Don’t Go Near the Water (Bull)
The Water Bull has been described as a Bulgarian Loch Ness monster. Except, I don’t think any folktales exist the Nessie was tamed by love, not that Nessie is considered a vicious monster to start with. The similarities between the two creatures exist in the fact that both make their homes in deep bodies of water. While Nessie is in Scotland, the Water Bull’s home is in Rabisha Lake in the Belogradchik municipality, in northwestern Bulgaria. This lake, at 1.25 square miles with a depth of 49 feet, is Bulgaria’s largest interior lake, having plenty of room for the monster to hide away.
He's a frightening creature, a massive-sized being with the head of a bull, body of a man, and tail of a fish. He sports erect horns that point straight ahead. Those people who have seen him, describe him as “naked without hair” or “without skin.” Accounts vary on his coloring: it may be black, gray, or red. Other people are steadfast that the creature is invisible. You can tell he is around because he roars like a beast and stirs the water in which he lives.
As you can imagine, he is an otherworldly creature. The fact that he lives in the depths of the water makes him a chthonic being. He is the sabiya, the lord and owner, of that water body. As the sabiya, he has been perceived as dead, a zoomorphic ancestor, even a deceased shaman. In this role, he has the power to both protect and punish. The water itself is at his command. With it, he brings life and fertility. According to one legend, every spring, the sabiya turned the water in a certain spring a pale red from a blood sacrifice he made. But he is also destructive and can cause the water to flood the land and bring death, or make the water disappear entirely.
Besides causing flooding, the Water Bull inflicts other damage to villagers. Or, more specifically, their cattle. First, he attacked oxen, especially any that ventured close to the water, and he caused pestilence among the cattle. Second, he mated with the females. The calves they birthed were sickly animals and “half naked.” They could live neither on land nor in the water and soon died.
Both of these types of actions, flooding and injury to cattle, were threats to the survival of humankind. And so, as people advanced with the knowledge of metals and forging iron and with the growth of agriculture, however, the Water Bull lost his prized position as sabiya. This chthonic being was no longer a master. All that was good about him was transferred to a celestial deity, the god of lightning and thunder. The Water Bull has become a creature that needs to be destroyed. The chthonic being must be exiled while the celestial one becomes exalted.
He can be defeated in the ways all demonic creatures can – by iron. For this reason, villagers put iron on the tips of their bull’s horns to it could fight the Water Bull when it ventured from the water to devour one of the oxen. Animal must battle animal.
When the water became bloodied, it was proof the Water Bull had been defeated, although perhaps not killed. This had an adverse effect, however. The water source would dry up and appear in another location, often even in another village. The defeated Water Bull took it with him to a new, and – he hoped – friendlier location. Some said the water had been tamed, and would no longer be ruled by the Water Bull. In another instance after the water source had dried up for ten years, villagers wanted to move away. Finally, the one who had slain the Water Bull offered a kurban, a sacrificial animal, to restore the flow of water.
What Does This Mean?
These types of occurrences have been described as people explaining the reality of nature through a folkloric means. Since water is essential for human existence, it is considered sacred. The creatures that inhabit it must be reverenced and worshiped. Sacrifices must be offered to ensure these beings are appeased. Otherwise, the water creatures will take offense and create havoc. In the case of the Water Bull, he will kill cattle, cause flooding and cattle pestilence. As a way to prevent the cattle from being harmed, people would prohibit livestock from grazing too closely to the water. In this way, water would have a better chance of not being defiled by animal waste.
A Different Kind of Dragon?
The Water Bull and dragons may seem to be completely different beasts, yet still, in folklore, they have similarities. Did you know that in some stories, they function in like manners? Slay the beast or drive it away to protect the living. The well-known tale of St. George slaying the dragon is one such story.
I found an interesting look about this in a post from Old European Culture (http://oldeuropeanculture.blogspot.com/2019/03/water-bull.html).
The fact that the "monster" to whom the young girls were sacrificed was identified as both dragon and bull is very interesting. Dragon represents the destructive power of the burning summer sun. And summer starts in Taurus (Bull).
Summer starts on the 6th of May, Jarilo day, Beltine (middle of Taurus). Jarilo represents the sun’s heat, symbolized by the snake and the dragon. Funnily Jarilo was Christianized into St George, the Dragon killer, who kills Dragon-Bull.
On occasion, villager accounts also compared the Water Bull to the male dragon, the zmey, who loved human girls and desired to kidnap them for his bride. People in one village tell a tale of a zmey who came out of the water he lived in. Like other zmeys, this one could appear as a young man. The way to tell the difference was the small wings below his armpits. One time this zmey came out and a girl’s father or brother was there to greet him with a rifle. The dragon was shot and tossed back into the water. The water turned red with his blood and disappeared.
One major difference here is that the Water Bull harms animals, while the dragon has malicious intents toward humankind. If he doesn’t get what he wants, he can cause droughts. Similarly, the lamia, a three-headed female dragon, is often said to control the waters and is known for drying up the water. She requires human sacrifices in order to keep the water flowing.
We talk more about the roles of dragons in our book A Study of Dragons of Eastern Europe.
The Legend
Now, how was the Water Bull tamed by love? A tale from the eighteenth century tells how a Water Bull terrorized villagers living around Rabisha Lake. Every year, the most beautiful girl from the area was offered as a sacrifice to the beast. She was paraded from the village to the water’s edge, where she was put on a boat, along with other gifts, as an offering to the monster. She was never seen again.
One year, however, the girl to be sacrificed held beauty far beyond any of those who had been offered to the beast before. When the boat she was on reached the middle of the lake, the Water Bull arose, ready to devour his prey. However, one look at her and he became enchanted. He had no desire to consume her. Rather, he was consumed by her beauty.
With love burning in his heart, he beseeched his sister, who was a sorceress, to find a way to make the girl immortal, so she could live beneath the water with him. His sister complied, and the Water Bull descended to the bottom of the lake with his beloved bride. No more did he demand sacrifices. He and his love are said to still live happily within the depths of Rabisha Lake.