Dodola

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Dodola (also spelled Doda, Dudulya and Didilya, pronounced: doh-doh-la, doo-doo-lya, or dee-dee-lya) or Perperuna is a being in old Slavic mythology.

According to some interpretations, she is the Slavic goddess of rain,^[1] and the wife of the supreme god Perun (who is the god of thunder). Slavs believed that when Dodola milks her heavenly cows, the clouds, it rains on earth. Each spring Dodola is said to fly over woods and fields, and spread vernal greenery, decorating the trees with blossoms.

[edit] Slavic ritual

Bulgarian and Serbian Slavs used to organise the Dodo-le (or Perperuna) festival in times of drought, where they worshipped the goddess and prayed to her for rain. In the ritual, young women sing specific songs to Dodola, accompanying it by a dance, while covered in leafs and small branches. In Serbia today, dodole is often performed by folklore groups.

[edit] References