Also called Psoglavci, Dog-head.
Their story
In Bosnian, Herzegovinian and Montenegrin folklore the psoglav has a man's body, a dog's head, a single eye in the forehead and iron teeth. He lives in caves in a dark land full of gems and eats human flesh, even digging up the dead from graves. The belief echoes the dog-headed Cynocephali of medieval European and Byzantine lore.
Best times to give to them
- winter story nights
What they like being given
- none; folk advice is to keep away from his caves
How to honour them
- Read the tale as a warning about fear of strangers turning into monsters.
How they can help you
- understanding fear of the other
- history of monster lore
Symbols
- a dog's head
- a single eye
- iron teeth
- horse's legs
Regional and sparsely recorded; it overlaps with widespread medieval dog-head legends.
Sources
- Š. Kulišić, P. Ž. Petrović and N. Pantelić, Srpski mitološki rečnik (1970)
More Slavic beings
- Div The crying omen in the tree-top
- Vodyanoy The old man of the millpond
- Polevik The spirit of the fields
- Poludnitsa Lady Midday of the harvest fields
- Mavka Hollow-backed maiden of the Ukrainian woods
- Mora The night-mare who sits on the chest
- Zmey Gorynych Many-headed dragon of the byliny
- Firebird The glowing bird of the golden apples