Demons of vegetation and fertility

[Zarasis]

General information
Baubo
Grain demon
Grain Mother
Kurétes
Langtuettin



General information

Demons of vegetation and fertility are demons which are primarily associated with gods of fertility, they are those companion or henchmen.

Often they inhabit and protect grainfields and orchards and provide for fertility and good harvests. They also protect the younger generation and guarantee their good (and above all) large growth. They are considered as personification of fertility and sexuality.

Baubo

Baubo was originally known in Asia Minor as personification of female fertility. In Greek mythology she is associated with the fertility goddess Demeter.

The name Baubo means so much like "fold", is sometimes also interpreted as " belly", "cave" or "womb".

When Demeters daughter Persephone was kidnapped by the underworld God Hades, Baubo made the grieving Persephone laugh with obscenely jokes (obscenely stripping). This obscene gesture is interpreted as protective magic against the powers of the death.

As demon she is described without a head, or having her head directly above her legs, according to other sources she can also appear as doggish shocking demon. In Greek mythology she is described as ugly old woman.

Grain demon

Grain demons are vegetation demons in Central European and North European mythology which live in grain-fields and protect this and provide for a good harvest. Originally they were divinities to which one had to make sacrifices to protect the harvest, mostly in form of tied “grain dolls” which were left behind on the fields.

In the course of time they were demonised, above all "abused" as bugbear for children who played in the fields and caused substantial damage there. In most traditions they appear in human shape as “grain aunt”, “grain mother”, “grain man” or “sickle hag”, or in animal shape as wolf or boar. Sometimes they can also become dangerous for people.

Grain Mother

The grain mother belongs to the grain demons and has many parallels to the Langtuettin. Above all she is traditional in the German speaking area. She appears as an old woman with long, black tits or iron breasts.

She is known as especially cruel and sadistic towards children. She presses them roughly to herself and makes them suck at her breasts from which comes out toxic blood. If the children refuse, she decapitates them, or she beats her breasts against their face, until the children obey.

In some traditions she tries to poison the children also with a tar-sandwich, she coats them from the top to the bottom with tar, she torments them with tongs or crushes them in a barrel. Sometimes she breathes on the children with her toxic breath, so that they bulge and must die.

There should also be a "light version" of this female demon where the children may go if she has become fond of them.

Kurétes

Kurétes are demons from Greek mythology which are related to the vegetation and are domiciled to Crete. According to some traditions there shall exist nine Kurétes.

They are described as weapons wearing horned men, who shall love orgies and excessive parties.

According to Greek traditions they protected the newborn God Zeus against his father Kronos who wanted to kill him. Because of their wild songs and the loud clink of their weapons they drowned the shouting of the baby.

Langtuettin

The Langtuettin is a female grain demon from German speaking area and has many parallels to the grain mother. She got her name because of her appearance – she has long breasts which hang down to the ground, according to some traditions her breasts can be also black or iron.

She runs after children and presses them at her breasts till they die, or she makes the children suck at her breasts. According to the traditions milk is flowing off one breast and pus off the other.