Domovoy

In this week's episode, we're heading over to Slavic mythology for a nice house guest, the Domovoy! How would he help your family whilst living with you? How can you drive one to give you a disease? Find out this week!

Transcript

INTRO:
Hello and welcome to Myth Monsters, my name is Erin and I’ll be your host for these little snack bite size podcasts on folklore and mythical monsters from around the world. 

These podcasts focus on the actual cryptids, folklore and mythic monsters from global mythology, rather than focusing on full stories of heroes and their big adventures.

I’ll also be dropping in some references that they have to recent culture and where you can see these represented in modern day content so you can learn more, and get as obsessed as I am about these absolute legends of the mythological world.

This is the last banked episode I have before I am live writing these for the weeks again, so I hope you’re happy. I do hope you’re been enjoying the first few episodes of this season so far. I've got a bunch of really cool monsters lined up for this year and I’m excited to get them out there. 

DESCRIPTION:

But enough chitter-chatter, moving onto the monster of this week’s episode, we’re heading over to Slavic Europe for a monster that’s only sometimes a monster really, and looking at a household spirit, the Domovoy.

So what is a Domovoy? A Domovoy is described as a household spirit in Slavic mythology, and is considered the guardian spirit of the home and family that lives there. 

They are always male spirits, and they are most commonly referred to as an old man, no taller than a five year old child. He would have a long grey or white beard and hair, as well as hair covering his entire body, with glowing eyes and sometimes is even described as having horns or a short tail.

In some tellings, they are depicted with features of the household’s ancestors, and will sometimes resemble a dead family member or the previous master of the house. 

Domovoy will wear simple peasant clothing like a red shirt, blue belt or caftan, much like the people of the time. However, he was also often seen naked, but he would be covered entirely in fur, so I guess you wouldn’t see much. Alongside that, he can also camouflage in shadow with only his eyes visible, so you may not see anything of him bar some glowing in the corner of the room.

They lived all around ancient Eastern Europe and every house has one, and often, families would take their Domovoy with them if they moved, taking a part of the hearth or soil from their old house to ensure they moved across with them. They typically lived in the fireplace or hearth of the home, and homeowners were told to avoid disturbing the remains of a fire to ensure their Domovoy would be protected.

So why go to all this trouble? Well because their main task was to guard the family, livestock and home from any evil, as well as assisting with day to day life of the family and warning them about danger incoming. They never go beyond the bounds of the house and never leave the family they are attached to. 

The Domovoy have a couple of powers to make sure this happens, they protect the household from misfortune, illness, fire, theft and evil spirits and almost create a kind of spiritual boundary around the house. They also have the power of foresight, which they mostly use to warn the family of certain things coming, which he would do by knocking, showing them certain dreams, crying or pushing on the inhabitants chests. 

They can also shapeshift into different animals, such as cats, dogs, horses and cattle which can interact with the humans as the Domovoy in their own form are considered intangible. Lastly, they have a lot of influence over the livestock on the property, as they can ensure their health, safety and fertility.

And don’t get me wrong, they did enforce these with authority as they are meant to be respected. So they would enforce respect for elders, cleanliness, hospitality and manners, and when these were done, their power would be increased and the family happier and healthier.

However, they only do all of this when the most important thing is given, and what is most important to a Domovoy is respect. You would typically leave out offerings for the Domovoy, such as bread, salt, milk, porridge or leftovers which highlighted his importance in the family. If this wasn’t done, he wouldn’t help around the house, and he’d actively work against you. 

If you disrespected them, they would cause issues at home, such as breaking things, bringing bad luck, turning your food bad, not letting you sleep or making animals sick or harassing them. You could also insult him, but mocking, cursing or challenging him or praying to a Christian god loudly, as he was from pre-Christian Europe - spoiler. They are severely weakened by chaos, filth and moral discord, so if you’re constantly fighting or the house is always a mess, this can push them towards this more antagonistic role. 

