Encyclopedia of Russian Superstitions

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RUSSIAN SUPERSTITIONS

WHITE GRANDFATHER

The White Grandfather is a spirit dwelling in the forest; a leshy.

In the beliefs of peasants from Olonets province, the White Grandfather is a kind, righteous forest spirit. He is described as "a tall, grey-haired man, wrapped from head to toe in white clothes." He "does only good and helps people. They feel a special reverence and fear towards him, rarely uttering his name."

In a folk narrative from Novgorod province, the leshy — "a tall old man in white clothes" — is not so benevolent and merciful. A sorceress searching for lost calves recounts about him: "...on either side of him stood two boys of the same height, dressed in clothes as white as snow. He rudely asked me: 'What do you need?' I was frightened and wanted to run, but there was nowhere to run: a fence stood all around me... I fell down beside him. I don't remember myself how I returned to the village at night..." "After the encounter, one calf was found alive in the field, and the other dead: the leshy had killed it because the sorceress, when summoning the grandfather, cut off the top of a tree with her right hand, not her left. The white boys were the lost calves." (Novgorod, Belozersky district) .

The white color of clothes, hair, and fur, traditionally attributed to the leshy in various regions of Russia, characterizes him as a being possessing special powers, belonging to another world (most likely to the world of deceased ancestors).

The image of a soothsayer in white, appearing in folk narratives, is likely also connected to the image of the spirit, "the master of the forest in white." It can be assumed that the image of the "ruler in white" arose at the intersection of images characteristic of beliefs, incantations, and legends. Thus, in incantations, a "white man" or "white tsar" is mentioned, often associated with Saint George: "Saint George rides, he himself is white, his horse is white, his cap is white, and his mittens are white." (Arkhangelsk province); "Pray to the true Christ, the White Tsar George the Brave." (Kostroma province). Like the leshy, Saint George is the "master" of the forest, of animals, a "wolf shepherd." The multifaceted white color characterizes supernatural beings not only as "other, otherworldly" but also as "true, all-powerful."

Accounts of the leshy — "the old man in white" — are widespread. Evidence of the leshy as an exclusively benevolent White Grandfather is scarce and requires further clarification and study. Usually, the leshy is dual, capable of being both good and evil.

Marina Vlasova