Lilyi
ORIGIN:
Transylvania; Romani (Gypsy)
Lilyi is the second child and first daughter of Ana, Fairy Queen of the Keshalyi and the Demon King of the Loçolico. When Ana and the king’s son Melalo grows up, he desires a wife; however he has no female counterpart. There is no other half Keshalyi-half Loçolico. His father is sympathetic but his mother seeks only her freedom and continues to reject her husband’s affections.
Melalo the magician devised a solution: he advised his father to cook a fish in donkey’s milk, thus producing a very traditional love potion. While Ana slept, the king bathed her vulva with the liquid (the traditional method of administering the potion) and then had sex with her. Nine days later, Ana gave birth to Lilyi, Spirit of Catarrhal Illness.
Lilyi has a human head but a fish body. She’s not a mermaid and is grotesque rather than seductive or beautiful. Nine sticky filaments hang from each side of her head. If these filaments penetrate human flesh, catarrhal illness immediately ensues. (Catarrh involves swelling of the mucus membranes.)
The name Lilyi resembles Lilith. Like Lilith, Lilyi is the first female of her kind. Although she is described as having a person’s head on a fish body; in drawings, Lilyi looks downright owl-like.
SEE ALSO:
Ana; Keshalyi; Lilith; Loçolico; Melalo; Mermaid
SOURCE:
Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses– Written by Judika Illes Copyright © 2009 by Judika Illes.