The exact features of this entity have been long debated by folklorists. In Slavic folklore, Rusalka is a female supernatural spirit that is connected to water and is often malicious towards people. Rusalka resembled a mermaid or a nymph from other mythologies. Rusalka is a water fairy (in Slavic mythology stories) but was also regarded as a water vila in Slavic legends. The most popular and well-known are Rusalka, Vodianoi and Bereginya. Some of them became well-known and are a source of inspiration for many modern writers. Slavic mythology has a great number of stories with vilas in them. People used to leave flowers, cakes, fresh fruit, and colorful ribbons in forests, wells, and caves as a form of offerings to the Villas. Vilas rode horses, were excellent deer riders, and were amazing bow-hunters. In some versions, the Vila is portrayed as a character with healing powers that is also a prophetess and a generous soul that provides help to people in trouble. In addition, Vila was a strong warrior that went to battle and destroyed her enemies. The feminine charms of their voice made a man forget about sleeping, eating, and drinking water. The pagan stories said that hearing the voice of Vila would mesmerize men to the point of madness. The Vila had a beautiful yet dangerous voice. If a human stole feathers from her wings, she would be easy to control. Some legends represented the Vila as a creature with wings and feathers. People believed that both the strength and weakness of the Vilas can be found in their hair and that if a single hair was plucked from their head, they would die. They were benevolent (unless provoked) and they helped poor and misfortunate people. The Slavic paganism in Eastern and Southeastern Europe represented the vilas as nymph-like creatures that live in lakes, rivers, mountains and ponds, in caves or other hidden places.
She was whiter than snow, her cheeks rosier than a rose, she was more radiant than the sun she was such as the world had never seen before nor shall it ever see again. The wind breathed life into her, mountain dew suckled her, the forest dressed her in leaves and the meadow adorned her with flowers. Once upon a time there lived a maiden who was not born from mother and father but made by Vilas out of snow gathered from a bottomless pit under the light of St Ilija’s sun. Here’s how a Slavic vila was described in one Serbian tale: They could transform into many animals, usually falcons, swans or wolves. The Vilas lived in forests, near the lakes, on the mountains, or in the clouds. They were also eternally young.ĭepending on the version of the story, Vila can have bird or butterfly wings, a white silk dress, and long golden hair (which stores all her magical power). The Vilas were in fact, fairies (in Southern Slavic mythology) that were portrayed as beautiful girls with supernatural powers. The Maiden Who Was Faster than the Horse.The folklore expert Liliana Damaschin writes that since there is a lack of proof for any kind of Slavic writing system prior to the process of the imposed Christianisation, the original religious beliefs and traditions were mainly learned through the oral transmissions of tales and stories.
The slim evidence of the Slavic religion by the 6th century and the small number of witnessings from the 6th to the 9th century has prompted folklorists to further research and reconstruct stories and legends about vilas and other mythical creatures from Slavic folklore. The Slavic pagan folklore was not distinguished from the beliefs of the tribes in the neighboring geographical regions, although it developed individually as a part of the Indo-European religion. Their paganism was constituted of a wide sphere of intangible and material, as the predominant motif in their culture were the so-called supernatural forces. The old religion of the Slavs and their worldview was pagan.
#Cast away and folk full#
Slavs have a rich culture whose imagery and mythological elements have created a world full of Vilas, witchcraft, and different mythical creatures.
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