#romanian folkore

[adarkrainbow]

Romanian witches: Muma Padurii

(Note: I unfortunately cannot add the accents needed for the writing of those names since my keyboard is not equiped. So know that there are accents missing)

I originally made a post about one Romanian fairytale figure... which turned into a post about two fairytale figures... which became a post about three fairytale figures... So ultimately I decided to split this post into a whole series because it was getting too big. I want to explore with you three characters tied together in Romanian folklore and all present within Romanian fairytales, but each fascinating in their own right. And I want to begin with the first of these ladies... Muma Padurii.

Muma Padurii means "The Forest Mom", or "The Mother of the Forest" (Muma is an archaic form of "mom").

In fairytales, Muma Padurii is an antagonist. She is an embodiment of the wicked witch, or rather of the hag. She is a very old and very ugly woman (so ugly the expression "You look like Muma padurii" is an insult) who lives all alone in a little, dark and scary house in the depths of the woods. She is not a normal woman: she is a witch gifted with various supernatural powers (including shapeshifting), and she is also an ogress who loves to eat children. It is as a children-predator that she usually appears within Romanian fairytales, luring kids to her house to kill and cook them. One of the most famous Muma Padurii fairytales is the Romanian version of "Hansel and Gretel", which mostly differs by A) having the witch named B) the house not being made of candy and C) the genders are reversed (here it is the girl that is to be boiled alive into a soup, while it is the boy that pushes the hag into the oven).

But the thing with Muma Padurii is that, in a similar way to Frau Holle, she is an entity that was "split" between fairytales and legends. There is a Muma Padurii of folktales which is the evil hag I presented above, but there is also a Muma Padurii of beliefs and legends which is quite different and much more neutral.

This Muma Padurii is still an old, ugly, shapeshifting witch - but she is presented as amoral rather than wicked, with a personality mixing a fairy-like mischieviousness and just pure insanity. The name "Muma Padurii" is also very revealing... In the fairytales this name is used in the typical motif of the witch/hag as the "false mother" or "anti-mother", but in the Romanian mythology, this name indicates what Muma Padurii is. She is the Mother of the Forest, as in the spirit of the forest. Her main role, and the reason for her hostility towards humankind, is her function as the guardian of the woods. She still lives in a remote and hidden location - but it is not always a little cabin, it can just be a tree, and it is usually within a virgin-woodland at the heart of the forest, untouched by human hands. She still brews potions - but they are good potions, that she uses to heal injured animals and sick trees. For Muma Padurii always keeps the forest alive. She does attack humans - but only those that destroy the fauna and flora, or that trespass within forbidden areas where only wild things are supposed to be. This was why those that entered the woods were warned to not go too far and to respect what surrounded them: else Muma Padurii would at best scare them away, at worst drive them to insanity with her magic. As such, it was forbidden to pick up certain wild fruits and berries in the forest during certain times of the year - they were for the animals to replenish their strength, and Mama Padurii made sure this rule was followed. In the most extreme cases she would kill the trespassers and devour their corpses like a wild animal - a bogey-version of Muma Padurii that explains her role as a child-eating crone in fairytales...

Muma Padurii is present all across Romania, sometimes in local variations (Padureanca, Muma Huciului), and this explains why there are so many different incarnations of her. Sometimes she is an angry ghost of the woods, a vengeful spirit which can be heard crying among the trees for all the plants that mankind destroyed, and if a house built near the forest isn't carefully locked up at night, she will enter in them at midnight and kill all those inside... Other times she is depicted as a young and beautiful fairy of light, who will be kind and helpful to children but will trick adults into being lost, having their body paralyzed or dying in various ways. This specific idea of the "young faced Muma Padurii" is notably present in another folktale/fairytale, where it is said that the Muma Padurii is a witch that needs to eat human hearts to keep herself young and alive - as such she takes on the appearance of a beautiful woman to lure young men into the woods, but once they are isolated enough she turns into a giant monster and rips their hearts away.

Her link to the forest is highlighted by how she is often said to disguise herself as a tree, to be a part-tree woman, or a hag clothed in moss (she also can appear as a cow, a horse or an ox) ; her function as a "Romanian fairy" is also highlighted by how in various legends she either makes babies sick, or replaces them by changelings (and as such they were several folk-spells and rituals Romanian country-folks used to protect their babies from the Forest-Mom). But mostly Muma Padurii stays an embodiment of the woods in what they have of dangerous and scary. She can be kind and helpful - but only towards the "innocent", animals, plants and (sometimes) children. However she stays an ancient woman of the woods, the mistress of the wild animals, the embodiment of a state of non-civilizations, and as such she is the fright that drives one mad and the savage force that will kill and eat men. And even then, the fauna and flora itself is not always escaping her wrath - some records say that Mama Padurii knows the name of every tree of the forest, but that she can get angry at some and curse them to fall either by the woodsman's axe or by lightning.

