Ala (demon) - Origin

Origin

While some mythological beings are common to all Slavic ethnic groups, ale seem to be exclusive to Bulgarian, Macedonian and Serb folklore. Even so, other Slavic groups also had demons of bad weather. Among East Slavs, this witch was called Baba Yaga, and was imagined as a woman of gigantic stature with a big nose, iron teeth, and protruding chin; it was believed that she ate children, and her presence brought thunderstorms and cold weather. The term baba is present in customs, beliefs, and toponyms of all Slavic groups, usually as a personification of wind, darkness, and rain. This leads some scholars to believe there was a proto-Slavic divinity or demon called Baba, associated with bad weather.

Traces of beliefs in that demon are preserved among South Slavs in expressions for the bad weather common in early spring (baba Marta, babini jarci, babine huke, etc.). Brought to the Balkans from the ancient homeland, these beliefs combined with those of the native populations, eventually developing into the personage of the ala. The pre-Slavic Balkan source of the ala is related to the vlva, female demons of bad weather of the Vlachs of Serbia, who, like ale, led hail clouds over crops to ruin them, and uprooted trees. A Greek female demon Lamia might also have contributed in the development of the ala. Just like ale, she eats children, and is called gluttonous. In southern Serbia and Macedonia, lamnja, a word derived from lamia, is also a synonym for ala. The Bulgarian lamya has remained a creature distinct from the ala, but shares many similarities with her. The numerous variations in form of ale, ranging from the animal and half-animal to the humanlike concepts, tell us that beliefs in these demons were not uniform.