''Vâlvă'' (plural ''vâlve'') is a female spirit mentioned in the

Romanian folklore The folklore of Romania is the collection of traditions of the Romanians. A feature of Romanian culture is the special relationship between folklore and the learned culture, determined by two factors. First, the rural character of the Romanian ...

. The ''Vâlve'' are believed to walk over the hilltops at night, and are subdivided into ''Vâlve Albe'' ("White Vâlve"), who are considered beneficial, and ''Vâlve Negre'' ("Black Vâlve" or "Dark Vâlve"), who are considered evil. In certain contexts, they are believed to have human form (especially when they came to protect villages from a storm). They may also appear under various guises, such as shadows or

black cat A black cat is a domestic cat with black fur that may be a mixed or specific breed, or a common domestic cat of no particular breed. The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) recognizes 22 cat breeds that can come with solid black coats. The Bombay b ...

s. They also have the ability to

shapeshift In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, sorcery, spells or having inherited the ...

Types of ''Vâlve''

The ''Vâlve'' include several types, among which are: ''Vâlva Apei'' ("of the water"), considered as a sort of guardian of the water sources and fountains; ''Vâlva Bucatelor'' (roughly, "of the morsels"), protector of the poor people, and of

crops A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponics ...

; ''Vâlva Băilor'' ("of the mines"), defender and protector of mines and tunnels, whose departure means that the deposit is coming to an end; ''Vâlva Banilor'' ("of the money"), protector of money; ''Vâlva Comorilor'' ("of the treasures"), protector of treasures, who can also signal the spot where these are buried; ''Vâlva Pădurii'' ("of the forest"), protector of woodlands, similar to '' Muma Padurii''; ''Vâlva Ciumei'' ("of the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

"), controlling

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and other diseases; ''Vâlva Zilelor'' ("of the days"), protector of the days (there is one for each day of the week); ''Vâlva Cetăţilor'' ("of the citadels"), defender of ancient ruins.

''Vâlve'' of the mines

The best known among oral tradition are, still, the ''Vâlve'' of the mines. Legends about them flourish around traditional metal exploitation areas in Romania, such as Roşia Montană, a place extremely rich not only in gold, but also in folklore and myth. There, the people still say that you cannot find any gold in the mines without the help of a ''Vâlvă'' (which is white). But if one gets too greedy, or spends the money foolishly, or if someone steals the gold or money from the family it was originally revealed to, the ''Vâlvă'' will become a black one and will not stop until she will avenge the injustice and disrespect to her. Miners say that anyone can hear her knocking through the galleries just in the next corridor, even if there is no knowledge of that place in the rock or if you know for sure no one can be there at that time. She is producing that strange sound to search for gold to show them, or to help them not get lost. If they don't listen to her advice, the galleries collapse on them.

Types of ''Vâlve''

''Vâlve'' of the mines

See also