Faerie beings have always had a place in everyday European life, especially where people lived more closely in step with the natural world.
Fairies, goblins and other creatures of continental folklore coexisted with humans for many centuries, appearing in countless folk tales and legends across the continent.
From the elves of cold, inhospitable Iceland to the xanas — the guardians of rivers and lakes in Asturias — these beings continue to fascinate us today.
Fewer people today believe wholeheartedly that these creatures are real.
Today, in the 21st century, everything is hyperconnected and overly rationalized. Yet there are places where the song of these xanas still endures, and their stories continue to be told — perhaps out of nostalgia, or perhaps as a warning, serving the same purpose such stories always have.
So join us on a journey to Asturias, in northern Spain, to follow the trail of the mysterious xanas — the water fairies.
From Artemis to the Xanas
Like energy, legends are never truly created or destroyed — only transformed. If we trace the origin of the xanas, we encounter two very clear influences.
The first is the presence of Celtic and pagan peoples in northern Spain at the beginning of the first millennium, who brought much of their faerie lore to regions like Asturias and Galicia — places still steeped in that lore.
The second — and likely the most important — is Greek mythology, the source of most myths still alive in Europe.
Scholars have traced the xanas back to the goddess Artemis, known in Rome as Diana — a link reflected in the name xana itself. Always associated with wild animals, forests and nature, Diana/Artemis became a highly popular deity not only among the Greeks and Romans but throughout much of Europe.
Over the centuries, Diana came to be known as Jana, and the term also became associated with women with a gift for preparing natural remedies — women who lived apart from society, close to nature, worshipping ancient deities — essentially, what the Middle Ages would come to call witches.
This is how the small fairies that, according to legend, inhabited the lush forests near flowing water came to be known as the xanas.
The xanas ruled over and guarded these sources of life, from streams to waterfalls, and they became so important in Asturias that many places were eventually named after them.
The Desfiladero de las Xanas (Gorge of the Xanas), for example, is a beautiful route that runs for about 5.5 miles along the Trubia River.
Small, Beautiful and Mischievous Nymphs
But what exactly are these xanas? According to legend, there are two main types of creatures that bear this name.
The first resembles a small, very dark-skinned woman — closer in spirit to a traditional goblin.
The second — and likely the more popular — appears as a small, strikingly beautiful fairy with long golden hair.
They can be found combing their long hair with exquisite golden combs, seated on a rock beside a river or at the edge of a spring or well deep in the forest. Their shimmering garments have been known to stop men in their tracks, leaving them enchanted by a xana’s presence.
One tradition still alive across much of Asturias links the xanas to the night of San Juan (St. John’s Eve). As this falls on the shortest night of the year and marks the official arrival of summer, it is said to be the most likely time to come across a xana at a spring or river.
The nymph will then set the man who encountered her a challenge. In return, her enchantment will be broken, and he may claim the immense treasure she guards. The challenge might test his courage — for instance, allowing the xana to coil around his body after she transforms into a serpent — or his patience, such as carrying a four-cornered bread roll for an entire day without eating it.
These stories often end badly — the man’s impatience or his wife’s indiscretion causes them to lose the treasure. There are also malevolent xanas who swap children, kidnapping human infants and leaving their own xaninos in their place so they might be baptized and learn to speak. In this way, they closely resemble the changelings of Irish folklore.
The xana remains a powerful symbol in Asturias and León, appearing in numerous legends and tales. It has also been featured in video games, films and even songs, such as the fittingly titled “Xana” by Asturian power metal band Avalanch, which tells of one such fateful encounter.