The last interesting difference between the fairytale Muma and the legendary Muma is that, while the fairytale Muma is usually a lonely entity, in beliefs Muma Padurii was part of a large family. Sometimes Muma Padurii herself was multiplied into several "Muma" - there was notably a belief about many of them sometimes visiting the cabins of those that lived near the woods, asking to have their hair brushed and cleaned, with a comb and butter (which isn't an easy feat since she had her hair dirty, tangled in snake-like braids and so long it touches the floor). Anyone who agreed to the task and performed it well could receive a wish from the Mother of the Woods - but the rule was that they could only pronounce three words in total as long as she was here, if a fourth was pronounced, she would take your voice and leave you mute. Sometimes Muma Padurii was given a male counterpart of companion called "The Father of the Forests", or the "Woods Papa".

Muma Padurii was also said to have several sons, which were the spirits of the woods and/or of the night (going by names such as Decuseara, Zorila, Murgila, Mamornito or "Midnight"). She is also linked to a set of female forest spirits known as the Fata Padurii (Fata being of course linked to the "fairies", "fées", "fatum" - but here it is to be understood as "The Daughters of the Forest", "The Girls of the Woods, and fittingly they are said to be the daughters of Muma Padurii) ; and to an entity I personaly do not know much about, "Mosul Codruilui" (she is said to be her mother, and "Mosul" means "old woman")

Finally, there was a certain Christianization of the Muma (as some tales started saying her task as a guardian of the forest was given to her by God), and a modern attempt at explaining how she could be such an ambiguous entity, benevolent and malevolent at the same time: most modern storytellers highlight how protective she is of the fauna and flora, and how she was said to wail and cry for the destroyed wood, to explain her "transformation" as her becoming more and more bitter, and angrier and fuller of hate the more humans destroyed her domain, harmed her trees and wounded her "children". A true ecological fable.

Some people point out that Muma Padurii could be a "Romanian equivalent" of the Russian Baba-Yaga which is... not quite exact and not quite true. The two characters seem to derive from a same old "forest mother-goddess" but there are too many differences between Muma Padurii and Baba-Yaga for them to be consideed one and the same. There is however a interesting link between the two, which will be the subject of my next post... about Baba Cloantza.

[artbyanca]

Soarele și luna Ne-or ține cununa.

(The sun and moon Shall hold our crown

-aka the sun and moon shall marry us; aka our love will be eternal/we'll pass into eternety together for those not versed in Romanian mythology and folklore)

This piece was inspired by Pasha Parfeni's song 'Soarele și luna' that's going to represent Moldova at Eurovision this year.

[naeberries]

  [...]   zâna   zorilor   îşi   uită   acuma   supărarea   de   tristă   ce   se   făcu   şi   trimise   pe   sfantul   soare   ca   să   umble   în   lume   să   facă   din   şapte   zile   una   …   să   cerce   să   afle   şi   s-aducă   veşti.   o   zi   din   şapte   zile   zâna   zorilor   n-a   făcut   alta   decât   a   stat   şi   privit   în   calea   soarelui,   a   privit   …   privit   …   până   ce   au   început   a-i   curge   lacrimile   din   ochişori,   nu   ştim   acuma   de   privitul   cel   mult   ori   de   durerea   şi   dorul   ei   cel   mare!   iată-ntr-a   şaptea   zi   sfantul   soare   se   reîntoarce   …   roşu,   trist   şi   obosit   …   iarăşi   veste   rea!   hei!   că   petru   era   unde   razele   soarelui   nu   pot   pătrunde!   [...]   porunci   apoi,   ca   între   lume   şi   împărăţia   zorilor   să   se   lase   vălul   cel   mare   al   întunecimii   prin   care   să   nu   străbată   decât   o   singură   rază   de   soare,   care   să   ducă   vestea-n   lume   cum   că   "până   ce   nu   va   veni   acela   care   a   dus   apă   de   la   fântână,   soarele   să   nu   se   mai   mişte   pe   cer".

