Also known as: Vodník, Water Man
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A water spirit who dwells in rivers, lakes, and ponds. He appears as an old man with a frog-like face and green beard. He drowns swimmers who don't show respect and keeps the souls of drowned people in porcelain jars.
The Vodyanoy (also Vodník or Vodnik) is the male spirit of rivers, lakes, ponds, and streams in Slavic folklore. Every body of water has its Vodyanoy, who rules over the fish, commands the currents, and decides the fate of anyone who enters his domain. He is as ancient as the waters themselves, and far more dangerous than he appears.
The Vodyanoy appears as an old man covered in muck and slime, with a frog-like face, bulging fish eyes, and a long beard of water weeds and algae. His body might be greenish or black, sometimes bloated like a drowned corpse. He can also appear as a large fish, a floating log, or a naked old man sitting on a mill wheel—for he has a particular connection to water mills.
Most terrifying is what the Vodyanoy does with his victims. He drowns the unwary—those who swim without making an offering, who boast about their swimming skill, or who bathe at forbidden times. But death is not the end. The Vodyanoy traps the souls of the drowned in porcelain jars or under upturned pots at the bottom of his watery realm, keeping them as servants forever.
Slavic peoples learned to appease the Vodyanoy. Millers were especially careful, as their livelihoods depended on his goodwill—a hostile Vodyanoy could break mill wheels or flood buildings. Offerings of tobacco, bread, or a black rooster thrown into the water could earn his favor. Fishermen poured back the first catch as tribute.
The Vodyanoy is not solitary. He may have a wife (the Vodyanitsa) and daughters who sometimes marry human men. He plays cards and dice with the Leshy (forest spirit), wagering the creatures of their domains. He commands the Rusalki, the drowned maiden-spirits, who serve him and lure victims to the water.
In The Witcher, the Vodyanoy (sometimes called "Drowners" for related creatures) appears as both monstrous water-dwellers and, in some stories, as an intelligent underwater civilization. The games particularly feature a village of Vodyanoy who seek peaceful coexistence with humans—an interpretation that nods to the spirit's complex relationship with humanity.
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