croatian folklore creatures
A Krsnik, a Witch, a Nightmare (or Incubus), a Dragon, a Fairy, a Malik, a Giant, a Vampire read what our acclaimed Croatian ethnologists have to sayabout them. The fairy theory of building the Pula Arena is an excellent example of specific symbolic systems being transferred from one medium to another, in this case from nature to architecture. The years of his reign were relatively peaceful (remember, he ruled in the late 11th century, so completely peaceful wasnt really an option). Werewolfs arrival is always accompanied by strong wind on which he floats, which makes him difficult to catch. We are the most comprehensive English language resource dedicated to educating the world about ancient Slavs and modern Slavic nations alike. Like many other Slavic nations, Croatia developed its myths and legends that in some ways diverged from the overall Slavic mythology. This book contained descriptions of medicines that could cure all the earthly diseases. There are simply so many! When working on building towns, they would throw hammers from one hill to another. The first documented use of the word vampire is for a person by the name of Arnold Paola (probably: Arnaut Paul?) Croatian Folklore Stories and Legends The Curse of King Zvonimir This Croatian myth, based on the legend about the assassination of King Zvonimir, is extremely interesting. I write the history content. Millions of tourists flock to visit this magnificent landscape that is consisted of 16 crystal shades of blue and emerald lakes which are connected by many rivers, streams, caves, and waterfalls and are surrounded by luscious green woodland. He took pity, and rushed back to help them. Croatian Cryptids Category page View source Croatian Cryptids are Cryptids found in Croatia, Balkan county folklore,Slavic Mythology and folk believes. And, if you look at the course of history, you could say that the curse did its job. Another story tells of a young man falling in love with a fairy and wanting to marry her. In such cases, people believed that fairies left their hoof trails in rocks and trod the surrounded grass during their fairy dances. But, because we are talking about gods, death was never permanent. But there are some really unique elements to their mythology as well. People in Croatia also used to believe it is very hard to see a fairy at all, because they are invisible, and can be seen only by those with a pure heart and without a sin. Tradition says that once upon a time in Istria, a dragon similar to a large lizard devoured many people, but when he wanted to eat the kings daughter, St. Jurajappearedand cut off his head. They asked him to gather his commanders and his people, and lead a campaign to save the Christian people and save the places where Christ had suffered for his people. The helpless fairy agreed and after a while gave birth to a child. However, no young man is wise and good enough to dare enter the cave. The old writings about folk life often mention there are no peasants who dont believe in werewolves and that all of the older folk who spoke about them claimed to have seen a werewolf with their own eyes. Then she asked the boy again to give her wings back, but he tricked her and said she would never get them back, in order to prevent her from escaping. Mining, one of the first major industrial branches in Istria, started to fundamentally change the economy, as well as the entire life in Istria. Kids today play with fairy figures, parents tell stories about them, but they surely dont know that fairies, in their ancient Slavic history, had once been considered winter demons, witches, spirits of the woods, or guardians of the natural world, symbols of fertility, and rulers of the skies and storm clouds. 3. Apartfrom putting Istria on the world paleontological map, dinosaurs are probably responsible for the existence of legends about dragons. Jure also appeared to his terrified widow in her bedroom, who described the corpse as looking as though he was smiling and gasping for breath, and would then sexually assault her. Nowadays, the collective memory of these beliefs is preserved in the ancient texts and oral traditions. This is one of those folk stories that makes you ask a question: What the hell happened out there? A baby born with such a mark is told to be a krsnik, the guardian from trigas, illness and other misfortunes. It flies the traveler over to the wrong side and kicks him off in some unknown land, a desert, or leaves him hanging on a branch. From green sprites at the bottom of the river, to serpentine dragons and men who cannot die so they kill old people. They used to say that krsniks also, just like trigas, could leave their bodies while sleeping, in the form of a fly, and this way go to distant lands to fight trigas and werewolves. In this article, I will talk to you about some of the most famous stories and legends that originated from the minds of the Croatian people. Some of the most . Instead, we could try to dodge an ideological interpretation through a reversed, twisted view. As soon as they enter the cave, they immediately turn back into beautiful girls and walk around their wonderfully decorated halls. Either way, both of them are parts of a wider European tradition. People sometime described a werewolf as a male witch, but they are most often referred to as undead, a goatskin full of blood walking in the dark, across