When chaos and disorder reign, it is often the Devil who is blamed, his sinister machinations believed to disrupt the very balance of the cosmos ordained by God. The Devil, once a mere representative of non-life, has evolved into a malevolent force over time, an antagonist to the protagonism of his divine counterpart.
My name is Radiana, and I shall reveal to you the obscure nature of this being who, in Romanian folklore, is a demiurge and trickster, quite different from the diabolical Devil depicted in Christianity. In dualistic cosmology, the universe is viewed as the product of two coeternal and coexisting forces
Or principles: one representing life and cosmos and the other non-life and chaos. This concept collapsed over time into an oversimplified metaphor of good and evil, as the two forces are often seen as being in a state of constant strife or conflict, with each trying to overpower
The other. And some have personified these forces and refer to them as God and the Devil. Early Christian theology introduced the Devil to Western culture as a fallen angel who rebelled against God and lured humanity into sin, establishing him as an embodiment of evil.
While he was assimilated by some cultures and integrated into religious thought, he has also evolved in other cultures as a standard reference to generic evil and was overlapped with pre-Christian deities of Chthonic nature or primordial beings who co-created the world.
Such is the case in Romanian mythology, and this is also reflected in the common language, with one popular proverb stating that the Devil is not as dark as one may think, often referring to a situation or a person that may not be as bad as perceived upon first glance.
Although the origins of the word are said to be of scriptural origin from the Greek diaballein which means “to slander, attack,” or “to throw across,” and passed down through popular mythology through the church and ecclesiastical books, according to
Older etymologies, the name of the Devil is closely linked to the realm of the sacred. The word “devil” is believed by some scholars to mean “lesser god” from the root div- or the Proto-Indo-European dyeu- which means “to shine” and its derivatives refer to the sky, heaven, god, and the divine.
And it is important to note here that, when the Old Testament was translated from Hebrew to Greek, Egyptian Hebrews from the third century BC used the form “diabolos” instead of the Hebrew “Satan” to refer to a being similar to an angel whose task was to test man’s faith to God.
And when this was translated to Latin, the word “diabolos” morphed into “diabolus”, which in the Middle Ages came to be understood as meaning “double death” or “the double bite of death” from the words “dia” meaning “two” and “bolus” meaning “bite” or “death”.
Some scholars believe that this Christian conception of the Devil and the imagery conjured by it was significantly influenced by the Desert Fathers who retreated to the Egyptian deserts in the 4th-3rd centuries AD, as their visions of the dark angel mentioned
In scriptures and memories of fallen gods led them to create a synthetic portrait of a grotesque anthropomorphic devil, which was later legislated by the Council of Toledo in 447. Be that as it may, the first Christians did not imagine the devil in the way most do today nor
Was he portrayed often in primitive Christian art. According to ethnologist Antoaneta Olteanu, such ritual “silence” around his portrayal can be explained by one Russian fairy tale, in which a peasant is commanded by a lord to paint the portrait of the Devil;
And the man does so but without looking at his art. When he finishes the painting, he takes it to the lord who, after gazing upon it, is found dead the next day. And so, it was only centuries later that the Devil as we know him today came to
Be depicted. Art Historian Jurgis Baltrušaitis demonstrated that European demonic iconography of the 14th-16th centuries had been enriched with elements from the East, which intensified its frightening aspects. Thus, hordes of devils with bat wings or women’s breasts came from China to the walls of Western Churches, amplifying the demonism of an already cryptic being.
And so, the Devil has not always been depicted as diabolical. And he maintained in many aspects his divine origin, even if as an intermediary between the material world and the spiritual realm. And Romanian mythology emphasizes this, placing him alongside God as a primordial
Being whose influence on reality spans back to the very act of creation, in which he is said to have played a significant role. It is said that the Devil emerged into the world alongside God, from a worm on an island of foam
Floating on the primordial ocean called Saturday’s Water. Although, in a Transylvanian variant, the Devil is said to have appeared after God, in his angry solitude, cast his hatchet into the cosmic ocean from which sprung the cosmic Fir tree representative of the axis mundi. The Devil was
Nestling under it, and so he was made the being at the center of creation. But, in all variants, the Devil calls God Fârtat which means brother while God calls him Nefârtat which means the opposite, a non-brother, or someone “unlike him”, an enemy. And despite their differences, they live
In good understanding at first, until the Devil wants to create the world or a bed to rest upon. At the behest of God, the Devil dives into the cosmic ocean and brings mud to the surface from which the Earth is created by God and later expanded through the Devil’s cunning.
