LAUMA

(Latvian), Lithuanian Laume, or Deive in Baltic folklore, a fairy who appears as a beautiful naked maiden with long fair hair. Laumas dwell in the forest near water or stones. They yearn for children, but being unable to give birth, they often kidnap babies to raise as their own. Sometimes they marry young men and become excellent wives, perfectly skilled in all domestic work. They are noted as swift spinners and weavers, and when they spin on Thursday evenings and launder after sunset on the other days, no mortal woman is allowed to do the same. Laumas are very temperamental. They are benevolent, motherly beings, helpful to orphans and poor girls, but they are extremely vindictive when angered, particularly by disrespectful men. Among the Lithuanians, a laume was sometimes called laume-ragana, indicating that she may have been a prophetess (ragana) at one time. By the 18th century laume was totally confused with ragana and came to denote a witch or hag capable of changing into a snake or toad. Not only could a laume fly, she could also transform people into birds, dogs, and horses and dry up a cow's milk. Similarly, in modern Latvian lauma is a hag and lauminet means to practice witchcraft.