ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RUSSIAN SUPERSTITIONS

BATÁMAN, BATAMÁN, BATAMÁNKA, BATAMÁNKO, BATAMÁNKO, BATAMÁNUSHKO, BATÁMUSHKA, BATÁMUSHKO, BATÁNUSHKA, BATÁNUSHKO — a household spirit, “master of the horses”; a yard spirit who “keeps watch” over the livestock.

“The batánushki are family spirits and have wives” (Northern Dvina); “To appease the batámushka, I knitted him mittens from white wool, both for the left hand” (Vologda); “If the batánushko doesn’t take to someone’s livestock, they won’t be able to fatten it” (Vologda).

In its characteristics, the batánushka is similar to the household spirit, and even more so to the yard spirit, who lives in the peasant farmyard and is associated with livestock, especially horses.

Marina Vlasova