 [...]   the   dawn   fairy   forgot   now   her   anger   for   all   the   sadness   she   felt,   and   sent   saint   sun   to   travel   across   the   world   and   make   from   seven   days   one   ...   to   try   and   find   news.   one   day   out   of   seven   the   dawn   fairy   did   nothing   but   sit   and   look   in   the   sun’s   path,   and   she   looked   ...   and   she   looked   ...   until   tears   started   flowing   from   her   pretty   eyes,   i   cannot   say   now   whether   because   of   the   long   vigil   or   because   of   her   pain   and   great   longing   !!   and   so   it   was   that   on   the   seventh   day,   saint   sun   came   back   ...   red,   mournful,   and   tired   ...   and   yet   again   with   bad   news   !!   hey   !!   for   petru   was   where   the   sun’s   rays   could   not   touch.   [...]   she   decreed   then   that   between   the   world   and   her   kingdom   the   big   veil   of   darkness   shall   fall,   through   which   only   a   single   ray   of   sunshine   shall   pierce,   so   that   it   may   spread   the   word   that   “   until   he   who   stole   water   from   the   fountain   will   return,   the   sun   will   not   move   on   the   sky”.

 a   folk   legend   meant   to   explain   the   long   winter   years   that   had   fallen   upon   the   world,   unknown   writer.

[balkanche]

Ethnic Romanian traditional clothing from the Bessarabia region of the Republic of Moldova

@ethnojonestom

[vampyrasa]

𝙾𝚁𝙳𝙴𝚁 𝙾𝙵 𝙴𝙲𝙲𝙻𝙴𝚂𝙸𝙰𝚂𝚃𝙴𝚂   /   the dominus.  in which i stick my hands all over video games and make my own lore. tw: blasphemy, abrahmic religion, mention of luciferi*nism.

originally an organization that was dedicated to researching the power of the vampire lord and how to contain it and thus subjugate him / deny his inevitable resurrection, the order of ecclesiastes / and on the knowledge held in his castle that was linked directly to king solom*n and his disciplies, the solomonari.   that said, this order was later perverted by the creation of the dominus - or the physical manifestation of drac*la’s essence that was used to enslave human souls and take a sort of ‘control’ over their minds, erasing their memories and making them more pliable to suggestion.  keep in mind that this was done without his consent in the leader of the order’s half-brained attempt to bring him back from the dead for the fifth time.    (also interesting, considering it uses ecclesiastes, which states that no man can know what is best for the human race over God, but it was drac*la himself who took on that mantle and decided to attempt forcible extinction.  this is poetic irony entirely.)  

from ecclesiastes:  As it is with the good man, so with the sinner; as it is with those who take oaths, so with those who are afraid to take them. This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all.   /   ( Man’s fate does not depend on righteous or wicked conduct but is an inscrutable mystery that remains hidden in God (9:1).

in order to pay homage to this, and to the abrahmic origins of his entire ‘origin story’, i have to also consider that drac*la himself, in several versions of his own lore, castlev*nia included, is worshipped as a sort of vampiric prophet, or as a harbinger of death / food to vampire kind. i’ve said before that he is the devil’s adam more than the antichr*st, though one can certainly make comparisons on both accounts and i have before.  but the count’s connection to solomon is FAR deeper, especially when one considers his ancient history with romanian folkore and the scholomance, where solomon (according to folklore) sent his disciples to teach new students the knowledge he possessed.                    for the first 400 years as a vampire, he simply collects and stores knowledge, and also shares it with others. there are dragons, tons of mythological creatures and a bunch of weather wizards that are wicked cool. 

regarding the actual cult, whose members (some) later made up members of his own court or even his brides, are known to practice on the witch’s sabbat in most media, which is also one of the days, along with walpurgisn*cht, that he becomes incredibly powerful from the gate between worlds thinning.  (and on days when this night bares a lunar eclipse, it is even more so)                 because the count is so desperately buried in so much folklore, it’s kind of impossible to pin-point all the specifics.  that said, i do think that that order being abolished is in his best wishes, and the dominus released (and thus returned to him) before the end of the 1800s.  he is certainly not viewed as a god, but more as a prophet in the luciferi*n worship.   IN SOME GAMES OR MEDIA BITS THEY TRY TO SAY THAT HE ENJOYS THOSE WHO WORSHIP HIM, but this is not the case until MUCH LATER in his timeline, when his hatred of his own relationship with his religion (eastern orth*doxy) becomes so vile that he tries to square up with religion itself.

[ayellowbirds]

Big Life News!