A fun thing is that on a specific date, on March 30th, the Domovoy actually always turns malicious from dawn until midnight, and he must be bribed with food, specifically cakes or a pot of stewed grain.

You can’t really kill a spirit, but you can kill HIS spirit - by doing all those things and then leaving him behind when you leave. He would then lose the connection to the family and lose all his life’s purpose, where some believe he then fades away.

He also can’t hurt you though, so maybe that’s better? He can just kind of curse you and make your life worse - so maybe that’s worse in a way? 

Lastly, we don’t know if they reproduce, however, we do know that the Domovoy have wives, female Domovoy are called Kikimora, amongst other things, and I’ve covered them in their own episode if you want to learn more. But they basically were the same deal, they protect the home and hearth together for a family that they are attached to in exchange for snacks and respect. 

ORIGIN:

Moving onto etymology, the word Domovoy is Russian, and derives from the Proto-Slavic root domъ, meaning house or home. This same root appears across Slavic languages in words for dwelling and household, such as Russian dom, Polish dom, and Czech dům. If these are pronounced differently, I am sorry, the Polish and Russian are spelt the same! 

The ovoy part of the word means belonging to or associated with, so Domovoy literally means he who belongs to the house or the one of the household, which I think is pretty neat. 

There are a couple of other names in other Slavic languages for this monster, such as Domovoi with an I in Polish, Domovyk in Ukrainian and Domovnik in Czech, all of them stressing domestic belonging.

Now onto history, I mentioned earlier that the Domovoy had pre-Christian origins and we don’t have a specific date on that, but we do know that Christianity came into Europe in between the 9th and 12th century, and was an early Slavic pagan belief. 

In Slavic paganism, and in most paganism branches actually, the home was considered a sacred, living space inhabited by protective spirits. The hearth was that spiritual heart of the home, and the Domovoy was believed to dwell near it, reinforcing his role as a guardian of family continuity, fertility, and prosperity for the household, which were all important pagan values.

In traditions, when a family built a new house, the eldest would enter first, because it was believed that the first to enter a new house was destined to die and become the Domovoy for the family. When the family would move, they would brush out the fire, put the ashes into a jar and bring it with them. When they got to their new house, they would say "Welcome, grandfather, to the new!" 

To prevent this immediate death of the older person, families could sacrifice a goat, fowl, or lamb and bury it under the first stone or log set and go without a Domovoy for the time being. But when the time came for that oldest member of the family to die, he would still become the Domovoy for the house in the end anyway. 

A fun note is that if there are no men in the house or the head of the house is a woman, the Domovoy would be a Kikimora instead, which is the female version.

When Christianity did come in however, belief in the Domovoy did not disappear but was reinterpreted. The Church often labelled them a lesser demon or devil, attempting to discourage household spirit worship. As a result, later folklore sometimes portrays the Domovoy with slightly demonic features or as something to be feared - which is why in some tellings, they have horns and tails.

Despite this, rural populations continued to honour them in private. The Domovoy became a folk spirit rather than a religious one, often existing alongside Christian practices. Prayers might be said to the Christian God, while offerings were still quietly left for the Domovoy. In modern times, belief in them has faded alongside paganism, but he remains a powerful cultural symbol, and they appear in literature, art and children’s stories, usually as a representation of the home’s spirit.

Today though, the Domovoy is seen less as a supernatural being, and certainly no monster, and more as a reflection of traditional Slavic values: respect for the home, family, ancestry and the past. 

Of course, there are a bunch of mythical comparisons for this monster, such as the Kikimora herself from Slavic folklore, a similar monster, but much more evil actually. They would get into your house and if it was left untidy, the children neglected or the husband abusive, it would come and give you nightmares or kidnap you. I’ve done an episode on this one anyway, so go listen if you’re interested. 

