Boginki

**Boginki** are a species of fae who seem to reside near lakes. When Augus Each Uisge was recovering from dying, Gwyn ap Nudd took him to a beautiful lake, and they later returned at Augus' request. 'The lake itself was beautiful. Huge and deep, a black hole with hardly a moon to light it. Stars glimmering on the ripples.' There, they spotted a young boginki.

## Physical Description

The boginki in canon had a a thin body, with long, wet hair, bluish skin, and bright eyes.

## Characteristics (culture, habits)

The boginki in canon didn't leave when Augus and Gwyn began being more intimate with each other, and continued watching them. Augus noted that she likely wouldn't like them approaching her, as the lake was her home.

## Folklore/Mythology

'In Slavic paganism there are a variety of female tutelary spirits associated with water. They have been compared to the Greek *Nymphs*, and they may be either white (beneficent) or black (maleficent). They may be called **Boginka (plural *Boginky*)** literally "little goddess", Navia (and Navka or Mavka, pl. *Navy*, *Navky*), Rusalka (pl. *Rusalky*), and Vila (plural *Vily*).

. . . According to Vladimir Propp, *Rusalka* (pl. *Rusalky*) was an appellation used by the early Slavs for tutelary deities of water who favour fertility, and they were not considered evil entities before the nineteenth century. They came out of the water in spring to transfer life-giving moisture to the fields, thus nurturing the crops.

In nineteenth-century descriptions, however, the Rusalka became an unquiet, dangerous, unclean spirit (*Nav*). According to Dmitry Zelenin, young women, who either committed suicide by drowning due to an unhappy marriage (they might have been jilted by their lovers or abused and harassed by their much older husbands) or who were violently drowned against their will (especially after becoming pregnant with unwanted children), must live out their designated time on earth as Rusalkas. Original Slavic lore suggests that not all Rusalkas were linked with death from water.

They appear in the form of beautiful girls, with long hair, generally naked but covered with their long tresses, with wreaths of sedge on their heads. They live in groups in crystal palaces at the bottom of rivers, emerging only in springtime; others live in fields and forests. In springtime, they dance and sing along the riverbanks promoting the growth of rye. After the first thunder, they return to their rivers or rise to the skies.

According to Polish folklore, they appeared on new moon and lured young men to play with them, killing them with tickles or frenzied dancing. Sometimes they would ask a riddle, and, if given the right answer, they would leave the man alone. They were particularly mean towards young girls. In some regions they were called *majka* (pl. *majki*); in the Tatra Mountains - *dziwożona*. Other names used to describe this spirit were: water maiden, *boginka*, *moriana* and *wodiana* (the last one became *topielica* later). A *rusalka* wasn't necessarily a water spirit - forest ones existed too, and they appeared as more mature than their water counterparts (they also had black hair instead of golden).'

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 not\_poignant. “The Court of Five Thrones.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 20 March 2015 https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749290/chapters/7890363. Chapter 36: Burden.
2. ↑ "Slavic water spirits". Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic\_water\_spirits. Accessed 23 May 2021.