Tradition / Region: Estonian Mythology
Alternative names: Rõõgutaja, Reegutaja, Rüngutaja, Rongotus
Category: Witch

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The Myth

Rõugutaja is a supernatural protector of childbirth, mothers, and newborn children. She was believed to guard women during labor and determine how long a child would live.

Women offered gifts to Rõugutaja before and after childbirth to secure healthy children and avoid misfortune. After a baby was born, the midwife lifted the child three times while calling upon Rõugutaja to bless it.

In the Estonian national epic Kalevipoeg, when Linda suffers greatly during childbirth, she prays to both Uku and Rõugutaja for help. The two spirits answer her prayers, enter the chamber, and aid her through the birth.

In Estonian folktales, Rõugutaja’s wife also appears as a witch who restores her drowned daughter to life and transforms her stepdaughter into a werewolf.

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Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Rõugutaja. In Vikipeedia. Retrieved June 29, 2026, from https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%B5ugutaja

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