Samodiva (folklore)
Woodland Fairies
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The samodiva (Bulgarian: самодива; plural: samodivi, Bulgarian: самодиви), samovila (Bulgarian: самовила; plural: samovili, Bulgarian: самовили) or vila (Bulgarian: вила; plural: vili, Bulgarian: вили), are woodland fairies or nymphs[1] found in South and West Slavic folklore.
They are described as blonde or red-haired creatures, sometimes with wings, wearing white dresses and various other articles of clothing (white veils, wreathes, green sash) which are said to confer them the power of flight, and may be made of feathers; sometimes they themselves are said to be equipped with wings.
One recurring theme in folklore is of a man (shepherd, prince, etc.) able to rob a samodiva of her veil, wreathe, etc. to capture her, and force her to become his bride (§ Samodiva as supernatural wife).
Their secret home occurs at a place associated with high elevation, or bodies of water, or woodland, usually in combination, e.g. a spring on a mountain, or a beechwood grove by a lake where they bathe, or else treetops, or caves, or derelict churches, etc.
Superstition cautions that one should fear trespassing upon their territory, particularly to draw water at night, and the encroacher may be stricken with illness, death, or some other suffering as consequence. Sometimes, a victim is often chosen to be spirited away (§ Abductions and deaths).
It is also explained that these fairies demand humans as labor to construct their homes, or as entertainers if they are flautists or skilled in chain dance (hora), or as caretakers of their children. A more blood-gory piece of lore contends that humans are used as building materials for their castle.
The samodivi are said to retreat to their "dragon village" at the edge of the world to spend their autumns and winters. Only the bird-kind can reach this place.
These fairies are also said to be pluckers of eyeballs, causing blindness to trespassers, etc., but folklore tells of the victim's son being able to outwit the fairies and recover the eyesight to his father (§ Samovila as eye-snatcher).
The fairies are also very fond of song and dance. They often engage a human in a contest to see which can outlast the other in dancing versus playing of music. This presents an opportunity of folklore protagonists to gain advantage or boon from the fairies. The fairies also have their special dancing arena, often described as a circular patch of beaten down grass somewhere in a clearing in the forest.
Nomenclature
The term samovila (Church Slavonic: самовила) is found used in the 15th century in Bulgaria, while samodiva (самодива) occurs in the text from the 18th century, where it is said to have spat in to the weslls on the night of the Massacre of the Innocents (December 29).[3]
Etymology
The terms samodiva (pl. samodivi 'wood nymph') and samovila/samovilla (pl. samovila/samovilla 'fairy') are essentially synonymous,[4][5] with the samo- prefix only serving to emphasize meaning[4] (having a "highlighting" function[6]).
The etymology of -diva is uncertain. The main hypothesis is that there are traces of the Proto-Indo-European language *deiṷos, 'god',[6] and this PIE root is known to have led to designation of divine beings across languages (Sanskrit deva, Latin deus, Avestan daeva, Lithuanian dievas).[2]
The term vila has etymological origin in the Indo-European root *ṷēi-, meaning 'follow', 'chase', or 'blow' for vila, or so it has been hypothesized.[6] The term vila is also explained as being connected to the concept of "unbridled will" or "wild/frenzied behavior";[a] the term is related to the verb vilneya (вилнея, 'rage, bluste, storm, rampage, run wild'[7]) with other related words derived from the same root, such as vihar (вихър, 'whirlwind') or viyelitsa (виелица, 'blizzard').[2]
Some popular writers gloss diva as meaning "wild, savage", and construe samodiva to mean "wild alone"[8] or "free-savage[-girl]".[9]
Aliases
The samodiva tends to be referred to as samovilla on the western side of Strandja (Strandzha) Mountain,[4] and locally called yuda (юда; pl. yudi in the Pirin Mountains, and the Western Rhodopes.[10]
The term yuda derives from an Indo-European root associated with the sense of "quarrelsomeness", "excitement", "seduction", and "whirlwind".[b][2]
Physical description
The samodivi are described as being tall,[5] with long flowing hair, either blonde[5][2] or red-haired (auburn[11]), and having pale skin with a luminous sheen,[5] and fiery eyes.[citation needed] In some cases, they are said to have wings[2][9] which enable them to fly up to the clouds while riding a stag.[12] Some sources say these wings grow out under their armpits.[14]
The samodivi are said to dress in white, and girt with belts the color of rainbows.[4] Sometimes, they are described as having a white veil called "shadow" (syanka сянка) or "ray" (lŭch лъч), which could hold all their power. If they get deprived of their veil they lose all their power.[10][13] They are also said to be rendered powerless if they lose the wreaths (венецът) they wear on their heads[15][13] (cf. the painting of the vili wearing wreathes, image right).
