Samodiva by Iliana Dokova

Artwork Description

Original title of the artwork: Samodiva

Samodivas, according to Slavic mythology and Bulgarian folklore, are beautiful female forest spirits with a purely human appearance. The samodivas are eternally beautiful, eternally young maidens, with a slender figure ("samodivska"), long hair and an enchanting look that intoxicates and even kills.

At dusk, the samodivas go to the waters – lakes, rivers or springs and strip naked, bathe, wash their clothes and spread them out to dry in the moonlight, vigilantly guarding against someone stealing them. Then they gather in the same meadow, in the remotest dense woods, called a choir, and play a magic dance barefoot all night. They love music, especially the tunes of the kavala, so they often kidnap shepherds and make them play for them. The samodivas are afraid of sunlight, so they quickly leave the choir meadow and hide when the sun comes up.

If a man manages to steal her veil (the so-called shadow), she turns into a common woman and submits to him. Such a samodiva can go through marriage, give birth, but does not become a good mother and housewife, but takes every opportunity to get back what was stollen from her, therefore her freedom, abandoning her children. Sometimes samodivas can go with a man of their own accord, but they possess their beloved until the edge of his capabilities and torture him to death with their whims.