At least, a very great part of the opinions held by the peasants of modern Russia, with respect to these supernatural beings, are evidently founded upon the reverence paid by their forefathers to the spirits of the dead. The distinctions made between the various groups of demons may be referred back to a very ancient period, but their demoniacal character, and the reason given for their appearance on earth, are the results of comparatively recent ideas about the world of spirits. Thence obtained the name of Domovuie, or domestic spirits. Some were received by the woods, which they still haunt as Lyeshie, or sylvan demons, resembling fauns or satyrs some dived into the waters, which they now inhabit under the name of Vodyanuie, or water-sprites some remained in the air, and under the designation of Vozdushnuie delight in riding the whirlwind and directing the storm and some have attached themselves to the houses of mankind, and have When Satan and all his hosts were expelled from heaven, says a popular legenda 5, some of the exiled spirits fell into the lowest recesses of the underground world, where they remain in the shape of Karliki or dwarfs. greatly altered, yet their original features may easily be recognized by a careful observer. The Church has waged war against them for centuries, and has degraded and disfigured many of them, but although their expression has in many cases become. In considering these we have no longer to deal almost exclusively with the past, for they still, to a considerable degree, retain their hold on the faith of the Russian peasant, and, at least in outlying districts, maintain a vigorous existence. 106 SECTION II.-DEMIGODS AND FAIRIES.įROM the Gods of the Eastern Slavonians we may now turn to the inferior inhabitants of their spirit-world. Section II.-Demigods and Fairies Sacred Texts Legends & Sagas Index Previous Next
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