Bukavac () is a
demon
A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including
f ...
ic
mythical creature
A legendary creature is a type of extraordinary or supernatural being that is described in folklore (including myths and legends), and may be featured in historical accounts before modernity, but has not been scientifically shown to exist.
In t ...
in
Slavic mythology
Slavic paganism, Slavic mythology, or Slavic religion refer to the Religion, religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation of the Slavs, Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and ...
.
Belief in it existed in
Syrmia
Syrmia (Ekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srem, Срем, separator=" / " or Ijekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srijem, Сријем, label=none, separator=" / ") is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is div ...
.
Bukavac was sometimes imagined as a six-legged monster with gnarled
horn
Horn may refer to:
Common uses
* Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide
** Horn antenna
** Horn loudspeaker
** Vehicle horn
** Train horn
*Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals
* Horn (instrument), a family ...
s and bright blue eyes.
[ It lives in ]lake
A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
s and pools, coming out of the water during the night to make a loud noise
Noise is sound, chiefly unwanted, unintentional, or harmful sound considered unpleasant, loud, or disruptive to mental or hearing faculties. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrat ...
(hence the name: ''buka'' – noise). It would jump onto people and animals and strangle them.[
]
See also
*Drekavac
Drekavac (literally "the screamer" or "the screecher"), also called drekalo, krekavac, zdrekavac or zrikavac, is a mythical creature in South Slavic mythology. The name is derived from the verb "drečati" ("to screech").
Description
In South ...
*Myling
In Scandinavian folklore, the mylingar were the phantasmal incarnations of the souls of children that had been forced to roam the earth until they could persuade someone (or otherwise cause enough of a ruckus to make their wishes known) to bury ...
References
Slavic demons
Slavic legendary creatures
Serbian folklore
Mythological aquatic creatures
{{Europe-myth-stub