Another similar one is the Tomte from Scandinavian folklore, a collector household spirit who lives in the invisible spaces in homes, collecting things and helping you out if you help him out. Boggarts from British folklore are similar, but again, more malicious versions, who come into your house and destroy everything. I’ve covered Boggarts in their own episode, but am yet to cover the Tomte, so stay tuned for that at some point soon! 

CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE: 

Now onto modern media, there’s a bit on the Domovoy itself, but also on household spirits as a whole, so I’ve gone down that route to fill this section out.

For art, have a look at Domovoy by Ivan Bilibin from 1934 for the most famous one, but otherwise independent stuff is great for this monster.

In movies, we have; Faeries & The Elfkins, Maleficent, Dead Awake, Marianne 2011, The Nightmare, The Night Walker, Mara & The Haunting of Mia Moss.

For TV, we have; The Witcher, The Owl House, Hilda, Let’s Go Luna, Queen’s Blade, Merlin, Barbie Presents Thumbelina, Disenchantment, The Dragon Prince, Trolls, Gargoyles, Steven Universe, Mr Bogus, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rings of Power, Black Clover, Kulipari: An Army of Frogs, Adventures of the Gummi Bears & Avatar: The Last Airbender.

In video games, we have ones such as; The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, The Legend of Zelda, World of Warcraft, Dragon Age, Touhou Project, Skies of Arcadia, World of Mana, WildStar, Suikoden, Runescape, Tales of Symphonia, Shining Force 2, One Way Heroics, Loom, Wild ARMs, The Elder Scrolls, The Legend of Dragoon, Knight Bewitched, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Bravely Default 2, Kingdom of Loathing & Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura.

My book recommendation this week is A Study of Household Spirits of Eastern Europe by Ronesa Aveela or The Tradition of Household Spirits: Ancestral Lore and Practices by Claude Lecouteux for some great tips and stories on household spirits.

DO I THINK THEY EXISTED? 

Now it’s time for, do I think they existed?

Look, I love the idea of having a little bloke looking after me if I leave him out some sourdough from time to time and leave my fireplace alone - I respect it, but I also don’t like the idea of that person having the face of my grandad, ya know? 

I’m going to say probably not, but I also don’t like to try my luck with spirits, I don’t typically enjoy cursing myself with bad luck and I hope that if I have a Domovoy at home, that he is very happy here and that my cats leave out enough spare food for you to eat. 

It’s a really interesting one though, and I’ve actually had this one in the running order for the last 3 years, but have moved it because of timeline constraints or overbooking of similar or local monsters, and I’m so glad I have finally got this one out. Now I just have to get the titular holiday myth man, I hesitate to say if there are children listening, out there into the world like I’ve had planned for literally 4 years now.

Anyway, I hope this one does exist - I believe that he embodies the belief that a home is a living, spiritual space, which I think is cool. And this is something that thrives or suffers according to the balance between respect, tradition and care given to it, which we should all aim to do in the places we call home I suppose.

But what do you think? Did the Domovoy look after the households of Slavic Europeans? Let me know on social media!

OUTRO: 

A really fun one to cover this week, and an undersung hero in the monster world. I really like covering this part of the world’s mythology because of its uniqueness, rich culture and fun monsters and I hope you do too.

Next week, we’re heading over to Greek mythology to one of the most famous monsters of all time and the father of most of them. Come down to Tartarus with me next time for the ultimate demon daddy, Typhon!

For now, thank you so much for listening, it’s been an absolute pleasure. If you enjoyed this podcast, please give it a rating on the service you’re listening on - I’ve got loads of social media for any questions, or suggestions on what monsters to cover next and I’d love to hear from you. The social media handles for Tiktok, YouTube and Instagram are mythmonsterspodcast, twitter is mythmonsterspod and BlueSky is mythmonsters. But all of our content can be found at mythmonsters.co.uk, and you can also find us on Goodpods, Buymeacoffee and Patreon if you want to help me fund the podcast too.

Come join the fun though and share this with your pals, they might love me as much as you do.

But for now, stay spooky and I’ll see you later babes.