Samodiva (folklore)

thumb|Vila by Andy Paciorek

The samodiva (; plural: samodivi, ), samovila (; plural: samovili, ) or vila (; plural: vili, ), are woodland fairies or nymphs found in South and West Slavic folklore.

Etymology

One of the hypotheses of the etymology of the word is that it comes from the Indo-European root , meaning 'follow', 'chase', or 'blow' for . The component has a function to highlight.

The origin of is uncertain. The main hypothesis is that there are traces of , 'god'. Thus, there are landmarks in Bulgaria that have the word "samodiva" or "samovila" in them. An example of that are the Samodivski Lakes in the Pirin Mountain. Specifically, they live under large old trees, in abandoned sheds, or in dark caves that are near water sources.

Vida - Some stories say that she is the sister of Krali Marko; some stories describe her as a destructive force of nature. In Krali Marko and Vida Samovila, he encounters her and kills her in conflict. In another tale, she is responsible for the water shortage in the region because she locked up the twelve springs.
Gyurgya - One of Gyurgya's appearances in Bulgarian Folklore is when she is enticed by a shepherd and ends up becoming his wife.

Appearances in other literature

In the 19th century, Bulgarian poet and revolutionary Hristo Botev mentioned Samodivas in a poem praising the late Voivoda Hadzhi Dimitar. The Samodivas provide comfort to the dying man in the last moments of his life, symbolizing bravery. They also appear to symbolize the union between him and the land he sacrificed himself to protect. Still, the Samodivas and the reaction of Hadzhi Dimitar to their presence is connected to the mischievous and seductive role they often play in mythology.
Elin Pelin - Samodiva

Samodiva as supernatural wife

The Samodiva married against her will

A Bulgarian folk song, The Samodiva married against her will, features a Samodiva: three girls, not related to each other, doff their magical garments to bathe but are seen by a shepherd who takes their clothing. Each girl separately tries to plead and convince the youth to return the clothing. He does so - but only to the first two; the third maiden he chose to wed after she revealed she was an only child. After the wedding, the village insists she dances for the amusement of everyone else, but the samodiva says she cannot dance without her garment. Once her husband delivers her the clothing, she flies away.

The Youth and the Vila

In the fairy tale The Youth and the Vila, the youngest son, who is considered a fool by his two elder brothers, manages to pluck the golden hairs of a vila who has been eating the silver pears of his father's garden. He later takes her back to his father's house.

The Vila in the Golden Castle

In the fairy tale The Vila in the Golden Castle, a father asks his three sons to guard his flower garden at night because swans have been eating the flowers (in reality, the vilas were). The vila returns home to the golden castle which prompts the youth to seek her. There, an old vila, the girl's mother, sets tasks for him to perform.