Place Spirits

In Ukraine, nature is seen as alive. People have to interact with the field, the forest, and the bodies of water around them to survive. They see the various units of the natural environment as being inhabited by beings who maintain order in their respective abodes. These beings are essentially benign as long as humans behave properly. There is a tendency toward geographic distribution. Thus, in forested areas, people believe in the forest spirit or lisovyk. In areas where there are few forests, the lisovyk is seldom mentioned but there is talk of water beings, the vodianyk and rusalky, the spirits of human beings, especially women and children, who drowned.

There is belief in household spirits. At one time there was supposedly one being per every unit of the farmstead. These days, most people maintain a belief in the house spirit or domovyk. In rural areas, the barnyard spirit or dvorovyk is also mentioned at times.

The Domovyk is a house spirit. He lives in every house and guards it. He looks like a man but is small and very hairy.
The people who live in the house try to be nice to him. They leave him food. He likes milk and sweet food.
He lives where it is warm in the house.
Watch the video below where Nadiya describes when she saw him and what he looked like.

Now go into the house below and find the domovyk.
Click on the “?” in the kitchen.
Where does he like to live?