Hõivatutest

Hõivatutest is an Estonian folklore term referring to people who are believed to be bewitched or enchanted. The form is the plural genitive of hõivatut, the participle derived from the verb hõivatama, meaning to enchant or cast a spell. In traditional narratives and ethnographic sources, hõivatutest is used to discuss those thought to be under magical influence rather than subject to natural illness or misfortune.

Origins and meaning: The belief about enchantment arises in explanations for sudden changes in health, behavior, or fate. Hõivatut may be described as being under the power of a magician, witch, or malevolent spirit who has cast a spell or placed a charm. The enchantment is sometimes pictured as affecting the body, the soul, or both, and may be linked to actions performed during sleep, dreams, or nighttime visits by spirits.

Symptoms and cures: Folkloric accounts vary, but common motifs include trance-like states, unusual speech, withdrawal, or inexplicable pain. Cures typically involve folk healing practices such as cleansing rituals, protective charms or amulets, recitation of spells, or exorcistic rites by a healer or community elder. Restoring health and social harmony often appears as the goal of these procedures.

In culture and scholarship: Hõivatutest appear in stories, songs, and proverbs as a narrative mechanism for explaining misfortune or testing moral choices. The concept intersects with broader Baltic and Finnic traditions concerning witchcraft, spirits, and ritual power, and has been a subject of ethnographic study regarding belief in enchantment in everyday life.

Contemporary context: Today, the term is primarily of folkloric and historical interest, sometimes appearing in literature and discussions of Estonian myth and tradition rather than in medical or scientific discourse.