![]() Several days later, storms would cause havoc which will signal the bird-woman to hatch the eggs that she had to keep safe from harm. It was believed that in the wintertime, this bird-woman would lay eggs and then drop them on the bottom of the sea. The secret powers of the Alkonost included a beautiful voice and the ability to send messages from the underworld to the Earth (world of the living). This creature is represented as a beautiful girl with the head of a bird. The Alkonost is a character from Russian folklore who, according to the tale, lives in Heaven. The Azhdaya was quite a dominant villain in Slavic mythology which is why it was transformed into the image of the Devil after Christianization. The pagan folklore interpreted it as a polycephalous demonic serpent that lived for several hundred years, spat fire, ate humans, and performed evil deeds. The Azhdaya is a version of the mythological dragon known as Zmay or Zmey. 10 Mythological Beings in Slavic Folklore 1. Many of these share the same “storyline” or features. The mythological folklore heritage of each Slavic country has supernatural and demonic characters. Slavic Mythologies and Legendary Creatures Those Christian elements, of course, affected the characters themselves as well as their traits.įor example, the Polish forest demon Leshy was reportedly invented by the pagan Slavs but was altered over the years, eventually becoming Borowy and then Boruta (a devil). The stories in Polish mythology (or the legends of Russian demons) speak about demonic creatures and spirits from forests, skies, or lakes.Īlthough these stories contain evident Christian elements they are still considered pagan sources and are often used by historians and folklorists who investigate Slavic mythology. ![]() There is a small amount of written evidence about Slavic demons and spirits in the pre-Christian period. He is called “Vodnik” in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, “Wodnik” in Poland and “Vodyanyk” in Ukraine. The name of a single being may be encountered with a different spelling or transliteration according to a specific language of a specific Slavic country.įor example, the “Vodanoi” is a male water spirit from Slavic mythology. The supernatural characters in Slavic mythology appear in a wide range of forms. ![]() 10 Mythological Beings in Slavic Folklore.Slavic Mythologies and Legendary Creatures.Names of Mythical Characters and Spirits.
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