Demons of the water - Topielica

One 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.