Their white gowns (and the various articles of clothing, i.e., a chemise, a dress (sukman*, a gold-woven headscarf, a green sash, and a short sleeveless jacket, are feathered[2]) endow them with the power of flight,[2][16] as according to the swan maiden type tale where a man named Stoian/Stoyan traps a samodiva into marrying him by confiscating her magic garment; he becomes a despotic husband who treats her as chattel; she regains her clothes at the party celebrating the birth of a son borne by her, and departs (cf. § The Samodiva married against her will below).[17][18] In a version by children's book author Ran Bosilek (1970, 1978) the shepherd swipes the samodiva's wreath to compel her to be his wife (cf. § Bosilek's Samovila).[19]
In folk song tradition, the samodiva is described as riding a light gray[c] stag; using snakes as rein to control her mount (cf. image top);[21] she is also armed with bow and arrow.[22] In song, Vida Bazdarzhikya the samodiva (cf. Ivé and Vida, discussed below) rides a six-winged stag, harnessed with green serpent (smok смок) stirrups and a curb bit (yuzda юзда) of two fierce snakes (zmii змии).[23]
The samodiva is sometimes said to be only visible to the sabotnitsi (people born on a Saturday),[24] or to "mixed" offspring of wood nymphs, or the povtaratsi (people who after being weaned as children went back to being beastfed),[25] and by "four-eyed" dogs[d] (chetiri ochi четири очи),[24][25] or "Saturday dogs",[25] but this is something that is said of diabolical creatures across the board.[24][e]
The yuda is considered invisible, and noticed only as a voice (or an echo) that's heard, or as a glimpse of light, or appears as wind, in various accounts and especially in the Rhodope region, and hypostasis as whirlwind, reflects the belief that such demonic beings are the cause of whirlwinds.[24][f]
Habitat
According to Bulgarian folklore, the samodivi tend to dwell in springs/wells and rivers high atop mountains; their favorite home was Mount Pirin, but they are also connected with other mountains in Bulgaria such as Belasitsa, Rudina mountains, Vitosha, Rila, Rhodopes,[10] and the Balkan Mountains. They inhabited various watery spots: riverbanks, whirlpools, pools/ponds, and lakes,[28] caves[13] (grottos[28]).
