In Slavic folklore, the rusalka (plural: rusalki; Cyrillic: русалка, plural: русалки; Polish: rusałka, plural: rusałki) is a typically feminine entity, often malicious toward mankind and frequently associated with water, with counterparts in other parts of Europe, such as the French Melusine and the Germanic Nixie. Folklorists have proposed a variety of origins for the entity, including that they may originally stem from Slavic paganism, where they may have been seen as benevolent spirits.[1] Rusalki appear in a variety of media in modern popular culture, particularly in Slavic language-speaking countries, where they frequently resemble the concept of the mermaid.
In northern Russia, the rusalka was also known by various names such as the vodyanitsa[2] (or vodyanikha/vodyantikha;[3] Russian: водяница, водяниха, водянтиха; lit. "she from the water" or "the water maiden"), kupalka[2] (Russian: купалка; "bather"), shutovka[3] (Russian: шутовка; "joker", "jester" or "prankster") and loskotukha[2] (or shchekotukha,[3]shchekotunya; Russian: лоскотуха, щекотуха, щекотунья; "tickler" or "she who tickles"). In Ukraine, the rusalka was called a mavka. Those names were more common until the 20th century, and the word rusalka was perceived by many people as bookish, scholarly.[3]
^Pomerantseva, Erna V. (1975). Mifologicheskie personazhi v russkom fol'klore [Mythological characters in Russian folklore]. p. 78.
In Slavic folklore, the rusalka (plural: rusalki; Cyrillic: русалка, plural: русалки; Polish: rusałka, plural: rusałki) is a typically feminine entity...
Rusalka (Russian: Русалка, Mermaid), was one of two Charodeika-class monitors built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the 1860s. She served for her entire...
of trees. In Slavic mythology, Rusalka is a water nymph, a female spirit who lives in rivers. In most versions, rusalka is an unquiet being who is no longer...
Rusalka Glacier (Bulgarian: ледник Русалка, romanized: lednik Rusalka, IPA: [ˈlɛdnik roˈsaɫkɐ]) is the 8 km long and 4.6 km wide glacier on Velingrad...
Empire) to mark the ninth anniversary of the sinking of the Russian warship Rusalka, or "Mermaid", which sank en route to Finland in 1893. It was the first...
only unclean dead. Sometimes an honored birch tree would be named for a rusalka as part of green week. Some of the rites of green week (like making offerings...
derives the term rusalka itself. Another time associated with the Rusalkas is the green week (or Rusalnaya nedelja, "week of the Rusalkas") in early June;...
Otello, Puccini's Madama Butterfly, Prokofiev's The Gambler, and Dvorak's Rusalka. She is the recipient of the highest Lithuanian theatre award, the Golden...
to December 2020. Two light novel series, titled Warlords of Sigrdrifa Rusalka and Senyoku no Sigrdrifa Sakura, were published by Kadokawa Shoten under...
guardian of the home, placated with food offerings in return for protection. Rusalka: a water spirit that can be found around lakes. They come in the form of...
Trinity Day, during which peasant girls would honor the nature spirit rusalka, commemorate past ancestors, and practice divination rituals. Another such...
Begbick*, Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (Weill) 3rd Woodsprite, Rusalka (Dvořák) La Zia Principessa, Suor Angelica (Puccini) Zita, Gianni Schicchi...
above their doors to ward off such spirits. In Eastern Europe, the modern Rusalka is a type of water spirit in Slavic mythology. They come to be after a...
by Marek Hapon, 2013 Camenae Lady of the Lake Mermaid Naia Nix Ondine Rusalka Siren Water spirit Burkert, III, 3.3, p. 174. Pausanias, 9.29.5 Pausanias...
Global Information