The ''witte Wiwer'', Eckstein: ''Grütze''. In: Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer: ''Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens: Band 3 Freen-Hexenschuss''. Berlin/New York 2000, p. 1201. ''witte Wîwer'', Wilhelm Mannhardt: ''Wald- und Feldkulte: Band I''. 2005, p. 89. ''witte Wiewer'' or ''witte Wiver'' Peuckert: ''Sibylle''. In: Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer: ''Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens: Band 7 Pflügen-Signatur''. Berlin/New York 2000, p. 1658. (; all meaning 'white women' in

Low German Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...

; , ; ''witt Wif'' or ''weißes Weib'' Karl Bartsch: ''Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche aus Mecklenburg: Erster Band''. Berlin 2013, p. 36.) are

legendary 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 ...

s from (Low)

German folklore German folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in Germany over a number of centuries. Seeing as Germany was divided into numerous polities for most of its history, this term might both refer to the folklore of Germany proper and of all ...

similar to but distinct from the ''

weiße Frauen In German folklore, the Weiße Frauen (, meaning White Women) are elf-like spirits which may derive from Germanic paganism in the form of legends of light elves (Old Norse: ''Ljósálfar''). The Netherlands, Dutch Witte Wieven are traceable at le ...

''. Other names are ''unterirdische Weiber'' (subterranean women) in

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...

Karl Bartsch: ''Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche aus Mecklenburg: Erster Band''. Berlin 2013, p. 35. and ''Sibyllen'' (

sibyl The sibyls were prophetesses or oracles in Ancient Greece. The sibyls prophet, prophesied at holy sites. A sibyl at Delphi has been dated to as early as the eleventh century BC by Pausanias (geographer), PausaniasPausanias 10.12.1 when he desc ...

s; sg. ''Sibylle'') in Northwestern

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The ''witte Wiwer'' of Mecklenburg dwell in the earth, under shrubs, in small hills, in forest clearings, or beneath the roots of old trees. They might also live beneath the cow stable in some places in Mecklenburg. In

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

, the ''witte Wiwer'' dwell in a pit with a clear fountain inside surrounded by a grove which is called the ''Wittewiwerskule'' (white women's pit), otherwise described as a cave with a door.Leander Petzold: ''Deutsche Volkssagen''. Wiesbaden 2007, p. 189. They are also said to dwell in mountains. Seemann: ''Musik''. In: Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer: ''Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens: Band 6 Mauer-Pflugbrot''. Berlin/New York 2000, p. 60 f. On the island of

Rügen Rügen (; Rani: ''Rȯjana'', ''Rāna''; , ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic ci ...

, they further use subterranean tunnels to get from one place to another. The ''witte Wiwer'' play merry music and have very fine voices. They exchange unbaptized

newborn In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to Juvenile (orga ...

children for

changeling A changeling, also historically referred to as an auf or oaf, is a human-like creature found throughout much of European folklore. According to folklore, a changeling was a substitute left by a supernatural being when kidnapping a human being. ...

s (German ''Wechselbälge'', sg. ''Wechselbalg'') if there is no light burning beside the cradle at night, warding them off. They might also take away women just out of childbed and bring them to their dwelling, threatening the woman to stay there or else they would wring her neck. The ''witte Wiwer'' might ask to borrow the

brewing Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...

copper every

new moon In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar eclipse. ...

during

twilight Twilight is daylight illumination produced by diffuse sky radiation when the Sun is below the horizon as sunlight from the upper atmosphere is scattered in a way that illuminates both the Earth's lower atmosphere and also the Earth's surf ...

hour, taking it away unseen if obliged. Three evenings later, they will return it the very same hour filled with some cans of the

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

brewed by them as payment. They might also ask to get some sweet

porridge Porridge is a food made by heating, soaking or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, fruit, or syrup to make a sweet cereal ...

, too, if a wedding takes place in somebody's house. They are chased by the wild hunt (German ''wilde Jagd'') from which they flee with flying hair. The wild hunt consists of the ''wilde Jägerin'' (wild huntswoman) and her pack of hounds. The wild huntswoman, known as ''de oll Fru Waur'' (the old Lady ''Waur'') or ''de oll Węderhex Waur'' (the old hag weather-witch">Witchcraft">weather-witch''Waur''), carries the ''witte Wiwer'' she caught off on her horse, either one placed before her or – if she has caught two of them – with their hair bound together, hanging from the horse. If the ''witt Wif'' flees from ''Fru Waur'' unkempt, unwashed, and sweaty, the wild huntress will first need to wash up to catch her, using her own water and drying off with her long hunting dress. This seems corrupted, for usually it is the wild huntsman who has not washed up yet and thus has no power over his victims rather than them being unwashed.Leander Petzold: ''Deutsche Volkssagen''. Wiesbaden 2007, p. 154. When the ''witte Wiwer'' of

Mönchgut Mönchgut (''Monk's Estates'' in German) is a peninsula of 20.66 square kilometers with 1,374 inhabitants in the southeast of Rügen island in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It lies just between the Greifswalder Bodden and the rest of the ...

in Rügen were driven away, the

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

tree connected to them withered. They prophesied their return when the withered oak would sprout again.

Literature

* Karl Bartsch: ''Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche aus Mecklenburg: Erster Band''. Vienna 1879. (reprint: Holzinger, Berlin 2013, ) * Eckstein: ''Grütze''. In: Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer: ''Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens: Band 3 Freen-Hexenschuss''. Berlin 1931. (reprint: Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/New York 2000, ) * Wilhelm Mannhardt: ''Wald- und Feldkulte: Band I''. Berlin 1904. (reprint: Elibron Classics, 2005, ) * Leander Petzold: ''Deutsche Volkssagen''. Marix Verlag, Wiesbaden 2007, . * Peuckert: ''Sibylle''. In: Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer: ''Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens: Band 7 Pflügen-Signatur''. Berlin 1936. (reprint: Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/New York 2000, ) * Seemann: ''Musik''. In: Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer: ''Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens: Band 6 Mauer-Pflugbrot''. Berlin 1935. (reprint: Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/New York 2000, )

Notes

References

{{German folklore German legendary creatures Female legendary creatures Earth spirits German folklore