ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RUSSIAN SUPERSTITIONS

BADAY, BADYA, BADYAY, BADYAYKA

Baday, Badya, Badyay, and Badyayka refer to a bogeyman used to frighten children.

"Don't cry, Badya will take you away!" (Vologda)

The appearance of Baday is vague and mysterious. It is a dreadful being, often mute, armless, and sometimes lame. It abducts children.

According to O. A. Cherepanova's observations, Badya in some contexts is "a lame beggar, in others with a withered arm, in yet others, a speaker with a nasal voice. He speaks poorly, always mumbling 'badya da badya'." (Vologda)
<Cherepanova, 1996>

Marina Vlasova