Page:The Mythology of All Races Vol 3 (Celtic and Slavic).djvu/370

244 the pan is broken in pieces and buried below the front corner of the room.

The Little Russians call their family genius Didko (Did, Diduch) or Domovyk, their beliefs about him being similar to those which the Russians hold concerning the Domovoy.

The ancient Czechs termed their penates Dědeks, and in Silesia traditions are still current about the Djadeks, or guardian genii of the family. Small statues were made of clay or stone, and in earlier times were placed in niches near the doors, although later they were set on the mantelpieces above the oven. They generally represented an old man, bowed with age, whose attire distinctly showed the costume of a certain tribe of the respective people.

The old Bohemian word Šetek or Šotek may be compared, in point of meaning, with the Děd or Děduška. The Šetek is believed to resemble a small boy with claws, instead of nails, on his hands and feet, and he generally stays in the sheep-shed, though he also hides in the flour, or in the peas, or on a wild pear, while in winter he sits on the oven and warms himself. The Šetek protects the flocks from disease and brings good harvests and money; and he is also said to be able to go without eating and drinking for nine years, returning, after the lapse of this time, to the place of his birth, where he annoys the inmates. He may be bred out of an egg carried for nine days in the arm-pit.

In the belief of the Styrian Slovenians the Šetek of olden times was a good spirit, about the size of a thumb, who generally haunted places where salt was kept, or lived in stables near young cattle. Unless a portion of all that was boiled or roasted was put aside for him, he caused the fire in the oven to go out, or made the pans crack, or caused the cows to yield blood instead of milk, etc. Being of very small size, he could hide in any place and play tricks on those who teased him.

Another designation of the family genius was Skřítek ("Hob-goblin"), a term which was derived from the German Schrat