A (, plural: ) or (, plural: ), also: ; ; ; ; ; ; is a Slavic fairy similar to a nymph.
Nomenclature The usage of the term vila in the sense of female demonic beings i known widely among South Slavs, from east (Bulgaria, Macedonia) to West (Slovenia), including Croatia, Montenegro,etc.
The of Romanian folklore denotes a mythological figure similar to that of the South Slavs.
While the term "vila" is attested across various Slavic-speaking peoples, the term has become somewhat obsolete, having been superseded by "rusalki", in the opinion of . He considered the vila to be of manistic (ancestral worship) origin, i.e., originating from souls of girls who died prematurely. Similarly, the rusalki according to Russian folk belief are spirits arisen from unbaptized children or girls who committed suicide and thus refused proper Christian burial.
Bulgarian tradition offers a rich records about the vila. Probably the oldest attestation occurs in documents of the Bulgarian Tsar Constantine Asen of the 13th century, which refers to the well of the vili.
West Slavic vila Although the lexeme vila is known among the West Slavs, but in Slovakia, it has come to be applied to a rather different mythical being, similar or equivalent to the boginka.
Old Czech and Old Polish writings suggest that among the Western Slavs the vila was generally associated with something bad or sinful. Thus in Czech vila and Polish wila means "madman". In the past, vila has been recorded in Slovakia in the sense of a soul of bride who died before her wedding, or in Poland as the soul of a sinful woman who died and condemned to wander eternally between heaven and earth.
The vila (in the Southern Slavic sense of nature fairies or nymphs) is said to have been imported into West Slavic areas at a later stage. However, Niederle seeks evidence that vila was in the folklore of the Czechs rather early on. He refers to a mention in the 15th century Czech verse ("Of Dietrich von Bern") adapted from the German epic, where Dietrich ("Getrich") tears off a (magical) belt off the dwarf Laurin ("Lavryn"), which was a gift from the (). He also lists place names apparently named after them in Bohemia and Moravia (Vilice near Tábor, Vilov near Domažlice, and Vilín near Sedlčany) which seem to indicate that the being was known in Czech folklore from more ancient times. and note 1
East Slavic vila The vile is mentioned in the Slovo nyekoego Khristolyubtsa attributed to Khristolyubtsa ("Christ-lover") dated to the 14th century (or 12th century: " [Slovo nyekoego Khristolyubtsa [The Word of a Certain Christ-lover (12th cent.)]") where the vila is mentioned alongside Perun, Khors and other more obscure pagan divinities; the author reviles their worshipers for offering sacrifices to the vili (said to consist of thirty sisters) by slaughtering chicken, and praying over the korovay (for them). But the folklore of vila did not remain current or well-known outside the sphere of South Slavs. It has been suggested that the Russians, having forgot the vila, came to know them in contemporary times through literary transmissions (via books) from Southern Slavic areas, though this widely held view may not be so certain.
Etymology
The etymology remains in dispute. Possible explanations are from the Slavic verb viti (, "to wind around, twist, weave") and "whirlwind"; or from Sanskrit/Old Indic: "air", ultimately from Proto-Indo-European u̯ēi̯o- "wind".
The term has also been etymologically linked to Lithuanian (), cognate with Sanskrit (), often attributed to Alexander A. Potebnja (1879), though Potebnja himself credits Serbian linguist Đuro Daničić for linking the Serbian vila with these lexemes. The rationale for this naming may have been because the vila is a fairy who races through the air chases the clouds away. Avestan ()Vasmer, Max I: 314 and Old Icelandic () were also added to the grouping as cognates by later linguists.Vasmer, Max I: 314 apud
Potebnja's observations etymologically tracing vila to the Slavic verbs viti ('to wind, weave', aforementioned) or veiu ( '[I] blows',) leads to the further trace to Indo-European roots ('to drive, chase'), ('to turn, bend' or 'to wage war'). It has otherwise been explained that the etymologies from Potebnja's contemporary period seems to substantiate a link to the Indo-European root or , which is cognate with Old Church Slavonic (), (), and () meaning 'profit'. citing Walde (1930–1932) I: 230 These semantic seems to lead to the formulation that vila held the original senses of 'one who pursues or overtakes; warrior-maiden, huntress'. However, attempts at identifying the vila with the Germanic valkyrie have lacked sufficient grounds.
An alternate etymology pursued by Miklosich and later by Niederle attempts to connect vili with Polish in the sense of "fool" and Czech in the sense of "mad", arriving at the supposed stem vil meaning 'possessed, driven mad'.
Folkloric accounts
The vilas are beautiful female spirits of nature (or elf-like beings) with flowing blonde hair, but they manifest an ambivalent relationship with humans. In fairy tales, they may act with malice towards them, inflicting death or sickness with their arrows, killing sisters, stealing the eyes of old men, petrifying husbands, destroying crops. They steal children and substitute them with changelings. On the other hand, they may also help the hero by giving him magical objects and mounts.
They have dominion over water, thus unleash storms upon humans who cross them. They may also show warrior-like qualities, riding a deer or stag into battle, or to hunt forest game.
The folk venerated or appeased them with offerings of flowers, food and drink placed in front of caves where they were believed to live. They may demand human sacrifice, typically fraternal twins.
