You can read more about supernatural beings in our folklore here:
How to protect ourselves from evil forces?
People have devised many ways to protect themselves from harmful influences. Most often, people carried garlic in their bosoms. And since the garlic was from the Christmas Eve table and was hung, it was believed to have special powers. The evil forces roaming at night could not attack the carolers. They protected themselves by drinking water from the burnt table, in which coals from the Christmas Eve had been placed before leaving. People also often carried various herbs that they believed drove away evil spirits.
The main prohibitions that our ancestors observed in order to be protected:
- Do not go outside at night - from midnight to the first roosters.
- The women should stay awake and keep the fire burning in the hearth, so that the "wicked" do not enter through the chimney.
- Do not pass by "Karakondjovo" gatherings.
- Women should fence their houses with linen or hemp ropes to protect them from evil forces.
- There are no late sittings
– Do not drink water at night;
– Women do not wash shirts and do not wash their hair, because the water is not baptized;
– Do not spin, do not weave;
- Women who have not given birth and pregnant women do not work;
- A man and a woman do not "get together" because the conceived child will see vampires, will become a bad person.
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The evil creatures in our folklore
The Karakonjuls made mischief, but did not cause permanent and serious harm to man. They were half-man, half-horse. They had a human head and hooves and a tail. But they also had wings and could fly. If a person fell silent during this period, the karakonjulo sat on him and harassed him. But at the first roosters, they lost their strength and left the man to find.
Goblins also had a half-human, half-animal appearance. A goblin became a person whose shadow was built into a new construction of a house, a bridge, a fountain. The shade was built in to make the construction strong. But the man soon died of an insidious disease, and his soul became a goblin. She can come out of her prison after 7-9 years, but if the wall was wrong, his soul (shadow) comes out only after 32 years. In the beginning, the built-in shadow comes out at night, appearing in the image of the deceased person - a man, a woman or a girl. If it is a woman or a maiden, she sings. But often the goblin soul took the form of an animal. It went out at night, and it was hard for that traveler who fell asleep past such a shadow. The goblin thought it was the master who had bricked it up and killed the traveler.
Some goblins were believed by people to be guardian spirits of treasures. But if anyone tried to get at the treasure, especially in a dishonest way, the spirit guardian killed him. To have the right to take such a guarded treasure, a living person had to fulfill the conditions of the one who buried it. Only then the goblin wouldn't harm him. The guardians of these treasures only do not attack orphans, then only gold is given to such people. Only they can enjoy it with health and happiness.
The witches, unlike karakonjuls, are evil spirits. Therefore, they also have the power to harm people more. They even caused death. A witch could become a woman who was an old maid, childless or widowed and over 50 years old. This could also be done at will. On Maundy Thursday, the woman took the first egg laid before sunrise by a black hen. She put it under her arm until it hatched, slaughtered the chicken on an empty hearth, and smeared its blood on her body. In order for the magic to work and the blood to absorb, the woman did not bathe for 40 days. On the 41st day, she bathed exactly at midnight in a water mill where the water flowed backwards. After bathing, she sprinkled herself with herbs that she had previously boiled on the empty hearth. Only then did her strength come and she could already do magic. But giving strength, the Devil took her soul. Although given by Satan, witches were given knowledge of all diseases and the herbs to cure them. They often treated people. But they could also cause death.
The vampires, unlike witches descended from people who have already died. If a mortal's body is left alone and an animal jumps over it, then it has vampirized. Vampires also became people who were not baptized or were not chanted and hung at the funeral. The embodied soul or shadow of man is the vampire according to the ancients. Roams at night and mischief to people. During the first 40 days after a person's death, the shadow roams the night and hides in the first roosters. During this time, she must be killed, otherwise her powers are tripled, the soul of the dead person condenses and takes the form of a person while alive. A compacted vampire has a body, but instead of bones it has cartilage. He can get married and have children. Vampire children were called hawthorns. The vampire can also be killed after it has condensed. But this can only be done by a hawthorn (a person who is the child of a vampire) and was conceived and born on a Saturday.
The scrolls, along with witches, karaconjules and vamppirs also roam the cold, dark winter nights. People imagined them as naked chickens, which were actually the souls of children who had died a violent death, as well as deceased, unbaptized children. Both navies and vampires are suffering souls who roam the night and are tormented. The Na'vi attack any mother or pregnant woman to avenge their own mother's wronging them. Therefore, when a woman is pregnant or a young child, the whole family performs a number of rituals and rites to protect her and the baby.
© 2023 Iliana Dechkova