Ovinnik

Ovinnik

Ovinnik

Slavic malevolent spirit

The Ovinnik (Russian: Овинник), Joŭnik or Jownik (Belarusian: Ёўнік) is a malevolent spirit of the threshing house in Slavic folklore[1][2] whose name derived from ovin 'barn'.[3] He is prone to burning down the threshing houses by setting fire to the grain. To placate him, peasants would offer him roosters and bliny. On New Year's Eve, the touch of an Ovinnik would determine their fortune for the New Year. A warm touch meant good luck and fortune, while a cold touch meant unhappiness.

Ovinnik by Ivan Bilibin

See also

References

  1. [1]
    История, мифы и боги древних славян (in Russian). Litres. 2017-09-05. ISBN 9785457076495.
  2. [2]
    Jones, Prudence; Pennick, Nigel (1995). A History of Pagan Europe. Routledge. p. 187. ISBN 978-1-136-14172-0.
  3. [3]
    Dixon-Kennedy, Mike (1998). Encyclopedia of Russian and Slavic Myth and Legend. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 212. ISBN 9781576070635.

Bibliography

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