The samodiva (; plural: samodivi, ), samovila (; plural: samovili, ) or vila (; plural: vili, ), are fairies, wood nymphs, or harmful female demons found in South Slavic folklore.
They are described as beautiful women with long flowing tresses of blonde or red hair. They wear white dresses and various other articles of clothing (white veils, wreathes, green sash) said to confer them their supernatural powers (or ability to fly); sometimes they themselves are said to be equipped with wings. One recurring theme in folklore is of a man (shepherd, prince, etc.) able to rob a samodiva of her veil, wreathe, etc. to capture her, and force her to become his bride "Samodiva" in Enzy. Märchens 11: 1107 ().
Their secret home occurs at a place associated with high elevation, or bodies of water, or woodland, usually in combination, e.g. a spring on a mountain, or a beechwood grove by a lake where they bathe, or else treetops, or caves, or derelict churches, etc.
Superstition cautions that one should fear trespassing upon their territory, particularly to draw water at night, and the encroacher may be stricken with illness, death, or some other suffering as consequence. Sometimes, a victim is often chosen to be spirited away ().
It is also explained that these fairies demand humans as labor to construct their homes, or as entertainers if they are flautists or skilled in chain dance (hora), or as caretakers of their children. A more blood-gory piece of lore contends that humans are used as building materials for their castle.
The samodivi are said to retreat to their "dragon village" at the edge of the world to spend their autumns and winters. Only the bird-kind can reach this place.
These fairies are also said to be pluckers of eyeballs, causing blindness to trespassers, etc., but folklore tells of the victim's son being able to outwit the fairies and recover the eyesight to his father ().
The fairies are also very fond of song and dance. They often engage a human in a contest to see which can outlast the other in dancing versus playing of music. This presents an opportunity of folklore protagonists to gain advantage or boon from the fairies. The fairies also have their special dancing arena, often described as a circular patch of beaten down grass somewhere in a clearing in the forest. la colección de Avram Nomenclature The term () is found used in the 15th century in Bulgaria. The homily ( "A Tale of How a Samovila Is Conceived") from a 15–16th century miscellany glosses the samovila as something like the Greek Nereid (cf. ).
The reference to () occurs in 's collection () dated 1674, where it warns against drinking uncovered water on the observance of the Massacre of the Innocents (December 28/29), since on that day the samodivi will spit or vomit in the wells.
Preferred use of the term samovila is prevalent in Eastern Serbia, Western Bulgaria and Macedonia; as for Bulgaria, samodiva tends to be referred to as samovilla on the western side of Strandja (Strandzha) Mountain.
Etymology The terms ( 'wood nymph') and ( 'fairy') are essentially synonymous. As for the prefix, here it is explained to be a meaningless prefix merely serving to emphasize the meaning of the base.
The etymology of is uncertain. The main hypothesis is that there are traces of the Proto-Indo-European language , 'god', and this PIE root is known to have led to designation of divine beings across languages (Sanskrit deva, Latin , Avestan daeva, Lithuanian dievas). The stem diva has also been glossed as meaning "Frightful".
The etymology of (cf. for further information) has also been traced to Proto-Indo-European lineage, but the particulars differ depending on the hypothesis, and the developmental history will be surveyed briefly, as follows. The stem vila has been etymologically linked to Lithuanian (), and considered cognate with Sanskrit () since the 19th century. This is explained as making rational sense, since she, the vila is a being who chases the clouds away. Potebnja also linked vila with the Slavic terms viti (, 'to wind around, twist') or veiu (, '[I] blow'), from which was deduced an ancestral link to Indo-European roots , , ('to drive, chase') or perhaps ('twist, turn'). (cf. for further detail).
The term vila is also explained as being connected to the concept of "unbridled will" or "wild/frenzied behavior"; where the term is regarded as being related to the verb (, 'rage, bluster, storm, rampage, run wild'Atanasova, Teodora (1997). Bulgarian-English Dictionary: A–N s.v. "", p. 82 ) with other related words derived from the same root, such as (, 'whirlwind') or (, 'blizzard').
Some popular writers gloss diva as meaning "wild, savage", and construe samodiva to mean "wild alone" or "free-savage[-girl]".
Another hypothesis proposes that samovila derives from Jambodula (Jamba), a Greco-Thracian deity.
Aliases The term (; ) is used synonymously (interchangeably) with samovila in the Strandzha Mountain; the samodiva is referred to as also in the Pirin Mountains, and the Western Rhodopes. The yuda/juda in these "Southern Baltic Slavic areas" is considered a personification of the whirlwind that is quite similar to the samodiva or samaovila. But locally the yuda/juda denotes a much more sinister creature, e.g. in certain villages of Pirin, (Southern) Macedonia, and the Rhodopian village of
The term yuda derives from an Indo-European root associated with the sense of "quarrelsomeness", "excitement", "seduction", and "whirlwind".
In Macedonia, "samovila" is used for the most part; less frequently "samodiva, vila, yuda/juda". One alias rarely used nowadays in modern times is (, ; plural: ). In the past, people driven mad by fear were referred to by the expression "taken by the mayki".
Subtypes There are various subtypes recognized according to their terrain. In Bulgarian lore, there is the samovila of the forest, (); of the sea, (); and beyond the sea, ().
