Krsnik

Krsnik is a Slavic fire god, or a Slovenian shaman whose spirit wanders from the body in the form of an animal.

Kresnik, Lord of the Mountain

Kresnik is a pagan deity also known as Svarozic, son of the Slavic sun god Svarog, described as having golden hair and golden hands. [Copeland, F. S. "Slovene Folklore." "Folklore" 42.1 (1931): 405-446.] From being a divinity, Kresnik evolved into a Slovenian national hero who lives on a golden mountain, sometimes as a deer with golden antlers. As a human, he is a great king skilled with magic, but who interests himself in farming. [Copeland, F. .S. "Some Aspects of Slovene Folklore." "Folklore" 60.2 (1949): 277-286.] In some tales he even fights off the Mongols as a peasant youth. [Copeland, F.S. "Slovene Folkore." "Folklore" 42.1 (1931):405-446.] The comparative mythology showed that this demigod figure originates from Iranian god Yima and his double, Indian Yama, with whom they share a lot of common characteristicsFact|date=June 2007. It is a very diverse deity with many different faces depending on the location of the myth.

hamanistic Tradition

The "krsnik", a shaman in Istrian folklore, turns into an animal at night to fight off the "kudlak", his evil vampire antithesis, with the "krsnik" appearing as a white animal and the "kudlak" as a black one. [Perkowski, Jan L. "The Darkling: A Treatise on Slavic Vampirism." Columbus, Ohio: Slavica Publishers, 1989.] The "krsnik" 's soul leaves the body, either voluntarily or due to a higher power, to fight evil agents and ensure good harvest, health, and happiness. [Šmitek, Zmago. "Shamanism on Slovenian Territory? Dilemmas Concerning the Phenomena of Shamanism, Spirit Possession and Ecstasy." "Studia ethnologica Croatica" 17.1 (2006):171-198.] The legend evolved from a pre-Christian myth present in Slovenia, Croatia, and other countries, in which the celestial pagan god Perun is locked in eternal combat with the evil snake of the underworld, Veles. [Vinšćak, Tomo. "On "Štrige", "Štriguni" and "Krsnici" on Istrian Peninsula." "Studia ethnologica Croatica" 17.1 (2006): 221-225.] The "krsnik" is taught magic by "Vile" (fairies), [Copeland, F. S. "Slovene Folklore." "Folklore" 42.1 (1931): 405-446.] and has the ability to heal people and cattle with traditional medicine. [Vinšćak, Tomo. "On "Štrige", "Štriguni" and "Krsnici" on Istrian Peninsula." "Studia ethnologica Croatica" 17.1 (2006): 221-225.]

The origin of the name may be from the word "krst", which means "cross", [Perkowski, Jan L. "The Darkling: A Treatise on Slavic Vampirism." Columbus, Ohio: Slavica Publishers, 1989.] and which in Macedonia and Serbia is the word for a stone sign denoting village boundaries. [Šmitek, Zmago. "Shamanism on Slovenian Territory? Dilemmas Concerning the Phenomena of Shamanism, Spirit Possession and Ecstasy." "Studia ethnologica Croatica" 17.1 (2006):171-198.]

Similar beliefs circulated among the Italian Benandanti cult.

In fiction

* In the anime series "Trinity Blood", a "Krusnik" is a vampire that feeds on the blood of other vampires. "Lilith Sahl, Cain, Seth, and Abel Nightroad" are CKrusniks who are much more powerful than regular vampires and have a longer life span. In the anime series, they all take different forms: Cain appears as an angel with white wings, even though he is the antagonist, whereas Abel appears slightly demonic with black wings and red eyes, while being the protagonist.
*There is a video game titled "Krsnik".

References