erinthul
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Demons of the water - Topielica
🕑 Added 2024-06-29 14:20:10 +0000 UTCOne of the most dangerous Slavic demons were Topielice and Utopce (The Drowners). They inhabited the depths of the waters, and only came to the surface at night. Their food was moonbeams, dew and salt.
They were most often depicted as beautiful naked women with long hair and greenish skin. They seduced young men with their looks and beautiful singing, luring them into the depths of lakes or rushing rivers and then drowning them. Sometimes the Drowners were also seen as men or small children in red hats.
The punishment for suicide committed in water was rebirth in the form of a Drowned Woman (Topielica). To break the spell, another person had to be drowned in her place, and only then could the soul find peace.
People were particularly afraid of these demons because they were credited with drowning people and cattle, entangling fishing nets, and even polluting drinking water and flooding, so in order not to irritate these demons even more, farm animals were sacrificed to them.
The most popular sacrifices were made in early spring, during the snowmelt. Back then, entire villages contributed to the purchase of a horse. Then, after anointing his head with honey, stones were tied to his neck and he was drowned in bodies of water that threatened to overflow.
Probably a remnant of this Slavic custom is today's tourists throwing coins into charming water reservoirs. Nowadays, however, this practice is intended to make one return to this beautiful place or to fulfill a wish.
I am extremely happy with the first photo and I couldn't wait to show it to you. I realised that there's not much photoshoots I did IN the water (not near it) so I really need to do more water photoshoots. They are so hard tho! :'(
Let me know how popular is the practice of throwing coins into water in your region or maybe you have some other suggestions to portray this demon?
Love, Erinthul.
Comments
Evan Bond
I love the water photo shoots! That first shot is one of my favorites. Eerily beautiful! I'm sure it was a difficult shot, but worth it! I never knew the origins of tossing coins into pools of water. Almost all little pools of water are littered with coins all over the place in our area. In malls to fountains at theme parks. I will certainly be telling people about the Slavic legend of the Drowner.
Erinthul
Oh yeah, we are throwing coins into wells as well :D
Isla
Photos in the water have a mystical element like we are intruding on space not meant for humans which I love. The second image very imbodies the beautiful naked woman ready to draw people into the water! Here in England it has become throwing coins into the well which I believe was likely a combination of folklore changing from the romans and then Christians trying to move people away from folklore
Erinthul
Oh that's very interesting! Thank you for sharing
Magnus Börjesson
Beautifully captured❣️ A very interesting piece of information about Slavic folk lore. In Sweden people have for a long time sacrificed stone axes, gold and horses in small lakes and bogs. The tradition kept going far beyond the reformation in sacred wells often named to a Saint. With coins and other small trinkets instead of axes and horses.
Erinthul
Thank you so much for your kind words. This is called a duckweed and it's really healthy not only for the environment but also for the humans. You can even make a tincture out of it :D The ground here was made out of concrete because I took it under the bridge but the while lake was not very deep
Erinthul
Thank you so much! I thought it was very popular nin the while world :D
Steven Angulo
Another very entertaining chapter about Slavic demonology. I can see why Topielice and Utopce were some of the most feared demons! Poor horses! I have lived in the US and in Venezuela, and in both countries people make a wish and throw coins into fountains. I don't know if there's Venezuelan lore regarding demonology because I lived in a city (the rural towns have fascinating stories about ghosts of deadly beautiful women at night, but I wish I knew more). These portraits are fantastic, Ania! I'm so delighted. You are such a brave woman! I would never go into that water, but it does have its charm, for sure. The second portrait is spectacular! What a fabulous pose, and I love the dense carpet of soft-looking vegetation that you're lying in. Clearly there's water under the green surface, but the other amazing portraits of you in that place seem to have maybe more water under the surface, which makes me wonder if the ground was soft enough (soggy) to become lower since there's much more pressure on it when you're kneeling and sitting than when you're just lying horizontally. It could be my imagination. The two other photos of you in the deeper water are brilliant! It does look very difficult to do. In one shot you're posing so nicely without being able to breathe, and you had very little time before you and your lovely outfit resurfaced. The last portrait is also marvelous! I think you only had one chance to get that perfect pose before your hair got wet. Phenomenal art!
Steven Niehaus
Another very creative shoot. In America, we don't do much with coins in water except wishing wells. There's no lore about demons
Erinthul
Thank you! It wasn't that bad to be honest! It was worse to get it all out of my hair later tho :D
Erinthul
Thank you so much for your kind words! I am extremely happy you feel this way about this photo!
Erinthul
Thank you! It was safe :D
MovieFanobi
Wonderful photos. The water shots are great. I hope the water is safe.
Parky
Yet again, you nailed matching the photos to the storyline—especially the first one! I can't stop looking at it. The tone/mood of the surroundings is excellent, but you and the "come here" intense gaze are beautiful—honestly, this is a piece of art. I love your eyes anyway, but the green colour is spot on, and the ears are a nice touch. Wow....just WOW! You'd most definitely would be luring me in!
Cyu
Nice ones! I wouldn’t have gone into that sump water. But glad you did, amazing shots :)
Erinthul
Thank you
Nebojsa
Amazing as always!
