WILD WOMEN OF EAST CENTRAL EUROPE

In the folklore of Slavic countries between Russia and the West, we find mention of Wild Women in the forests.  The Poles call them Dziwožony.  They also feature in the beliefs of the Czechs, Slovaks and Slovenes.  These women are said to be attractive but rather hairy,  They have have such human traits as cooking (baking bread) and they wear clothes, made from hemp.  They can become invisible as they rub onto themselves certain plants which enable them to do this.  They would sometimes borrow things from humans, even wandering into villages to do this.  They would also take children from humans, leaving changelings in their place.  They are not always friendly: sometimes, if they catch an adult, they will tickle him to death.  There seems to be a link here with the tradition of the rusalka, which is also likely to tickle the hapless wanderer. Like the rusalka, they are found in the vicinity of streams, at least sometimes. They indulge in wild singing which stirs up storms.  They are found in the mountains.  Similar beings elsewhere are called mamuna and boginka.  The term Wild Woman translates Slovak diva lena.

In the singular this being is called Dziwožona which appears to mean simply "goddess" and these creatures may have been the focus of a cult.  It is possible they are a species of being derived from a single mythological goddess, but it is also possible they were actual creatures who coalesced into the form of a single goddess.  At times they seem to be treated as a single being.

They have consorts in the form of Wild Men who are completely covered with hair and will sometimes kidnap human wives.

Could these beliefs go back to a race of primitive humanoids with which the Slavs shared their forests?  The belief in wild folk was once widespread in Europe and may even persist today in remote quarters.  Perhaps some of them yet lurk in copse and cavern and will emerge to startle passers-by.  Who can tell?