Leshy

The hunter entered the forest and took only what he needed. He respected the trees, animals, and paths. The leshy watched him. The forest spirit was its master and guardian. It could appear as a peasant, grow as tall as the trees, or shrink to the size of a blade of grass. It could also take the form of an animal, a change in the weather, or another thing found in the forest.

Because the hunter followed the forest's rules, the leshy allowed him to find abundant game. The animals remained in the forest. The hunter took what he could carry and left the rest unharmed. The leshy did not trouble him. The spirit could also protect people who depended on the forest. Herdsmen sought its protection for their cattle, and an agreement with the leshy could guard livestock from predators.

If the hunter took more than he needed or damaged the forest, the leshy turned against him. It could imitate animal or human voices, send sounds deeper into the trees, alter the ground, raise gusts of wind, and close familiar paths. It could make the forest seem larger and lead the hunter in circles. He might wander until he became lost and starved. His body could remain undiscovered, apart from the plants and animals that fed on it.

The leshy could also mislead a person for no clear reason. It was said to confuse humans for amusement. A traveller might be led from the road to a strange clearing or fail to find something close at hand. The hunter's safety depended on his conduct, the leshy's judgement, and the spirit's changeable humour.

God or the Devil made the leshy and sent him into the forest. There he became a wild spirit, inhabiting the woodland and ruling over it. The accounts differ over which of these two powers created him. They agree that the leshy belonged to the forest and exercised authority there.

The leshy was counted among the nature spirits. He was sometimes placed close to the Devil within the broad category of the unclean force. Like the Devil and other harmful spirits, he could lead travellers astray and abduct children. This overlap left the boundary between the forest spirit and the Devil unclear in some popular beliefs. The Devil could also appear as a ruler over lesser demons, while the leshy remained connected with the forest.

Other accounts give the leshy a different origin. One informant from Vladimir Province reported the leshy saying that he was human like other people, but had no cross on him because his mother had cursed him. Reports also suggest a possible connection between the leshy and the unclean dead, though this connection remains uncertain. Similar claims link other nature spirits with people who died in particular conditions, but no firm conclusion is given for the leshy.

The creation accounts therefore differ. Some present the leshy as a forest ruler made by God or the Devil. Others describe him as a cursed human or as a spirit connected with the dead.

Within the forest household, the leshy lived with his wife, the leshachikha, and their children, the leshonki. Their life was imagined in the manner of a peasant household. They lived in houses, kept dogs, and raised livestock. The leshy could also have his mother and father living with him. The forest household therefore had work, animals, and domestic order.

Usually, one leshy belonged to each forest. Some forests were believed to have several. In a particularly large forest, the leshie could form a hierarchy ruled by a forest spirit called a tsar or ataman. The leshy household then existed within a wider community of spirits, each associated with the woodland where it lived.

The leshachikha appeared in different forms. In some areas, she was imagined as an ugly creature with enormous breasts. Elsewhere, she appeared as a naked girl walking through the forest. She could also take the form of a woman wearing a white or patterned sarafan. In that form, she was as tall as the trees. Some accounts call the wife the leshachikha. Others call her the lesovikha.

In parts of Smolensk Province, a person who came upon the leshachikha giving birth had to throw something over the newborn child. The person was not to make the sign of the cross or say a prayer. They then had to leave. This belief placed the forest family outside ordinary human domestic life, while giving it familiar features such as marriage, children, animals, and a household.