German (Герман, GER-man,pronounced[ˈɡerman]) is aSouth Slavicmythological being, recorded in thefolklore of easternSerbia and northernBulgaria. He is a male spirit associated with bringing rain andhail. His influence on these precipitations can be positive, resulting in the amount of rain beneficial foragriculture, or negative, with adrought, downpours, or hail.Rituals connected with German included making a doll intended to represent this personage. This effigy of German, made of rags,fired clay, ordried fruits, was rather large, usually with a distinct representation of the male genitals. It was produced and used in rituals exclusively by girls or young women.[1][2][3]
In EasternSerbia, when a drought developed, girls would make such a doll, and bring it to a river bank. Depending on the regional custom, they would either bury it by the river, or put it in a little coffin and let it float down the river. Two of the girls would then start lamenting for the doll. Asked by the others why they were crying, they would answer, "We are crying for German; because of the drought German has died so that the rain may fall." If the amount of rain falling should then become excessive, the doll would be dug up again.[1][2] In northern Bulgaria, the rituals with German usually followed immediately after theDodola rituals, but could be performed independently from them. In some villages they were carried out on the Feast ofSaint Germanus. Girls would make the doll, 20 to 50 cm long, and lay it on a slate or in a little coffin. Having adorned it with flowers, they would bury it with funeral observances. After three, nine, or forty days, the doll was dug up and thrown into water.[3]
People would also try to ward off destructive summer hailstorms by placating German with a ritual performed onChristmas Eve. This ritual was recorded in the area aroundPirot at the beginning of the 20th century. Immediately before the start of the Christmas Eve dinner, the head of the household would go out to his woodpile,[4] to invite German to dinner. He would take with him a loaf of bread called "good luck", prepared particularly for this ritual,slivovitz, wine, and awax candle. At the woodpile, he would shout three times, "German, German, wherever you are, come to dinner right now, and in the summer do not let me see your eyes anywhere!" He would then light the candle, take a sip of slivovitz, taste some bread, drink wine, and go back into his house. Asked how he had fared in his encounter with German, he would answer, "He came, so we dined and drank amply of slivovitz and wine, and then we parted."[1][5]
German, who dies so that the nature may regenerate with the falling of rain, can be understood as a spirit of vegetation, dying and then resurrecting with the revival of vegetation. His distinctly represented male genitals symbolize fertility. The doll of German is presumably a metaphorical replacement of the formerhuman sacrifice. It can be included among theSlavicsacrificial dolls, together with the dolls ofYarilo,Kostroma, andMorena.[1]
InChristianized folk beliefs German is identified withSaint Germanus. This saint is associated with the protection from hail, and occasionally from lightning, though the latter was generally ascribed toSaint Elijah.[1]