Rusalka

The tale

Rusalki were thought to be the spirits of young women who died before their time, often by drowning, who lived in rivers and lakes. In the week after Trinity they left the water, sat combing their hair in birch trees and swung from the branches, and their dancing made the grain grow thick. Yet anyone who met them alone might be tickled or danced to death, or drawn under the water. Villagers kept wormwood about them, and a well-known tale has a rusalka ask a traveller whether he carries wormwood or parsley: say parsley and she claims you as her own.

When they are met

• Rusalka Week in early summer, after Trinity
• moonlit nights by the water
• Midsummer (Kupala Night)

Staying on their good side

• ribbons, cloth or thread tied on birch branches
• flower wreaths floated on the river
• respect for the dead who died young
• staying out of the water during her week

Honouring them, or keeping safe

1. Tie a strip of cloth or ribbon on a birch in early summer as a gift, as village women once did.
2. Float a small flower wreath on a stream and remember those lost too early.
3. Carry a sprig of wormwood when walking by water at night, the old protective herb.
4. Respect water safety; the tales exist partly to keep people away from dangerous rivers.

What their tales teach

• honouring grief and loss
• the growth of fields and gardens
• respect for the power of water
• the magic of early summer

Symbols

• long loose green hair
• birch trees
• a comb
• wreaths floated on water
• wormwood

More Slavic folklore

• Baba Yaga The witch in the hut on hen's legs
• Domovoi The grandfather who lives behind the stove
• Leshy The master of the forest
• Kikimora The spinner in the dark corner
• Koschei the Deathless The sorcerer whose death is hidden
• Kostroma The straw maiden of spring and summer
• Dodola The rain-bringing girl of summer
• Kolyada The spirit of midwinter carolling