Samodiva (folklore)

Common card · No. 315825

The samodiva (Bulgarian: самодива; plural: samodivi самодиви), samovila (самовила; plural: samovili самовили) or vila (вила; plural: vili вили), are fairies, wood nymphs, or harmful female demons found in South Slavic folklore (mostly Bulgarian and Macedonian). They are described as beautiful women with long flowing tresses of blonde or red hair. They wear white dresses and various other articles of clothing (white veils, wreathes, green sash) said to confer them their supernatural powers (or ability to fly); sometimes they themselves are said to be equipped with wings. One recurring theme in folklore is of a man (shepherd, prince, etc.) able to rob a samodiva of her veil, wreathe, etc. to capture her, and force her to become his bride (§ Samodiva bride). Their secret home occurs at a place associated with high elevation, or bodies of water, or woodland, usually in combination, e.g. a spring on a mountain, or a beechwood grove by a lake where they bathe, or else treetops, or caves, or...

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