"Vampires, goblins, dance on bedbugs, hide under beds and fight with bedbugs." This is sung in an old children's song that perhaps not all of us know or remember. However, we all remember how scary the stories are about the mystical creatures in our lands. Bulgarian folklore is rich in stories about fairy-tale creatures with which for generations parents have scared their children or tried to teach them virtues. We decided to tell you about some of them, because even if they are just a figment of our imagination, these mythical creatures should not be forgotten.
Our friends from "Studio Zmey" took care of their visual presentation.
Wild ones
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Once upon a time, people believed that wild animals lived in the deep forests and high mountains . They were human in appearance, but exquisitely beautiful, with long blond or red hair. They gather in the meadows in the most remote dense forests, where they dance a magical dance barefoot all night long, dressed in pure white long linen shirts . They are passionate about music, dancing and water. When they go in to bathe, they turn into ordinary maidens, the legends say. Just such moments are used by brave guys who steal them and marry them. It wasn't long before the samdivas abandoned their families. In the folk songs, the heroes engage in a fight with the samodivas, because they can be dangerous and vengeful. Some men, on the other hand, were nursed by samofivas and thus acquired supernatural powers.
Dragons
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Dragons are present in the mythologies of almost all peoples on earth from North America, through Europe to Asia. In our lands, the large fire-breathing lizards were called dragons, llamas, and sometimes chalas. The dragon inhabits forests and mountains, therefore it is also known as the mountain dragon. He resembles man in many ways: he eats, drinks, marries, has offspring, dies. Although they have their wives, snakes, dragons often fall in love with maidens and begin to secretly visit them at night. Such women begin to shy away from others, do not care about their appearance, turn pale and fall away, because the insatiable lover drains their strength. They then have children who look like humans but have wings under their arms and extraordinary strength. Such qualities were often attributed to real Bulgarian outlaws, but of course this was just romantic hyperbole .
Lami and Khali
The llama (robe) is also a huge reptile with a huge mouth, but it is quite different from dragons. She is female and covered with yellow scales, as yellow has in some cases symbolized bile and poison. It has three, seven or nine identical heads and lives at the bottom of the sea or in desolate forests, on the high branches of trees. It appears as a storm, a whirlwind and destroys the crops. Surprisingly, her greatest enemy is the dragon, who constantly fights with her to save the fields from devastating rains and hail. Llamas are also fought by famous heroes, such as the Marko Kings. The tale of the three brothers and the golden apple tells of a fearless lad who descends to the netherworld and frees the king's daughter just before she is sacrificed to the llama. This plot is also depicted on many of the icons of Saint George, although it was included in his life relatively late under the influence of oral tradition.
Karakonjuli
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Karakonjuli are the mystical mischief-makers of Bulgarian mythology. They are usually lame and one-eyed. They are generally believed to appear only during what Christians call the 12 "dirty days" after Christmas. This is why January is called the "Karakondjov" month. During this period they lure travelers and mount them, and then kill them by throwing them from high rocks and trees into deep pools. The creature prowls at night until the first roosters crow, then disappears suddenly into remote caves, rivers, or desolate places. He can also settle in the hard-to-reach places of the houses - for example, in the attic. There are different ways and customs to protect against karakonjulas and to drive them away. Bulgarians protected themselves by wearing garlic and wormwood under their clothes. In Bulgaria, the kukers chase away the Karakonjuli as well as other evil forces.
Vampires
In traditional Bulgarian beliefs, the vampire differs drastically from its Hollywood pop culture equivalent. The Bulgarian vampire is a lost soul, a restless dead man, neither alive with the living nor dead with the dead. He still longs for his lost life, so he cannot pass peacefully into the afterlife. He is thirsty for blood, because since ancient times it has symbolized life. That is why red was the life-affirming color . The vampire lot is unenviable and unwanted. No one voluntarily became a vampire, it was believed that any dead person who was jumped by a cat became a vampire. Therefore, to this day, the coffin of the dead is not left without close people circling around it.
Goblins
Goblins are also present in Bulgarian folklore. They are evil spirits inhabiting mostly abandoned buildings. During the day, the goblins hide in the attic, in the cellar or in the outbuildings of the yard. Somewhere they are perceived as spirits of the dead. Their wandering souls seek peace, refuge, and when they find a suitable home, it is hard for anything to drive them away. According to Bulgarian beliefs, in order to get rid of a goblin, the master of the house must lie to him that he will take him to a wedding. To take him to a remote place in the forest where there are shelters. When they arrive, invite him in, leave him food and knotted yarn, and under the pretext that he is going to bring the wedding guests as well, to lock the door from the outside. It is believed that goblins cannot tolerate unfinished homework and immediately take on it, and so their attention is diverted for a long time.
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From the legends, the mythical creatures passed into Bulgarian literature after the Renaissance through the works of Hristo Botev, Ivan Vazov, Geo Milev, Anton Strashimirov and others.
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All these mythical creatures are forgotten today, but we must not let that happen because they are part of our cultural heritage. Remember their stories, share them with your loved ones and be a #Guardian of Tradition .