Also called Samovila, Samodivi, Juda (a water form).
Their story
In Bulgarian and Macedonian folk songs the samodivi are beautiful women in white who live in the mountains and dance the horo at night by springs and in clearings. Their power lies in a magic garment, and a man who steals it can force a samodiva to marry him, though she will fly away if she ever recovers it. They can heal or cripple, and people who step into their dancing circles fall ill. They are close cousins of the South Slavic vila.
Best times to give to them
- Enyovden (Midsummer, 24 June)
- spring nights
- Kupala Night
What they like being given
- flowers left by a spring
- bread and honey
- a ribbon on a tree
How to honour them
- Gather herbs on Midsummer morning, as Bulgarian custom does, with thanks to the land.
- Do not step into a ring of flattened grass or drink from a spring at midnight, as tales warn.
How they can help you
- respect for wild places
- freedom
- herbal healing
Symbols
- a white dress
- long flowing hair
- a magic garment (riza) that gives flight
- a dancing circle in the grass
Sources
- Dimitar and Konstantin Miladinov, Bulgarian Folk Songs (1861)
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