Leshy: The Slavic Lord of the Forest | Monstrum

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He can grow higher than the trees, or smaller than a blade of grass. Both demon and deity, guardian and antagonist, the Leshy is rooted deep in the cultural and religious history of the Slavic people.

Said to be the lord of the forest, the Leshy could lead people and animals astray, causes accidents, and even drive people to madness and death. But they could also be surprisingly helpful...if you asked nicely. In this episode, you’ll learn about the surprising history of this shapeshifting creature, and how to avoid becoming his victim. #leshy #slavicfolklore #witcher #MonstrumPBS

We are incredibly grateful to Katherine Arden for her insight into the Russian language and Slavic folklore.

Written and Hosted by: Dr. Emily Zarka
Director: David Schulte
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Illustrator: Samuel Allen
Editor: Sara Roma, Derek Borsheim
Produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Bouchard, Michel. “Anthropology and Folklore; Bridging Gaps.” Folk Culture of Euro-Arctic Barents region: new methods of research. Ed. N.V. Drannikova. Arkhangelsk, 2013, pp. 56-66.

Ivantis, Linda J. Russian Folk Belief. Routledge, 2015.

Kalik, Judith, and Alexander Uchitel. Slavic Gods and Heroes. Routledge, 2019.

"Leshy/Leshiye (Slavic)." Storytelling: An Encyclopedia of Mythology and Folklore, Josepha Sherman, Routledge, 1st edition, 2008.

Mingazova, Liailia I., Foat G. Galimullin, Alfiya F. Galimullina. “The Mythological Image of Shuralen and Its Reflection in the Folklore of Volga-Ural Region.” The Turkish Online Journal of Design, Art and Communication, Nov. 216, pp. 3256-3262.

Ralaston, W.R.S. The Songs of the Russian People: An Illustrative of Slavonic Myhtology and Russian Social Life. 2nd edition. Ellis & Green, 1872.

Ralston, William Ralston Shedden. Russian folk-tales. Smith, Elder, & co., 1873.

Ryan, William Francis. The Bathhouse at Midnight: An Historical Survey of Magic and Divination in Russia. The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1999.

Warner, Elizabeth. Russian Myths. British Museum Press with University of Texas Press, Austin, 2002.

[alexwixom]

Siberian Leshy: I'm all in, I bet All my squirrels!
European Leshy: Full house
Siberian Leshy: My squirrels!

[patrickmcdonald]

Fascinating that the Slavs believed in not whistling while in the forest in order to show the leshy respect. Some Native American tribes had the exact same idea in regards to the Dogman spirit which dwelled in the forests and towards nature in general.

[theasinclaire]

I love these morally ambiguous creatures. So much more interesting than a simple "monster". Our ancestors were so creative.

[ShadowTheHedgehogCZ]

3:35
Geralt: "I would like to play Gwent."
Leshy: *Nods menacingly*

[gonzalogutierrez]

"We never hunt in these woods. Never. Even if it means the whole village starves"

[OptiJams]

A game released this year called "Inscryption" starts with you gambling your life in a card game with a Leshy in a woodland cabin. It's cool to see what he was inspired by

[BroadThink]

I love this series, not just because it is filled with the origin stories of unheard and bizarre monsterous beings that doesn't have an enormous place in popular culture -unlike vampires or werewolfes though a detailed research of werewolfes shows that they are more than just attractive people with ripped off jeans and hot abbs- but it also teaches about the cultural structures of people and communities those entities first started to appear. I feel inspired and facinated by the tales and origins of these creatures and the your comments abouth the symbolism of their powers and abilities even more. This episode is a favourite of mine since I love forest spirits and creatures . Thanks for another great lesson about the mysteries of the Slavic folklore.

[nobodyimportant]

3:34 Imagine walking through the forest and suddenly seeing 4 Leshys playing Poker. XD

[dromen]

I find it interesting that early slavic folklore is so hard to research. As someone with deep slavic roots I would definitely enjoy seeing more slavic mythical creatures and myths. Love the channel, keep it up!

[laetitia-borgia]

My great grandmother told me stories about Lesnik (serbo-croatian for Leshy) when I was just a little girl.
She said he is a good spirit who protects forest and if anyone hurts an animal or cuts a very old tree, he is gonna make this person lose its way and wander the forest forever until they die.
I remember going out into the forest with my two dogs with a hope I might meet him, but sadly that never happened.

[afg]

Actually, that's quite accurate! Thank you for representing Slavic culture, which is mostly unknown to the wider auditory.

We have much more to tell about!
Domovoi (a spirit that guards the house), Bannik (Russian sauna spirit), Kikimora (kidnapper) and Rusalka ( another kind of mermaid).
Can't wait to see some of them here 😁

[blaszizzz]

My grandma would always tell me about different creatures from our folklore (I'm from Poland) and apparently when the Christianity entered the country, churches would burn our books with Slavic Mythology since being a Pogan was viewed as something outdated and people would get in trouble for their believes. It's a shame, but now that the Poles are becoming less influenced by the Church, more and more people are looking back into our beautiful Slavic culture, trying to restore what's left of it.

[mypal]

Well now is the time to toss a coin to a Witcher then.

[sarahberlaud]

Okay the animation starting at 3:34 is my new favourite thing. There's something about all the Leshy sitting around enjoying parlour games and being "civilized" that cracks me up!

[BipsAhoyBocolateBipBookies]

Leshy from inscryption really went off the deep end after the divorce…

[Authenictruthoid]

When ever I'm out fossil hunting I always say " Thank You " when I find something ! When hiking in the woods I always tell the trees they look so nice & I say thank you when I leave. I've always had good luck doing this ! Simple : Be nice to nature and nature will be nice to you ! Peace

[sorcererberoll]

Oh it’s baba yagas ex husband and she got the house

[ErikaKodama]

as a person who grew up on Russian folklore, I always imagined Leshy to be a regular grandpa who lives in a forest and is super wise...

[--Paws--]

4:28 In my native country, there is a superstition that some people still follow and is a form of respect by saying: "just passing through, please" or something similar when passing through any place like the woods or anywhere unfamiliar. It gives respect to whoever might be around that the passersby is not trying to intrude.

[jejlanmati]

Oh gosh.... When i was walking in the woods once. I heard a laugh that came from no where. Reasonable, I turned back around and started power-walking back to my car... But I got lost and to make myself feel better I started singing a song I made up on the spot. Found my way back to my car and drove off. Watching these videos and experiencing things like this; makes you understand why legends like this get started and stay alive through the centuries.
Am I saying I encountered a Leshy? Well to avoid the mental ward; I'll only use this story as a fun, but cautionary tale of walking in the woods alone.