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[[Image:Fraxinus excelsior 002.jpg|thumb|A European ash tree.]]
The '''Askafroa''' ([[Swedish language|Swedish]] "ash lady"), was a being in southern Swedish [[folklore]] which was thought to live in the ash tree, similar to the Greek [[Hamadryad]]s. The belief in the Askafroa was recorded by the Swedish scholar [[Gunnar Olof Hyltén-Cavallius]] in the 19th century. According to Hyltén-Cavallius, it was a custom in the Ljunit [[Hundred (country subdivision)|Hundred]] in [[Scania]], [[Sweden]], to sacrifice to the Askafroa in order to invoke her goodwill. The belief in the Askafroa is closely related to similar types of veneration of trees in [[Scandinavian folklore]].<ref name=HYLTEN310>Hyltén-Cavallius (1864:310).</ref>
In his [[Ethnography|ethnographic]] work ''Wärend och Wirdarne'', Hyltén-Cavallius recorded a belief in a female creature living in the ash tree. The elders used to sacrifice to the Askafroa on the morning of [[Ash Wednesday]]. Before the sun had risen, they poured water over the roots of the ash tree. While doing this they said: "Nu offrar jag, så gör du oss ingen skada" meaning "Now I sacrifice [to you], so that you don't do us any harm". Hyltén-Cavallius further writes that if anyone broke branches or twigs from the ash tree, it was thought that they would become ill.<ref name=HYLTEN310/>
The [[MMORPG|online role-playing game]] ''[[Dark Age of Camelot]]'' features enemies in the form of Askafroar.
== Notes ==
== References ==
* [[Gunnar Olof Hyltén-Cavallius|Hyltén-Cavallius, Gunnar Olof]] (1864). ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=cJMIAAAAQAAJ&hl=en Wärend och Wirdarne]''. Stockholm: P. A. Norstedt & Söner.
{{Scandinavian folklore}}
[[Category:Scandinavian folklore]]
[[pt:Askafroa]]
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