Poroniec is a hostile and malicious demon from
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 Balk ...
. They were believed to come into existence from
stillborn
Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The ter ...
fetuses, but also from improperly buried remains of children who had died during infancy.
Folklore
A poroniec is somewhat similar to a being from
Scandinavian folklore
Nordic folklore is the folklore of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. It has common roots with, and has been mutually influenced by, folklore in England, Germany, the Low Countries, the Baltic countries, Finland and Sapmi. ...
-
Myling
In Scandinavian folklore, the mylingar were the phantasmal incarnations of the souls of children that had been forced to roam the earth until they could persuade someone (or otherwise cause enough of a ruckus to make their wishes known) to bury t ...
. Porońce (plural) were considered to be extremely powerful demons, due to their potential of unrealized life.
Porońce were associated with many taboos regarding pregnant women, such as prohibition of drawing water from the well, prohibition of leaving home with an infant and prohibition of engaging in sexual intercourse.
Stillborn fetus did not turn into a poroniec if it was buried under the threshold of the house. Instead, it turned into a
kłobuk – a
protective house spirit.
In popular culture
*In the 2015 videogame ''
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt'', one of the main quests revolves around the search for a botchling ("poroniec" in the original version) that can be killed or turned into a
lubberkin ("kłobuk").
See also
*
Drekavac
Drekavac, (literally "the screamer" or "the screecher"Levi, Pavle (2007). ''Disintegration in frames: aesthetics and ideology in the Yugoslav and post-Yugoslav cinema''. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Presspage 181 .), also called drekalo, ...
*
Pontianak
Pontianak or Khuntien is the capital of the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan, founded first as a trading port on the island of Borneo, occupying an area of 118.31 km2 in the delta of the Kapuas River at a point where it is joined ...
References
{{Slavmyth
Slavic legendary creatures
Slavic demons
Undead
Stillbirth