Strigoi
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In Romanian mythology, strigoi (same form singular or plural) are the troubled souls of the dead rising from the grave. Some strigoi can be living people with certain magical properties. Some of the properties of the strigoi include: the ability to transform into an animal, invisibility, and the propensity to drain the vitality of victims via blood loss.
A strigoaică (singular feminine form) is a witch. Strigoi are also known as "moroi". They are close relatives of the werewolves known as "pricolici" or "vârcolaci", the latter also meaning "goblin" at times.
These names are derived from strigă, which in Romanian meant "scream" or "barn owl", cognate with Italian strega, which means "witch", and descended from the Latin word strix, for a shrieking vampiric bird. Strigoi viu (plural: Strigoi vii) is a living vampiric witch. Strigoi mort (plural: Strigoi morţi) is a dead (undead) vampire. They are most often associated with vampires or zombies. According to Romanian mythology a strigoi has red hair, blue eyes and two hearts. The strigoi can change into a variety of animals, such as barn owls, bats, rats, cats, wolves, dogs, snakes, toads, lizards, spiders/insects, etc.
There are several ways for a deceased person to become a strigoi. One way is if a person dies before they are married they are at risk of becoming a vampire. Most often in a situation like this, the corpse is wed to another unmarried person around the same age to prevent them from returning to the grave. Though, if this technique fails, the strigoi will return to have sexual intercourse with their spouse, and will attack family members. The corpse should then be stabbed through the heart with a sickle or other piercing object, to prevent any more attacks. Corpses walked over by cats are also at risk of become strigoi. To get rid of them, bury a bottle of wine near the grave. Six weeks later, dig it up and drink the wine with relatives. Whoever drinks the wine will be protected against the strigoi, who will not return. A person who is filled with pain and regret will turn into a cat or dog after death and return as a strigoi to torment his/her relatives. Piercing the body of the strigoi with a needle will prevent it from leaving the grave, as will placing a candle, coin or towel in the hand of the corpse. Walking around the grave with burning hemp will cause the strigoi to become helpless. One remedy against strigoi is to bury a bottle of whiskey with the corpse. The vampire will drink it and not return home.
If a child is born with a caul atop their head they are said to be likely to become a strigoi vii.
Garlic is said to be potent against the vampire. Due to this weakness, most burial ceremonies have rings of garlic around the corpse, coffin and grave.
One way to dispatch the strigoi is to drive a stake, made from wild rosebush or aspen wood, through its heart(s) and into the earth to hold it to its grave. The vampire must be set on fire before it gets up. Another way is to remove the vampire’s heart(s) and burn it and the vampire, or do precisely that and decapitate the vampire as well. Then bury the remains at a crossroad.
One gypsy remedy for killing a strigoi is as follows: dig up the vampire corpse, remove its heart(s), and cut the organ in two. Drive a nail into the forehead, place a clove of garlic under the tongue, and smear the body with the fat of a pig killed on St. Ignatius’s Day. Turn the body face-down in the coffin.
Strigoi are said not to be fond of light, though there is no suggestion that they burn from sunlight. Travelers often stay close to a bonfire to protect themselves from the vampire.
It is said that if the strigoi goes undetected for seven years, it can travel to another country or place where another language is spoken and become human again. Once human, the strigoi can marry and have children, but they will all become vampires when they die.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- [1] Across the Forest, a documentary that interviews Transylvanian villagers about their experiences with strigoi, pricolici, and mama padurii.
- (Romanian) Julia Maria Cristea, "Noaptea Strigoilor—Noaptea Sfântului Andrei" (Strigois' Night—St. Andrew's Night), Revista Agero
- The characteristics of the Strigoi, at How Stuff Works.