So, you may recall that, back in January, my dad passed away and i wound up moving in with my partners, over an hour away from my old place. Unfortunately, that apartment is smaller than three bodies and a cat can comfortably fit into, and i’ve wound up having to make commutes that average an hour and fifteen minutes drive each way. 

A few months ago, my partners (including @archosaur-automaton​) and i started looking into the possibility of a bigger, better place to move into. We’re located in NYC, and with the pandemic there’s been a big rush of people who can afford it moving out of the city. As we started to investigate rental options, we realized that our combined earnings and savings might be enough to actually afford a house in the current market.

Smash cut to now: we’ve made an offer on a place with more than enough room for ourselves (and other people in need who we can offer temporary shelter as the situation requires it), and it’s been accepted. The bank has approved the mortgage, and we’re entering the final steps of the purchase!

We’re informally naming the house Casă de Șarpe, a reversal of the Romanian name for the Grass Snake N. natrix, because it’s linked in eastern European folkore and mythology with good fortune and safety for a home and its inhabitants, and also because we all adore snakes. Heck, my first interaction with a non-domestic animal was with a harmless racer snake in California.

[laurasimonsdaughter]

some vampires have fruit allergies, right? so how does that relate to how they were turned, where they are from, etc?

I’m verypuzzled by the notion of a vampire that is allergic to fruit. Specificallybecause most vampires cannot eat any kind of normal food. If they do eat somethingelse it’s usually not fruit, but some form of raw meat.

There areexceptions. The bhuta, a sort of vampire spirit from India, can eat normal foodfor instance. The female Agul described in the original Thousand And One Nightscan eat plain rice, and the Adze from Ghana drinks coconut juice and palm oil aswell as blood.

There aresome living vampires of course (Moroii and Striga from Romanian, the Aswang,Danag and Mandurugo from the Philippines, the Obayifo from Ghana). I presumethey can eat normal human food.

But when itcomes to actual fruit I’ve only been able to find three links to vampirefolkore:

Sacred trees. It’s reasonable to assume that juniperberries and the fruit from a hawthorn tree would hurt a vampire, since both of thosetrees are thought to protect against vampires and evil spirits in general. Ihave never read a story that uses them in such a way though.

Melons and Pumpkins. Peculiarly, both these fruits feature in (Muslim)folklore from the Balkan region where a fruit can turn into a vampire if youkeep them too long after Christmas. Neither the pumpkin vampire nor thewatermelon vampire are particularly feared. In some stories they don’t evenhave teeth. When the fruit is about to transform they growl, roll around andsometimes have bloody spots on them. They mostly seem to pester people ratherthan do they any real harm.

Lemons. If you’ve truly heard a story about a vampirethat was allergic to a particular fruit, this would be my best bet. InSaxon-German folklore lemons were used to ward off evil. A particular, plaguespreading vampire called a Neuntöter was defeated by placing a lemon inhis mouth.

I hope thiswas helpful! Even if it wasn’t, I’m really curious where you got thevampire-fruit connection. Because the thought of vampires and fruit amuses megreatly (hence this post). I’d love to know where you heard this lore!

[lpbestiary]

In Romanian folkore, Sânziene are fairies who are associated with Diana, the virgin goddess. They bless crops and bestow health on women, but do not like to be seen by men. It is said that any man who sees a Sânziànă will be driven mad, made blind or deaf, or simply maimed.

Sânziene are an important part of Romanian culture, with a festival in their honour celebrated annually on the 24th of June. During the festival, local virgins will dress in white and pick flowers, including the Galium verum (or Sânziànă). These flowers will be made into floral crowns, which will be worn during a dance and then thrown over houses. If the crown lands on a house, it is believed that someone in that house will die.

Image source.

Monster master list.

Suggest a spook.

[mamamidnight]

My OCs

So, this is a list of all of my current OCs and their fandoms/universes. Still more OCs to come for Midnight’s story. There’s apparently 34 thus far.

