The Leshy (also Leshi; rus, леший, p=ˈlʲeʂɨj; literally, " efrom the forest", pl, borowy, leśnik, leśniczy, lasowik, leszy) is a

tutelary deity A tutelary () (also tutelar) is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety and ...

of the

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s in pagan

Slavic mythology Slavic mythology or Slavic religion is the religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and the 13th century. The South Slavs, who likely settled in the B ...

. As the spirit rules over the forest and hunting, he may be related to the Slavic god

Porewit Porevit, Porovit or Borovit (, , , , , ) is a Slavonic god with unknown functions mentioned in only two sources: ''Gesta Danorum'' and in ''Knýtlinga saga''. The only historical information about this god is a description of a statue depicting ...

. There is also a deity, named ''Svyatibor'' (''Svyatobor'', ''Svyatibog''), who is mentioned in the beliefs of the Eastern and Western Slavs as the god of forests and the lord of the leshies. His functions were identical to those of the god Veles. The Leshy is masculine and humanoid in shape, is able to assume any likeness and can change in size and height. In some accounts, Leshy is described as having a wife (''Leshachikha'', ''Leszachka'', ''Lesovikha'' and also, sometimes, the ''

Kikimora Kikimora ( rus, кикимора, p=kʲɪˈkʲimərə) is a legendary creature, a female house spirit in Slavic mythology. Her role in the house is usually juxtaposed with that of the domovoy. The kikimora can either be a "bad" or a "good" spirit, ...

'' of the swamp) and children (''leshonki'', ''leszonky''). He is known by some to have a propensity to lead travelers astray and abduct children (which he shares with

Chort A chort (Russian: чёрт, Belarusian and Ukrainian: чорт, Serbo-Croatian ''čort'' or ''črt'', Polish: ''czort'' and ''czart'', Czech and Slovak: ''čert'', Slovene: ''črt'') is an anthropomorphic malign spirit or demon in Slavic folk ...

, the "Black One"), which would lead some to believe he is an evil entity. He is, however, also known to have a more neutral disposition towards humans, dependent on the attitudes and behaviours of an individual person, or local population, towards the forest. Leshy could take children who were cursed by their relatives (in particular, parents) away to the forest people. Some would therefore describe him as more of a temperamental being, like a

fairy A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, ...

.Ivanits, Linda J. (1989) ''Russian Folk Belief''. Routledge. p. 68

Names and etymology

The Leshy is known by a variety of names and spellings including the following:Levkievskaya, Elena E. (2011) ''Мифы русского народа yths of the Russian People'. AST, Astrel, VKT. Chapter "Leshy". Main name variations: * Borovoi (russian: Боровой, pl, Borowy) " eof the

pine barrens Pine barrens, pine plains, sand plains, or pineland areas occur throughout the U.S. from Florida to Maine (see Atlantic coastal pine barrens) as well as the Midwest, West, and Canada and parts of Eurasia. Perhaps the most well known pine-barre ...

" * Gayevoi (russian: Гаевой, pl, Gajowy) " eof the grove" * Leshak (russian: Лешак, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Lešak, Лешак) * Leshy (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: Леший, be, Лешы, pl, Leszy, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Lešij, Лешиј) * Lesnik (russian: Лесник, pl, Leśnik, bg, Лесник, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Lesnik, Лесник) * Lesovik (russian: Лесовик, be, Лесавік, uk, Лісовик, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Lesovik, Лесовик) * Lesovoi (russian: Лесовой, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Lesovoj, Лесовој) * Lesun (russian: Лесун, be, Лясун) * Mežainis, ( Latvian: "forester") * Miškinis ( Lithuanian: "forest-man") * Miško velnias (

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

: "Forest devil") * Vir'ava ( myv, Вирьава) "forest mother" Euphemistic titles: * He (russian: он) also used for the devil, based on

superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs and ...

prohibiting invocation of evil * He himself (russian: он сам) like "he" * Les chestnoi (russian: Лес честной) "honorable one of the forest" * Les pravedniy (russian: Лес праведный) "righteous one of the forest" * Lesnoi dedushka/ded or Dedushka-lesovoi (russian: Лесной дедушка/дед, Дедушка-лесовой, be, Лясны дзед, pl, Leśny dziad) "forest grandfather" * Lesnoi dukh (russian: Лесной дух, ) "forest spirit" * Lesnoi dyadya (russian: Лесной дядя) "forest uncle" * Lesnoi khozyain (russian: Лесной хозяин) "forest master" * Lesnoi zhitel' (russian: Лесной житель) "forest dweller" or "woodsman" * Lesny muzhik , "forest man"

In popular culture

* Leshy is used as a prototype for the main character of

Vladimir Vysotsky Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky ( rus, links=no, Владимир Семёнович Высоцкий, p=vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr sʲɪˈmʲɵnəvʲɪtɕ vɨˈsotskʲɪj; 25 January 1938 – 25 July 1980), was a Soviet singer-songwriter, poet, and actor ...

's song "Lukomorye", where Leshy is depicted as an alcoholic that spends all his money on drinking and is abusive to his wife. * Leshy was the inspiration for an antagonist of the video game ''

Inscryption ''Inscryption'' is a roguelike deck-building game developed by Daniel Mullins Games and published by Devolver Digital. ''Inscryption'' was released for Microsoft Windows on October 19, 2021. It was released on Linux and macOS on June 22, 2022, wh ...

'', who is also named Leshy.

References

External links

* * {{Slavic mythology Russian folklore characters Mythological tricksters Shapeshifting Slavic gods Slavic tutelary deities Forest spirits Slavic folklore characters

Names and etymology

In popular culture

See also

References

External links