romanian mythology: iele

Not a great deal, but enough to find them very interesting!

At first glance iele really remind me of the Dutch witte wieven (which are somewhere between fae and spirit). They are both beautiful and ethereal, known for dancing in the moonlight and dangerous to witness. But the iele seem to have a lot of attributes that are very distinct.

I've seen mentions of them dancing naked, wrapped in their long disheveled hair, wearing bells around their ankles and carrying burning candles. Sometimes they are described only as dangerous if you offend or approach them, but other descriptions say they specifically seduce young men, take grieving young women, or steal children. Some say their song and dance drives people mad or takes their sight or hearing from them, others say the iele do this as a punishment for disturbing them. They do not seem to bestow favours like the wieven or fae sometimes do, but they are mentioned to be appeased with gifts.

So far that's all still fairly within my wheelhouse. But if you look on Wikipedia there are claims about them fulfilling a more religious function. I really do not know enough about Romanian culture to know which claims are plausible and which aren't and I obviously can only read translated sources. For instance, there is mention that iele means "they" and that these beings are never called by their true name. That would fit with the English and Celtic practice of calling fae "the good folk" etc., but while I have seen people write that it is a similar "don't draw their attention" there is also the more mystical "their true name is unknowable by mortals". As with most folklore, it can be very hard to tell apart which ideas came first and which came later. I certainly can't.

TIARRA - IELELE

Se mișcă pădurea cu foșnetul aiurea,

Aprinde luna, ascultă furtuna

Și vântul în zbor prin părul lor,

Noaptea tăcută pașii le frământă.

.

Sunt ielele, ielele, nebunele,

Ielele, ielele, nebunele.

.

Și trupurile lor pe pământul gol

În iureșul jocului, la lumina focului,

Se mișcă pădurea cu foșnetul aiurea,

Aprinde luna, ascultă furtuna.

.

Ca prin vis te cheamă la ele,

Nu te uita în ochii lor,

În mintea ta te îndeamnă la uitare,

Nu te lăsa cuprins de visare.

.

Pașii lor în noapte se-aud printre șoapte,

Umbrele lor se coboară ușor,

Se pierd în zare, rămân doar lacrimi amare,

În urma lor te topești de dor.

....

The Ladies of the Forest

(Or; Wicked Fairies)

.

The forest moves

With a strange rustling

The Moon shines

The Storm listens

.

And the wind in the air

Through their hair

The silent night

Steps scare them

.

They are fairies,

Madness (that brings madness)

fairies,

crazy fairies

 .

And their ways

On the empty place

In the middle of game

At the light of the fire

 .

The forest moves

With a strange rustling

Moon shines

Storm listens

 .

They are fairies

crazy fairies

fairies

crazy fairies....

......

FOLKLORE

The iele are feminine mythical creatures in Romanian mythology. There are several differing descriptions of their characteristics.

Often they are described as faeries (zâne in Romanian), with great seductive power over men, with magic skills and attributes similar to nymphs, naiads and dryads found in Greek mythology.

The iele are said to live in the sky, in forests, in caves, on isolated mountain cliffs and in marshes, and reported to have been seen bathing in the springs or at crossroads. From this point of view, the Iele are similar to the Ancient Greek Hecate, a three headed goddess of Thracian origin, who guards crossroads.

They mostly appear at night by moonlight, as dancing Horas, in secluded areas such as glades, the tops of certain trees (maples, walnut trees), ponds, river sides, crossroads or abandoned fireplaces, dancing naked, with their breasts almost covered by their disheveled hair, with bells on their ankles and carrying candles.

In almost all of these instances, the Iele appear to be incorporeal. Rarely, they are dressed in chain mail coats.

The effect of their specific dance, the Hora is similar to the dances of the Bacchantes.

The iele are said not to be solitary creatures, but gather in groups in the air, where they can fly with or without wings; they can travel with incredible speeds, either on their own, or with chariots of fire.

The iele appear sometimes with bodies, at other times only as immaterial spirits.

They are young and beautiful, voluptuous immortals, their frenzy causing delirium in onlookers, and with bad tempers, but not being necessarily evil.

The iele appear sometimes with bodies, at other times only as immaterial spirits. They are young and beautiful, voluptuous immortals, their frenzy causing delirium in onlookers, and with bad tempers, but not being necessarily evil. They come in groups of three or seven. This version is mostly found in Oltenia, were three Iele are considered the daughters of Alexander the Great, called Catrina, Zalina and Marina.

The iele are also believed to be agents of revenge for God or of the Devil, having the right to avenge in the name of their employers. When they are called upon to act, they hound their victims into the center of their dance, until they die in a furor of madness or torment. In this hypostasis, the Iele are similar to the Ancient Greek Erinyes and the Roman Furies.

The iele are Romanian mythological creatures, similar to nymphs or fae that dance in the forest and meadows. They can only be seen during the night and are only in groups of 3, 5, 7 or 9. It is said that where iele has danced, the grass will be burned in a circle. During midsummer their presence is stronger, because the veil between worlds is weaker during that time. Iele can be dangerous. according to myth, they will punish anyone who sees them dance by mutilation or turning them mute and if you hear someone call your name at night, you shouldn’t look or answer because it might be the iele wanting to take you away. 

Source (plus my romanian friend)

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