The Iele are the most famous female spirits in Romanian folklore: beautiful maidens dressed in white who dance in wide circles in fields, at crossroads and beside waters on feast nights. Their song is enchantment, their gaze is danger, and their dancing circle is visible in the morning as a ring of flattened grass.
Who «falls» into the hands of the Iele
Tradition says that the Iele «take» those who see them dancing and do not keep away: the person returns home «taken by the Iele» — with a wandering mind, laughing or crying without stopping, sometimes with an «unspeakable illness». At other times the punishment is lesser: paralysis, pain that comes and goes, or «children's crying» during sleep.
The places of the Iele
- the boundaries between villages (hence «a hotărî» — to stand at a boundary, between worlds);
- crossroads — the three roads;
- ravines and hollows, dry caves;
- abandoned wells and «springs that sing»;
- «deserted» plains on full-moon nights.
Anyone who passes through such places at night whispers a «request for forgiveness» or says a short prayer — no one whistles or sings there.
Traditional defences
- garlic — at the belt, on the cap or at the window;
- salt — a pinch in the pocket;
- the red-knotted mărțișor charm until Sânziene;
- the sign of the cross and Psalm 90 — a «weapon» also recognised by the Church;
- not recounting what you saw at night — until morning.
Iele, Sânziene, Zâne — the family of female spirits
The Sânziene (gentle, once a year), the Iele (capricious, throughout the summer), the Zâne (giving maidens of the forest), the Vâlve (mistresses of treasures and animals) — a whole «family» of female powers who ask for just one thing: respect. Village life knew both their fear and their beauty — and learned to pass through the night with basil at the chest and prayer on the lips.
Frequently asked questions
«Taken by the Iele» — what does this mean medically? Folklore describes the symptoms of hysterical psychosis or epilepsy — illnesses once misunderstood and explained through magic. The old remedy was also ritual (an incantation «against the Iele», spoken by an elderly woman); the modern remedy is medical — and prayer remains support, not a substitute.
Why is «Iele» not said in the evening? Respect: speaking the name at night «calls them». Tradition uses indirect names: «the beautiful ones», «the white ones», «those beyond the boundary».
