Name: Benandanti
Location/Origin: Friuli region, northeastern Italy
Powers: Dream-walking, spirit combat, crop protection, detection of witches
Appearance: Human-like in daily life; during nocturnal spirit battles, often envisioned wielding fennel stalks while riding hares or other animals
Specific Danger: Only to malevolent witches and spirits—Benandanti were defenders of fertility and the harvest, but were later persecuted as heretics by the Inquisition
Evolution: Originally folk heroes and protectors of the land in pre-Christian beliefs; over time, their role was misunderstood and vilified, morphing from spiritual guardians into alleged devil-worshippers in the eyes of the Church
In the Friuli region of northern Italy, some children were born with a caul—a thin membrane covering their faces. This rare birth sign marked them as Benandanti, or "those who walk for good." As they grew older, these individuals discovered that on certain nights—particularly during the Ember Days—they would fall into deep trances and their spirits would leave their bodies to do battle against evil witches (the Malandanti) in a hidden, dreamlike realm.Armed with fennel stalks, the Benandanti fought to protect their village’s crops and fertility from the witches, who wielded sorghum canes and sought to ruin the harvest. These ghostly battles determined whether the coming season would bring abundance or famine. While their bodies lay asleep at home, their spirits rode on hares, cats, and other animals across the sky and through the fields. At first, local communities celebrated them as guardians of the land. But in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Inquisition took notice. Their dream journeys, animal-riding, and spiritual battles resembled what the Church saw as witchcraft. Despite insisting they fought for good and against the Devil, the Benandanti were gradually recast as heretics, and their once-revered role became dangerous. The tradition disappeared under pressure from ecclesiastical persecution—but not before leaving behind a deep folk memory and plenty of documentation from inquisitorial records.
Symbolism of Benandanti:
The Benandanti are a powerful symbol of spiritual resistance, folk sovereignty, and the blurry lines between good and evil as defined by dominant systems. Their story reflects how pre-Christian, agrarian beliefs clashed with institutionalized religion, particularly the Catholic Church’s rigid definitions of heresy and witchcraft. They embody a form of grassroots spirituality—defenders of community welfare, protectors of fertility and abundance, and keepers of older,Earth-connected wisdom. Their transformation from "good walkers" to"suspect witches" also symbolizes how power structures often reinterpret or suppress indigenous and folk practices that fall outside their control. In this sense, the Benandanti weren’t just fighting witches—they were fighting for autonomy, land, and cultural memory.