There are three kinds of vile: the earth, water, and air types, or more The cave- or mountain-dwelling terrestrial type () or "mountain vile" () also known as "earth fairy/witch" (); the aquatic type () aka "water fairy" ( ); and the "cloud fairy" (, cf.: ) aka "aerial fairy" (). Additionally there is a sylvan type spoken of: the ( "forest vila") or ( "woodland vila"). Similar subtypes are known in Macedoninan lore, and Bulgarian lore for the samovila.
They appear as swans, and can also transform into falcons, wolves, snakes, etc. Cloud nymphs appear as a whirlwind. At night, they roam the clouds emitting a terrible noise of pipes and drums. Anyone who calls them becomes stiff and moves only with difficulty. He is stricken by disease and dies within a year or two.
They like to engage in round dances in the earth or in the clouds — that is to say, the kolo dance among the Serbs ( , ) and horo dance among the Bulgarians ( ) and Macedonians ( ).
They seek the love of handsome strong men, and even sometimes marry them. A man favored by a vila is called a vilenjik or vilaš. An epic hero () typically has a vila attached to him who is his sworn sister (). The vilas milk is said to endow superhuman strength, and Serbian epic almost invariably sings of its hero being suckled by a vila. Such vila-bonded heroes occur in Serbian epic poetry as well as Croatian. The best known is the Vila , sworn sister to Kraljević Marko (cf. top image). Girls can also have vile as sworn sisters and may ask them to improve one's beauty or to protect a distant lover.
They possess supernatural powers and are able in the art of healing. They build splendid castles at the edges of clouds. They confuse men's spirits with their arrows. In Slovakia, the vile are the restless souls of deceased girls who lure young men into a deadly circle dance.
The vilas are also prominent in Bosniak epic poetry. It is not rare for a vila to guide warriors on their path or nourish and help them when they are injured. Folk tales of a vila raising the Hrnjica brothers are well known, where one brother gains his strength from the vila and the other brother his beauty. Other folk tales mention vilas helping in the defense of towns.Marjanović, Luka (1898). Hrvatske narodne pjesme, Junačke pjesme Muhamedovske (in Croatian). Zagreb: Matica Hrvatska. p. 36.
Within the Czech tradition, víly are almost always malicious, unless respected and avoided. They are portrayed as beautiful women with long flowing hair who primarily live in the woods, in marches, or in forest clearings. They are said to try to entrance men who wander into their land by their looks and beautiful voices. Víly are also said to live in groups and are keen on dancing in circles, which was also another way of trapping people as it was believed that if you were to start dancing with them you would never return home.
According to F. S. Copeland, in Slovene folklore, the vile (which she translated as 'White Ladies') are wise and benevolent beings from forests, water bodies and mountains who help women in childbirth and heroes in epic stories. In another article, according to Copeland, the word was known near the Croatian border (e.g., in Bela Krajna), but it was also "familiar" among the Slovenes of Styria and Beyond-the-Mura.
Legacy According to ethnologist Éva Pócs, the word vila also appears in the Serbian and Croatian words vilovnjak, vilenjak, vilenica, vilaš - all referring to a type of "fairy magician", people who, as per historical and folkloric records, were given powers by the vilas ("fairies").
Western European references Dictionaries Meyer's Konversationslexikon defines Wiles or Wilis as female vampires: the spirits of betrothed girls who die before their wedding night. According to Heine, wilis are unable to rest in their graves because they could not satisfy their passion for dancing naked, especially in town squares. They also gather on the highway at midnight to lure young men and dance them to their death. In Serbia, they were maidens cursed by God; in Bulgaria, they were known as samodiva: girls who died before they were baptized; and in Poland, they are beautiful young girls floating in the air atoning for frivolous past lives. In some tales, the reason for abandoning their loves is tragic; the Vila are cursed never to find their true love, and if they do, that love will die a terrible death.
Literature This legend inspired Victor Hugo to include "les wilis" in his poem "Fantômes" in Les Orientales (1828).
Heinrich Heine in his 1835 De l'Allemagne vividly describes "die Wilis" as a Slavic legend.
In J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, veela are magical beings who resemble stunningly beautiful women. They can put men into a trance with their singing and dancing, and, when angered, they transform into horrific, bird-like creatures and can launch fireballs from their hands. Veela appear in the fourth book of the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, where they serve as mascots to the Bulgarian Quidditch team during the Quidditch World Cup. The character Fleur Delacour is also a quarter-veela.
In Heather Walter's Malice duology, the vila serve as a darker counterpart to other fae, based more closely on the Irish interpretations.
Theatre and opera
The wilis appear in Adolphe Adam's Romantic ballet Giselle, first danced in Paris in 1841, as the ghosts of young girls who were betrayed by their lovers and who died before their wedding days. They dance in the forests on moonlit nights, punishing young men by dancing them to death, but they must disappear at the break of dawn. These Wilis snatch away the villainous Hilarion's life-breath and almost do the same for the hero, Albrecht, but he is saved by the love of the ghostly Giselle.
The first opera completed by Giacomo Puccini, Le Villi, makes free use of the same thematic material. It had its debut in May 1884 at the Teatro Dal Verme, Milan and was revised for a more successful reception at the Royal Theater, Turin that December.