They also live hidden in the groves near lakes where they bathe.[13] Thus Samodivi might live inside trees (e.g., beech trees, elms,[4] oaks, walnuts, or poplars, which are called samodiva trees);[29] but the ash and sycamore (American English: sycamore maple[g]) trees drive them away. They may also dwell within trees that have lost their crowns.[h][10]
During the autumn, they go to live in the mythical village of Zmejkovo[28] (or Zmeykovo, "dragon village"[8]); the samodivi will again enter the human world during the spring, staying until autumn.[32] Other than the nymphs, only magpies and eagles can reach this village. Ancient eagles (kartali картали[i]) are hitched to the samodivi's chariots.[31]
These fairies were also believed to haunt bridges, abandoned churches, water mills, fountains, and especially crossroads.[4] While the samodivi may be associated with water mills,[33] the water mill was also where the monsters such as the karakondjo [j] would descend upon during the Unbaptized Nights.[34]
Alternate sources say the winter home of the samodivi, at the edge of the world, is called Kushkundalevo,[36] a place only the magpies can find.[8] The samodivi homeland might also be called Omayniche (Омайниче,[8][k] and in Ran Bosilek's version, the samodiva, though she flees, tells the shepherd to find her in Omayniche (cf. § Bosilek's Samovila).[19] Kushkundalevo (Кушкундалево) is also given as the home of the samovila in Macedonian folktale.[38] In Macedonian folklore, they are also said to inhabit trees like oaks and willows and they live in a far off village called Patelevo.[citation needed]
The samodivi also have their special dancing grounds called (samovito igrishte самовито игрище, lit. 'fairy playing field'),[24] or Samodivska Igrišca,[9] which are found in clearings.[9][28] These dancing rings are on grass,[9] i.e., the fairies fashion a circle of trampled grass, with a dark green patch of vegetation at the center for their piper. Though according to others, the plot where they danced became scorched and was barren of any grass.[39]
Folklore
Samodivas have the power to bring about drought, burn a farmer's crops, or make cattle die of high fever.
Bulgarian folklore
In Bulgarian folklore, Samodivas occur as the personified form of nature. They are protectors of nature and are often juxtaposed with the ways humans live their lives.
They may endow gifts to the newborn, like the Fates,[40] or otherwise grant boon to those who treat the fairies with respect.[13] On the other hand, they may afflict humans with suffering, illness, or death, if disrespected.[13] Death or illness befell any human who trespassed unwelcomed upon their territory, and the fairy disease was one that only a specific "samodiva flower" can cure, namely the Dictamnus albus (dittany or burning bush;).[41] The dittany (rosen росен) is the wood nymphs' favorite blooming plant, and they deck themselves with this flower which they pick on Ascension Day or on the Wednesday of Midsummer Week.[42]
The samodivi, generally believed to be knowledgeable in herb lore and plants with medicinal qualities, are also associated with such flowers or herbs as dittany, dwarf everlasting (aka immortelle; smil смил), dog rose (shipka шипка), guelder rose (kŭlina кълина), and juniper.[43]
The samodivi, according to the folklore, form pacts of sworn brotherhood with renowned heroes (yunátsi/junáci юна́ци; sing.: yunak/junák юнак ); the heroes suckling on the milk of the samodivi acquire immense strength, for example, Sekula Detentse ('the Child'), Krali Marko, and Momchil Yunak. The samodivi also cure the wounds of heroes or resurrect them using "living water" (zhiva voda жива вода) or applying medicinal herbs.[31] In Bulgarian song, Pomak is one hero cured by his "sister", a samodiva.[44][45][40]
Another important aspect of the figure of the samodivi wood nymphs is their love of music and dance.[46] Samodivi roam in the night dancing the horo (chain dance) to the accompaniment of bagpipes and drums, while shouting "ihou-ou", as traditionally done at weddings.[25] They often engage in competitions with each other and with humans and whoever wins gets to keep the loser for themselves. An example of this is the plot of Dimo the Caval player and Gyurgya Samodiva where the samodiva loses the musical battle and Dimo takes her to his village. Another example is Ivé who dared to sing in the wood-nymph's forest and was destroyed by Vida the samodiva, though she resuscitated him back to life.[46][47]
In certain parts of Bulgaria, the samodivi are said to be related to various inexplicable natural events like chronic illnesses and whirlwinds. An exаmple of this is the folk song Samodiva Kidnaps a Musician. This is a remnant from pre-Christian belief systems in the Balkans, similar to the Ancient Greek mythology's explanation of Nereids playing in the winds.[1]
The samodivi abduct children,[40] as well as young men and woman so they can serve as carriers of their bows and arrows, baby-sisters, and labor for building up their airborne castles,[48] and to thresh the everlasting flower;[49] the threshing of the smil usually being a task assigned to the magpies in the Zmeykov ("dragon village") the wintertime home of the samodivi[31] (cf. also § The Priestess of the Samodivas). The sacrificial humans samodivi demand as tribute also include strong unhired youths, songstress girls, nursing infants, chain-dancing (horo-dancing) brides, kaval-flute players, etc.[50]
One piece of terrifying folklore is that the castle which the samovila builds uses humans as building material -- newlywed men as foundation stones, maidens as mortar to join the upper stones, brides for roofs, cradle infants for pillars, etc.[51][52]
Balkan mythology holds that the samodivi were the daughters of Lamia (Ламя).[53] This, combined with their mostly nocturnal nature, leads to them being considered negative, or at best neutral in their nature.
