Mavka
(Ukrainian: Мавка,[1] навка,[2] нявка,[3] Bulgarian: нави (plural) – from Proto-Slavic *navь 'the
dead') is a type of female spirit in Ukrainian mythology. She is a long-haired figure, sometimes
naked, who may be dangerous to young men.[4][5]
The spirits known by this term represented the souls of girls who had died unnatural tragic or
premature deaths, particularly unchristened babies.[1] Mavkas often appear in the form of beautiful
young girls who entice and lure young men into the woods, where they "tickle" them to death.[citation
needed]
Mavkas have no reflection in water, do not cast shadows, and have "no back", and so their
insides can be seen. In some accounts, they were also said to help farmers by looking after cattle
and driving out wild animals.
They were believed to live in groups in forests, mountain caves, or sheds, which they decorated with
rugs. They made thread of stolen flax and wove thin transparent cloth for making clothes for
themselves. They loved flowers, which they wore in their hair. In the spring they planted flowers in
the mountains, to which they enticed young men, whom they tickled to death. On Pentecost (known
as Mavka's Easter, Ukrainian: На́вський Вели́кдень)[6] they held games, dances, and orgies. A
demon accompanied them on a flute or pipes.
To save a dead unchristened baby's soul, one had to throw up a kerchief during Pentecost holidays,
say a name and add "I baptise you". A rescued soul would then go to heaven. If a soul lived up to
seven years and did not go to heaven, a baby would turn into a mavka and would haunt people.
It is believed that the first mavka (or rusalka) was Kostroma, when she discovered that her newlywed
husband Kupalo is her brother and they cannot be together[7]. According to the legend, Kostroma and
Kupalo once ran into a field to listen to songs of bird Sirin, but Sirin stole Kupalo and carried him into
the Nav. Many years later, one day, Kostroma walked the shore of the river and made a wreath. She
boasted that the wind would not blown wreath off her head. According to the belief, it meant that she
would not marry. This boast was not approved by the gods. The wind become stronger, and wreath
was blown by the wind from Kostroma's head and fell into the water, where it was picked up by the
Kupalo, who was near by in the boat. According to the Slavic customs, the one who picked up the
wreath must necessarily marry the girl who made it. Kupalo and Kostroma fell in love and shortly
were married without any knowledge that they were brother and sister. After the wedding, the gods
told them the truth. That is why Kupalo and Kostroma committed suicide. Kupalo has jumped into the
fire and died, while Kostroma ran to the forest, threw herself into the forest lake and drowned. But
she did not die, she became a mavka. Since then, she walks the shores of that lake. If she should
see a young man, she immediately seduces him and pulls into the water abbys. When Mavka
realises that the young man is not her lover, it is already too late and the young man has already
drowned[7].
And then, the gods repented, realizing that their revenge was too cruel. But to give Kupala and
Kostroma again the human body was impossible, and they turned them into the yellow-blue flower,
in which the fiery yellow color was the color of Kupala, and the blue one, like the waters of a forest
lake, was the color of Kostroma. The Slavs gave the name Kupalo-da-Mavka to the flower. Later, in
the time of Christianization in Rus, the flower was renamed to the Ivan-da-Marya[7].
Mavkas are depicted in literature, most notably in Lesia Ukrainka's The Forest Song and Mykhailo
Kotsiubynsky's Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors.
