Kikimora – Nightly Evil Female Spirit And Goddess Of Chickens In Slavic Beliefs

A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - Ancient beliefs say that Kikimora spirits (there are many of them) probably live in every household. However, in some versions of her story, she usually appears in homes of dysfunctional, unhappy families where abuse, quarrel, and screams occur daily.

Swamp Kikimora, after which the spider Kikimora palustris is named. Art work by symbolist
painter Vasiliy Ivanovich Denisov (1862–1922).

Kikimora originates in Slavic folklore. In the ancient beliefs of the East Slavs, there are two different kinds of Kikimoras.
One dwells in the forest and is married to the Domovik (Domovoi). The other one comes from the swamp and is married to Leshy.

Kikimora sleeps in dark places of the home, usually in the cellar or behind the furnace, and during the nights, she comes out and works with weaving, spinning, and needlework.

If the home is well kept, Kikimora is happy with the family. She helps them with housework, guards the family members, and protects the chickens. Generally, Kikimora likes skillful and hard-working women that perform their traditional work at home.

An angry and displeased Kikimora may be a troublesome spirit for the family because she interferes in people's lives, disturbs their sleep (mainly irritating children), and makes noises by scratching and whistling at night. She also moves and throws objects, makes them disappear, or changes their places.

Appearance Of Kikimora And Her Psychic Abilities

She is an evil spirit in the form of a small woman with a thimble head, long flowing hair, chicken feet, a body as thin as a straw, and a face, which is almost human-like but shapeless. Kikimora could quickly become invisible.

Illustration of a Kikimora (1934) by Ivan Bilibin (1876-1942). (Kikimora as house-spirit and guardian of chickens - hence her depiction in chicken-like form). Image credit: Ivan Bilibin - Public Domain

Despite her small size, she is a powerful spirit with psychic abilities that help to warn her family of a disaster or dangerous enemies approaching the house where she lives. In other words, she first delivers warnings of misfortune rather than good news.

However, she can be a challenging spirit to work with and keep happy.  Once Kikimora is inside the house, it is difficult to get her to leave.

To encounter Kikimora spinning was believed to be a bad omen of impending death.

Kikimora – A 'Chicken Goddess'

In the beliefs of Slavic people, Kikimora is a goddess of chickens. She guards them but sometimes torments them and can even harm pets. Kikimora wants a well-arranged chicken yard where all chickens laying eggs are protected.

The character of Kikimora became a popular inspiration for authors of fairy tales and musicians like Anatoly Lyadov (1855 -1914), a composer and a teacher. He wrote that Kikimora "grows up with a magician in the mountains. From dawn to sunset, the magician's cat entertains Kikimora with beautiful tales of ancient times and distant places as she rocks in a crystal cradle.

She spends her first seven years living in a magician's mountain cave, and after seven years, she leaves the cave to go live among people.

In his poem "Kikimora," Lyadov describes this house spirit as a tiny brown witch with a thimble-sized head and a body no wider than a straw.

Written by – A. Sutherland  - AncientPages.com Senior Staff Writer

Updated on March 4, 2023

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