Iele

The iele or ielele are feminine mythical creatures in Romania. There are several differing descriptions of their characteristics. Often they are described as virgin fairies (zâne in Romanian), with great seductive power over men, with magic skills and attributes similar to nymphs, naiads, and dryads found in Greece. They are also similar to the samodivas in Bulgaria.

The ielele are magical beings who live in isolated areas deep in the wild. These fairies are said to dance naked in the moonlight with bells on their ankles, and like sirens of the woods, can be irresistible to men. Those they seduce may disappear forever without a trace.

The iele are said to live in the sky, in forests, in caves, on isolated mountain cliffs and in marshes, and reported to have been seen bathing in the springs or at crossroads. From this point of view, the iele are similar to the Greek goddess Hecate, a three headed goddess of Thracian origin, who guards crossroads. They mostly appear at night by moonlight, dancing in a hora, in secluded areas such as glades, the tops of certain trees (maples, walnut trees), ponds, river sides, crossroads or abandoned fireplaces, dancing naked, with their breasts almost covered by their disheveled hair, with bells on their ankles and carrying candles. In almost all of these instances, the iele appear to be incorporeal. Rarely, they are dressed in mail coats. The effect of their specific dance is similar to the dances of the Bacchantes.

The place where they had danced would after remain carbonized, with the grass incapable of growing on the trodden ground, and with the leaves of the surrounding trees scorched. Later, when grass would finally grow, it would have a red or dark-green color, the animals would not eat it, but instead mushrooms would thrive on it.

The iele are said not to be solitary creatures, but gather in groups in the air, where they can fly with or without wings; they can travel with incredible speeds, either on their own, or with chariots of fire. The iele appear sometimes with bodies, at other times only as immaterial spirits. They are young and beautiful, voluptuous immortals, their frenzy causing delirium in onlookers, and with bad tempers, but not being necessarily evil. They come in groups of three or seven. This version is mostly found in Oltenia, were three iele are considered the daughters of Alexander the Great, called Catrina, Zalina and Marina.

They are not generally considered evil genii: they resort to revenge only when they are provoked, offended, seen while they dance, when people step on the trodden ground left behind by their dance, sleep under a tree which the iele consider as their property, drink from the springs or wells used by them. Terrible punishments are inflicted upon the ones who refuse their invitation to dance, or the ones who mimic their movements. The one who randomly hears their songs becomes instantly mute. A main characteristic is their beautiful voices which are used to enchant their listeners, just like the sirens from Greece. Invisible to humans, there are however certain moments when they can be seen by mortals, such as when they dance at night. When this happens, they abduct the victim, punishing the “guilty” one with magical spells, after they previously caused him to fall into sleep with the sounds and the vertigo of the frenetic hora, which they dance around their victim, who is abducted, to disappear forever without a trace. The iele are also believed to be agents of revenge for God or of the Devil, having the right to avenge in the name of their employers. When they are called upon to act, they hound their victims into the center of their dance, until they die in a furor of madness or torment. In this hypostasis, the iele are similar to the Greek Erinyes and the Roman Furies.

To please the iele, people dedicated festival days to them: the Rusaliile, the Stratul, the Sfredelul or Bulciul Rusaliilor, the nine days after the Easter, the Marina etc. Anyone not respecting these holidays was said to suffer the revenge of the iele: men and women who work during these days would be lifted in spinning vertigo, people and cattle would suffer mysterious deaths or become paralyzed and crippled, hail would fall, rivers would flood, trees would wither, and houses would catch fire.

People also invented cures against the Iele, either preventive or exorcistic in nature: garlic and mugwort worn around the waist, in the bosom, or hung from the hat; or hanging the skull of a horse on a pole in front of the house. The most important cure is the dance of Călușari.

The descriptive names and epithets of the iele must not be used randomly, as they may be the basis for dangerous enchantments. It is believed that every witch knows nine of these pseudonyms, from which she makes combinations, and which are the basis for spells.

The same common Indo-European mythological base is suggested by the close resemblance with the Nordic elves, youthful feminine humanoid spirits of great beauty living in forests and other natural places, underground, or in wells and springs; having as a sacred tree the same maple tree; and with magical powers, such as having the ability to cast spells with their circle dances. The elves also leave a kind of circle where they had danced, the älvdanser ("elf dances") or älvringar ("elf circles"). Typically, this circle also consisted of a ring of small mushrooms. Arguably, iele are the Romanian equivalent of the fairies of other cultures, like the nymphs of Greece and Rome, the Slavic vili, and the Irish sídhe.