Aitvaras and Pukis

 


Aitvaras are a type of malicious house spirit from Lithuanian mythology. They look like purely black or white roosters with flaming tails while inside the house, and like small dragons outside. When they fly they look like a comet streaking across the sky. Aitvaras hatch from eggs of a 9 to 15 year old rooster. Don't ask how a rooster would lay eggs, although it's a motif I've noticed popping up in mythology occasionally.

The aitvaras would serve a family in a household through deceptive means. It would bring wealth and good fortune to the household by stealing from the neighbours. The aitvaras would go on nightly flights to rob them. Owning an aitvaras would inevitably bring strain between the household and the rest of the community. Additionally, the aitvaras would slowly siphon away the souls of the residents, damning them.

Once an aitvaras was inside a house it was very difficult to remove. Killing it would be difficult as it would heal as soon as it touched the floor. It also couldn't be carried out as it would become too heavy to lift. However the aitvaras could be offended into leaving by offering it an omelette as a meal. For those unscrupulous individuals who actually wanted an aitvaras it could be purchased from the devil for the price of your soul.



The pukis is a related house spirit from neighboring Latvia. It looks like a small cat like dragon with a flaming tail.

Owning a pukis is not seen as sinful as an aitvaras and it will not damn you soul, however it is still looked down on and would make your neighbours hate you. Like the aitvaras the pukis brings its master wealth by stealing it from other households around them, putting strain of community relations.

Pukis could be purchased from large marketplaces, from booths selling folk remedies and magical trinkets. The pukis would be sold as a figurine wrapped in string or yarn, which would then be hung in the home to attract the real pukis. The pukis was very particular about how it was treated, demanding respect and payment for its work in the form of offerings of sweets and honey. If it didn't receive this payment it would burn down the house.


  



  


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