Pushkait
In Baltic mythology, the pushkait are little meerkats , comparable to the brownies . They usually live under elderberry bushes , but also in houses. Wherever they are, everything is always pure and they protect the hosts' house and cattle. However, if they are insulted, they cause harm. They were offered bread, beer and other foods. Their name belongs to the Lithuanian puškuoti "sprossen, germinate" or to Old Prussian peuse f., Lit. pušis »pine«.
An unreliable list of Prussian deities in the Sudauerbüchlein names the earth god who lives under an elder with the name Puschkayts.
literature
- Ludwig Bechstein : German book of legends. Leipzig 1853.
- Anton Tkány: Mythology of the old Germans and Slavs in connection with what is worth knowing from the area of legend and superstition. Znojmo 1827.