Krivapete

The Krivapeta is a mythological figure of the popular traditions of the Natisone Valleys.

The legend

The Krivapeta is a mythical character who appears in the legends told by the inhabitants of the Venetian Slovenia. It is not a witch, but is represented as a woman who lives isolated from the people, living in caves or crevices, close to streams, and has the distinction of having the feet twisted (to front with the heel and toes behind), defect from which originates the name of Krivapeta (from Slovenian Kriv = bent, twisted and peta = heel).

The Krivapete are described as women with green hair that cover their shoulders and dressed in white. Women are different and have a great and intolerable autonomy, special skills and culture, provided the privilege of foresight, transgressive and wild, aware of the virtues of herbs, and the evolution of time. The Krivapete can be bad with men or good and ready to give them advice on how to make things still unknown to the peasants and to suggest the most suitable time for sowing, harvesting and other campaign activities. In exchange, however, they may require to carry off small children as some are cruel and cannibals.

The Krivapete are so legendary creatures in the world of fantasy and imagination of the people of the Natisone Valleys, which, with them, went to enrich the stories that grandparents told their grandchildren in front of the hearth.

It should be noted that the Krivapete, like other spirits and monsters of the Slovenian mythology such as Skratiaci, the Benadanti, the Lintver, are always associated with caves, ravines and streams that in locations potentially risky for the lives of children. The stories of the grandparents, with their fearful atmosphere, then served, at a time when young people were playing mostly in the meadows and woods, to ensure that the little ones were held away from dangerous places.

foto credit: Elido Turco