Ukrainian mythology, both in pre-Christian times and after them, was full of the most amazing legends, fairy tales and myths. Extraordinary creatures, according to ancestral legends, inhabited every corner of their native land: from the house to the lake, from the forest to the swamp - everything was full of good or evil otherworldly forces.

What is a fiction, and what is true, we probably will never know, but the legends of some mythical creatures, although somewhat changed, but still survived to our time. So we have the opportunity to find out which mythical creatures used to terrify our ancestors and which protected them:

We present you our NFT collection of mythical characters of Ukraine

The collection consists of;

Viy - Trauble - Mavki - Magyra -Chugaister -Dog-heads - 0.0006Fornication - 0.0005Vodyanoy- 0.0004Vovkulaka - 0.0003

2023-collection release

2023- Airdrop of token (KOP) to NFT holders

Vovkulaka

Vovkulaka is a popular fantasy creature from Ukrainian mythology. It cannot be said that the werewolf was associated with absolute evil, because he was a "werewolf", ie a man who turned into a wolf.

There were many legends about how you could become a werewolf: you could be enchanted by a witch, both with your consent and without her. Then the man wandered for several years in the likeness of a wolf. It could be an innate trait, then a person lived his life during the day, and for a full moon, at night, turned into an animal. There was a legend that if a pregnant woman sees a wolf, she will have a werewolf.

And it was possible to return the human likeness to the beast by tearing the string hanging around its neck, or even to skin it.

These legends date back to pre-Christian times, when people believed in werewolves, wizards, and that evil and good forces could come to earth in the form of animals or humans.

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Dog-heads

Dog-heads are giant people, one of the most cruel creatures in Ukrainian mythology. They drank human blood like vampires. These giants looked scary: tall, with bear skin, one eye in the middle and one horn. According to some legends, they also have one arm and one leg and move in pairs, holding each other. Mostly have a dog's head, which is why this creature is named. There were also stories of female dog-heads eating people.

Such legends about giant cannibals existed in different nations and beliefs. There were legends about Alexander the Great, where he fought with dog-heads, and Odysseus visited the whole island of one-eyed Cyclops.

There is an assumption that bloodthirsty dog-heads are a hyperbolized and mystified idea of hostile peoples who came to their native lands with the war. So, according to some legends, dog-heads came "somewhere from Turkey".

That is, stories about cruel unknown creatures were associated with the invasions of foreign invaders.

This myth was spread in Western Ukraine and a Ukrainian horror film of the same name was recently made based on it.

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Chugaister

Chugaister is a fantastic image in Ukrainian mythology, unknown to other Slavic peoples. He was represented as a cheerful, cheerful, overgrown with black or white hair with blue eyes. He hunts Mavok, who lure young lumberjacks and shepherds into the wilds and lose them. It was believed that the chugaister hunts female spirits that are dangerous to people. For a person, according to most ideas, the chugaister is not dangerous. He likes to sit by the fire with people and fry the caught mavka on it.

Fornication

Fornication - according to legend, is an evil spirit that God cast out of heaven for evil deeds. Now he wanders the world and clings to anyone who accidentally touches him.

Fornication can turn into any likeness: a man, a woman, a bird, a cat or the wind. He ambushes a person, and then leads him to exhaustion, in a circle, or leads in a thicket or swamp.

In order for fornication to pass you by, it was necessary to remember when your birthday and baptism were, on which day the last Christmas Eve fell, what dishes were then on the table, who stood to your right. Also, one way to "save" was to turn over his shirt.

Fornication disappeared with the first singing of roosters, that is, with the approach of dawn.

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Vodyanoy

Vodyanoy - a creature that existed in the myths of many peoples, as the personification of evil spirits. According to Ukrainian legend, Vodyanoy comes from the devil himself. Fishermen were afraid of this spirit, so they brought him treats in the form of boiled fish, bread and salt.

However, Vodyanoy acquired demonological features already in the Christian period. Among the pagans, he was rather a spirit that preserves the calm of the river, as the forest is guarded by the Forester, and the swamps - the Swamp. And pleasing them is a very common tradition of offering sacrifices to deities as a sign of gratitude.

