In western culture, we see things as black and white: there is the physical (good, made by G_D) and spiritual, or non-material. Protestants tend to define anything spiritual outside of G_D as bad, i.e., demonic. (Angels are iffy – if you acknowledge them as individuals then you have to admit they are spiritual beings – disembodied personalities – that are good, then you run the risk of worshiping them, and besides, isn’t that a Catholic thing?)
Catholics recognize that angels and devils are the same class of beings, angels (who are good) and devils or demons (who are bad) being angels who rebelled against G_D because G_D planned to give humans immortal souls.
Russian culture extends that idea to include a multitude of beings “made from the parts left over from creation,” as my Russian wife used to say. Being intelligent, they have the ability to chose between good and evil. Creatures such as leprechauns or djinns, for example, have chosen evil. Not all of these creatures have chosen evil. The Domavoi (Russian for “house-spirit”) is a class of creatures that have chosen good, and express that good by protecting the humans living in a house from evil. They are usually described as having cat-like bodies with faces that resemble human faces.
Even into the '80’s, Russian newspapers would carry stories of how a Domavoi would protect someone. In my wife’s case, she told me of two times where she or her family met their Domavoi. One time was when her Domavoi woke her from a nap to tell her that her brother had died in a truck accident. Another time was when she was taking care of her dying husband, and fell asleep one afternoon leaving her sons (2 and 4) alone in the apartment. When she woke up, she was terrified that something might have happened to them. They were OK, though, and the oldest told her about the “funny-looking cat” that played with them and talked to them while she was asleep.
Yeah, that sounds pretty demonic to me.
Hi Muzhik,
My goal is not to attack you when I ask this. I have no desire or reason to be combative–I’m just curious.
How do you reconcile the domavoi with your Catholic faith?
I’m still learning about Catholicism so I may be very wrong on this, but to me, it doesn’t seem like the Catholic Church would not approve of this idea of “leftovers from Creation” and benevolent “House Spirits.” :-\ Like I said, I could be wrong; but, something inside tells me that this concept would not really be accepted by the Catholic Church. From what I know, the only things of this nature the Church acknowledges are angels and demons. You’re a Catholic and you are already aware of these things, so I don’t need to discuss these things any further. I’m just curious as to how you reconcile your beliefs as a Catholic with this idea of the domavoi, a “house spirit.” This is just my opinion, but it seems like a cultural superstition. .
Believe it or not, I am not a stranger to that. When I came back to Christ a few years ago, I still believed that burning white sage and sweet grass helped banish evil and bring “good spirits” around. When my Chaplain confronted me about this idea, I got very defensive about it because I felt like he was trying to take my culture, my heritage, away from me. (I’m of mixed “White” and Native American ancestry).
I went a long time thinking this was okay; honestly, I’m not sure if is acceptable for a Christian to perform or not. But, from what I know now, something tells me that it’s not okay. While I realize that it is okay for me to identify with more than one culture, I have also come to the conclusion that I need to steer clear of superstitions and non-Christian *religious * practices because my salvation and my God are more important than my earthly concept of culture. .
:twocents: That’s just how I feel, and I am not trying to force my own beliefs on anyone else. I was just curious, Muzhik. I look forward to your reply.
P.S.
I love your “Jesus fish!”
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