A fairy is a spirit
(supernatural being) found in the legends, folklore, and mythology of many cultures.
They are generally humanoid in form, though of a higher, spiritual nature and
so possessed of preternatural abilities.
They are often
regarded as aloof, ephemeral, mercurial, and whimsical, among other qualities
that place them outside of a human scope and have a tendency to make them
associated or confused with other mythological creatures.
In Polish mythology, the Wila
(Wiła) are reputed in Poland and Lithuania to be the shape-shifting souls of
the dead that were believed to visit the homes of their families. Peasants
would lay flowers in the entrances to caves where they believed the Wila
resided. Offerings for the Wila consist of ribbons, round cakes, vegetables,
fresh fruit or other flowers left at sacred trees, fairy caves and wells. They
are the female spirits that lived in the mountains, woods, and clouds that
could shape-shift into horses, falcons, or swans also.
Vila
The Vila, or
Willi or Veela, are the Slavic versions of nymphs, who have power over storms,
which they delight in sending down on lonely travelers. They are known to live
in meadows, ponds, oceans, trees, and clouds (see Leimoniads, Limnades, Oceanids,
Dryads and Nephelads). They can appear as swans, horses, wolves, or, of course,
beautiful women.
Wili Among the Slavic creatures of folklore,
for the English-speaking world the wilis are indelibly connected with the
Romantic ballet Giselle, first
danced in Paris in 1840, with its spectral wilis, young girls who have died on
their wedding days, who almost snatch away the hero's life-breath, but must
disappear at the break of dawn.
These wilis have
been adapted from a poem of Heinrich Heine, who claimed to be using a Slavic
legend. Meyer's Konverations lexikon defines Wiles or Wilis as female vampires,
the spirits of betrothed girls who die before their wedding night. According to
Heine, wilis are unable to rest in their graves because they could not satisfy
their passion for dancing when they were alive. They therefore gather on the
highway at midnight to lure young men and dance them to their death. In Serbia
they were maidens cursed by God; in Bulgaria they were known as samovily, girls
who died before they were baptized; and in Poland they are beautiful young
girls floating in the air atoning for frivolous past lives.
The first opera
completed by Giacomo Puccini, Le
Villi, makes free use of the same thematic material. It had its debut in May
1884 at the Teatro dal Verme, Milan, and was revised for a more successful
reception at the Royal Theater, Turin, that December.
Południca
Południca was a
Slavic noon demon. She was usually pictured as a young woman dressed in white
that roamed field bounds. She assailed folk working at noon causing heatstrokes
and aches in the neck. Sometimes she even caused madness.
Rusalka
The word
"rusalka" is generally translated as "mermaid". It is also
known as the undine.
In Slavic
mythology Rusalka was a female ghost, water nymph or succubus-like demon who
lived in a lake. Her eyes shone like a green fire. Men who were seduced by her
died in her arms, and in some versions her laugh can also cause death (compare
with the Irish banshee). She corresponds to the Scandinavian and German Nix.
The ghostly
version of the succubus is the soul of a young woman who died in or near a lake
(many of these rusalki were murdered by lovers), and came to haunt that lake;
this undead rusalka is not particularly malevolent, and will be allowed to die
in peace if her death is avenged.
In Polish
mythology, Rusalki are the spirits that live in the waters from Fall to Spring;
in some traditions they reside in the waters from Summer to Fall. In other
tales, they become the Sky Women when they return from the waters. They are
called Queen of Fairies and it is said only witches dared to swim with the
Rusalki. The belief that the thunder and lightning of spring time was brought
by the Sky Women mating with the thunder gods; so Spring festivals included
celebrating the return of the Rusalki from the waters by placing wreaths on the
waters, circle dances, and fire festivals. They brought moisture to field and
forest.
Selkies are mythological creatures in Irish and Scottish
mythology that can transform themselves from seals to humans.
Selkies are able
to become humans by shedding their seal skins, and can revert to seal form by
putting the skins back on. Stories concerning selkies are generally romantic
tragedies. A human and a selkie fall in love, but after a while the selkie becomes
restless, and decides to return to the sea. Sometimes the human will not know
that their lover is a selkie, and wakes to find them gone. Other times the
human will hide the selkie's skin, thus preventing them from returning to seal
form. There is also a connotation that if a man steals a selkie's skin she is
in his power, to an extent, and does not wish to leave him. But if her skin is
found she will be unable to keep herself from returning to her home in the sea.
The Banshee
(gaelic folklore) is woman fairy -A spirit attached to
certain families. When a member's death approaches, the family will hear the
banshee crying. Banshees are frequently dressed in white and often have long,
fair hair which they brush with a silver comb. Other stories portray them as
dressed in green or black with a grey cloak.
