Tradition: Welsh Mythology
Alternative Names: Blessing of the Mothers
Category: Fairy
The Myth
The Bendith y Mamau, meaning “Blessing of the Mothers,” were the fairies of Glamorgan. They were known as supernatural beings who rode horses, visited human houses, and stole children, leaving ugly changelings in their place. People left bowls of milk outside their homes for them, hoping to keep their favor. The fairies were especially feared for taking beautiful human children and replacing them with stunted, wizened creatures that would never grow properly. Their presence belonged to the hidden fairy world that existed alongside ordinary human communities.
One story tells of a mother whose three-year-old child had been taken by the Bendith y Mamau. In his place she found a strange little wizened boy who was clearly not her own child. A cunning man told her how to discover the truth. She removed the top of a raw egg, stirred its contents, and the changeling immediately spoke with the uncanny wisdom of an ancient being. He remarked that he had lived for an impossibly long time, revealing that he was not truly a human child. The mother then followed the next part of the instructions, going to a crossroads at midnight during the full moon. There she saw the Bendith y Mamau passing by in a great fairy procession and realized that her real son was among them.
Finally, the mother was told to roast a black hen over a wood fire without plucking it. She followed the instruction and continued heating the bird until every feather had fallen away. When she looked at the changeling, the creature suddenly disappeared. The mother heard the voice of her own son outside and rushed to the door, finding that her real child had been returned to her. The strange ritual had broken the fairies’ hold over him and driven their substitute away.
Sources
“Бендит и мамай (Bendit i Mamai).” New Bestiary (Bestiary.us). Accessed October 5, 2026.
https://www.bestiary.us/bendit-i-mamai/en