Macedonian folklore
In Macedonian folklore (songs) the faires are known as juda/yuda, vila, or samovila, and are believed to live in groups, usually of large size, and seldom found as a solitary. They dwell in their fairy village located in the woods, rivers, lakes or sea,[54] erecting a castle high atop mountains.[55] They have names, such as Angelina, Vela, Ǵurǵa, Erina, Stana, or Stojna.[54] According to Macedonian tradition, it was a samovila named Jana who gave Marko Krale his immense strength[54] (cf. Vila and Veda).
They draw their demonic power from the magical clear water which they immerse in at their mountain wells, streams and lakes, where they bathe, frolic, dance and sing.[54]
These fairies are ever-present in the environs of humans, but they (including the yudi of the Rhodope[24]) are not really favorably disposed to them.[54] As in Bulgarian folk tradition, the Macedonian fairies are believed to demand humans to enter their servitude, particularly kavaldžii (flute players), svireldžii (music-makers), pesnopojki (singers), and girls to babysit and foster their children.[54]
Samovilas are often seen to have the ability to hurt people or to heal them. There is a way to kill a Samovila, and that is by making her prick herself on thorn bushes and evaporate. It is also known that they could enter the hearts of men and stay there for 5 years. Their goal was to join with the man's soul and after go to heaven together. They usually gave the man magical powers and knowledge of healing plants. In North Macedonia, there are tales speaking of Samovilski Weddings, and if a random person was found walking by, they would offer him wine and in return he would give a golden coin to the bride. The wedding would then last all night until dawn.[citation needed] Their voices were hypnotic and could drive a man to go crazy. The Macedonian people feared calling them by their true name vili, so sometimes they would speak of them circumlocuitously as mayki, yudi (pl. of yuda), or "Them" (cf. noa-name).[citation needed]
Much like the Vila in Slavic folklore, a Samodiva's power is believed to come mostly from her long (usually blond) hair. A Samodiva would sometimes give a small portion of it to her lover to strengthen her control over him via its magical effects. However, if her hair is damaged in some way, she will either disappear entirely or be stripped of her powers and beauty.[citation needed]
Historical background
In Bulgaria, the current understanding of Samodivas stems from collections of folk tales and folk songs. Many of those were compiled in the 19th century as part of the Revival efforts of Bulgarian intellectuals.[11][page needed] The secondary literature on the topic of Samodiva is very limited. The folklore that has been collected and stored reflects only a fraction of the complex understanding that the character of the Samodiva entails, since the folktales have gone through numerous sieves, both during the writing stages of the folklore collections, and later on, as a result of the regime and ideology shifts of the Balkan Peninsula (See People's Republic of Bulgaria, Yugoslavia).
