I put this copy and paste together for you (and maybe some of the others who are wondering about their Banniks) in hopes that this may help you with yours. The excerpt with the slaugh story at the end has a bannik that seems to be a female.
Slavic Gods & Goddesses
Fairies, Spirits and Minor Deities
•Bannik (BAHN-neek)
Bath house spirit. Slavic bathhouses were like saunas with an inner steaming room and an outer room for changing. They were dark and frightening and like many scary places, were considered perfect for divinations.They were also the place most often used for child-bearing. No newborn was left there long, though, lest the fairies would steal him. No Christian icons were allowed in the bath house, neither, as they may offend the it's true occupant - the Bannik. It was customary in some places to offer every third firing of the sauna, or sometimes the fourth to the Bannik. One did not want to disturb him while bathing, though, or he might just throw hot water on them. Other times he would use his sharp claws to flay his victim alive. Besides a firing of the sauna, he liked offerings of soap, fir branches, and a water. The Bannik usually takes on the appearance of a member or friend of the family; so if you ever see someone you know in the bathroom, and find out later that they weren't there.....
From the Encyclopedia of Russian & Slavic
Myth and Legend
BANNIK
Slavic
The spirit of the bathhouse (banya),described as a wizened little man with wild white hair and a long,straggly beard. Bathers could invoke the spirit in order to obtain a reading of the future by exposing their naked backs outside the bathhouse.If the future was to be pleasant, then Bannik could be felt stroking the back.However,if the future was to be unpleasant, Bannik would run his nails down the exposed spine. Every fourth bathing session belonged to Bannik, who would entertain his spirit friends in the bath-house. If humans were foolish enough to enter while Bannik and his guests were there, they would be fortunate to escape with a simple drenching in boiling water.More likely they would emerge badly beaten or would be found dead inside the bath-house, strangled or with a broken neck.
References:
Pomerantseva 1975
The following excerpt is from Mythology:Russian Slaugh Stories from a web archive.(http://web.archive.org/web/200104260358 ... hangeling/...) I don't know how I found it, but I hope this gives some insight to its nature. Myths do, after all, have some basis of truth to them. :thumbup:
"Slaugh" are spirits
Note: The "sluagh" in this story are Domovoi (house spirits), Dvorovoi (field spirits), and Bannik (bath house spirits). In many tales these creatures are boggan like, but in others they are closer to sluagh. Of course, this is hardly surprising, considering that no two tales even agree on the origin of these creatures. In some tales Domovoi are spirits that fell from heaven and landed in the roofs of homes, in others they are dead ancestors who live to help the family, in others they are hearth spirits, in others they are things that crawl about and pinch and pull hair... it goes on. This pertains to the Bannik.
It is important to remember to always knock at the bath house door, and go in backwards. If you do not you could upset the Bannik. The Bannik hates to be disturbed, and hates just as much to be seen.
There was a man who lived near Saratov. He listened to his elders, and knew how to respect the spirits.
Whenever he was going to the bathhouse he would knock first, to give the Bannik warning. He would then go into the bathhouse backwards, and if the bannik touched him with its claws he would leave. Only when the bannik was pleased, and touched him with the soft part of its hand, would he enter. He was always respectful.
One day, after years of friendly relations with his bannik he quietly left a present for his bannik. He did so with no expectation of reward, but just to show respect - for the bannik had always kept his water warm. The next day when he was taking his bath he heard the bannik whispering from beneath the floor. He listened carefully, and the bannik told him that if he went to the far edge of the woods and dug beneath the split tree there he could find a treasure.
The man did as the bannik told him to a week later. And when he went to the great old tree he dug beside it and found a sack of jewels, all of them cunningly cut. In his joy he went to the village and told about his treasure. The other villagers were astonished, and more than a little jealous. The man then went to his bathhouse and left some of the jewels for his friend.
The next time he was bathing the bannik again whispered to him. It told him that he needed to leave the village, for some others were planning to kill him and take his treasure. The bannik told him to flee to Moscow and sell his gems. He should then buy a fine house and live there. Further, the bannik told him that one day a woman, bedraggled and mud-spattered would come to his door. He should treat her well, and earn her love - for she was the only daughter of a rich merchant and would not only bring him wealth, but greater fortune.The man thanked his bannik, and did as it said. He went to the city, and found his wife in time. They lived happily, and when her father died he took over the business.
Their decedents live there to this day, rich and happy.
One of the other men of the village was a fool. When he heard of the treasure and luck of the first man he decided that he would have the bannik tell him how to get rich too. So he stormed to the bathhouse and began to bathe. He did not knock first, nor did he enter backwards, or even check the water when he first pored it. While he was bathing he started to loudly demand that the bannik tell him secrets. But the bannik ignored his loud voice.
So the man returned the next day, and the day after. He yelled at the bannik so loudly that others in the village could hear him. Finally the bannik had enough of this rude treatment. When the man came and bathed the next day the bannik fell upon him and strangled him in the bath.
The next morning a neighbor found him, lying on the floor with his tongue hanging out and his eyes ripped from his head.
It is said that to this day that bannik uses his eyes in its magics."
This is all I could find .....maybe you could try doing what it says here if you hadn't already. Respect, finding offerings she likes, and overall patience will go a long ways in you you guys relationship. She seems to be a pretty awesome spirit! :thumbup:
