Editing Leshy (section)

==Appearance==
According to [[Robert Michael Pyle|Robert Pyle]], a majority of cultures have traditional narratives that tell of giant humanoid beings, each with a localized name for their own version of this legend.<ref name="Goodavage">{{cite web |last=Goodavage |first=Maria |title=Hunt for Bigfoot Attracts True Believers |newspaper=USA Today |date=May 24, 1996 |url=http://web.ncf.ca/bz050/HomePage.usatbf.html |access-date=July 19, 2007 |archive-date=March 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314183111/http://web.ncf.ca/bz050/HomePage.usatbf.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Many names mean something like “wild man“ or “hairy man,” although others describe common actions that this entity is said to perform, such as eating clams or shaking trees.<ref name="Mil07">{{cite book |last=Meldrum |first=Jeff |title=Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science |publisher=Macmillan |year=2007 |page=50 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ggeQHFa5E7AC&q=salish+sasquatch&pg=PA50 |access-date=February 19, 2010 |isbn=978-0-7653-1217-4 |archive-date=February 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240216154000/https://books.google.com/books?id=ggeQHFa5E7AC&q=salish+sasquatch&pg=PA50#v=snippet&q=salish%20sasquatch&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>

The depiction of Leshy in Russian folklore reflects his supernatural essence and his strong bond with the forest. Being the embodiment of the forest, he can manifest in various forms associated with it. Leshy is a multifaceted entity, a fusion of different elements: animal, plant, human, whirlwind, and formless spirit.<ref name="Krinichnaya, Neonila Artyomovna 2004 P.247-323">Krinichnaya, Neonila Artyomovna. (2004) ''Русская мифология: Мир образов фольклора [Russian Mythology: The World of Folklore Images]''. Akademicheskii Proyekt. Moscow. ch. 3, "Leshy: Totemic origins and the polysemy of images". P.247-323 {{ISBN|5-8291-0388-5}} {{ISBN|5-98426-022-0}}</ref> In his stories, Leshy may not be explicitly described, as his form is often elusive, and the storyteller may even fear the consequences of vividly depicting such an "unclean force" (something from the Otherworld, beyond the limits of ordered reality.)

In ancient tales, Leshy is depicted as a phytoanthropomorphic being (part plant, part human), with a distinct leaning towards either human or plant-like characteristics. He is often portrayed as a plant, such as a revered tree (a pine, spruce, birch, oak, or aspen), a bush, a stump, a leaf, or even a mushroom. Leshy may also take on a more human form with woodland traits, such as long, tangled green hair resembling tree branches, a beard made of lichen, and clothing and skin the color and texture of bark. In some cases, the plant-like features are reduced to accessories, such as a club or wand, a green beard, or green eyes and clothing. Leshy is said to possess the ability to whip humans with twigs, create noise and humming sounds, and even cause trees to split. In certain tales, Leshy is seen as the embodiment of the entire forest, filling his whole wood with his presence.<ref name="Vlasova M.N 2008">Vlasova M.N. Leshij // Enciklopediya russkih sueverij. — Sankt-Peterburg: Azbuka-klassika, 2008. — 622 p.</ref>

In the realm of folklore, Leshy assumes myriad forms, some of which are zooanthropomorphic creatures. He may take on the forms of wild and domestic animals, such as: bears, wolves, owls, demonic hares, frogs, crows, magpies, dogs, black cats, horses, and black goats. Leshy is also portrayed as a half-man half-goat, with black fur covering his body, small curved horns, hooves, long hair and a beard. Alternatively, he can appear as a human with animalistic features, including thick hair, animal pelts as clothes, claws, hooves, a tail, and wings. Leshy is often accompanied by an animal companion, such as a black dog or a small black goat.<ref>Maksimov, S.V. (1912) Нечистая сила. Неведомая сила // Собрание сочинений [The Unclean Force, The Unknown Force, Collected Works]. pp. 79-80.</ref>

Today, the dominant perception of Leshy is more anthropomorphic. He can vary in size from a giant to an average-sized man. Leshy is typically depicted with long, disheveled or thinning hair in shades of gray, green, or red, and a matching beard. At times, he is imagined with a face as white as birch bark. His eyes can be green, unnaturally pale, white, lead-blue, brilliant, or dull, and may appear bulging or fixed, with the right eye often larger than the left, or both larger than human eyes. Leshy may lack eyebrows and eyelashes, although he may also have bushy eyebrows. He is sometimes described as missing a nostril, right ear, or one eye, and may have a limp. According to some beliefs, Leshy has an upward-pointing head. In certain depictions, he is said to have blue blood, resulting in blue skin. Leshy is often characterized by a desire to conceal his face and avoid making eye contact with others. When sitting, he is said to cross his left leg over the right.