Earliest written evidence of Samodivas dates back to the 13th century, where they presumably developed from Balkan traditions and myths. Researchers have also found influences from other Slavic folklore. It is widely believed that the image of the Samodiva and their behavior is actually based on ancient Thracian legends, especially those connected to the Cult of Orpheus, which included songs and dances performed by fire-priestesses.[citation needed]
Prominent Samodivas in folklore
- Vila - Some folk tales describe Vila Samodiva as the Samodiva maiden who leads the others in their dances. She is described as the active participant of the contact between the protagonist of folktales and the mystical world, serving as a guide or giving the hero a task to test his valour and resolve. In one folk tale, Vila found Krali Marko as an infant and brought him up as a foster mother. As Marko grew on Samodiva milk, he acquired supernatural powers. The character of the Vila is attested in South Slavic fairy tales collected by Friedrich Salomon Krauss.[56]
- Vida - Some stories say that she is the sister of Krali Marko; some stories describe her as a destructive force of nature. In Krali Marko and Vida Samovila, he encounters her and kills her in conflict. In another tale, she is responsible for the water shortage in the region because she locked up the twelve springs.
- Gyurgya - One of Gyurgya's appearances in Bulgarian Folklore is when she is enticed by a shepherd and ends up becoming his wife.
Samodiva as supernatural wife
The Samodiva married against her will
- (Stoyan, married to a samodiva)
In the Bulgarian folk song translated into English as The Samodiva married against her will (no Bulgarian title[l]) the three samodivi each describe a different set of families to which she belongs (and thus not siblings), doff their magical garments to bathe but are seen by a shepherd who takes their clothing. Each girl separately tries to plead and convince the youth to return the clothing. He does so - but only to the first two; the third maiden named Marika[m] (Мари́йка) he chose to wed after she revealed she was an only child. After the wedding, the village insists she dances for the amusement of everyone else, but the samodiva says she cannot dance without her garment. Once her husband delivers her the clothing,[n] she flies away.[57][58] As final insult, she dips herself in the "virgin's fountain" (or móminski fountain момински-я кладенец) and regains her virginity.[57][58][40] A version under the title Стоян телчар и самодива ("Stoyan the calf-herd and the samodiva") also has the virgin spring ending, but the captured wood nymph is here named Radanka (Раданка).[59]
A longer version bears the title Стоян, женен за самодива ("Stoyan, married to a samodiva").[60]
As aforementioned, Stoyan/Stoian committing the theft of the samodivi's magical clothing to force one of them into marriage follows the pattern of the swan maiden tale-type.[40][17][18]
Samodiva does not mind house
There is also a version collected orally in 1951 under the title Самодива къща не гледа[62] ("Samodiva does not mind house").[o]
Here, an unnamed shepherd first encounters three samodivi bathing and steal their shifts, demanding one of them to marry him; the fairies protest that they neither mind house nor raise children. The fairies suggest they settle the matter in contest, to see if they can outdance the man playing his kaval flute. But once they get back their shifts needed for dancing, they sprout wings and fly away. The shepherd later chances upon one of them bathing, and this time captures the bride; the deal is sealed since he manages to out-flute her dancing. She counsels him to hide her clothing but not to cast it away in water for her sisters will only retrieve it, nor bury it, since she will die; thus the shepherd keeps it in a locked chest. After years of marriage and a child born between them, a party for the godfather to christen their child is held, when the shepherd unwarily restores the shift to his samodiva wife; released from her clumsiness, she dances magnificently, but afterwards bids farewell. The shepherd will never see her again, but she will visit the child, and requests that a poğaça loaf and honey to be put out on Saturdays for her.[62]
Bosilek's Samovila
