White Deer

The white deer is a common symbol in European folklore, appearing in a wide variety of tales and legends.

The Celts believed that he was a prophet, a messenger from other worlds. White deer represented purity, as white was associated with perfection and beauty.

They said that his appearance meant great changes to come. He was described as radiant and endowed with a mind, similar to a human, inaccessible to other creatures.

There is a Hungarian legend about Hugon and Megor, where the white deer helped people find the rich land where they settled.

There is a legend in Finland about Vaadin – a white deer. This is the tragic story of a beautiful girl transformed into a ferocious deer.

For many hunters, meeting a deer became fatal. And when the bridegroom of the girl tried his luck, the deer mortally wounded him. But the blood flowing from the young man’s wound removed the curse from the white deer.

As implausible as this story may seem, the indigenous people of Lapland claim that killer deer do exist. Such deer, as a rule, keep themselves apart.

Their main difference is the horns – shaped like sharp sabers, directed forward. When hitting, there is practically no chance of survival. These are animals that are incredibly intelligent and very careful.

In Eastern Siberia, catching a white deer was considered a huge success. The skin of such animals brought prosperity and happiness to the family.

Conspiracies were made on such skins, the slain skin was highly valued, and it was almost impossible to buy it – it became the eternal property of the family.

The Buryats highly value such skins, revered for the happiness of possessing them, and if they are passed on, then only as an offering to the datsan.

In Altai, white deer – marals, on the contrary, were sacred and inviolable animals. Legends were formed about them.

One of the legends says: “A hunter had a son and also became a hunter. The son never returned home without loot. But one day the young man returned from the hunt empty.

The son told his father that he had been chasing a white deer around Yuch-Sumer all day. A very strange deer – it disappeared as soon as the hunter wanted to shoot.

The father listened to his son and strictly told him: “Don’t kill the white deer! There will be trouble! Our whole race will die out. ” But the son did not obey the old hunter and killed the white deer. Since then, their family began to thin out noticeably. “

In the Czech Republic, there is a belief that whoever sees a white deer will have all their wishes come true. Among the Chinese, the white male deer symbolizes Shou-Sin, the god of longevity.

For most of the peoples of Siberia, white deer drove away evil spirits, brought happiness. It was considered a great sin to kill them.

The white reindeer will not be put into harness, they will not be forced to work.

Hunters say that when they met a white deer, they could not shoot, as if someone withdrew their hand, or the deer disappeared, as if it were not there.