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Muma Pădurii
In Romanian folklore, Muma Pădurii () is an ugly and mischievous or mad old woman living in the forest (in the heart of virgin forests, in a hut/cabin or an old tree). She is the opposite of fairies such as Zână. She is also the protector of the animals and plants, brewing potions and helping injured animals. She cures the forest if it is dying and she keeps unwanted trespassers away by driving them mad and scaring them. She can be associated with witches (like the witch from the story of "Hansel and Gretel"), but she's a neutral "creature", harming only those who harm the forest. Etymology Muma Pădurii literally means "mother of the forest", though "mumă" is an archaic version of "mamă" (mother), which has a fairy tale overtone for the Romanian reader (somewhat analogous to using the archaic pronouns like "thou" and "thy" in English). A few other such words, typically protagonists of folktales, have this effect. Characteristics Muma Pădurii is a spirit of the forest in a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Romanian Folklore
The folklore of Romania is the collection of traditions of the Romanians. A feature of Romanian culture is the special relationship between folklore and the learned culture, determined by two factors. First, the rural character of the Romanian communities resulted in an exceptionally vital and creative traditional culture. Folk creations (the best known is the ballad Miorița) were the main literary genre until the 18th century. They were both a source of inspiration for cultivated creators and a structural model. Second, for a long time learned culture was governed by official and social commands and developed around courts of princes and boyars, as well as in monasteries. Overview Creation of the world Stories suggest God made the earth with the help of animals, while the Devil was trying to thwart his plans.Cosma, Aurel. ''Cosmogonia poporului român'' (The Cosmogony of the Romanian People) (1942). Bucharest: Tipografia Ziarului "Universul".Leeming, David Adams. ''Creation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Annis
Black Annis (also known as Black Agnes or Black Anna) is a bogeyman figure in English folklore. She is imagined as a blue-faced hag or witch with iron claws and a taste for human flesh (especially children).Briggs, Katharine (1976). ''Encyclopedia of Fairies''. Pantheon Books. pp. 24–25. . She is said to haunt the countryside of Leicestershire, living in a cave in the Dane Hills with a great oak tree at the entrance.Alexander, Marc (2002). ''A Companion to the Folklore, Myths & Customs of Britain''. BCA. p. 23. She is said to venture out at night looking for unsuspecting children and lambs to eat, then tanning their skins by hanging them on a tree before wearing them around her waist. She would reach inside houses to snatch people. Legend has it that she used her iron claws to dig her cave out of the side of a sandstone cliff, making herself a home there which is known as Black Annis' Bower Close. The legend led to parents warning their children that Black Annis would get them i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mythological Anthropophages
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrative as a myth can be highly controversial. Many adherents of religions view their own religions' stories as truth and so object to their characterization as myth, the way they see the stories of other religions. As such, some scholars label all religious narratives "myths" for practical reasons, such as to avoid depreciating any one tradition because cultures interpret each other differently relative to one another. Other scholars avoid using the term "myth" altogether and instead use different terms like "sacred history", "holy story", or simply "history" to avoid placing pejorative overtones on any sacred narrative. Myths are often endorsed by secular and religious authorities and are closely linked to religion or spirituality. Many socie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Witch (fairy Tale)
"The Witch" is a Russian fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it in ''The Yellow Fairy Book''. A version of the tale, under the title "The Twins and the Snarling Witch", appears in '' A Book of Witches'' by Ruth Manning-Sanders. Synopsis A poor widower with twin children, a girl and a boy, remarried. The stepmother had several more children and mistreated the twins. Finally, she told them she was sending them to her grandmother in the woods; she said they would have to serve her, but would be well rewarded. The girl said they should visit their own grandmother first. They did this and found that their grandmother knew the woman was a witch. She advised them to be civil and kind, and never touch a crumb belonging to anyone else, and gave them bread, milk and ham. The witch set the girl to spin, and the boy to carry water in a sieve. The girl, who could not spin, wept. Mice came up to her and asked for bread. She gave them some. They told her to give the cat ham, and it should show t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Onibaba (folklore)
A is an oni woman from Japanese legends. Mythology They are normally considered to be women who have turned into oni as a result of karma and resentment, with the younger ones being called "kijo" while the ones that look like old ladies are called onibaba (鬼婆, "demon hag"). They often appear in Japanese legends, folktales, fairy tales, and performing arts, and famous among them are Momiji (from The Legend of Momiji and '' Momijigari'') from Togakushi, Shinano Province (now the town of Kinasa, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture) and Suzuka Gozen from the Suzuka Mountains. The onibaba of Adachigahara ( Kurozuka) had "baba" in her name, but she is also considered a kijo. Also, the Tosa Obake Zōshi (author unknown) that spelled out tales of yōkai in Tosa Province (now Kōchi Prefecture) had, under the title of "Kijo," stated that an oni woman (kijo) with hair of a length 4 shaku and 8 sun (about 150 centimeters) ate a fetus from a pregnant woman, although the origin of this st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nocnitsa