In Ran Bosilek's version (1970), the shepherd follows the advice from his grandfather to play the tune for the horo dance (on his kaval flute), and while she is engrossed in dancing, to snatch the wreathe off her head, which will rob her the power to leave, and will be forced to be his wife. The couple live happily on, until she tricks her husband into restoring her wreathe to perform her dance during a party, but even though she flees afterwards, she tell him to find her at Omayniche, which he succeeds with the help of birds.[19]
The Youth and the Vila
In the fairy tale The Youth and the Vila, the youngest son, who is considered a fool by his two elder brothers, manages to pluck the golden hairs of a vila who has been eating the silver pears of his father's garden. He later takes her back to his father's house.[63]
The Vila in the Golden Castle
In the Russian fairy tale The Vila in the Golden Castle, a father asks his three sons to guard his flower garden at night because swans have been eating the flowers (in reality, the vilas were). The vila returns home to the golden castle which prompts the youth to seek her. There, an old vila, the girl's mother, sets tasks for him to perform.[64]
Tsar's child adopted by the bey
One variant of the man-stealing-wings-from-samodiva is given in summary as follows: A tsar had a problem child who caused such mischief as to shatter water jugs throwing (knuckle) bones[p], and the child was given up to adoption by a bey (Turkish lord or Muslim nobleman), who gave the prince the keys to all the rooms except one. The prince entered the forbidden room and found two winged maidens, sisters of the sun. He managed to steal the wings of one of them and married her. One day, she asked of her wings and flew away, but instructed him to find her, which he did, with the help of three animal helpers.[15]
Samodiva as healer
In one Bulgarian tale, preserved in a group of folksongs (СбНУ/SbNU, No. 153, 154, 156, 157), a man named Ive/Ivé dares to sing in the forest and is shot dead by the samodiva Vida, who then hides behind the moon. Marko, who was Ivé's sworn brother, seeks out and discovers Vida, and compels her to restore Ivé back to life. In the variant telling, Marko seeks out Vila, his sworn sister (No. 154);[65] Vila reveals the recipe of flowers needed for the elixir, Marko gathers the ingredients which are boiled in his mother's pot, and pouring on the remedy put Ive back on his feet.[66]
Samovila as eye-snatcher
Mircho and samovila
A simple Bulgarian folk song (titled Samovilska) tells of a young man named Mircho (Мирчо) who braves the beech woods near the water spring where the samovilas had extracted his father's eyes. Playing the tambur, he engages in a contest to see who outlasts one another. By winning, he obtains from the fairies the magical water which when poured on his blind father will restore his eyesight.[67]
Stana and samovila
Another Bulgarian folk song given in English translation tells of a girl named Stana whose two beautiful black eyes are snatched away when she goes out into the garden to pout about the scolding she got from her mother warning her not to go to church early for the Easter Festival, for fear the young priest may try to make amorous advances on her.[52] In a Macedonian variant, the girl Stana is punished thus for breaking the taboo not to embroider on Easter Day.[54]
The Three Samovilas, the Old Blind Man and the Outcast
A more complex Macedonian tale, incorporating several motifs, is Трите самовили, стариот слепец и ќелешот ("The Three Samovilas, the Old Blind Man and the Outcast"[q]), which tells of a destitute "outcast" youngster or ragamuffin (kelesh) who inveigles himself to be adopted as the son of a blind man who lives in a palatial mansion with 12 treasure vaults. The youth obtains the keys to 10 of them, gaining access to silver, gold, and such treasure. The blind man would not give him the 2 remaining keys. He instructs the youth to herd the sheep, but despite warnings, encounters the samovilas, who challenges him to play the flute long enough to outlast the fairies' dancing. If he loses, the fairies will take his eyes as wager. The youth tricks the fairies into interrupting the contest by boasting he is an excellent groomer of hair, and when he approaches, ties their hairs together. The youth force the fairies to restore the blind man's sight, and they relinquish two apples which they say will give the old man his sights back. The youth bargains for the two keys in return, and obtains access to the rooms with a winged horse and a winged hinny. He also turns half golden and half silver upon entering the fountains in those rooms. He steals away on the winged horse for further adventure. He gains employment under the royal gardener, and by throwing off his rags and riding through the garden in his dashing form, catches the attention of the youngest of the tsar's daughters, and she chooses him to be her husband. The tsar is disappointed, but when he develops an eye ailment, it is the rags-clad kelesh who succeeds in obtaining the vila milk which was the cure. He goes on to aid the tsar in war, though at first unrecognized because the youngster had swapped the horse given him, which got stuck in mud, with his flying horse.[68]
