People/Charactersdomovoi

In the Slavic religious tradition, Domovoy (Russian: Домово́й, literally "Household Lord"; also spelled Domovoi, Domovoj, and known by other, local variations of the same term and by other names) is the household god of a given kin. The Domovoy are believed to protect the well-being of a kin in any of its aspects. The Domovoy is believed to be somehow connected with the house building itself, so that sacrifices are also practised when a family moved to a newly built house, in order to invite the god to inhabit it.

They are very protective towards the children and the animals of the house, constantly looking after them. They are believed to share the joys and the sorrows of the family, and to be able to forebode and warn about future events, such as the imminent death of a kindred person, plagues, wars or other calamities which threaten the welfare of the kin. The Domovoy become angry and reveal their demonic aspect if the family is corrupted by bad behaviour and language. In this case, the god may even quit and leave the kin unprotected against illness and calamity.

These gods are often represented as fighting with one another, to protect and make grow the welfare of their kin. In such warfare, the Domovoy of the eventual winner family is believed to take possession of the household of the vanquished rivals.

They are deified progenitors, that is to say the fountainhead ancestors of the kin. Sometimes he has a female counterpart, Domania, the goddess of the household, though he is most often a single god. He may also be accompanied by or married to a kikimora, (Russian: кики́мора, IPA: [kʲɪˈkʲimərə]) is a legendary creature, a female house spirit in Slavic mythology. Her role in the house is usually juxtaposed with that of the domovoy, whereas one of them is considered a "bad" spirit, and the other, a "good" one.

The Domovoy expresses himself as a number of other spirits of the household in its different functions.