anecdotally, in the northwestern village of Boky  [ sk ] (now attached to Budča ) a stream was home to a vodný ("aquatic" man) who purchased pots to trap souls inside. Also according to Boky lore, the vodník had a long beard, and would be naked one moment, then be wearing a blouse ( halena ) dripping water from its side. Some say

3266-471: The guise of a red-haired man wearing green peddled green ribbons to a village woman, but the goods turned into grass when she returned home. The vodník or hastrmann maintains a collection of captured souls inside pots in his underwater palace or mansion, as in the tale localized in Moldautein ( Týn nad Vltavou ), here specified as "earthenware" ( German : irdenen ) pots also filled with water. Here

3337-459: The initial Slavic lore suggests that not all rusalki occurrences were linked with death from water. It is accounted by most stories that the soul of a young woman who had died in or near a river or a lake would come back to haunt that waterway. This undead rusalka is not invariably malevolent, and would be allowed to die in peace if her death is avenged. Her main purpose is, however, to lure young men, seduced by either her looks or her voice, into

3408-443: The landscape) to attract humans near water in order to snatch them. In Russia, the vodyanoy is sometimes called the dedushka vodyanoy ( Дѣдушка-водяной , "Water-Grandfather") or vodyanik ( водяник ). He is said to dwell in a slough ( омут ), kettle hole ( Котловина ), or a whirlpool of a river, pond or lake, and liked especially to live near a watermill . One that dwells in marshlands may be called

3479-467: The last day of February. Summer is traditionally associated with hot or warm weather. In Mediterranean climates , it is also associated with dry weather, while in other places (particularly in Eastern Asia because of the monsoon) it is associated with rainy weather. The wet season is the main period of vegetation growth within the savanna climate regime. Where the wet season is associated with

3550-423: The meteorological definition for the parts of the country that have four-season weather. The similar Canadian tradition starts summer on Victoria Day one week prior (although summer conditions vary widely across Canada's expansive territory) and ends, as in the United States, on Labour Day . In some Southern Hemisphere countries such as Brazil , Argentina , South Africa , Australia and New Zealand , summer

3621-486: 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. The term is often used synonymously for rusalka . Summer Summer or summertime is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons , occurring after spring and before autumn . At or centred on

SECTION 50

#1732765915631

3692-417: The peddler ( kramář ) vodník uses the colorful ribbon ( Czech : stuha , pl. stuhy ; pentle or its dim. pentlička to lure humans, according to numerous accounts. In Podskalí  [ cs ] Quarter of Prague, the vodník was seen on a raft ( vor , pl. locative vorách ) in the evenings, and he hangs a red ribbons over the water to lure children and drag them down. A vodník in

3763-472: The pot and makes an escape; thereafter, the river throws up the children's bodies, and they breathe back to life. This tale type is classed as ATU subtype 476* "In the Frog House", where the type example is a Hungarian folktale, but listing Bulgarian and Polish cognate tales, and Slovene and other comparisons as well. Bolotnik ( Russian : болотник ) is the owner of the swamp. He is often considered

3834-430: The rusalka was called a mavka . Those names were more common until the 20th century, and the word rusalka was perceived by many people as bookish, scholarly. The term "rusalka" derives from "rusalija" ( Church Slavonic : рѹсалиѩ , Old East Slavic : русалиꙗ , Bulgarian : русалия , Serbo-Croatian Cyrillic : русаље ) which entered Slavic languages, via Byzantine Greek "rousália" ( Medieval Greek : ῥουσάλια ), from

3905-477: The solar term of lìqiū (立秋, "establishment of autumn"). In southern and southeast Asia, where the monsoon occurs, summer is more generally defined as lasting from March, April, May and June, the warmest time of the year, ending with the onset of the monsoon rains . Because the temperature lag is shorter in the oceanic temperate southern hemisphere, most countries in this region use the meteorological definition with summer starting on 1 December and ending on

3976-430: The solstice, so meteorological summer encompasses the build-up to the longest day and a diminishing thereafter, with summer having many more hours of daylight than spring. Reckoning by hours of daylight alone, summer solstice marks the midpoint, not the beginning, of the seasons. Midsummer takes place over the shortest night of the year, which is the summer solstice, or on a nearby date that varies with tradition. Where

4047-418: The souls of the drowned inside pots, and the liberated souls can ascend to heaven, or even revive. 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

4118-403: The southern hemisphere. Under meteorological definitions, all seasons are arbitrarily set to start at the beginning of a calendar month and end at the end of a month. This meteorological definition of summer also aligns with the commonly viewed notion of summer as the season with the longest (and warmest) days of the year, in which daylight predominates. The meteorological reckoning of seasons