Some Belorussians believe that Leshy has a flat, long face, a long, wedge-shaped beard, one eye, and one backwards leg. The image of Leshy as an old man with a gray beard is widespread. Frequently, Leshy takes on the guise of a family member, friend, or someone familiar to the storyteller, and this trickery may only be exposed upon returning home, when it becomes apparent that the encounter took place in a completely different location. Leshy is also known to assume the appearance of a deceased individual.<ref name="Krinichnaya, Neonila Artyomovna 2004 P.247-323" />

Some imagine Leshy to be a colossal giant, easily crossing rivers in one stride. Conversely, others see him as a small person, or merely average. In some beliefs, it is said that Leshy's height changes based on the surrounding vegetation, so he may be as tall as a tree or as short as a blade of grass. Other perspectives suggest that Leshy seems tall at a distance, but appears ordinary or small when seen up close.

In the northern regions of Russia, forest-spirit type Leshy were categorized into different species based on their size, including those that acted as guardians of the forest, those that resembled mushrooms, and those that were akin to mosses.

Leshy is believed to possess incredible strength and weight, being so heavy that even a horse would have trouble pulling the cart he sat on. This supernatural being defied the laws of nature with his immense power, leaving a lasting impact on anyone who encountered him.<ref name="Krinichnaya, Neonila Artyomovna 2004 P.247-323" />

It is widely believed that Leshy dresses like an ordinary person. He may wear leather or fur clothing, an armyak, a woolen homemade caftan, a siberka, clothing similar to a balaklava or a cassock with wide sleeves. His headgear is diverse: a wide-brimmed hat, a pointed cap, a patched-up scrap hat, etc. According to other beliefs, Leshy always has an uncovered head. Some tales state that Leshy is always belted, while others claim he never has a belt. Leshy typically wears enormous bast shoes. He is often caught weaving or digging in them, sitting on a stump under the moonlight. He also wears boots or goes barefoot. The left side of Leshy's clothing is fastened on the right (contrary to men's customary practice) with the right side sometimes “tucked in,” and his shoes are occasionally worn on the wrong feet. Leshy is often depicted as a forester or a soldier, usually with shiny buttons. In later folk tales, Leshy is dressed in modern clothing: a cap, boots or shoes, etc. Sometimes he wears attire atypical for the forest, such as a black suit. Overall, the color of Leshy's clothing varies: the colors of the forest are green and tawny, the colors of the otherworldly realm are white and black, and gray to represent a mixture. Also, he may wear red, associated with the color of blood, and blue. In his hands, Leshy might carry a whip, a lash, a cudgel, or a basket, indicating his connection to the forest and his patronage over animals. Leshy is often seen naked as well.<ref name="Krinichnaya, Neonila Artyomovna 2004 P.247-323" /><ref name="Madlevskaya E.L. 2005. P. 314-327" />

It was believed that a strong wind accompanies Leshy from ahead and behind, indicating the direction in which he is heading. This wind erases Leshy's tracks, explaining why nobody ever sees them (although in other stories, Leshy does leave traces). He may take on the form of a whirlwind, as well as a storm-cloud, rain, and fog. In this form, he raises dust on the road, tears off roofs, and topples trees. In some regions, the image of Leshy as a whirlwind was the most common, and in certain places, any kind of bad weather was identified with him.

Some believe that Leshy lacks a shadow, or can turn invisible. It is said that to catch a glimpse of Leshy's true form, one must peer through the right ear of a horse or through a bridle while sitting between three [[Harrow (tool)|harrows]]. Northern Russian folklore claims that Leshy wears an invisibility cap, but he can be revealed by using the plant known as Ivan's (or Adam's) head and stealing the cap from him. In certain tales, the only manifestation of Leshy is an inexplicable and sometimes collective fear that arises unexpectedly in the forest.

According to folklore, Leshy's sounds are both clamorous (often resonating throughout the entire woodland, deafening humans) and diverse (encompassing all sounds that can be heard or imagined in the forest): whistling, laughter, clapping, bellowing cries, singing, the voices of various animals, the howling of the wind, humming, crackling, and rustling. In this way, Leshy asserts his superiority over humans, expressing dissatisfaction, striving to scare, jest, and lead astray with false sounds. In numerous stories, Leshy speaks like a human. Often, his mimicry sounds like an echo. At times he is deliberately silent, and in some places it was even believed that he could not speak. One might hear the sounds of an individual leshy's wedding procession: the hoof beats of horses, tinkling bells, harmonicas, and singing.<ref>Afanasyev A.N. XVII. Drevo zhizni i lesnye duhi // Slavyanskaya mifologiya (Poeticheskie vozzreniya slavyan na prirodu i dr.). — M.: Eksmo, SPb.: Midgard, 2008. — P. 653—665. — 1520 p.</ref>