Vodyanoy - the owner of all reservoirs, was the eldest of all mermaids, took care of the lives of all inhabitants of the reservoirs. But despite his care, he should not be merged, because according to legend, it was he who, angry, could destroy the mill, raise the river and flood the village, or drown a man.

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Mavki

Mavki are mythical female beings who represent the souls of children who were born dead or died unbaptized. There was also a belief that monkeys were children stolen by evil spirits. Such images as mawks, nymphs, mermaids, meowers - existed in the legends of other nations, as well as in Ukrainian. According to legend, they look like extremely beautiful young girls who leave behind traces of bare feet. Attractive young men hunt for moths, and those who follow them will get lost and will never find their way home. There was also the myth that they "tickled" their prey, like mermaids.

To protect themselves from their charms, you had to take garlic, onion or wormwood as a talisman. And still, to turn out on a shirt.

The Mavki looked beautiful and scary: long linen hair, a shirt that barely covers the body, pale skin color. Hair could also be cast, because they are forest creatures. While mermaids had algae hair, but also had an extraordinary beauty.

Trauble

Trauble - this creature will not spare anyone, will lose the rich and the poor, and the guilty, and the innocent. Trauble is the personification of an evil and incomprehensible destiny that can overwhelm the best, kindest and most honest person, bypassing the last villain. It so often happens in life that a terrible Trauble will take a child by surprise, and a thief and a murderer will be able not only to avoid punishment, but also to live in prosperity and health. People, not understanding such injustice, invented an evil creature guilty of unexpected grief.

Fate

Fate is an image of national mythology, which in folk beliefs was associated with happiness. Fate was described in the image of a young, beautiful girl, or a good grandmother, if she is happy. If she was unhappy, she was a beggar in torn and dirty clothes.

According to the ancestors, each person has his own destiny, which irrevocably dictates how long to live and how to live. As the stars and planets will become at the time when a person is born, so they plan his further life.

Fate is not a mystical being, not an otherworldly force, but so to speak - a double of every person who already knows what he needs to do in life and how to live. Therefore, when a person is not doing his job, it turns out badly, because it is not to the liking of his destiny.

Those who had a happier fate were advised not to flaunt it, but to accept it with gratitude, otherwise you risk losing it. And those who had an unfortunate fate were advised to look for it - in another occupation, another city and in other circumstances. After all, if here and now you feel unhappy - then your destiny wanders somewhere else.

It was also believed that people who envied someone's good fortune could avert it, enchant it, or even attract it.

People were so sure that their destiny foretold a certain, already known future in the world, that they often turned to molfars, fortune tellers and witches to find out what fate awaited them. And sometimes some enemy turned her away.

The poetic image of destiny was often found in Ukrainian folk songs and stories, because it is something that has bothered people all his life.

Magura

Magura is the daughter of the Slavic god of thunder and lightning, war and warriors, Perun, the celestial virgin - beautiful, winged, warrior. Magura is a Ukrainian, Slavic interpretation of Scandinavian Valkyrie. Her heart is forever devoted to the soldiers who died in battle.

On the battlefield, Magura supports those who fight selflessly and persistently, with shouts and enthusiasm. It inspires hope and joy in the hearts of soldiers.

According to legend, a warrior who fell in battle receives a kiss from Magura and goes to Virius - the palaces of paradise.

Viy

Viy - perhaps the most popular character in Ukrainian mythology. There were legends about him, books were written about him, movies were made about him. And not for nothing, because the stories about him really go goosebumps on the body.

Eyelashes have been described as an ugly creature with huge eyes, thick eyebrows, long eyelashes and heavy eyelids. He himself could not open his eyes, so he was helped by two strongmen. But when his eyes rose, his gaze became deadly to everything in his path: people died, entire villages and towns were destroyed.

We can assume that such a legend arose as a result of belief in the destructive power of "betrothal", the actions of the "evil eye" in the care of which everything is spoiled.

Probably the name of this monster comes from the word "eyelashes", which were unnaturally long.

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