4189-531: The summer holiday begins in late June and ends in mid-to-late August. Similarly, in Canada the summer holiday starts on the last or second-last Friday in June and ends in late August or on the first Tuesday of September, with the exception of when that date falls before Labour Day , in which case, ends on the second Tuesday of the month. In Russia , the summer holiday begins at the end of May and ends on 31 August. In

4260-527: The summer months every four years since 1896. The 2000 Summer Olympics , in Sydney , were held in spring and the 2016 Summer Olympics , in Rio de Janeiro , were held in winter . In the United States, many television shows made for children are released during the summer, as children are off school. Conversely, the music and film industries generally experience higher returns during the summer than other times of

4331-402: The summer solstice is Midsummer . A variable seasonal lag means that the meteorological centre of the season, which is based on average temperature patterns, occurs several weeks after the time of maximal insolation. The meteorological convention defines summer as comprising the months of June, July, and August in the northern hemisphere and the months of December, January, and February in

SECTION 60

#1732765915631

4402-597: The summer, particularly in Southern Hemisphere Western countries with statutory Christmas and New Year holidays. In the United States, public schools usually end in late May in Memorial Day weekend, while colleges finish in early May. Public school traditionally resumes near Labor Day, while higher institutions often resume in mid-August. In England and Wales , school ends in mid-July and resumes again in early September. In Scotland ,

4473-496: The tastes of men they are about to seduce, although a rusalka is generally considered to represent universal beauty, therefore is highly feared yet respected in Slavic culture. In most beliefs rusalki always have loose hair, which can be linked to Slavic traditions of unwedded maidens having unbraided or loosely braided hair which, once married, is tightly braided and worn under a headdress. According to Dal's Explanatory Dictionary ,

4544-467: The vodník returns from his absence in the guise of a red ribbon ( červené mašle ), attempting to lure and snatch Liduška, just as he is wont to do with girls with rakes haymaking on meadows by the river. But in Jungbunzlau ( Mladá Boleslav ) it was rumored the water demon maintained two castles on the Iser ( Jizera ), one by the mill, and other by the brickhouse. At mill was seen a vodník who

4615-553: The water' or 'watery') is a water spirit . In Czech and Slovak fairy tales, he is called vodník (or in Germanized form: Hastrman ), and often referred to as Wassermann in German sources. In Ukrainian fairy tales, he is called “водяник“ (vodyanyk). He may appear to be a naked man with a pot belly (and bald-headed) wearing a hat and belt of reeds and rushes , conflicting with other accounts ascribing him green hair and

4686-438: The waterwheel, the dikes, or control of water if he is not pleased, an operator of a mill must know how to have a good relationship with him. When a watermill is built, a sacrifice of pig, cattle, sheep, or even human (or a chicken) must be made to appease the vodyanik. There are reported cases of watermills destroyed by him (at Lake Ilmen for instance), and may drown a person as forewarned. The fisherman can also benefit from

4757-412: The wetlands. The farmer fording his livestock will make a sign of cross (emblem of Perun's weapon) over the river as protection from this happening. The vodyanoy also posed risk of attacking people entering bodies of water, hence popular belief was to make the sign of the cross before swimming or bathing in such waters. An anecdote tells about a hunter trying to retrieve his duck, and the attack left

4828-455: Was completely green, and covered with filamentous green algae ; at the other abode was seen the vodník's wife, half maiden, half fish. In Slovakia, the same water demon may be called vodný chlap meaning "water guy" or "waterman". The water spirit may also be called a molek (var. molok ). There is a story of a localized in a lake in the forest of Dolný Kubín in Orava , where

4899-417: Was feasted, then entertained him in her own abode. In a more intricate but widespread tale, the froglike being with a swollen belly is met by a woman washing in the river Hron , who offers to be the godmother of the unborn child. A servant (drowned man) arrives with news a girl was born, and conveys the godmother to the vodník's home, hidden under the stairs beneath river boulder, which the man splits open with

4970-466: Was spotted had green hair and clothing. The vodník are said to employ ribbons to lure humans (as in Czech regions), according to lore found in the Bratislava area and Nitra in western Slovakia. The wife of a vodník ( vodníkova žena ) is said to have the appearance of a frog. There is an anecdote of one that transformed into a frog and went to the home of the plowman ( oráč ) where it

5041-440: Was strictly forbidden, lest mermaids drag a swimmer down to the river bed. A common feature of the celebration of Rusalnaya was the ritual banishment or burial of the rusalki at the end of the week, which remained as entertainment in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine until the 1930s. Regarding representations of the rusalka in modern popular culture, folklorist Natalie Kononenko says, "the currently dominant presents her as something like

#630369