forests, attacking men on crossroads not protected by a crucifix, at the eves of big holidays, and doing evil. This is supported by a frequent motif in legends of the giants, and Istria is not alone here. Consequently, cloud-dwelling fairies were considered good, those living in water were evil, while the majority of fairies, those living in forests and mountains, were considered ambivalent mostly good, but also with a capacity to hurt humans. But her family would not have it, and her father said he would turn them both to stone before he allowed her to leave. Werewolves would do general evil, and only in some Croatian myths would they turn into wolves. They like good housewives, heroes and honest men, but if someone gets on their wrong side, they are even capable of killing them out of vengeance or hatred. Unfortunately, during the Christianization of the Slavic tribes, most of the statues and temples dedicated to the Old gods were destroyed. They are very sensitive, vain and vengeful. Until the age of 7, 17, or 27 krsniks live like ordinary people in a village and are by no means different from any other villager. if(ffid == 2){ And so instead of a quick surrender, the Turks turned to starving them out, cutting all supplies. Where they live and how they are classified. He worked hard ploughing in his fields, and lived simply. Many people testified of seeing fairies dance in the night, by creeks, ponds or at forest glades. In the caves of Slovenia and Croatia lives an animal that's a cross between Peter Pan and Gollum. The horse passed across the graveyard easily until stopping by the grave of the girl whose body had been jumped over by a cat before the burial. Her main feature is that she comes to young people, usually handsome young men, while they sleep, sits on their chest, strangles them and sucks on their nipples. Meet the Slavs is your most comprehensive online resource about Slavic people, their cuisine, culture, history, mythology, and more. He is, in fact, the last king to rule his native land before a period of anarchy, and eventually a union with Hungary. This is one of my favourite Croatian legends! The most popular is that fairies are the souls of deceased girls, spending time in limbo between this world and the afterlife, because of a violent or sinful death. The young man, wanting everyone to see him dancing with a fairy, went to get his wife, but she was all sad and refused to dance. And you, trigon, you cannot have peace! They then tried to pierce its heart again, but the stick could not penetrate its flesh. A short guide through traditional fairy beliefs. To their great surprise, the girl was sitting in the grave combing her hair, all covered in blood. They were originally from Central Europe, Southeast Europe, and the Mediterranean. He was a god of the wind and distribution of wealth (who knows how those two connect). Their name, vila, is associated with clouds and in some myths they bring storms to destroy crops. var lo = new MutationObserver(window.ezaslEvent); There are so many of them (in almost every folklore from around the world). Krsniks were the ones who kept them safe from vicious trigas, from droughts, hailstorms, illness and death. There are also fairy caves, the people used to say, in which no one can enter but fairies. Mora also presents herself in the form of a black cat, jumping to the bed and attacking her victim. Once upon a time, they received a peasant who they taught how to heal, handing him the fairy book. A krsnik is born in a white placenta, or, as some people used to call it, a white cap. This is pretty obvious in the fairy tale of Snow White. People believed that evil fairies could create a storm, wind or hail, and some spoke of seeing them jumping on waves after horrible ship wrecks. Weve put together a list of Croatian folk creatures, along with some of the most popular and widespread Croatian legends. ins.style.width = '100%'; The stories about moras occur in Croatia all along the coast, from Istria to Konavle and in the Dalmatian hinterland, and it is often mentioned that people are the most certain that mora truly exists. They felt ashamed for having so many children, so they said six to trick God, and brought six of them before Him. Much of the intrigue behind Stribog lies in the etymology of his name. The people believe a werewolf possesses enormous strength, he scares people and casts spells on them, especially the relatives that got on the wrong side of him or those with whom he has a score to settle. Because of that, they placed a nail or some other sharp object in the mouths of such persons, to prevent them from ever returning to life, to do evil and bite people. The witches would be most active at night, gathering in forests, on mountaintops, and at crossroads. Andre was first confused, but he still climbed on the donkey, which quickly brought him home. Krsnik, too, have the ability to turn into a fly, and seek out their enemies in that form. Now, why golden apples (you might ask)? The mystery ofhills Mordele also extends to a nearby set of three hills called Picugi. Ahmed Pasha was preparing his large army to deliver their final blow to the people, when the incredibly beautiful Mila walked into his camp. Often benevolent and kind-hearted, giants can also be cruel, stealing humans they come across and keeping them captive. Because of his demise, the power of Croatian royalty