
Vodník v Pekle (Male water spirit in the Hell), Peklo, Czech Republic
Posted by:
vraatja
N 50° 22.760 E 016° 11.215
33U E 584390 N 5581481
Male water spirit (in Czech "Vodník") as one of a famous characters of Czech fairy-tales is waiting in the middle of small pond for its "victims".
Waymark Code: WM9G88
Location: Královéhradecký kraj, Czechia
Date Posted: 08/17/2010
Views: 111
Male water spirit in Slavic mythology and Norse Mythology has various appearances. "Vodník" (or in germanized form "hastrman") in Czech fairy tales is the same creature as the "Wassermann" or "nix" of German fairy tales.In Czech and Slovak folklore the features of the vodník are markedly different to the East-Slavic conception (e.g. Russian "Vodyanoy"). He has a completely human in constitution and habits, except for few differences – they have gills, webbed membrane between their fingers and their skin is algae-green in colour (as well as his hair often which is typically of pale green tone). His overall dress and appearance is weird, sometimes even resembling bum or vagrant; patchy shirts and (by modern standards) odd hats - often boaters with long specled ribbons - are commonplace. They can withstand to linger for hours outside their ponds. When so, one can tell them unequivocally by wet coat-tail from which water is dropping under all circumstances.
Czech and Slovak tales have both evil and good vodníci (relatively to human beings) who do (or don't, respectively) try to drown people when they happen to swim in their territory. Anyway, whoever drowns, vodníci would store their souls in porcelain lid-covered cups. They consider their cups as the most valueable heritage and display of their "work", and number of these cups they see as proportional to their wealth and/or status among other vodníci. When lid of such cup is removed, the soul within (in a form of a bubble) would escape and get liberated. Except for fish (or perhaps fish spirits) they do not have servants. Otherwise, vodníci spend their time by running their territory, or – in their spare time – playing cards, smoking pipes or just sitting at the water surface (on rocks, willows nearby) and loitering.
This "vodník" is sitting in the center of small pond next to former water mill in favourite beatiful spot named Peklo (the Hell) and is waiting for its "victims". The former mill was rebuilded more then century ago by famous Czech architect Dusan Jurkovic to the favourite restaurant.
Time Period: Middle Ages
 Epic Type: Mythical
 Exhibit Type: Figure, Statue, 3D Art
 Approximate Date of Epic Period: Not listed

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