rår
nature_spirit earth Scandinavian folklore single tradition · 1
The term rå refers to a category of guardian spirits associated with specific elements of nature in Scandinavian folklore. These beings were believed to protect their particular domain—such as forests, lakes, or mines—and could be benevolent or dangerous depending on how humans behaved in their territory. In accordance with old belief systems, every object, animal, and plant had its own rå or spirit which protected it.
Relationships
- cognate of
- Landvættir
- equivalent to
- Vættir
Mentioned by
Sources
wikipedia (1)
Source passages
“Though specific individual rår depicted in folklore, such as the skogsrå and the bergsrå, were typically described as female, in general the rår could be both masculine and feminine.”
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