Vodyanoy- Slavic SpiritSpirit"Master of the Waters"

The Old Man in the Mill Pond

He sits on the mill wheel or on a rock beside it, combing his beard of green algae. His skin is the color of river mud. His face is a frog's face: bulging eyes and a lipless mouth. Water weeds trail from his shoulders. He can take other shapes, a pike watching from the deep or a log drifting against the current, but his true form is always this: an old man made half of water and half of the things that live in it.

Every body of water has its Vodyanoy. In larger rivers, several, each ruling a stretch. But his favorite dwelling is the mill pond, where the wheel turns and humans depend on his water for their bread.

The Souls in Jars

The Vodyanoy drowns the careless and the disrespectful. Swimming without an offering or bathing at midnight can bring his hand around your ankle. But drowning is not the worst of it. He traps the souls of his victims in porcelain jars and teapots, sealed and arranged on shelves in his underwater palace. The palace itself is built from wrecked boats, decorated with treasure from drowned travelers. He sits on a throne of river stones, surrounded by his collection. The souls cannot move on. They serve him forever.

The Czech Vodník

In Czech tradition, the Vodník wears a green coat and sits on a willow branch overhanging the water, a pipe clenched between his teeth. Water drips constantly from the left flap of his coat. When he visits village markets, this dripping betrays him. He keeps his souls under lidded cups arranged on shelves; when the lids shift, bubbles rise to the surface above.

Karel Jaromír Erben told the Vodník's story in his 1853 ballad collection Kytice. A young woman is dragged beneath the water to become the Vodník's wife. She bears him a child. He allows her one visit home, but her mother bars the door against her return. When she will not send her daughter back, the Vodník kills the child and leaves its body on the threshold.

Cards with the Leshy

The Vodyanoy keeps a wife, the Vodyanitsa, green-haired and pale. The Rusalki serve him and lure victims to the water's edge. But his strangest relationships are with his neighbors. He plays cards with the Leshy, the forest spirit, wagering the creatures of their domains. A Vodyanoy who loses a hand surrenders fish that then appear in forest ponds. When the spirits quarrel over debts, floods and strange weather follow.

The Miller's Bargain

Millers knew the Vodyanoy better than anyone. Their livelihood depended on his water. Before building a mill, a black rooster was drowned in the pond to consecrate the site. Through the year, the miller poured bread and salt into the water at the turning of each season. In return, the Vodyanoy kept the wheel turning and the water level steady. Neglect the offerings, and the wheel might break. Or the miller's children might be found face-down in the shallows.