Leshy Stories

The ancient Slavs endowed the stone with a natural hole with the symbolism of belonging to the “other world” and used it not only as a “Chicken God” (see our previous post). Russians, for example, hung it at the head of the bed to prevent nightmares, and the Slovenes wore it around the neck as an amulet against a vampire.
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Serbs called such a stone “шупљи камен”, Slovenes – “votel kamen”. They used it to heal and protect people and livestock from Veshtitsa and Mora. In the Banat region, a cow was milked through it to prevent Veshtitsa from “stealing the milk”. In case of breast illness, a nursing mother pumped milk through this stone. Croats treated fever by water poured through its hole. And people in Bosnia and Montenegro used such a stone to cure from urinary incontinence by urinating through it.
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How would you use such a stone if found one?
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More interesting facts can be found in: “Slavic Antiquities” – encyclopedic dictionary in 5 volumes by Institute for Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
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“Chicken God” – this is how a small stone with a natural hole in it is called in Russia. People believed that it protected poultry and livestock from curses and evil spirits, stimulated their fertility, and kept them within their yard. Such a stone had to be unintentionally found in a field or on the road. Besides, as a “Chicken God”, Slavs could also use a clay potsherd with a hole, a neck from a broken jug, a pot put on a fence, a leaky bast shoe, a bear’s paw or an oven stone. In other words, old, broken and decayed items. The goal was to place “Chicken God” on a highly visible place, so that it immediately caught the eye – therefore, gaze of the visitor fell on it first, and did not linger on the chickens.
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The Slavs believed that the “Chicken God” protected chickens from Kikimora, who plucked their feathers and pecked at their heads, as well as from Domovoy, who could hurt the unloved cattle. In the form of a pot, inverted upside-down on a fence, the “Chicken God” symbolically sheltered the chickens from danger. To ensure that Domovoy would not torment the cattle, Slavs hung the “Chicken God” in the barn with the words: “Here, grandfather, a God for you – pray to him, and don’t hurt our cattle.”
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What other gods or patrons of animals do you know?
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To be continued…