Vegetable Sheep/Lamb

Vegetable Sheep

Plant-animal hybrids, vegetable sheep and vegetable lambs, were believed to produce cotton as sheep produce wool and are depicted in the bestiaries, the medieval collections of fact and folklore about real and imaginary animals.

Also known as the lambs of Tartary, these creatures were believed to live in the Asian land of Tartary, which is part of present-day Eastern Europe and Russia.

The origins of this odd belief are almost certainly connected to the arrival of cotton bolls from the East into Western Europe. Since no one in Western Europe had ever seen cotton in its unspun, natural form, they assumed that the bolls were a form of wool.

Vietnamese Storytelling

Vietnamese Storytelling

Vietnam is made up of more than fifty ethnic groups, each one with its own oral traditions.

Folktales and storytelling are both still popular throughout Vietnam. But storytelling generally takes place on a smaller scale in the cities than it does in the more isolated mountain areas because large gatherings are still discouraged by the government.

However, the Vietnamese government has worked with the Association of Vietnamese Folklorists to conserve as much as possible of the country’s oral tradition. Many stories have been collected and are compiled in massive volumes of Vietnamese tales and legends.

Vodianoi

Vodianoi

In Slavic myth and folklore, the vodianoi is the unpredictable, dangerous king or spirit of water, particularly of freshwater.

As a water spirit, the vodianoi needed no clothes. He generally was seen by humans as a being that was half fish and half human, or as an old man covered in scales and mud. His hair and beard were green, and his hands were webbed.

When he chose to have a tail, he looked something like a heavyset merman. When he decided to take a two-legged shape, his long toes helped him to propel himself underwater.

Vol’ka

Prince Vol’ka

Prince Vol’ka is portrayed in Slavic epic folk poems, called bylini, as a heroic warrior. He protects the residents of his isolated, forest-bound principality by performing such traditional deeds of heroism as defeating an enemy in single combat. He is also the only hero of a bylina who is a magician and shape-shifter.

Vol’ka’s fictional world is based on regions of Russia and Ukraine in the twelfth century. These regions were divided into principalities, the most important of which was ruled by Prince Vladimir of Kiev.

Much of the land was heavily forested, and traveling between the principalities, or even between villages, was difficult. A local prince in the twelfth century could technically be a vassal of Vladimir yet, because of the forests and lack of decent roads, might never see him.

Völva

Völva

In Norse and Teutonic mythology a völva was a female prophet, a type of priest or shaman. Generally, this figure was an older woman who was not bound to a single family or clan and could wander freely.

The völva might travel alone or have a retinue of apprentices. She performed a craft called seidr, which was either shamanistic ritual or true sorcery. Völvas were held in high regard. Men could be völvas as well but were not revered as the women were. True seidr was considered a woman’s craft.

A völva is described in the Saga of Erik, dressed in a blue-black gem-studded cloak, a necklace of glass beads, and a hat trimmed with white catskin. A pouch containing her magical tools hung from a belt around her waist.

Wayang

Wayang

Wayang is an ancient Javanese word meaning “shadow” or “ghost.” It is also the name for the traditional sacred dramas of Java and Bali. There are seven main forms of wayang, but wayang kulit, or shadow-puppet theater, is the most common.

In Java, shadow plays are performed to celebrate public holidays, religious festivals, weddings, birth celebrations, and circumcisions. In Bali, they are staged at all these events, as well as at cremations.

Wayang Kulit

The wayang kulit may have originated in Java thousands of years ago. Wayang kulit stories are told with flat puppets made of leather and cut out in profile. These shadow puppets are beautifully painted and intricately pierced so that their shadows are amazingly detailed. The puppets’ arms are moved by manipulating small sticks.

Report of Wenamun

Report of Wenamun

The Report of Wenamun literary text recounts events that took place during the reign of Pharaoh Ramses XI, who ruled from about 1104 until 1075 B.C.E. It is not known if this work was derived from a genuine report or is entirely a work of fiction.

Written during the twenty-first dynasty (c. 1081–931 B.C.E.), the tale reflects the political reality of this period, during which Egypt was divided. The northern region was ruled by a king who resided in the city of Tanis.

A high priest of Amun ruled the southern region from Thebes. As a result, the government was largely ineffective. This impotence is presented frankly in Wenamun’s story.