diminished exponentially to a point where Croatia was never again an independent kingdom with its own native ruler. The village has changed, the country has changed, and most of all, the relation towards fairies has changed, so stories and dreams about them became less and less frequent. Antonio was a beautiful man so beautiful that every woman around him would fall in love with him, but he paid them no mind. But, there are also a couple of stories in which they are evil and tend to kidnap people and keep them captive (for entertainment purposes, I suppose).if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'meettheslavs_com-box-4','ezslot_9',113,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-meettheslavs_com-box-4-0'); Krsnik, in my opinion, is one of the most interesting creatures from Slavic mythology. Most myths have mora sitting on their victims, strangling them to death. It is connected to the words air, wind and to blow, which undoubtedly indicates that fairies should be creatures of the air and skies. Fairy has always and everywhere been described as a beautiful girl with an impeccable beauty. According to researchers of Slavic deities, Triglavs 3 heads were a representation of the sky, earth, and the underworld. But one day they started bickering and blinded by rage he shouted you fairy! Both Vedi and Giants are humongous creatures with bodies covered with hair. Orko is yet another famous snatcher lurking from night in Dalmatia. Moras are malicious spirits, who in traditional succubus fashion suck the life out of their victims and torture them with desire. According to the folk belief, malik is an ambivalent creature. Such ill-fated features gave Orko a number of possible uses in peoples beliefs. As lovely as fairy horse sounds, an orko is a malicious creature. One day, the sea goddess Nera saw him bathing, and the two fell in love at once. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. In some places, people believed that during the summer, a mother gave birth to a fairy on a beech branch and covered her in green leaves. Although the blocks eroded over time, and some of them broke off and fell to the foot of the hill, archaeologist Ante onje devoted his time during 1960s to research this mysterious place. Kind-hearted towards people and hard-working, giants served to Nazor as a metaphor for the peasants of Istria, while the ancient time in which they lived became a paradise lost. According to Poganik, and other supporters of this idea, the people who settled in Mordele and Picugi during the Bronze Age wereresponsible for the construction of other megaliths in Europe. We have all heard about magical horses (right?). Were from South Africa, and have a keen interest in history, mythology and culture. ins.style.display = 'block'; In such condition, as people say, they cannot move or breathe until the morning and some die under moras pressure. ins.dataset.adChannel = cid; People said they had seen her coming veiled by night to breastfeed her children and when the children learned to walk, they wondered off to the woods where fairies took them as their own and made them elves. Braided manes were a sign that the horse spent the night with fairies and no one dared unbraid them. This peasant was known all over the country as a good man. Many people talked about encountering a mora at sea, or getting attacked by one from the sea while sleeping. He found them healthy and happy, but also scared as they saw God. Perhaps it would be the best to apply the old Istrian recipe for fighting Orko turn your shirt inside out or swap your left shoe with the right one. People tell different tales about krsniks, speaking of them flying into black clouds to fight trigas and udavci, so they wouldnt throw down ice on a village. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Most often krsnik turns into an ox, cat, or a white dog, while trigas and werewolves take forms of black animals. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. They love heroes, as well as smart, wise, tall and handsome boys. Azhdaya The Azhdaya is a version of the mythological dragon known as Zmay or Zmey. Apart from stealing horses, fairies were also known by their night dancing and singing. Some of the older beliefs in fairies consider them as souls of murdered or prematurely deceased girls or children. Perhaps the most widespread belief is that fairies steal the best, mostly white, horses from stables and ride them all through the night. The fairy then asked him what she could do to get her wings back, and the young man said she had to marry him. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. I'd want specifically Croatian, but I understand that a lot of those eastern slavic countries probably share a lot of folklore. window.ezoSTPixelAdd(slotId, 'stat_source_id', 44); Over time, Christian influences merged with pagan elements, resulting in a rich and complex folklore that reflects the country's diverse cultural heritage. Get 1-2 emails a month with the latest articles on Slavic culture, mythology and history. The world turned towards some other values and customs, in which there was no longer room for fairies. Let me know, and Ill be more than happy to add it. So the werewolf doesnt actually have to turn into a wolf, but rather be demonic. } And so one day, when they asked him to help irrigate their lands by ploughing rivers into the ground, he agreed.