Depending on the version, the mud burns the Devil, darkening his appearance, or it is his cunning and disobedience to God that morphs him into a dark monstrous being over time, but regardless, some of the mud always gets trapped under his long fingernails and henceforth he is deemed unclean
Despite the dirt being considered magical and the Earth made from it being considered sacred. This makes the Devil an earth-diver, which is a common character in traditional creation myths throughout all of Eurasia, India, Oceania, and America, who is sent by the primordial being into
The cosmic ocean to find the mud for the creation of the Earth. This motif is between 75,000 and 130,000 years old and so, it has been passed down through oral tradition for a long time. While in most cultures the earth-diver is depicted as a bird, usually a duck, in Eastern European creation
Myths, this character is generally embodied by the Devil, one of the primordial twins. And in Romanian folklore, the Devil is not only an earth-diver but also a demiurge. As the legend goes, “God made the world and everything on it with the help of the Devil,
And because of this, the world is only good in part, and evil exists in it.” It is said that, after completing the creation of the earth, God went to wash his hands, and “from the drops that splashed from his hands, the angels were born.
Seeing this, the Devil also washed his hands, but from his drops came out demons. And so he kept washing and sprinkling droplets everywhere, and therefore more demons exist than angels.” And this is also reflected in the Romanian proverb: “God builds the house, the devil brings the guests.”
And so, in Romanian mythology, the devil’s role is not limited to that of a mere antagonist of the Abrahamic God. Instead, he serves as a demiurge and a crucial figure in binding together the divine and mortal realms. As a trickster archetype, he also causes disruption
And chaos in both worlds through his otherwise creative meddling and inventions. And although he is put in direct opposition to God, his scope is not merely limited to the destruction of his brother’s creations. Many of the Devil’s attempts at proving his power resulted in
The birth of new realities and creations that the other creator could never have conceived. In some folk tales, the act of creation seems to be an eternal and rather playful competition between the two beings. For instance, it is said that the Devil created the goat,
And God created the sheep. Then the Devil built the tavern and God built the Church. And when the Devil invented tobacco and brandy, God invented frankincense and wine. But sometimes his creations remain unfinished or turn out to be bizarre. One legend has it that the Devil built the first house,
But he built it without windows or doors and so he could only enter and exit through the chimney. He was not very happy with it and so he gave it to God who fixed it. And then he created
The wolf from mud, but the wolf would not move at his command. God, seeing this, yelled at the wolf to jump and bite the Devil and so the wolf lunged at his creator who ran from him.
Another time, when the Devil saw that God created the first man, he wanted to create one too but he ended up creating the monkey instead. And to scorn God, he taught the first man how to wear his pelt
Inside out, growl, and hide under a bridge to thus scare God. But when God crossed the bridge and heard the man growl, he cursed him to forever remain that way, and thus the first bear appeared.
And so, although God was not able to conceive the same things as the Devil, it was always he that perfected his brother’s creations and so the Devil always remained in his shadow. Because of this, the Devil grew with resentment and turned his demons and some of God’s angels
Against him. They revolted but lost the battle. The traitors fell into the bowels of the Earth, while some fell into waters, forests, and deserts where they were ordained to remain and rule. Others got stuck hanging in the aether upside down. It is said that their drool rains on the
Earth ever since, causing death and disease. Those who hung upright began creating the Borders of the Aether, the borders that the souls of the dead must cross and pay to reach the Heavens. As for the Devil himself, God chained and threw him into the infernal realm
Near the core of creation or axis mundi which is said to be in the waters beneath the Earth. There, “he sits fettered in the sea and endlessly gnaws at his chains. And just when they are about to come loose, the blacksmiths fasten them back. They were taught by their ancestors
That on Sundays, when the Sun is about to set, they must beat the hammer once in vain and then the Devil’s chains are made again.” And this part of the myth is reflected in what is possibly the oldest and most consistent folk tale across the Indo-European space: The Smith and the Devil.
Although he was confined to the Underworld, it is said that the Devil continued to scheme against God. And so, he crafted a golden throne adorned with jewels that would impress his brother. But he crafted it in such a manner that whoever sat on it, would be stuck there,
Fettered by unseen hands. When he was done, he invited God to his realm and sit on his throne. But sensing his intentions, God tricked the Devil into sitting on the throne first to show him how it’s done, and so the Devil fell into his own trap.
