Tales of the Vodyanoy and its Family

Although there are many different theories on the Vodyanoy,

one story that is told time and time again, is about their family.

It can be hard to see how these creatures could have family, as

they can be seen as mere beasts no different to the cows

grazing in the meadows or the birds nesting in the trees. They

are seen as mindless creatures, driven by their natures and

nothing more. They are not however simply dumb beasts.

That in many ways makes them much more formidable and

scarier to deal with.

The Vodyanoy are often (in fact usually) married and will have

offspring around them. It may not be the family unit we are

used to as civilised human beings, but it is a functioning family

unit. One Vodyanoy was known to have one hundred and

eleven daughters, who would spend their time torturing and

drowning unfortunate souls who crossed their path.

The Vodyanoy and their families will keep a large number of

cattle, which they are sometimes said to keep on peasant land,

disguising themselves as a normal worker. They are also said

to be keen beekeepers, looking after a large number of hives.

They are a complicated creature.

One story that almost puts them in a caring light, is that it is

rumoured that if a girl drowns herself in the river, or is cursed

and thrown out by our parents resulting in the poor creature

having no hope but to give herself over to the water, she will be

turned into a Rusalka, a female water-sprite and she will

become the bride of a Vodyanoy. One man tells this tale that

some girls, although he used a much more derogatory term

that this story will not repeat, will deliberately turn themselves

over to the Vodyanoy rather than marry a mortal man. Maybe

a mythical creature does seem a better option to the men they

know!

Marriages in the Vodyanoy world are occasions of madness

that will inevitably cause problems for the human world. It is

said that you can tell when a marriage is taking place as waters

that are normally calm will become wild and destructive as the

Vodyanoy celebrate with drunken parties, and pranks on

passing humans. During wedding celebrations, bridges and

mills will be destroyed.

Tt is worth noting that all bad weather and high water is

blamed on the Vodyanoy. In fact most of the local man's

misfortune is usually the fault of the Vodyanoy. Although that

they are probably the culprits some times, but sometimes bad

weather, is bad weather.

The Vodyanoy need human females to produce their young, a

fact that also angers the human males. When the babies are

due, the Vodyanoy will hire a human midwife who is richly

rewarded with gold and silver. The baby Vodyanoy do tend to

stray and get caught in the nets of the local fishermen. It is a

foolish fisherman who does not return a youngling to its

family. A returned youngling guarantees the fishman with

good yields in their nets, if a youngling is hurt or killed, there

is nothing but death and destruction in the fisherman’s future.

If you should come across a Vodyanoy, and want to live, be

careful! Do not get into games of chance such as dice or cards

with anyone who looks ‘shifty’ as you may be playing a

Vodyanoy and YOU WILL NOT WIN!