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 Greekprimer illustration of akallikantzaros with goat legs and donkey ears | |
| Creature information | |
|---|---|
| Other name(s) | karakoncolos,karakondžula,karakondzhol |
| Grouping | Folklore |
| Sub grouping | Goblin |
| Origin | |
| Country | Greece,Bulgaria,North Macedonia,Serbia,Turkey,Cyprus,Bosnia and Herzegovina,Albania |
| Region | Southeastern Europe |
| Details | Shape-shifting |
Thekallikantzaros (Greek:καλικάντζαρος,romanized: kalikántzaros;Albanian:karkanxholji / karkançoli;Bulgarian:караконджул,romanized: karakondžul;Serbian:караконџула /karakondžula;Turkish:karakoncolos; orkallikantzaroi in plural) is a malevolent creature inSoutheast European andAnatolianfolklore. Stories about thekallikantzaros or its equivalents can typically be found in Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia, and Cyprus.Kallikantzaroi are believed to dwell underground but come to the surface during thetwelve days of Christmas, from 25 December to 6 January (from thewinter solstice for afortnight, during which time the sun ceases its seasonal movement)[citation needed].
The termkallikantzaros is speculated to be derived from theGreekkalos-kentauros ("beautifulcentaur"), although this theory has been met with many objections.[1] A second theory proposes that the word comes fromTurkishkara-kondjolos "werewolf,vampire", fromkara "black" andkoncolos "bloodsucker, werewolf".[2]
It is believed thatkallikantzaroi stay underground, sawing the trunk ofthe tree that holds the Earth, so that it will collapse, along with theEarth. However, according to folklore, when the final part of the trunk is about to be sawed,Christmas dawns andkallikantzaroi are able to come to the surface. They forget the tree and come to bring trouble to mortals.[1]
Finally, on theEpiphany (6 January), the sun starts moving again, and they must return underground to continue their sawing. They see that during their absence the world tree has healed itself, so they must start working all over again. This is believed to occur annually.[3]
There is no standard description of the appearance ofkallikantzaroi; there are regional variations as to how their appearance is described. Some Greek illustrators[who?] have imagined them with some animal parts, such as hairy bodies, horse legs, or boar tusks. Sometimes they are enormous, at other times diminutive.[citation needed] Other groups[who?] see them as small humans with a horrible odor. They are predominantly male, often with protruding sexual characteristics.[1] Many Greeks have imagined them as tall, black and hairy, with burning red eyes, goats' or donkeys' ears, monkeys' arms, tongues that hang out and heads that are huge.[4] Nonetheless, the most common belief is that they are small, black creatures, humanoid apart from their long black tails, and said to resemble little black devils. They are also mostly blind, speak with a lisp and love to eat frogs, worms, and other small creatures.[5]
Kallikantzaroi are believed to be creatures of the night. According to folklore, there were many ways people could protect themselves during the days when thekallikantzaroi were loose. One such method was to leave acolander on their doorstep to trick the visitingkallikantzaros. It was believed that since it could not count above two – three was believed to be a holy number, and by pronouncing it, thekallikantzaros would supposedly kill itself – thekallikantzaros would sit at the doorstep all night, counting each hole of the colander, until the sun rose and it was forced to hide.[citation needed]
It is an annual tradition in some cultures to throw “loukoumades” (a donut-like dessert filled with syrup) and sausages on your roof, and sing a specific song. It is believed that once this is done, thekallikantzaroi will eat these and leave, returning to their work underground.[citation needed]
Another supposed method of protection fromkallikantzaroi was to leave the fire burning in the fireplace, all night, so that they could not enter through it. In some areas,[where?] people would burn theYule log for the duration of the twelve days. In other areas, people would throw foul-smelling shoes into the fire, as the stench was believed to repel thekallikantzaroi, forcing them to stay away. Additional ways to keep them away included marking one's door with a black cross on Christmas Eve and burning incense.[6]
According to legend, any child born during the twelve days of Christmas was in danger oftransforming into akallikantzaros during each Christmas season, starting with adulthood. It was believed that the antidote to prevent this transformation was to bind the baby in tresses of garlic or straw, or to singe the child's toenails. According to another legend, anyone born on a Saturday could see and talk with thekallikantzaroi.[7]
One particularity that set thekallikantzaroi apart from other goblins or creatures in folklore was that they were said to appear on Earth for only twelve days each year.[citation needed] Their short duration on Earth, as well as the fact that they were not considered purely malevolent creatures but rather impish and stupid, led to a number of theories about their creation. One such theory connects them to the masquerades of the ancient Roman winter festival ofBacchanalia, and earlier the GreekDionysia.[citation needed] During the drunken, orgiastic parts of the festivals, people wearing masks, hidden under costumes in bestial shapes yet still appearing humanoid, may have made an exceptional impression on the minds of simple folk who were intoxicated.[6]
In Greek, the termkallikantzaros is also used to describe a number of other short, ugly and usually mischievous beings in folklore. When not used for the aforementioned creatures, it seems to express the collective sense for the Irish wordleprechaun and the English wordsgnome andgoblin.[original research?]
InSerbian Christmas traditions, theTwelve Days of Christmas were previously called the "unbaptized days" and were considered a time when demonic forces of all kinds were believed to be more active and dangerous than usual.[citation needed] People were cautious not to attract their attention, and did not go out late at night. The latter precaution was especially because of the mythical demons calledkarakondžula (Serbian Cyrillic:караконџула; alsokarakondža / караконџа,karakandža / караканџа orkarapandža / карапанџа), imagined as heavy, squat, and ugly creatures. According to tradition, when akarakondžula found someone outdoors during the night of an unbaptized day, it would jump on the person's back and demand to be carried wherever it wanted. This torture would end only when roosters announced the dawn; at that moment the creature would release its victim and run away.[citation needed]
The karakondžula is also known to punish and torment people who commit adultery. Adulterers were known to sneak out of their homes while their significant other would sleep, and then visit the person they were cheating with, or prostitutes, or brothels. The karakondžula would sit and wait on the top of the doorframe of the front door to the house and jump on the back of the adulterers and lash them with a stick or scratch or dig its sharp nails in the person back and neck and force them to run through nearby forests all night. Similarity to other accounts the karakondžula would flee by the sight of first dawn.[citation needed]
This can be seen as a warning to would be adulterers to think carefully about their intentions, desires and understand the consequences that they would incur if they were to fulfill such actions. In this version of the myth the karakondžula would come back every night and remain on the door lintel until the adulterers confess their sins to their significant other.[8]
The Bulgarian name of the demon iskarakondjul (also romanizedkarakondjol,karakondzul/karakondžul;Bulgarian:караконджул) orkarakondjo (Bulgarian:караконджо). They may be conceived of variously: as being human-like except for having a hairy body, a tail, and a large head with horns on it, or a one-eyed being standing on a single leg, or a horse-headed man.[9] It is considered a shape-shifter which may appear as a dog, a man, a sheep, or a calf.[9] It is reputed to dwell in caves, or rivers, or abandonedwater mill,[9] and come out at night.[9]
In Albanian folkloreKukuth (kukudhi) and Karkanxholji (Karkançoli, related to Greek καλλικάντσαρος) areundead corpses, who go around in January, laden with chains and effusing a deadly breath. Known also amongCalabrian Albanians. According to another version, the Karkançual is vested with iron clothes, which is whychainmail armor is known askëmish karkançoli inAlbanian.[2]
According to one etymological conjecture that has met with many objections, the term kallikantzaros derives from kalos-kentauros (beautiful centaur).
Media related toKallikantzaros at Wikimedia Commons