Domovoi

The tale of the Domovoi

In every traditional Slavic house there lived one more member of the family whom no one ever saw clearly. He was the Domovoi, from dom, "house": a small old man with a grey beard, covered in soft hair, often said to look like the head of the family or like a grandfather long dead. He lived behind the stove or under the threshold, and he was the spirit and guardian of that one home.

A happy Domovoi was a blessing. He watched over the family at night, kept the house and stable in order, protected the animals from sickness and the roof from fire, and warned the family before a misfortune by groaning, tugging at their hair or knocking at night. He braided the manes of the horses he liked best, so by morning they were combed and shining.

Keeping him happy

The Domovoi did not ask for much: respect, a quiet home and a little food. The family left him a crust of bread, some porridge or a cup of milk by the stove, and spoke of him kindly. Swearing, quarrelling, laziness and dirt made him angry. An angry Domovoi made trouble: he smashed pots, hid things, frightened the cattle and sat on sleepers' chests at night until they woke gasping.

On the night before a family moved, they would invite their Domovoi to come along. They put embers from the old stove into a pot, opened the door and said: Grandfather, come with us to the new house. A house without its Domovoi was a house without luck. To leave him behind would be like leaving a member of the family on the road.

The spirits of the farm

The Domovoi was not alone. The yard had its own spirit (the dvorovoi), the barn its own (the ovinnik), and the bathhouse its own (the bannik), each with its own rules. But the Domovoi was the head of them all, the soul of the home.

Domovoi in Battle of Myths

Domovoi is a cost 1 Slavic mystic and guardian. His ability, Hearth Ward, throws a shield over whichever ally is closest to falling. He is no warrior, but as the game says, a board with a Domovoi on it feels, somehow, like home. With the Slavic heroes he shares the Cycle of Morana: the first time he falls, he rises again as a spectral spirit.

Did you know?

• If a horse's mane was found knotted in the morning, people said the Domovoi had ridden it all night, a sign that he did not like that horse.
• He was usually thought to be shaggy all over, even his palms. A soft, furry hand touching a sleeper at night was a good sign; a cold, bony one was a bad one.