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Forest spirit in Slavic mythology
Not to be confused with Leshi.
Leshy
An illustration, 1906
Grouping
Tutelary deity Spirit
First attested
In folklore
Country
Slavic Europe
Details
Found in forests
Leshy or Leshi[a] is a tutelary deity of the forests in pagan Slavic mythology. As Leshy rules over the forest and hunting, he may be related to the Slavic god Porewit.[1]
There is also a deity, named Svyatibor (Svyatobor, Svyatibog), who is revered by both the Eastern and Western Slavs, heralded as the divine arbiter of woodland realms and the sovereign ruler over other Leshies. His functions were identical to those of the god Veles.[2]
Leshy, a masculine entity of humanoid form, possesses the remarkable ability to adopt the guise of any appearance[3] and can change in size and height.[4][5] In some accounts, Leshy is described as having a wife (Leshachikha, Leszachka, Lesovikha and also, sometimes, the Kikimora of the swamp) and children (leshonki, leszonky).
Leshy is reputed for his inclination to misguide wanderers and abduct young ones, a trait he shares with the notorious Chort, "Black One" known as Devil, thus leading certain individuals to perceive him as a malevolent entity. Leshy's attitude towards humans can vary, depending on how they interact with the forest and their overall behavior.[6] Leshy possessed the power to whisk away children afflicted by the malevolent maledictions of their own kin, especially their parents, to the ethereal realm of the forest-dwelling folk.[7] Leshy can be considered as a rather temperamental creature, similar to that of a fairy.[8]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
^Alexander Porteous (1 January 2005). The Lore of the Forest. Cosimo, Inc. p. 108. ISBN 978-1-59605-105-8.
^Kaysarov Andei Sergeevich (1810). Slavic and Russian mythology. DirectMEDIA. p. 245. ISBN 5998918851.
^Ushakov, Dmitry. (1896) Материалы по народным верованиям великоруссов, Этнографическое обозрение [Materials on the folk beliefs of the Great Russian, Ethnographic Review]. (Vol. 8), no. 2-3, pg. 158.
^Maksimov, S. V. (1912) Нечистая сила. Неведомая сила // Собрание сочинений [The Unclean Force, The Unknown Force, Collected Works]. pp. 79-80.
^Tokarev, Sergei Aleksandrovich. (1957) Религиозные верования восточнославянских народов XIX — начала XX века [The religious beliefs of the peoples of East 19th – early 20th centuries]. AN SSSR Moscow and Leningrad. p. 80.
^Barbara., Podgórska (2005). Wielka księga demonów polskich : leksykon i antologia demonologii ludowej. Podgórski, Adam. Katowice: Wydawn. KOS. ISBN 8389375400. OCLC 62151653.
^"Mythological Creatures | Leshy". History & Culture Academy of Latgale.
^Ivanits, Linda J. (1989) Russian Folk Belief. Routledge. p. 68 ISBN 0-873-32889-2
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