Today, we continue exploring the different household spirits found across Slavic beliefs.

Boże Siedliczko was a benevolent house spirit who remained invisible, until there was danger approaching, at which point the spirit would appear before the residents warning them. The expectation was that the residents would then politely ask about the details of the events to come. Ignoring the warning would anger him and bring about his punishment. However, the spirit would never interfere to stop any tragedy. The only other thing that could anger him, was an accidental scalding with hot water. The spirit would then cause the clumsy resident to be punished with a red, painful rash. To prevent the spirit escaping and cure the rash, housewives would spread butter on the chimney and say “Boże siedliczko, I anoint you, heal me when you have burnt me”.

Domovoy, from the Indo-European root “dom” for “home”, was a household spirit, that was once a living kin to the family. The souls of those who passed away sometimes chose to stay to help the household. He looked like a small, old man with grey hair and a beard, in rugged, dirty clothes. He lived behind the stove and expected a daily offering of food for looking after the home, protecting it from evil and ensuring good fortune. He was also in charge of the other household spirits, ensuring they completed their work.

Kautki were only a few inches tall, but could bring good fortunes and prosperity to a household. However, their arrival may have not been obvious to the occupants, who had to be careful not to offend them. To move in, kautki would leave a “gift” – this could be bits of string, broken shells or stones left on the floor, or bits of fluff in a jug of milk or beer. If this offering was not appreciated, the beings would leave offended, often setting the house on fire on their way out. If, however, the occupants didn’t clear away the gift and drunk the liquid without complaints, they presumed an agreement was struck. At night they would look after the cattle, help out in any house chores, and bring home valuable items. They would be given a daily portion of milk and oats, and after a few years the occupants would become significantly richer. At this point, kautki asked for a payment of red clothes, and would leave forever after receiving them.

Popielnik, translating to “ash pan” from Polish, was a spirit from pagan Slavic times. He was believed to be a protective household spirit of an ancestor, living within the hearth or a stove. He was a small, gnome like man with a head of a grey tabby cat. He needed to be shown respect, and at times of celebration would be paraded publicly to show the ancestors were looking after the tribes. If disrespected or annoyed, which he was easily, he could set the family’s home on fire and defend burnt down foundations, preventing anyone from rebuilding their homes. His irritability was caused by frequent burning of his feet inside the stove, which was seen as penance for sins committed during his life. To help him out, housewives would often leave a few wooden logs extra when baking bread so that the spirit could rest his sore feet away from the fire.

Żyrownik was an obese little daemon, who lived in pantries ensuring that the residents enjoyed prosperity and had the luxury of excess food, if he was fed properly himself. Most often he was given cow milk, and thrown a celebratory banquet once a year. If this spirit was not fed well, either due to lack of means or laziness, he would lose weight rapidly and become weak, until he could no longer defend the household from evil spirits of poverty and misery.

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References:
Bestiariusz Słowiański (2018) by Witold Vargas and Paweł Zych.