Samodiva (folklore)

The samodiva (Bulgarian: самодива; plural: samodivi, Bulgarian: самодиви), samovila (Bulgarian: самовила; plural: samovili, Bulgarian: самовили) or vila (Bulgarian: вила; plural: vili, Bulgarian: вили), are woodland fairies or nymphs[1] found in South and West Slavic folklore.

Vila by Andy Paciorek

Etymology

One of the hypotheses of the etymology of the word samovila is that it comes from the Indo-European root *ṷēi-, meaning "follow," "chase," or "blow," for "vila." The component "samo" has a function to highlight.[2]

The origin of "diva" is uncertain. The main hypothesis is that there are traces of deiṷos ‘God’.[2]

Appearance

Samodivas are commonly depicted as ethereal maidens with long, loose hair, and in some cases, wings. They are typically dressed in free-flowing, feathered white gowns, which give them the power of flight. Samodivas are often described as having blonde or red hair, tall, slender women with pale, glowing skin and fiery eyes.[1]

Sometimes, they are described as having a veil which could hold all their power. If they get deprived of their veil, they lose all their power.[1]

Habitat

According to Bulgarian folklore, Samodivas can live inside trees or abandoned shacks or dark caves, or near rivers, ponds and wells. Mountains linked to the Samodivas include Vitosha, Belasitsa, Pirin, Rila, the Rhodopes, the Balkan Mountains in Bulgaria and Rudina mountains. However, mountain Pirin is their traditional favorite.[1] Samodivas enter the human world during the spring, staying until autumn. During the winter, they live in the mythical village of Zmejkovo.

In Bulgarian folklore, they are associated with places related to water - wells, rivers, lakes.[3] Thus, there are landmarks in Bulgaria that have the word "samodiva" or "samovila" in them. An example of that are the Samodivski Lakes in the Pirin Mountain. Specifically, they live under large old trees, in abandoned sheds or in dark caves that are near water sources.[1]

In Macedonian folklore they are also said to inhabit trees like oak, willows and that they live in a far off village called Patelevo.

Place in folklore

Samodivas have the power to bring about drought, burn a farmer's crops, or make cattle die of high fever. It is said that, when angered, a Samodiva can change her appearance and turn into a monstrous bird, capable of throwing fire at her enemies. This, with the power of their seductive voices, makes them somewhat similar to Harpies and Sirens in Greek mythology. Their vindictive nature also complements this notion.

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.

They are knowledgeable about herbs and plants, so they are associated with many plants with medicinal qualities. Some plants that are commonly associated with samodivas are Euonymus alatus, Gentiana Alba, and other herbs. There are many local beliefs about those plants and their qualities that are associated with the samodivas. For example, there is a belief that Еuonymus Alatus should be picked only on the eve of Ascention Day because the samodivas are more friendly and their healing powers are stronger.[1]

Another important aspect of the figure of the Samodivas is their love for singing and dancing. They often engage in competitions with each other and with humans, and whoever wins gets to keep the loser for themselves. An example of this is the plot of Dimo the Caval player and Gyurgya Samodiva where the samodiva loses the musical battle and Dimo takes her to his village.

In certain parts of Bulgaria, samodivas are said to be related to various inexplicable natural events like chronic illnesses and whirlwinds. An exаmple of this is the folk song Samodiva Kidnaps a Musician This is a remnant from pre-Christian belief systems on the Balkans, similarly to the Ancient Greek mythology's explanation of Nereids dancing in the winds.[1]

Macedonian folklore

In Macedonian folklore, Samovilas are often seen that they have the ability to hurt people or to heal them. There is a way to kill a Samovila, and that is by making her prick herself on thorn bushes and evaporates. It is also known that they could enter the hearts of men and stay there for 5 years. Their goal was to join with the man's soul and after go to heaven together. They usually gave the man magical powers and knowledge of healing plants. In North Macedonia, there are tales speaking of Samovilski Weddings, and if a random person was found walking by, they would offer him wine and in return he would give a golden coin to the bride. The wedding would then last all night until dawn.

It is also known that they can be seen by dogs with four eyes and mixed Samovilski children.

Their voices were hypnotic and could drive a man to go crazy. The Macedonian people feared of calling them by their name Vili, so sometimes they would speak of them as Mayki, Yudi, They.

Balkan mythology holds that Samodivas were the daughters of Lamia. This, combined with their mostly nocturnal nature, leads to them being considered negative, or at best neutral in their nature.

Much like the Vila in Slavic folklore, a Samodiva's power is believed to come mostly from her long (usually blond) hair. A Samodiva would sometimes give a small portion of it to her lover to strengthen her control over him via its magical effects. However, if her hair is damaged in some way, she will either disappear entirely or be stripped of her powers and beauty.

