For this reason the bear has ever since been considered a very special animal in later Croatian and Slavic mythology, folklore and legends. Honey was a very important ingredient in making the honey and wine drink They can also lure people with their song. Ambivalence is a component of the mythic nature of those legends, and we have seen that the myth is both a fabricated and a sacred story. Croatian myth is part of the Slavic tradition that sweeps across Baltic, Central and Eastern Europe, terrifying children and giving nightmares a ghoulish flavour. Perhaps this is the reason it is called ''vlasi'', after the ancient deity Volos (Veles, Vlasin, Vlašic, Vlas, etc.)
Even under threat of torture, execution and imprisonment, they refused to get rid of the old Pagan religion! In art, they are often shown with a mirror and a magic comb. They are often seen alone or in odd numbers of three, five, seven or nine.
Finally, the merciless baron ordered a net to be placed around the building and the next night Ružica (Little Rose), a very beautiful and young fairy got caught in it. On the contrary it is developing a larger following than previously supposed, and growing more daily. They rarely speak to people.
Drink offerings were anciently poured from vessels made from horses' hoofs, and witches are popularly supposed to drink with avidity the water which collects in equine hoof-tracks. With the aim of the victorious knight winning Ružica's hand in marriage. .....21 Horithi, Horiti, (Horoti) C.'— Horigti, L. A Slavonic race, placed by Alfred to the east of the Slavi Dalamenti, who occupied the district north-east of Moravia...... See note 23. In central part of Kyiv there are three hills: Starokyivska gora, gora Shchekovitza and gora Horevitza, and even a street Horev (ulica Horeva). He is dressed in pants and a coat of earthly tone and wears a belt, with a pointy, red hat on his head. The crescent moon and star are the old Proto-Slavic symbols which the original Croats brought from their northern homeland. Dark can even bite women, and then they get big black bruises that disappear after few weeks. Here is just one of numerous legends and folk tales that revolve around the natural world all across Croatia. Bulgaria (varkolak, vulkodlak), Czech Republic (vlkodlak), Croatia (vukodlak), Russia (oboroten’ , vurdalak), Ukraine (vovkulak(a),vovkun, pereverten’ ), Poland (wilkolak), Romania (varcolac), Serbia (вукодлак), Denmark/Sweden (Varulv), Galicia(lobisÛn), Lithuania (vilkolakis and vilkatlakis), Latvia (vilkatis and vilkacis), Estonia (libahunt).
My opinion of the article I posted below is this. The Croatian word "zagrabiti" translates approximately to "to scoop", which forms the basis of some legends. It was forbidden to wash your hair during the so called ''dog days'' (in August) when it was believed that the water was poisonous because the dragon spilled its poisonous seed in it. When a woman goes to the well or a barn during the night, she can step on Dark and then gets a fever, and can even die unless a local healing woman helps her with magic. Many of them are indeed surprising:
Also very well known is the the Croatian National Folk Dance Ensemble "LADO" which is based in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Namely, there are haters...I mean stooges....I mean certain types of "people" out there with The boy or the girl had a godfather who was considered a more important person in a child's life than the godfather at your christening or wedding (best man) who became a more important figure in a child's life later. According to some legends, God turned a man into a bear for the murder of his parents, for belligerence or for a lust for power that would scare people to the bone. Interestingly, Herodotus, writing in the 5th century BCE recorded that the In a Croatian legend, a man who went to wait for the wolves on Christmas Eve is first taken as food for the lame wolf by the white wolf (who appears here in the role of the Master of Wolves who apportions food), and then turned into a wolf, because “no-one should go out hunting on Christmas eve” (Lang 1914: 217–218) Many Slavic proverbs express folk belief that winter is the time ruled by wolves, and a message about the “driving off ” of wolves can be heard in spring, one could hear on St. George’s day, in the carol to St. George from Croatia (Bučica): “Give George some bacon, so he’ll chase the wolves from the hills” (Huzjak 1957: 16). According to another old and most well known and popular legend, a city noble was thirsty and ordered a beautiful girl named Manda to bring some water from a nearby natural well using the sentence: "Mando dušo, zagrabi vode" which translated means "Manda dear, scoop up some water", seeing how tired and thirsty the noble and soldiers were, she hurried and and did as was asked. Many myths and teachings have been made up a long time ago to explain what was considered unexplainable (illness, natural disasters, accidents) or to protect children from the dangers that darkness and loneliness provided. If he comes across a river or a stream he never gets wet when passing over it. If you help a fairy to free herself she’ll reward you generously, with loyal friendship).