Fern Flower
Published on August 28, 2019

Dakhanavar

Regions of expansion

Armenia 1
Armenia

Description

A vampire from ancient Armenian mythology who lives in the mountains Ultish Alto-tem. Dahanavar (arm. Դախանավար) he never kills the inhabitants who live on his lands, and hunts only strangers.

It has superhuman power, attacks only at night and kills by drinking blood.

A vampire usually follows travelers until they stop to rest. When night falls, Dahanavar attacks people, while biting the victim in the leg.

Dahanavar is very territorial and will attack anyone who tries to map these lands or count the hills and valleys in the region. He rightly fears that a complete knowledge of the landscape will reveal all his secret hiding places. 

Even today, some travelers in Armenia, especially those traveling to the Mount Ararat region, take precautions against evil creatures such as Dahanavar. Often they put small heads of garlic in their pockets or rub it and smear this paste on shoes. 

If they stay overnight in the open air, then a large bonfire is built at night, into which garlic heads are thrown. The combination of the garlic smell and the blazing fire should drive any existing vampire species away.

Dakhanavar in popular culture