Shoymanas are mythological beings very similar (maybe same?) to Rusallias. In Roumania they are called "Sfinte Soimane". They are also connected with Goddess Diana. It's possible that their name is connected with the Hungarian word "sholyon" and the Roumanian word "soim". In both languages it means "hawk". It's said that Shoymanas are connected with heaven, white clouds and rain.

Shoymanas can possess women. These women are called Shoymanuasa. The difference between trance induced by Rusallias and trance induced by Shoymanas is that is not connected with the day of Pentecost. Also, there is no ritual for awaking from the trance.

The symptoms that some women display (who fall into trance), are physical disturbance and a feeling of sickness. Cleanliness is most important for Shoymanas, because Shoymanas could not bear filth. A women who feels that she may fell into trance, makes the bed, performs a ritual bath, and dresses herself in clean white clothing. Before the trance the woman sings a nice and melancholic song. The most frequent one is a moon song dedicated to the Goddess Yana - local version of the Goddess Diana.

Trance begins with pain in legs, arms, chest, stomach, and with the breaking and lowering of the temperatura. During the trance, women travel through the space and time and talk with supernatural beings. Women who fall into trance are great sorceresses, but their knowledge and skills are learned during trance and not from other sorceresses. Besides rituals, they learn a lot healing and herbs.

Among their ritual equipment are various grains, dissolved lead, mirrors. Shoymanas present to Shoymanuasa, pebble stones decorated with strange ornaments. Shoymanuasa believe that these ornaments are prints of the Goddess and "sainte" rings. These pebble stones are very powerful amulets and tools which Shoymanuasas use to come into contact with non-human intelligences which exist in other worlds or dimensions. Also, Shoymanuasas use these pebbles stones for prophecy and for sone forms of exorcism.

For coming into contact with the realms of dead ones, Shoymanuasas use bouquets of flowers with a dedicated candle in the center. Herbs connected with Shoymanuasas are: Roman camomile (Anthemis nobilis), wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), geranium (Geranium macrorrhisum), and Dwarf Elder (Sambucus ebulas).

It is said that Shoymanuasas often, during trance, materialize strange things and herbs, unexplained by modern science. These things and herbs the Shoymanuasas use later, most frequently for healing. People testify that in one of our villages called Zagubica , there is a Shoymanuasa who can materialize butterflies from her hands.

Although Shoymanuasas are so powewful in the material world, they are powerless before the Shoymanas. Shoymanas can punish Shoymanuasas even for the smallest mistake, like: unperfprmed task, betraying the secrets of the rituals, and telling the fortune to the people who are unworthy. Punishments are often very cruel. People have said that they have seen Shoymanuasas hanged on trees. Every hair on their heads were threaded into the bark of the tree. Also, people said that they had seen Shoymanuasas floating on the surface of the water and screaming. Also, they are tormented in the following way: they were unable to move as heavy, invisible rocks were placed on their legs.

One of the mild punishments is the unannounced and hasty awakening from sleep, followed by the command that the Shoymanuasa must repeat the magical formula "Intronsura Mare" nine times. This formula has 250 verses. After this the Shoymanuasa falls into am unconcious sleep.

First time this text was published in The Crystal Moon Magazine.