The samodiva (Bulgarian: самодива; plural: samodivi, Bulgarian: самодиви), samovila (Bulgarian: самовила; plural: samovili, Bulgarian: самовили) or vila (Bulgarian: вила; plural: vili, Bulgarian: вили), are woodland fairies or nymphs found in South and West Slavic folklore.

One of the hypotheses of the etymology of the word samovila is that it comes from the Indo-European root *ṷēi-, meaning 'follow', 'chase', or 'blow', for vila. The component samo has a function to highlight.

The origin of diva is uncertain. The main hypothesis is that there are traces of *deiṷos, 'god'.

Samodivas are commonly depicted as ethereal maidens with long, loose hair, and in some cases, wings. They are typically dressed in free-flowing, feathered white gowns, which give them the power of flight. Samodivas are often described as having blonde or red hair, tall, slender women with pale, glowing skin and fiery eyes.

Sometimes, they are described as having a veil which could hold all their power. If they get deprived of their veil, they lose all their power.

According to Bulgarian folklore, Samodivas can live inside trees or abandoned shacks or dark caves, or near rivers, ponds and wells. Mountains linked to the Samodivas include Vitosha, Belasitsa, Pirin, Rila, the Rhodopes, the Balkan Mountains in Bulgaria and Rudina mountains. However, mountain Pirin is their traditional favorite. Samodivas enter the human world during the spring, staying until autumn. During the winter, they live in the mythical village of Zmejkovo.

In Bulgarian folklore, they are associated with places related to water - wells, rivers, lakes. Thus, there are landmarks in Bulgaria that have the word "samodiva" or "samovila" in them. An example of that are the Samodivski Lakes in the Pirin Mountain. Specifically, they live under large old trees, in abandoned sheds or in dark caves that are near water sources.

In Macedonian folklore they are also said to inhabit trees like oak, willows and that they live in a far off village called Patelevo.