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Matrona
[edit]| Grouping | Magical being |
|---|---|
| Sub grouping | Enchantress, Witch |
| Region | the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa |
Matrona is a being from folklore said to brainwash and gather women, with powers that would best categorize her as an enchantress. The female followers she collects are said to abandon their homes and become fervently enamored with her. Those women are of any age and background. It is widely believed that Matrona takes no interest in men and can even become violent towards them, prompting her followers to turn on their own husbands or brothers.[1] She has been spotted all over the world, and is believed to be immortal.
Etymology
[edit]The name Matrona comes from the Latin language, meaning "the lady", mother, or matron.
Beliefs
[edit]Matrona is said to appear in a random small town about once every hundred years and enchant all women there, from young girls to the elderly. The women slowly end up turning on their male family members and friends, until they all leave with Matrona in the night. Most are never heard from again, but some people that claim to have spotted their loved ones after believe that Matrona takes the women to form a new town and stays with them until they've all grown old and died. Only then does Matrona move onto a new town and a new group of women.[2] Though not explicitly expressed in texts, some legends say that her followers will go out to seek more women to join their community. In those legends, it is believed that the women continue to expand their female only groups even when Matrona has moved on from their community.[3]
It is widely believed that Matrona has psychic abilities. These psychic abilities would be how she lures women away and brainwashes them. However, those that revere Matrona believe that her followers chose by their own volition to leave their homes.[4] There is also the belief that she has super strength. Some men claim to have been attacked by Matrona before having their wives and daughters stolen away from them. Other believers claim that Matrona is saving the women she enchants from abusive homes.
Some believe that she is a spirit rather than an enchantress.
Appearance
[edit]Matrona is typically described as a young woman in her late 20's-early 30's, of Latinx descent. Across all texts, she is said to have long, dark, wavy hair and a tall, fit build. She is described as never aging, having alluring eyes, and always having appeared out of nowhere. Accounts vary with some claims that say she blends right into her environment as if she always belonged, while others say she stands out with her "otherworldly aura".[5]
Origin
[edit]Although it is unknown where Matrona originated from, some legends say that she was abused as a child by her father and other men and ran away. Her supportive believers assert that Matrona takes away women in order to protect them from men.[6]
Sightings
[edit]Sightings of Matrona have been recorded over the past centuries, spanning across various continents. Rarely on paper, tales of Matrona are usually passed down as urban legends through generations in rural towns. The earliest known sighting was in a small Ecuadorian town in the 1300s. Sightings are most frequently claimed in South America, including Venezuela, Peru, and Brazil, but some have also claimed to have spotted her in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.[7] She is usually spotted surrounded by women. Those that claim to have encountered her tend to be enraged men or enamored women.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Vampires Through the Ages: Lore & Legends of the World's Most Notorious Blood Drinkers" "These vampires then, usually male, but in some rare stories female as well, traveled to another village where they were unknown to the inhabitants and married, producing offspring."
- ^ Levkievskaja, E.E. La mythologie slave : problèmes de répartition dialectale (une étude de cas : le vampire). Cahiers slaves n°1 (septembre 1997). Online (French). Archived 2008-01-12 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Laković, Aleksandar. 2001. Vampiri kolo vode. In: Glas javnosti, 20-12-2001. Online (Serbian)
- ^ Vampires of the Slavs by Jan Louis Perkowski "The practice of sorcery for the destruction of vampires is carried on in the house of Dhampir's descendants from father to son, throughout the generations."
- ^ Міфы Бацькаўшчыны. Вупыр (Вупар). Online (Belarusian)
- ^ The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead
- ^ T. P. Vukanović. 1957-1959. "The Vampire." Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, 3rd ser. Part 1: 36(3-4): 125-133; Part 2: 37(1-2): 21-31; Part 3: 37(3-4): 111-118; Part 4: 39(1-2): 44-55. Reprinted in Vampires of the Slavs, ed. Jan Perkowski (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Slavica, 1976), 201-234. The reprint lacks footnotes. Most material on dhampirs is in part 4, under the heading "Dhampir as the Chief Magician for the Destruction of Vampires."
Category:Corporeal undead * Category:Fictional vampire hunters Category:Fictional vampires Category:Fictional species and races Category:Vampires Category:Slavic legendary creatures Category:Bulgarian folklore Category:Albanian legendary creatures Category:Serbian mythology