Mavka, also known as navka and nyavka, are forest spirits in Ukrainian mythology. They are similar to rusalki, and are often depicted as beautiful, naked young women or girls wearing long white shirts with long flowing hair. According to folk beliefs, mavky are the souls of drowned girls and girls who died unbaptized.
Beliefs about mavka are common in the Carpathians, Podolia, and Galicia. The typical image of a mavka is a girl with green hair. However, there is a fundamental difference between a mavka and a nyavka. A nyavka has no back. Therefore, folk tales often add that a nyavka has no back, so that her insides are visible from behind. Mavki are usually found in forests. They are said to be the souls of children who died unbaptized, or, less often, of children who were stolen by the devil. This happens to those who died after seven months of age, while those who died earlier become poterchaty. Like rusalki, mavky can have male counterparts, known as nyavkuny.
It was a common belief that mavky dance on so-called igrovischa, places where grass does not grow. Sometimes they were credited with planting flowers in the mountains. It was believed that mavky could lure young men into the bushes to tickle them to death. They also came to people at night, especially women and children, to suck out their strength through their breasts.