#austrian folklore

[palaeoplushies]

Perchten... in JULY??? This mossy reindeer friend has turned up very early, or very late.

They're currently looking for a home over on my website: https://www.palaeoplushies.com/shop/perchten

This plush was constructed from a (not public) pattern by @barksbog, with modified legs by me. Bark also kindly embroidered the face and paw pads for me, and I'm selling this plush with permission!

[whowouldwininafite]

[briefbestiary]

The enormous night raven, a nocturnal creature meant to be feared by children.

[sonnemordundsterne]

𝕲𝖗𝖚𝖘𝖘 𝖛𝖔𝖒 𝕶𝖗𝖆𝖒𝖕𝖚𝖘

MORE STUFF LIKE THIS: @sonnemordundsterne

MY ARTTUMBLR:

@miltaart

[hocooart]

Day 12: Remote

Anyway, here's the process:

I didn't know what I wanted to draw for this prompt, I just knew I wanted to draw SOMETHING. So when I came back to this after having finished all the other Inktober sketches, I thought: "hm, I really enjoyed sketching animals lately. Why not give that a try?" But nothing really spoke to me, until I remembered that fantasy animals are a thing.

That's why I can now proudly present to you, a creature from around where I live: the wolpertinger. Couldn't find any information about wether this thing calls something specific its home or travels around, but I figured it would remote-ly fit the prompt (haha, see what I did there?).

[lunarmaruna]

[angela-art13]

Merry Krampusnacht 👹⛓

[artbythedarkside]

Percht König giving things a good sniff. Thanks for the inspiration @bluegiragi, I really wouldn't have thought of it otherwise.

[amelie-von-krolock]

Yuletide Greetings!!! 🎄 - The Krampus, also known as Kramperl or Bartl, is a figure that accompanies Saint Nicholas in various regional Advent traditions. These traditions are found all around the Alps, most of all in Austria, southern Germany and nothern Italy, but are also widespread in many parts of Eastern Europe. While Saint Nicholas gives presents to the good children, the naughty ones are punished by the Krampus, who most likely is a remnant of pre-Christian ideas and customs. - This little piece was an entry for the #spiritsofyulechallenge over on Instagram. :)

[austrian-mythology]

The Saligen

The myth of the Saligen predates Christianization and most likely even Germanic, Slavic and Roman rule of the Alpine territories.

These mythical beings appear to share similarities with creatures like the Bretonic Korrigan and the Welsh Tylwyth Teg. Moreover, they also exhibit some commonalities with the Norse Huldra and the Roman Faun, primarily through their close association with nature.

As they are sociable and not solitary beings, they are often counted among the Germanic elves or Celtic fairies, though unlike these, the Saligen are not small, but instead approximately human-sized. Therefore, they are sometimes seen as half-gods instead. In contemporary folklore, the Saligen are interpreted either as the offspring of elves and humans, thereby suggesting the existence of male Saligen, or as enchanted princesses.

Given their remarkable similarity to the elves from "Lord of the Rings", one might speculate that J.R.R. Tolkien drew inspiration from the Saligen.

Appearance

The Saligen are exclusively depicted as female beings. They are usually described as tall, exceptionally beautiful, and having blonde hair. The Saligen are often portrayed wearing loose, white dresses.

Behaviour

The Saligen are usually thought of as shy, kind-hearted, and wise individuals. They tend to stay hidden from regular people. However, if someone needs help, the Saligen are quick to offer assistance.

Some stories mention that one should avoid encountering a Saligen during full moon, as unlucky individuals who cross paths with them are seduced to spend the night together. Those who fall victim to this encounter are left as soulless bodies.

Saligen are said to live either in caves or underground villages surrounded by a wooded environment to conceal their entrances or in ice palaces.

These beings possess some magical abilities, but unlike elves and dwarves, they cannot simply disappear or become invisible in front of humans. However, there is a belief that they, and even their spouses, are invisible until they initiate a conversation with someone. It is not known how they become invisible again.

Origin

The Saligen are also known as Salkweiber, Salaweiber, Antrische Dirn (Antric Girl), Schneefräulein (Snow Girls), Bergfrauen (Mountain Women), wilde Frauen (Wild Women) and weiße Frauen (White Women).

The term Saligen comes either from Old Bavarian sālīg (kind-hearted, blessed) or is related to modern Bavarian Seäl (soul). Also, an origin from the Suleviae, a group of celtic godesses attested in many inscriptions in Noricum, has to be considered.

Antrisch (in Antrische Dirn) could be a cognate to Old English entisc (gigantic, mysterious) or a borrowing from Latin antrum (cave).

[sub-rosa-love]

been learning a lot about the origins of the Perchten and Krampus folklore that is still very present in austrian winter celebrations and what I will say is that it took me a good 15 years to not shit my pants anytime I see one of them anymore so learning about the original pagan beliefs and their inital task of banishing the evil spirits of winter is therapeutic to say the least

[hattusha]

Beast Blood

Finally after x-many years I managed to draw Nikolai's TRVE Eldritch humanoid form. I teased that occasionally in some of his portraits, but honestly, I wasn't ever really happy with the early designs of this form, which were all a bit too furry or animal-like, so i didn't post them anywhere… and what I wanted to go for was a witchy forest spirit vibe á la the Percht (sometimes also referred to as Lady Perchta / Berchta), which is part of my local Austrian folklore.

[adarkrainbow]

A follow-up to my previous reblog here

This is a Schnabelperchten, an entity local to the Rauris Valley in Austria. They’re similar to Perchten, serving as motivators for good behavior. In the Schnabelperchten’s case, they come to check you’ve kept your home tidy. If it’s not, they have huge shears to enact their punishment and cut open your stomach to ‘clean’ you out! ✂️🧹💨

.

[gewitternachtkind-art]

Day 16 // Staff

They come straight from the flames of hell to visit your children. Unlike his heavenly companion, this devilish fiend picks out all the nastiest and baddest of children and shows them what they’re in for. And all that during what should be the most peaceful time of the year.

It’s as if their sharp teeth sparkle in midst of the fire and smoke that accompanies them where ever they go.

And once they have you on their list, there’s no way to run from them.

How could I do a folklore/fairytale theme without including the best folklore creature of my home country ?

Source Material: Austrian folklore, Krampus

[postcard-from-the-past]

Folklore festival in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Austrian vintage postcard

[adarkrainbow]

YES! FINALLY I FOUND IT BACK! HAHAHA!

Do you remember when I asked about the New-Zealand Royal Ballet's performance of "Hansel and Gretel"? I shared a video that showed how, for the show, they replaced the birds eating the breadcrumbs by these tiny folkloric bird-ladies cleaning up the path with brooms. It was a clever and hilarious twist on the tale but unfortunately I couldn't remember the name or origin of these little eyeless bird-cleaning ladies. This was the original post.

Well it's them! Now do you see the full irony and cultural twist of the show?

So I learned something on Twitter