As such, Romanian folklore places the Devil in the underworld where he is shackled and naked in his dark and hideous form. But his spirit is believed to dwell on Earth, especially in desolate wastelands “where roosters do not crow, sheep do not graze, and priests do not toll.”
Here, he can take on any form he desires, from a lowly goat to a graceful horse, a small mouse to a fierce dragon. Sometimes, he may appear as a monstrous being with two horns, pointed ears, wolfish red eyes, and goat-like legs complete with hooves, fur, and a long tail, and other
Times he can fashion himself into a simple ball of yarn. No shape is beyond his ability except for those said to be created by God, such as the sheep, bee, lamb, dove, or donkey. His shape-shifting abilities make him a master of illusion and trickery and it is said that he uses
Them to lead people astray, particularly those who have broken sacred norms regarding time and space, such as stepping into a magical place like the forest or a graveyard during the night. There is no shortage of folk tales describing the Devil’s apparition
In such desolate places in the dead of the night putting the fear of God into people. However, not everyone is afraid of him and many call him by repulsive names such as Dark One, Ugly One, Crippled One, Killed-by-the-Cross, Unclean One, or Scaraoțchi, from the word Iscariot.
And they often send him awful people and objects too by using the well-known curse “Go to Hell.” They also “cut the Devil in four” quite often, which means they’ve achieved a great accomplishment, as the Romanian saying goes. Although he can be cunning and is described as such in many tales, folklore suggests that
The Devil can be outsmarted by human ingenuity and especially women who, as the saying goes, ”are more devilish than the Devil.” The story of “The Woman Stronger Than the Devil” is a popular example of this. In the tale, the Devil comes to take the fortune of a man who made a pact
With him. But a woman intervenes to help the man. She gives the Devil a string of curly hair to straighten, but the Devil fails and flees, leaving the man with his fortune. In other stories, the hero outwits the Devil by tricking him repeatedly, so much so that the Devil
Falls into his own traps or outright tries to get rid of the human by even paying him to go away. And this theme is widespread throughout Romania, especially in Maramureș, Muntenia, and Transylvania. Beyond such tales, where folklore meets esotericism, the Devil acts as a conduit between the spiritual and material realms,
Imparting knowledge and information that would otherwise be unattainable. His connection to the mythical time of creation and the afterlife, and his ability to move between these realms, can make him a valuable ally according to folklore. And in some tales, summoning him can result in a mutually
Beneficial exchange of skills and information, leading to unique wealth and occult knowledge. The Devil is known to patronize figures like sorcerers and skilled performers, who he endows with extraordinary abilities. And there is an array of traditions and practices used to establish communication or exchanges with him.
It is said that if you need the Devil for anything, you must collect nine sticks that you find spinning on a body of water and, whilst naked, take them to a crossroad at midnight. There, make a fire with them and the Devil will appear. And when he does,
Offer him two eggs. If he accepts them, he will do anything you ask. And after he fulfills your wish, you must leave the location and when you do, you will hear screaming, laughing, chanting, drumming, even gunshots, but you must not look back because if you do, the Devil will turn you to shreds.
But the Devil will not dare as much against old witches, or hags. It is said that the only creature the Devil fears is the hag, which is the term commonly used for a healing witch, wise woman, or sorceress in her old age.
As opposed to Western interpretations of witches who are enslaved by the Devil in some way, the hag in Romanian folklore has mythical qualities and legends place her emergence in time immemorial. As one legend goes, once upon a time when God was walking with St. Peter on Earth, he saw the
Devil arguing with an old woman. He immediately sent St. Peter to separate them and make peace. And he did as God instructed, but as soon as he left the two alone, they started arguing again. Once more, God sent him to separate them. And so, St. Peter got angry and beheaded them both.
As if he had done nothing wrong, he then returned to God who asked how he separated them. And St. Peter told him that he cut off their heads, to which God demanded that he go back and restore them. St. Peter went and put the Devil’s head on the old woman’s,
And on the old woman’s, the Devil’s, because he could not tell the difference. And so, his metamorphosis from an earth-diver demiurge to a trickster archetype and later a personification of generic evil is, at its core, a reflection of man’s magico-religious perception of non-life and the agency of chaos.
Until next time, remember: the only thing more devilish than the Devil is a cunning hag.
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