kikimora
Sign in to savethumb|Illustration of a Kikimora (1934) by Ivan Bilibin (1876–1942). (Kikimora as house-spirit and guardian of chickens - hence her depiction in chicken-like form). Kikimora is a legendary creature, a female house spirit in Slavic mythology. Her role in the house is usually juxtaposed with that of the domovoy. The kikimora can either be a "bad" or a "good" spirit, which will depend on the behavior of the homeowner. In more recent times, an image of kikimora as a female swamp spirit has developed.
Article
8 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- History
- Features and behaviours
- Legacy
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Works cited
thumb|Illustration of a Kikimora (1934) by Ivan Bilibin (1876–1942). (Kikimora as house-spirit and guardian of chickens - hence her depiction in chicken-like form). Kikimora is a legendary creature, a female house spirit in Slavic mythology. Her role in the house is usually juxtaposed with that of the domovoy. The kikimora can either be a "bad" or a "good" spirit, which will depend on the behavior of the homeowner. In more recent times, an image of kikimora as a female swamp spirit has developed.
==Etymology== Most sources link the suffix -mora with the Proto-Slavic *morà ('nightly spirit, bad dream') and the Proto-Germanic *marōn (id.), as in the modern English nightmare.