History

In Bulgaria, the current understanding of Samodivas currently stems from collections of folk tales and folk songs. Many of those were compiled in the 19th century, as part of the Revival efforts of Bulgarian intellectuals.[1] The secondary literature on the topic of Samodiva is very limited. The folklore that has been collected and stored reflects only a fraction of the complex understanding that the character of the Samodiva entails, since the folktales have gone through numerous sieves, both during the writing stages of the folklore collections, and later on, as a result of the regime and ideology shifts of the Balkan Peninsula (See People's Republic of Bulgaria, Yugoslavia).

Earliest written evidence of Samodivas dates back to the 13th century, where they presumably developed from Balkan traditions and myths. Researchers have also found influences from other Slavic folklore. It is widely believed that the image of the Samodiva and their behavior is actually based on ancient Thracian legends, especially those connected to the Cult of Orpheus, which included songs and dances performed by fire-priestesses.

Prominent Samodivas in folklore

Vila - Some folk tales describe Vila Samodiva as the Samodiva maiden who leads the others in their dances. She is described as the active participant of the contact between the protagonist of folktales and the mystical world, serving as a guide or giving the hero a task to test his valour and resolve.In one folk tale, Vila found Krali Marko as an infant and brought him up as a foster mother. As Marko grew on Samodiva milk, he acquired supernatural powers.The character of the Vila is attested in South Slavic fairy tales collected by Friedrich Salomon Krauss.[4]

Vida - Some stories say that she is the sister of Krali Marko, some stories describe her as a destructive force of nature. In Krali Marko and Vida Samovila, he encounters her and kills her in conflict. In another tale, she is responsible for the water shortage in the region because she locked up the twelve springs.
Gyurgya - One of Gyurgya's appearances in Bulgarian Folklore is when she is enticed by a shepherd and ends up becoming his wife .

Appearances in other literature

In the 19th century, Bulgarian poet and revolutionary Hristo Botev mentioned Samodivas in a poem praising the late Voivoda Hadzhi Dimitar. The Samodivas provide comfort to the dying man in the last moments of his life, symbolizing bravery. They also appear to symbolize the union between him and the land he sacrificed himself to protect. Still, the Samodivas and the reaction of Hadzhi Dimitar to their presence is connected to the mischievous and seductive role they often play in mythology.[5]
Elin Pelin - Samodiva

Samodiva as supernatural wife

A Bulgarian folk song (The Samodiva married against her will) features a Samodiva: three girls, not related to each other, doff their magical garments to bathe, but are seen by a shepherd that takes their clothing. Each girl separately try to plead and convince the youth to return the clothing. He does so - but only to the first two; the third maiden he chose to wed after she revealed she was an only child. After the wedding, the village insists she dances for the amusement of everyone else, but the samodiva says she cannot dance without her garment. Once her husband delivers her the clothing, she flies away.[6]

In the fairy tale The Youth and the Vila, the youngest son, who is considered a fool by his two elder brothers, manages to pluck the golden hairs of a vila who has been eating the silver pears of his father's garden. He later takes her back to his father's house.[7]

In a second tale, The Vila in the Golden Castle, a father asks his three sons to guard his flower garden at night, because swans have been eating the flowers (in reality, the vilas were). The vila returns home to the golden castle, which prompts the youth to seek her. There, an old vila, the girl's mother, sets tasks for him to perform.[8]

References

Ivanichka Georgieva (1985). Bulgarian Mythology. Svyat Publishers.
Кунева [Kuneva], Илияна [Iliiana] (2018-12-24). "Някои типове съществителни имена в българския език с оглед на формалното им описание". Slavia Meridionalis. 18. doi:10.11649/sm.1660. ISSN 2392-2400.
Angelova-Damianova, Sofia (2003). "The Samodiva". Liternet.
Krauss, Friedrich Salomon. Sagen und Märchen der Südslaven, von F.S. Krauss. Leipzig: Verlag von Wilhelm Friedrich. 1883. p. XXXII.
"Христо Ботев — Хаджи Димитър". Моята библиотека (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2023-04-10.
Garnett, Lucy Mary Jane. The women of Turkey and their folk-lore: The Christian Women. London: David Nutt,. 1890. pp. 352-355.
Houghton, Louise Seymour. The Russian grandmother's wonder tales. New York: C. Scribner's sons. 1906. pp. 190-195.
Houghton, Louise Seymour. The Russian grandmother's wonder tales. New York: C. Scribner's sons. 1906. pp. 196-202.