Note that theme of the adoptive father refusing to give the key to the forbidden room(s) concealing winged creatures also occurs in the Bulgarian folktale of § Tsar's child adopted by the bey.[15]
Abductions and deaths
Stoyan and the Three Samodivi
Another folk song, Stoyan and the Three Samodivi[69] (Стоян и три самодиви)[70] tells the story of a man named Stoyan sent on a chore by his sister, who for the sake of her infant child asks him to go fill a jar of water in the forest at night. He is warned by three Samodivi, who are his aunts,[r] to abandon the task of poaching the holy water and turn back quickly across the threshold, before the rooster crows; too late, he falls dead.[72][69]
The Priestess of the Samodivas
In "The Priestess of the Samodivas",[s] three Samodivas choose a young girl named Marika, an only child; to be taken away, apparently to serve them. They tell her to get up, promising that as the priestess of the samodivas she will live a life without weaving or spinning, but full of dance and fiddles, and daily feast. But the moment the girl rushes home to report this to her mother, the girl's soul departs (she dies).[73][74]
Of similar plot is the Macedonian song "Neda abducted by 3,000 yudi and 3,000 samovili".[t] The girl Neda is invited by these fairies to go with them, and she gives reply to wait until she has gone back to her mother to celebrated Easter, which she did. Then while at the horo dance, thunder roared, the yudi winds were raised, and the moment she spoke out to her mother for help, the yudi snatched her away.[75][77]
In modern fiction
- In the 19th century, Bulgarian poet and revolutionary Hristo Botev mentioned Samodivas in a poem praising the late Voivoda Hadzhi Dimitar. The Samodivas provide comfort to the dying man in the last moments of his life, symbolizing bravery. They also appear to symbolize the union between him and the land he sacrificed himself to protect. Still, the Samodivas and the reaction of Hadzhi Dimitar to their presence is connected to the mischievous and seductive role they often play in mythology.[78]
- Elin Pelin - Samodiva
Eponymy
Thhere are landmarks in Bulgaria that have the word "samodiva" or "samovila" in them. An example of that are the Samodivski Lakes in the Pirin Mountain.
Explanatory notes
- Bulgarian: "свадљивост, возбуденост, съблазняване, вихър".
- Bulgarian: sur сур.
- Whereas in other regions of Bulgaria, the whirldwind is believed to be caused by the talasum or karakondzhul.[27]
- Georgieva's Bulgarian original gives Явор, glossed as "sycamore maple"; it is presumably not "sycampore" in the sense of "American planetree" which is native to North America.
- Apparently cognate to Turkish "kartal" denoting a carrion-eating eagle. The term картали in Macedonian language is given as the common name for Vultur monarchus (Lappet-faced vulture).
- Also little pagans (pogancheta), bugbears (boubartsi), hobogoblins (bougantsi).
- This is the Bulgarian common name for the plant, hairy ground-ivy, Glechoma hirsuta.
- The English title is literally taken from the French translation title "Samodiva mariée malgré elle". But the Bulgarian text is untitled. The Table des matière at the end of the volume therefore just gives "Пасал є Стоян телци-те" i.e., the opening line of the poem, "Stoïan led his flocks [calves] to pasture".
- Cf. A version of the Stoyan ballad with these lines: "Stoïan, do not think / To take to wife as Samodiva./ She would not mind thy house, / She would not heed thee or thy children".
- German translation published as Die drei Feen, der blinde Alte und der Aussätzige.
- One samodiva was his paternal aunt (леля), the second was his father's sister-in-law (стрина) and the third a maternal aunt[?] (учиная).[71]
- From the French-translated title. The Bulgarian text is untitled.
- From the French-translated title: "Néda enlevée par 3000 Youdas et 3000 Samovilas"