Mama Midnight:

The Midnight Trio

Midnight Skellington (My fursona, created an orphanage, took her husband’s last name)

Joseph Jackson Skellington III (Runs the orphanage with Mid and Terra [Imma let you guess where my ten year old mind got name inspo and how I modified it])

Terra Widow (Their wife; all three are married to each other, kept her last name out of familial sentiment)

Their Daughters

Alena Skellington (Mercenary codenamed as “Doom” [original name I gave her when I was ten], Midnight’s middle triplet by birth)

Akita Skellington (First mutant enlisted in the air force, eldest triplet)

Angelica Skellington (Pastel decora loving sweet lolita, nickname is “Angel” [original name I gave her when I was ten], Midnight’s youngest triplet)

Hope Skellington (Adopted, helps her mom at home at the orphange with Angelica)

Mutants (Outside of the “Midnight Trio”)

Emily “Thorn” Brooks (Married to Picassa)

Picassa Brooks (Named after the artist with a feminine twist, took her wife’s last name)

Seti Ghanem (Lives in Cairo, devout Muslim. The initial experiments performed on her were the basis of the mutation experiments spreading.)

Solana Ramirez-Kasika (Half Mexican, half Thai. Thai last name means “bird”. Drifter. Was stopping in town for a small break before being kidnapped by the townspeople with the others.)

Humans

Henry McGregor (Town sheriff, had a crush on Sarah.)

Sarah (Midnight’s mother, widow)

The Neighbors (Live next door to Sarah’s orphanage. Elderly couple, but devout Christians)

“Old Fire And Brimstone” (Elder and Pastor at the Dover Chase Church)

Akan (One of the town’s deacons, the “doctor” overseeing the experiement. Name means “Twisted” in Hebrew, unbeknownst to his parents who wanted to name him something biblical.)

Sophia (Akan’s daughter, one of his “nurses”)

Dinah (Akan’s wife, one of his “nurses”)

9:

88 (Dog stitchpunk, adopted sister to 33, a friend on dA’s OC)

Anita (Siamese cat stitchpunk)

Steven Universe:

Jade (Homeworld gem turned rebel. Her fusion partner is @thebadwolfdemon‘s Blue Goldstone. They’re incredibly gay for each other and when fused become Amazonite. Friends with @wandering-scarecrow‘s Coober Peety, @pitchblende-viridia‘s Pitch, @nursephantump‘s gemsona, and @wellheyproductions‘ Sulfur.)

Percy Jackson:

Lillith Marie Knight (Demi goddess, daughter of Hades.)

Pamela (Faun girl, Lillith’s guardian.)

Cinnabunny:

Candi Floss (Cotton candy sheep girl)

Gummi Bear (She and Candi are friends with @pennwrenn‘s Ginger) 

Others (Originals that don’t fit in a universe above):

Demons

Solomon/Betzalel (Name translation is ”In God’s Shadow” in Hebrew. A frankendemon, dating @demongirl20‘s Runihara.)

Pascal (”The Devil’s Housecat”. Personification of my depression and anxiety.)

Vampires

Anastasia Tepes (Seemingly young woman in traditional Romanian clothing, vampire form based on a shovel nosed bat. Not only sucking the blood of, but more so MAULING her prey. Shares the last name of “Vlad The Impaler” [irl inspo for Dracula], although not directly related, gaining her the occasional nickname of “Princess”.)

Sirena Bellecour (Energy/Essence vampire. Drains the souls of those who watch her carnival perform, essentially making them mindless zombies, collecting their souls as a fine golden powder that she rubs into her skin to maintain her youthful appearance. Is 6′2″ sans heels. Super gay for @ivyxchaplin‘s Ivy.)

RPG

Morna (Spiritualist Changeling, name means “Beloved” in Gaelic. Irony there being she was abandoned by both her birth and adopted parents. Birth parents were a blood hag and a goblin, so although mostly outwardly beautiful, her sharklike teeth and claws require wariness. Chaotic good.)

Shamil Ellywick Caramip Folkor (Gnomish bard. Dislikes dwarves, obnoxiously short, and loves being a trickster. In her culture, it’s common to have a clusterfuck of names, so she tacks on nicknames onto her name as people get to meet her, resulting in a longggggg introduction. Chaotic good.)

Clown

Lolita Valdez aka Lolipop the Clown (Lolipop is intentionally spelled that way as a name pun. Hardcore decora lover. Works a local haunt during Halloween. Hangs out with @honkinjester‘s clown ocs. Practices clownism.)

Superhero

Guadalupe Montero aka Amaia: Queen of the Beasts (Father was Basque and mother was black. She’s homeless, living in Rio, staying in a local mission. Animalian shape shifter, she’s essentially a Brazillian Robin Hood. Amaia, her hero monicker, was given to her by the townspeople, meaning “The End”. For the poor, the end of suffering. For those more wealthy, the  end of peace of mind.) 

[balkanche]

Ethnic Romanian clothing from Dobrogea

as requested by @ethnojonestom