Dodola is the Slavic Lady of Rain, Woman, and Fire-Maiden. She is married to the Thunder God Perun and is shown in more types of folk rites than any other Slavic goddess. As a Spirit Goddess who brings rain and storms, Dodola is revered in Slavic countries. She is also known as Dudula, Dzidzila, and many other names. The word “Dodola” sounds like the Lithuanian and Luzic-Serbian names for the same thing, Dundulis and Dunder. Most of the time, the wet season starts in the spring. Because of this, this god is also known as “Female Perun,” “Molonya,” and “Vyasna-Vyasnyanka.” Yura is Dodola’s other name in Belarus. This name honors Her as the mother of Yurai, who is the Christianized form of the Slavic god Yarilo. It is said by A. Afanasiev that the Bulgarian name Peperuda also means “butterfly,” while the word veshtitsa means “moth.”
Many Slavs think that it rains on Earth whenever the goddess Dodola squeezes her cows in heaven. Dodola is thought to spread springtime greens by flying over fields and woods every year.
People called on Dodola by singing and dancing in a certain way, especially when there wasn’t enough water. People would pray to the goddess and do traditional dances and songs in her honor to get her to come to their town and bring rain.
Teenage girls would cover themselves in flowers, leaves, and herbs, put flowers in their hair, and cover their bodies with nothing else. They did this to make it rain. As they walked through the town, the oldest girls showed them the way. Most of the time, they would stop in front of each house so that everyone could dance and sing traditional Dodole songs. The leader of the group would spin around while the other women poured water on her head and spread it around the yard. To thank the girls for their work, they were given things like flour, food, and sometimes cash. In some rural parts of Serbia, this old pagan ritual is still done.
Dodola decides what will happen to all people on earth. As she moves Perun’s hand, she tells him exactly when and where the lightning bolt will hit. Some stories say that Dodola was the Slavic goddess of rain and the wife of the great god Perun. Some Slavs believe that rain or snow falls on Earth when the clouds make their choice about the milk of their celestial cows. According to a story, Dodola flies over farms and woods every spring to bring new life and flowers to trees.
People in Belarus say that when Perun met his future wife, Vyasna-Vyasnyanka, the first thing he said to her was, “Good morning, you, our first love!” Not giving up hope. I’ve been eager to find you. Vyasnyanka smiled at him, bowed, and then took off in the direction of the Sun. A very angry Grom Perunovich rumbles, bursts like lightning, and shoots arrows. Then Vyasna-Vyasnyanka was scared. She laughed at the red morning, red dawn, pretty girl while listening to the thunder. That’s how Grom Perunovich and Vyasna-Vyasnyanka got married. After that, they got along great. But if Vyasna-Vyasnyanka smiles at the bright Sun, Grom Perunovich shakes like thunder and lights up like lightning. Because they love each other so much, gardens and trees grow, forests expand, and flower-filled fields turn green. “Belarussian Ornament: Weaving, Embroidery” by M.S. Katsar.
In folk rites, Dodola is often shown as the wife of the Thunder God. This may be true if you look at the songs and practices that are dedicated to her. Six girls, ages 12 to 16, known as modality, have been seen performing this ritual in Serbia’s Aleksinachsky Pomoravie. Four of them sing, and the other two stand for Dodol (Dodola’s husband) and Dodolitsa. By taking part in an old ritual, these young women are sprayed with water and bread in the hopes of making it rain. Songs sung to Dodola often have themes that ask for rain or moisture and for gates to be opened or closed. In famous Bulgarian music, you can hear the phrase “Open up the gates, domakina, oy doodle!” In a Serbian song, Dodola prays to God, “Give me, God, thick dew.”
As part of the ritual, each participant will go to the home of another participant and sing and dance while water is poured or sprinkled on them. The residents will also give them gifts. It’s not often that a boy plays the lead part of the orphan girl in a green-adorned procession. Dodola dances in front of each house the whole time the parade is singing. The main character of a spell that makes it rain is Mokrida, a Russian woman born during the rainy Mokriny time in the middle to late July. During the ritual, Dodola is supposed to move around a lot and spin and turn.
It’s interesting that young women on Rusalii did the same dance when it rained and was humid, which was needed for kernels to form. “She’s as wet as Dodola” refers to someone who has just been soaked, since Dodola is sprinkled with water after the traditional song and dance. After that, people in the area would give the performers presents that didn’t have any potatoes, eggs, or beans in them because those foods were thought to bring hail. During the event, people give gifts to each other and often eat together.
In the Russian republic of Mordovia, Dodola is worshiped as the goddess of lightning. It is said that Veles tempted Dodola, who was married to Perun. They had a child together, who is the God of the Spring Sun. Women named Dziewant, whose name sounds a lot like the Roman goddess Diana, are thought to have given birth to the fierce Hunter Goddess Dziewant. In the past, Dodola ceremonies were held during droughts in the spring or midsummer. Boys in the western parts of Southern Slavic countries are more likely to take part in rituals than girls in the eastern parts of the area. In northeastern Bulgaria, girls who are part of the Peperuda rite make Hermann dolls to bury. In western Bulgaria and Serbia, it is known that Dodola traditions involve pulling or carrying the cross.
The Palyanitsy were a group of brave female fighters who used to watch over Prince Svyatoslav. In Russian and Ukrainian fairy tales, Palyanitsy is in charge of keeping valuable artifacts like the Zhar-Ptitsa safe. In Ukraine, people worship Perun as a protector of male fighters and His Divine Wife Molonya as a defender of female warriors. There is a connection between them and Ognedeva, who was also known as Molony, because their name, “Palyanitsa,” comes from the Ukrainian word “palyty,” which means “to burn.”
On July 22, Dodola and Perun are traditionally honored together. This day is also important because it is St. Madeleine’s Day. Molony, the Rain Goddess, is often shown with lightning bolts, which sometimes have a small circle in the middle. Dodola’s big breasts are shown in folk crafts by a doubled (twin) diamond. Milk from her breasts falls as rain on the land.
