Laumės

Part of the Fairy List Encyclopedia. 


The Laumės are female fairy like creatures. Much of the beliefs about the Laumės, especially those of them as anthropomorphous creatures likely goes back to the Neolithic or even pre-Neolithic era.
Fairy like beings who would often appear as birds such as pigeons. They lived in rocks and trees, especially birch trees and often appeared as woman with goats horns, heads, legs, and overly large breasts, or at times with chicken legs. They could also take the form of other animals such as cats, dogs, horses, and bears. Although they would later evolve to aid in farming and choirs the Laumės were originally hunting spirits.
Some of these fairies craved the taste of human flesh. These were depicted as having long spindly arms tipped with claws made of stone, large teeth and large breats. The more dangerous Laumės would live in the forest canopy, abandoned baths, or the waters. As with most fairies iron injured and kept them at bay.
In other cases Laumės was depicted as beautiful girls with gold clothes (when they weren't naked) which would often carry the body of a chicken with them. In some tales the Laumės decended from the sky into the forests, mountain caves, lakes, swamps or islands. On earth they help humans and act to guard morality, giving gifts to the virtuous and punishing the wicked. They especially hated greet and sloth and would punish those who exhibited these traits.
 They would come out to dance on the new moon and sing and dance, causing it to rain, hail and storm in their delight.
They would also come out on the nights of the full moons when they would gather in dewy meadows and dance in merry circles. The Laumės had a strong relationship to rain, especially to rainbows for it was believed that they would weave the colorful band into the sky.
Because of their importance in insuring a good harvest they were often offered bread and beer as gifts to insure their help making the fields fertile. Other offerings included silk ribbons and soup (left in the bathhouse for them).