Aloja (mythology)
Encyclopedia
In Catalan
mythology
an Aloja (əˈɫɔʒə, aˈlɔʒa; plural Aloges), also known as Dona d'aigua, Goja or Paitida, is a feminine
being that lives in places with fresh water
. This "water-woman" can turn into water blackbirds.
, but can live for thousands of years and retain their youth.
It is said that the lakes where the dones d'aigua bathe
can boil in anger if any stranger enters them. In Majorca, the most famous water-woman is Maria Enganxa. According to tradition, she lives inside all the wells
and cisterns and takes all the children that pass near them with her hook.
and life-giving virtue
s of water and are said to possess oneiric
beauty
.
They are said to appear as small and innocent women, with a high self-esteem
and very proud of their beauty. They are good women and try to bring wealth
and well-being to the areas they live in.
According to myth, water-women are nocturnal; have shimmering gold or red hair
, and emerald
or deep blue eyes; wear fine, rich clothes; and enjoy viewing their reflections in lake
s on full-moon nights. Some of them are said to have beautiful wings of various colors. Many are said to carry magic wand
s carved from hazel
, which is considered to be the only wood capable of casting spells.
between water-women and humans. In order to marry a water-woman, a human must agree to the water-woman's conditions. Often, one of the conditions is that the husband cannot reveal that his wife is a water-woman. If he does, the water-woman leaves him and disappears with his fortune
. However, it is also said that the water-woman will still comb her children's hair and dress them every morning.
Water-women are purported to avoid any relations with human
s, though this is not always possible. When contact with humans does occur, it often turns out ill for the humans.
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
an Aloja (əˈɫɔʒə, aˈlɔʒa; plural Aloges), also known as Dona d'aigua, Goja or Paitida, is a feminine
Femininity
Femininity is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with girls and women. Though socially constructed, femininity is made up of both socially defined and biologically created factors...
being that lives in places with fresh water
Fresh Water
Fresh Water is the debut album by Australian rock and blues singer Alison McCallum, released in 1972. Rare for an Australian artist at the time, it came in a gatefold sleeve...
. This "water-woman" can turn into water blackbirds.
Legend
According to legend, these women are not immortalImmortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
, but can live for thousands of years and retain their youth.
It is said that the lakes where the dones d'aigua bathe
Bathing
Bathing is the washing or cleansing of the body in a fluid, usually water or an aqueous solution. It may be practised for personal hygiene, religious ritual or therapeutic purposes or as a recreational activity....
can boil in anger if any stranger enters them. In Majorca, the most famous water-woman is Maria Enganxa. According to tradition, she lives inside all the wells
Water well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
and cisterns and takes all the children that pass near them with her hook.
Appearance
Water-women symbolize the fertilityFertility
Fertility is the natural capability of producing offsprings. As a measure, "fertility rate" is the number of children born per couple, person or population. Fertility differs from fecundity, which is defined as the potential for reproduction...
and life-giving virtue
Virtue
Virtue is moral excellence. A virtue is a positive trait or quality subjectively deemed to be morally excellent and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being....
s of water and are said to possess oneiric
Dream
Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, philosophical intrigue and religious...
beauty
Beauty
Beauty is a characteristic of a person, animal, place, object, or idea that provides a perceptual experience of pleasure, meaning, or satisfaction. Beauty is studied as part of aesthetics, sociology, social psychology, and culture...
.
They are said to appear as small and innocent women, with a high self-esteem
Self-esteem
Self-esteem is a term in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs and emotions such as triumph, despair, pride and shame: some would distinguish how 'the self-concept is what we think about the self; self-esteem, the...
and very proud of their beauty. They are good women and try to bring wealth
Wealth
Wealth is the abundance of valuable resources or material possessions. The word wealth is derived from the old English wela, which is from an Indo-European word stem...
and well-being to the areas they live in.
According to myth, water-women are nocturnal; have shimmering gold or red hair
Red hair
Red hair occurs on approximately 1–2% of the human population. It occurs more frequently in people of northern or western European ancestry, and less frequently in other populations...
, and emerald
Emerald
Emerald is a variety of the mineral beryl colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Beryl has a hardness of 7.5–8 on the 10 point Mohs scale of mineral hardness...
or deep blue eyes; wear fine, rich clothes; and enjoy viewing their reflections in lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
s on full-moon nights. Some of them are said to have beautiful wings of various colors. Many are said to carry magic wand
Wand
A wand is a thin, straight, hand-held stick of wood, stone, ivory, or metal. Generally, in modern language, wands are ceremonial and/or have associations with magic but there have been other uses, all stemming from the original meaning as a synonym of rod and virge, both of which had a similar...
s carved from hazel
Hazel
The hazels are a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae.They have simple, rounded leaves with double-serrate margins...
, which is considered to be the only wood capable of casting spells.
Human Interaction
There are many legends about romance and marriageMarriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
between water-women and humans. In order to marry a water-woman, a human must agree to the water-woman's conditions. Often, one of the conditions is that the husband cannot reveal that his wife is a water-woman. If he does, the water-woman leaves him and disappears with his fortune
Wealth
Wealth is the abundance of valuable resources or material possessions. The word wealth is derived from the old English wela, which is from an Indo-European word stem...
. However, it is also said that the water-woman will still comb her children's hair and dress them every morning.
Water-women are purported to avoid any relations with human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s, though this is not always possible. When contact with humans does occur, it often turns out ill for the humans.