In Slavic mythology, notsnitsa (, , , , , , , ), often referred in plural, is a nightmare spirit or demon that torments people and especially children at night. Other names for notsnitsa in East Slavic languages include kriksy, plaksy, plachky, plaksivicy, kriksy-varaksy, kriksy-plaksy, night hag, night maiden. Folklore In Russian and Slovak folklore notsnitsa is known to torment children at night, and a stone with a hole in the center is said to be a protection from nocnitsa. Mothers in some regions will place a knife in their children's cradles or draw a circle around the cradles with a knife for protection. This is possibly based on the belief that supernatural beings cannot touch iron. Nocnitsa is known to sit on one's chest, drawing "life energy". Because of this, many refer to nocnitsa as a type of vampire. Nocnitsa will often continue visiting. According to some folklore, night hags visit when one sleeps on one's back, with the hands on the chest (a position allegedly c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crone
In folklore, a crone is an old woman who may be characterized as disagreeable, malicious, or sinister in manner, often with magical or supernatural associations that can make her either helpful or obstructive. The Crone is also an archetypal figure, a Wise Woman. As a character type, the crone shares characteristics with the hag. The word became further specialized as the third aspect of the Triple Goddess popularized by Robert Graves and subsequently in some forms of neopaganism, particularly Wicca in which she symbolizes the Dark Goddess, the dark of the moon, the end of a cycle; together with the Mother and the Maiden she represents part of the circle of life. In New Age and feminist spiritual circles, a "Croning" is a ritual rite of passage into an era of wisdom, freedom, and personal power. According to scholar Clarissa Pinkola Estés, the Crone is "the one who sees far, who looks into the spaces between the worlds and can literally see what is coming, what has been, and w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baba Yaga
In Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga, also spelled Baba Jaga (from Polish), is a supernatural being (or one of a trio of sisters of the same name) who appears as a deformed and/or ferocious-looking woman. In fairy tales Baba Yaga flies around in a mortar, wields a pestle, and dwells deep in the forest in a hut usually described as standing on chicken legs. Baba Yaga may help or hinder those that encounter or seek her out and may play a maternal role; she has associations with forest wildlife. According to Vladimir Propp's folktale morphology, Baba Yaga commonly appears as either a donor or a villain, or may be altogether ambiguous. Dr. Andreas Johns identifies Baba Yaga as "one of the most memorable and distinctive figures in eastern European folklore", and observes that she is "enigmatic" and often exhibits "striking ambiguity". Johns summarizes Baba Yaga as "a many-faceted figure, capable of inspiring researchers to see her as a Cloud, Moon, Death, Winter, Snake, Bird, Pelican ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zână
''Zână'' (plural ''zâne''; ''zînă'' and ''zîne'', ''d̦ână'' and ''d̦âne'' in Romanian orthography, old spellings) is the Romanian equivalent of the Greek Charites or the fairy godmother. They are the opposite of monsters like Muma Pădurii. These characters make positive appearances in fairy tales and reside mostly in the woods. They can also be considered the Romanian equivalent of fairies and of the Germanic elf. They vary in size and appearance, and can transform to blend into their surroundings for protection and cover. They can appear openly in the woods and coax travelers to follow them in order to help them find their way. They can also hide in the woods and quietly guide those who need help through signs and "breadcrumbs" through the forest. Mythological role They give life to fetuses Uterus, in utero and bestow upon them great gifts like the art of dancing, beauty, kindness, and luck. In folk tales, it is told not to upset them because they also have the power ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Religion In Romania
Romania is a secular state, and it has no state religion. Romania is one of the most religious of European countries and the majority of the country's citizens are Orthodox Christians. The Romanian state officially recognizes 18 religions and denominations. 81.04% of the country's stable population identified as part of the Eastern Orthodox Church in the 2011 census (see also: History of Christianity in Romania). Other Christian denominations include the Catholic Church (both Latin Catholicism (4.33%) and Greek Catholicism (0.75%–3.3%), Calvinism (2.99%), and Pentecostal denominations (1.80%). This amounts to approximately 92% of the population identifying as Christian. Romania also has a small but historically significant Muslim minority, concentrated in Northern Dobruja, who are mostly of Crimean Tatar and Turkish ethnicity and number around 44,000 people. According to the 2011 census data, there are also approximately 3,500 Jews, around 21,000 atheists and about 19,000 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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