Also called Vodyanik, Vodník, Wodnik, Vodnik, Hastrman, Vodeni mož.
Their story
Across the Slavic lands the vodyanoy is an old man with a green beard, sometimes covered in scales or slime, who lives in deep pools and under mill wheels. He is master of the fish and of the drowned, and millers and fishermen made bargains with him. He sleeps through the winter, wakes angry in spring when the ice breaks, and may drown careless bathers. In Czech tales the vodník keeps the souls of the drowned under upturned teacups in his house beneath the water.
Best times to give to them
- when the ice breaks in spring
- the first catch of the fishing season
- Kupala Night
What they like being given
- bread dropped into the water
- a pinch of salt or tobacco
- the first fish returned to the water
How to honour them
- Greet the water politely before swimming or fishing.
- Never swim alone at dusk or after Kupala Night, as folk warnings say.
- Return your first catch to the water with thanks.
How they can help you
- water safety
- respect for rivers
- good fishing
Symbols
- a green beard
- wet coat-tails
- a frog-like face
- lidded cups holding souls (Czech lore)
Sources
- Linda J. Ivanits, Russian Folk Belief
- S. V. Maksimov, Nechistaia, nevedomaia i krestnaia sila (1903)
- Karel Jaromír Erben, Kytice (1853)
More Slavic beings
- Div The crying omen in the tree-top
- 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
- Alkonost The bird of joy