Similarly in Macedonian lore, the vila may carry corresponding epithets, such as samovila "of the forest* ( or (), "of the sea" , "from overseas" (). Macedonian lore also name other subtypes such as "cloud fairy", "mountain fairy" and "lake fairy". This type of naming also occurs for the vila.
Folklore Samodivi are closely connected with natural landscape (cf. ). They can bring both harm and blessings to humans (see under ).
Physical description The samodivi are described as being tall, with long flowing hair, either blonde or red-haired (auburn), and having pale skin with a luminous sheen, and fiery eyes. In some cases, they are said to have wings which enable them to fly up to the clouds while riding a stag.: "Some beliefs attributed to them wings which helped them fly up to the clouds riding on a stag". : "". Some sources say these wings grow out under their armpits.
The samodivi are said to dress in white, and girt with rainbow-colored belts/sashes, though it is the green color that predominates and noticed on these sashes. Sometimes, they are described as having a white veil called "shadow" ( ) or "ray" ( ), which could hold all their power. If they get deprived of their veil they lose all their power. They are also said to be rendered powerless if they lose the wreaths () which they wear on their heads These wreathes are woven out of samovila flowers (cf. the painting of the vili wearing wreathes, image right).
Their white gowns (and the various articles of clothing, i.e., a chemise, a dress (, a gold-woven headscarf, their green sash, and a short sleeveless jacket, are feathered) endow them with the power of flight, as according to the swan maiden type tale where a man named Stoian/Stoyan traps a samodiva into marrying him by confiscating her magic garment; he becomes a despotic husband who treats her as chattel; she regains her clothes at the party celebrating the birth of a son borne by her, and departs (cf. below). In a version by children's book author Ran Bosilek (1970, 1978) the shepherd swipes the samodiva's wreath to compel her to be his wife (cf. ).
In folk song tradition, the samodiva is described as riding a light gray stag, using snakes as rein to control her mount (cf. image top); ; she is also armed with bow and arrow. In song, Vida Bazdarzhikya the samodiva (cf. Ivé and Vida, discussed below) rides a six-winged stag, harnessed with green serpent ( ) stirrups and a curb bit ( ) of two fierce snakes ( )."Тогай стана Вида Баздаржийкя, etc." (vv. 49–54), quoted by from СбНУ/SbNU (Folklore and Ethnography Collection), vol. 1, p. 55, from the ballad Similarly sung of samovili in a partially quoted song recited by "Baba(Grandma) Despa Деспа" of Resen village, Tarnovo Province in . She may also use a snake-whip to lash her mount.
In Rhodopian regions of Bulgaria and in Macedonia, the invisible samodiva can be seen by the (Bulgarian/, people born on a Saturday), or "mixed" offspring of wood nymphs, or the (people who after being weaned as children went back to being breastfed), and by "four-eyed" dogs ( ), or "Saturday dogs", but this is something that is said of diabolical creatures across the board.
The yuda is considered invisible, and noticed only as a voice (or an echo) that's heard, or as a glimpse of light, or appears as wind, in various accounts and especially in the Rhodope region, and hypostasis as whirlwind, reflects the belief that such demonic beings are the cause of whirlwinds.
Habitat According to Bulgarian folklore, the samodivi tend to dwell in springs/wells and rivers high atop mountains; their favorite home was Mount Pirin, but they are also connected with other mountains in Bulgaria such as Belasitsa, Rudina mountains, Vitosha, Rila, Rhodopes, and the Balkan Mountains. They inhabited various watery spots: riverbanks, whirlpools, pools/ponds, and lakes, caves (grottos), and gorges.
They also live hidden in the groves near lakes where they bathe. Thus Samodivi might live inside trees (e.g., beech trees, elms, oaks, walnuts, or poplars, which are called samodiva trees); but the ash and sycamore () trees drive them away. They may also dwell within trees that have lost their crowns.
During the autumn, they go to live in the mythical village of Zmejkovo (or Zmeykovo, "dragon village" ) at the edge of the world; the samodivi will again enter the human world during the spring, staying until autumn. Other than the nymphs, only magpies} and eagles can reach this village. Ancient eagles ( ) are hitched to the samodivis chariots.
These fairies were also believed to haunt bridges, abandoned churches, water mills, fountains, and especially crossroads. While the samodivi may be associated with water mills, the water mill was also where the monsters such as the would descend upon during the Unbaptized Nights.
Alternate sources say the winter home of the samodivi, at the edge of the world, is called Kushkundalevo, a place only the magpies can find. The samodivi homeland might also be called Omayniche (, and in Ran Bosilek's version, the samodiva, though she flees, tells the shepherd to find her in Omayniche (cf. ). Kushkundalevo () is also given as the home of the samovila in Macedonian folktale. In Macedonian folklore, they are also said to inhabit trees like oaks and willows and they live in a far off village called Patelevo.
The samodivi also have their special dancing grounds called ( , ), or , which are found in clearings. These dancing rings are on grass, i.e., the fairies fashion a circle of trampled grass, with a dark green patch of vegetation at the center for their piper. Though according to others, the plot where they danced became scorched and was barren of any grass.
Folklore by country Bulgarian folklore In Bulgarian folklore, Samodivas occur as the personified form of nature. They are protectors of nature and are often juxtaposed with the ways humans live their lives.