In Slavic mythology, vodyanoy or vodyanoi (Russian: водяно́й, IPA: [vədʲɪˈnoj]; lit. '[he] from the water' or 'watery') is a male water spirit. Vodník (or in Germanized form: Hastrman), in Czech fairy tales, is the same creature as the Wassermann or nix of German fairy tales.
Vodyanoy is said to appear as a naked old man with a frog-like face, greenish beard, and long hair, with his body covered in algae and muck, usually covered in black fish scales. He has webbed paws instead of hands, a fish's tail, and eyes that burn like red-hot coals. He usually rides along his river on a half-sunk log, making loud splashes. Consequently, he is often dubbed "grandfather" or "forefather" by the local people. Local drownings are said to be the work of the vodyanoy (or rusalkas).
When angered, the vodyanoy breaks dams, washes down water mills, and drowns people and animals. (Consequently, fishermen, millers, and also bee-keepers make sacrifices to appease him.) He would drag down people to his underwater dwelling to serve him as slaves.
In the Russian North, is believed that vodyanoys have a ruler. He is an old man, armed with a club. He can rise to the sky sitting on a black cloud and creating new rivers and lakes. His name is the Tsar Vodyanik, or the Vodyan Tsar.
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