Ancient peoples, as well as our ancestors, believed that disease is caused by the intrusion of a demon, which embodies the disease, into the body of a person, animal, or even a plant or other being. The Slavs, particularly their healers, certainly knew many names for the demons that caused specific diseases or injuries, as well as many other demons that brought hunger, misfortune, and even violence and war.
No matter how the demons of disease manifested, their appearance was terrifying. They often had long claws or fangs, and were almost always disfigured, dirty, and ragged. In many cases, the demons of disease were perceived, especially in the visions of healers and wise men, as snakes, worms, or spiders. It is perhaps in these visualizations that we can trace the origins of the natural human aversion and fear of these animals.
Most of these dark demons were believed to originate from dark deities, particularly from the Slavic goddess of death and winter, Morena. This goddess, along with the dark Kashchei, was considered by the Slavs to be the source of evil, disease, and death.
For example, a bes called PRISTRIT, which entered the human body in the form of a red smoke haze, brought fever and inflammatory diseases. LIKHORODKA, a white-haired old woman who could barely walk and was shaking, brought chills and shivering. Encountering the blind demon LIKHO foretold injuries to the limbs, such as fractures or even being torn off.
HOSTEC was a pale, bald and hunched old man who caused muscle, joint, and rheumatic pains.The arrival of a deathly pale maiden named CZUMA foretold epidemic and the plague. KHOLERA, also a dirty maiden, personified abdominal pain of stomach and cholera. HLUSHKA - deafness, a demon in the form of a grinning female spirit, damaged hearing. And the appearance of a demon named DREKAVEC, in the form of a degenerate dog or cat, usually signaled illness among livestock and poultry.
The dark god NIY - ZMEY often described as a black three-headed dragon, was associated with the advent of violence, rebellion or war. As the commander of dark armies of monsters and demons, he embodied anger, violence and war itself. In the stories and visions of our ancestors, Niy was accompanied by the demons of suffering and hunger, known in various parts of the Slavic world as Bieda, BIDA - misery.
Our ancestors lived in a time when the whole world was shaped by various ritual commands and prohibitions. In today's world, many of these commands would be seen as restricting our freedom, and we would certainly question their significance. Few would believe that failure to follow them could bring punishment, disease, or accidents. For our ancestors, however, this understanding was a natural and inseparable part of a world filled with magical beings and gods.
