Myth and folktales

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Slamene oči (straw eyes), see ghost
Smrt, see Death
Smrtnjak, smrtnek, smrtec, companion of 
the death.
Snake (káča), ož, vož, inčésa, linčésa, ses, 
vípera. One of the oldest and most widespread 
archetypes, the mythical snake is large and 
dangerous, white or black. Since people per-
ceived the rainbow as a multi-coloured snake, 
the mythical snake may also have the colours 
of the rainbow. The snake queen has a crown 
upon its head and a diamond or a golden apple 
under its tongue. The leader of all snakes, it 
is also the mistress of earthly riches, which is 
why people tried to seize its crown, the golden 
apple, or the žilštajn (snake stone), each of 
which represented the key to riches. The viper 
from the area of Gorizia was thought to have 
a crest on its head and could whistle beauti-
fully. The multi-headed sea serpent is the 
mistress of the waters. In ancient cosmolo-
gies, the snake appears as the cosmic snake, 
the Creator, or the mythical ancestor, and a 
cosmological hero. As the carrier of the world 
whose movements may destroy it, the snake 
appears not only at the beginning but also at 
the end of cosmogeneses as an apocalyptic, 
destructive force. The ouroboros, the snake 
eating its tale, symbolizes life and death and 
an eternal cycle of the time and world. As the 
keeper of treasures, the snake is the bestower 
of goods and fertility, which is why the snake 
is an attribute of every great goddess. The 
snake also symbolizes the soul of a deceased 
ancestor. As the guardian of the house, the 
ož, the vož, the white snake, and the inčesa, it 
protects the home. In the Bible, the snake is an 
allegory of evil. According to folklore, snakes 
were set upon the humans as punishment but 
could be driven away by a wizard’s apprentice 
(črnošolec). Certain saints, particularly St. 
George and St. Margaret, allegedly protected 
people from the snakes. 
Lit.: M. Šašel Kos: 
Draco and the Survival of the Serpent 
Cult in the Central Balkans. Tyche, Beiträge zur Alten 
Geschichte, Papyrologie und Epigraphik 6, Wien 1991.
Sobota, see Sabida
Sojenica, see Fate
Somrak (twilight), see dusk
Soul, duša. In folklore, the soul is a person’s 
double who at the time of death separates 
from the body, leaving it in the form of wind, 
vapour, smoke, butterfly, fly, bird, etc. The 
soul was imagined as a tiny person with a 
transparent body or as a winged child. The 
soul can leave the body of a living person 
only during sleep or in the state of ecstasy. If 
a person is connected with an impure force, 
the soul will commit evil deeds after leaving 
the body. If a sleeping person, whose soul has 
flown through his or her mouth, is moved the 
soul will be unable to find its way back and 
will long circle around the body in different 
forms. The soul of a sinner was punished by 
roaming the world as an apparition, a dog, a 
cat, a moth circling around a burning candle, 
etc. (see zavdana duša, sinning soul). Beliefs 
that the soul assumes the form of a mouse, 
cat, or dolphin stem from antiquity. When 
a person died, the family opened windows 
or doors to help the soul depart. But it was 
believed that for the next forty days, the soul 
would continue to visit the places it had once 
been familiar with, and would also linger at 
the cemetery, which is why food was placed 
on the grave. Since it was widely believed 
that it was very difficult for the soul to cross 
a body of water, particularly among the East 
Slavs, it was believed that St. Nicholas regu-
larly ferried souls to the netherworld. 
Spodnjek, see wind
Srebrnokrilec (Silverwing), see Zlatorog

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239
St Domenica (St. Sunday), Sv. Nedelja, Ne-
delja. Often depicted in medieval Christian 
iconography. Frescos associated with St. 
Nedelja were generally painted on church fa-
cades, particularly on exterior side walls, for 
example on the pilgrimage church of St. Ne-
delja in Crngrob. There are also place names 
named after this saint, for instance Velika 
Nedelja and Mala Nedelja in Prekmurje. 
People believed that St. Nedelja punished 
those who violated the ban on hunting on 
Sundays. The popular belief that those who 
spin on Sundays go mad is connected with 
Mokoš and with other personified days (see 
Mokoš). Like St. Sobota (St. Saturday, see 
Sabida), St. Nedelja was a significant saint in 
early Christianity, which is further indicated 
by the fact that in Serbia she was entreated 
for help and protection.  
Lit.: L. Kretzenbacher: Sveta Nedelja - Santa Domenica 
- Die hl. Frau Sonntag. 
Südslawische Bild- und Wortüber-
lieferungen zur Allegorie-Personifikation der Sonn-
tagsheiligung mit Arbeitstabu, Die Welt der Slawen 27 
(NF 6), München 1982.
Straw eyes (slamene oči), see ghost
Sumper, supernatural being (in Bavaria 
known as Semper) with whom mothers in 
Štajersko frightened their naughty children 
saying: May the Sumper be off with you! 
Svarog, Svarožič, Božič (Christmas). The god 
of fire and the sun was mentioned in the 12
th
 
century as the father of Dažbog. Navratil 
(1888) wrote that the term božič denoted 
a small god. According to Kuret, Svarog’s 
origin may date as far back as the period of 
the Old Slavs when Božič denoted Svarog, 
Svarožič, the small god who was reborn each 
winter solstice. The term Božič presumably 
comes from svaro, an old Slavic word for the 
moving sky.
Lit.: A. Pleterski: 
Božič naših prednikov (The Christmas 
of Our Ancestors). Naši razgledi 38, 1989; N. Čausidis: 
Slovenskite panteoni vo likovniot medium: Svarog. Studia 
mythologica Slavica 1, 1998.
Svečar, see svečnik, see the vedomec 
Svečnik  (candlestick),  svečar,  vedomec 
(Pomurje), a ghost appearing with a burn-
ing candle instead of its head. The inhabitants 
of Medžimurje say that the svečniki are the 
souls of the sinning monks; In Varaždin they 
were purported to be the people who were 
moving boundary markers in fields in order 
to wrongfully gain more land. The svečniki 
appear particularly during Advent days and 
before All Hallows. If they collide with each 
other, their candles emit sparks. The svečniki, 
who flee from people who utter profanities, 
may be saved by prayer, which is why they 
gather around those who, upon beholding 
them, start to pray.
Sveta žena (sacred woman), see fairy 
Svetovit, Svantovit, Svjantovid, Sventovit, 
Svetovid. A Balto-Polabian and a Slavic god 
of the sun; the god of light; the celestial god. 
He was venerated as the protector of vegeta-
tion, trade, and war. He was depicted as a 
deity with four heads, each looking in its 
own direction (omnipresence), and holding a 
bow and a horn. The symbol of Svetovit was a 
white horse. He was riding a white horse that 
was returning from a night ride, covered in 
sweat. A temple consecrated to Svetovit was 
built in the Balto-Slavic town of Arkona. Ac-
cording to some authors, the “golden-haired 
deity with golden hands, the son of the celes-
tial ruler Svetovit”, was Kresnik. He was later 
Christianized into Saint Vitus whose name 
day, according to the Julian calendar, falls on 
the day of the summer solstice. He was one 
of the Fourteen Holy Helpers of the Roman 
Catholic Church and was frequently depicted 
with a black rooster. 
Svinsek, see wind
Sybil, Šembilja, Šimbilja, Šimbile, Sibila, Švila, 
prerokila. A supernatural being known in 

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