Про Чугайстера, карпатського лісового волохатого велета, жодних наукових праць немає, якщо не рахувати декількох записів фольклористів, що були опубліковані у роботах відомого українського етнографа В.О. Шухевича. Уже звідси істота перекочувала у «Тіні забутих предків» Коцюбинського і стала досить популярною серед населення.
Indeed, throughout the 20th century, writers have so thoroughly "mocked" this character of Slavic mythology that today it is almost impossible to imagine who Chuhayster really is, what he looks like, and where he came from. Some consider him to be the Leshy, others identify him with the forest god from Greek mythology who loves to sing and dance, while some call him the very Aridnik, a demon, the supreme spirit of the Afterlife, a name that the Hutsuls pronounce only in whispers…
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Suddenly, the wind twisted in the forest, and the girls saw that Chuhayster was dancing. He began to grab the girls. And Paranya Pysia was caught by that twister from the group, spun around, and thrown from the shore into the river: if she hadn’t known how to swim, she would have drowned. She came home wet and said:
— Mommy, mommy, I will never go to the forest again. Some twister caught me there, and I almost drowned in the Bystrets.
And mom said:
— May he be struck by lightning!
So, it seems, Chuhayster was having fun.
Folk Tale
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So who is Chuhayster? What is he like? What do we know about him? According to the legends of the Hutsuls, Chuhayster (also known as the Leshy, Dido (Boykivshchyna), Nochnyk (Transcarpathia), and Hay (Rakhivshchyna)) is a giant covered in fur, up to 7 meters tall, who is not afraid of either cold or heat, has blue eyes, a long beard, is extraordinarily fast, and loves to dance and sing.
Chuhayster is considered the guardian of humans when they are far from home – in the meadows or in the forest. He is the protector of woodcutters and shepherds from forest spirits (opiryts, bisyts, bludnyts, and nyavkas or mavkas) that distract young men, lure them into the forest thickets, and lose them there – when Chuhayster spots one, he immediately grabs, tears them in half, and eats them.
The Hutsuls, when in the meadow or forest, would always leave a bit of their banosh or kulish for Chuhayster on the very threshold, believing that due to his height, he would be able to reach the offering. When shepherds or woodcutters returned from work and found no food on the threshold, they were very happy, as they could sleep peacefully, because the Leshy had come, which meant that there were no nyavkas in that place anymore.
Moreover, the mountain people believe that if Chuhayster meets someone in the forest or in the meadow, he does no harm but only sings and asks the passerby to dance with him. Since he is a wild dancer, it may happen that a sick man cannot withstand the wild rhythm of the "arkana" or "Hutsul-verkhovynka," and thus he may die. Then the saddened Chuhayster continues on his way. But if the dancer is good, he will receive a reward from Dido.
В Карпатах існує ще чимало оповідей про цю фантастичну істоту української міфології, одні з них схожі на правду, інші, не дуже. Проте, в які з них вірити, а в які ні – це особиста справа кожного. Але як би там не було, ні довести, ні спростувати факт існування Чугайстера ще ніхто не зміг, тому кожен, хто відвідає Карпати, має можливість зустрітися з Лісовим Чоловіком…
