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The mythological idea of vâlvă is quite inconsistent, my field research doesn't match up with what I’ve found in written accounts and written accounts vary. Luckily I found one other ethnographer complaining about the same thing.
Vâlvele are spirits, that watch over houses, forests, mines, week days, wolves, ruins; generally places, natural phenomenon and animals can all have a Vâlvă. Depending on the thing it watches over, the Vâlvă gets its name, so Vâlva of the forest, Vâlva of rain, etc. Though they are predominantly female they can also show up as an old woman, an old man, a dwarf, a child, a cat, a rabbit, a ram, a lamb, a chicken, a sparrow, a snake or dragon. In the Apuseni mountains vâlvele split into good ones (white ones) and evil ones (black ones).
Vâlvele can control natural phenomenon such as thunder, hail, wind, rain, water or they can show a miner where they might find gold. They can be seen flying, walking or on top of a horse.
Their name ‘vâlvă’ literally means noise and agitation. The reason is that they make their presence known with auditory ques. They speak, stamp on the ground, sing or hit with a hammer the stone where gold could be found.
Essentially it is a female spiritual entity that takes charge over a specific natural phenomenon, either punishing or rewarding the humans which come into contact with it.
Because of it’s fluidity as a concept perhaps it is more relevant to speak about stories which involve it, and so, actually define it:
Vâlva Băii: spirit of the mines
Albac county
In times of old the towns of Gârda, Scărișoara, Albac, Horea and Vadu Moților where one locality called Râul Mare. The myth is that each year on the Sânziene celebration, the vâlve met once a year on Dealul Cerbului/Stag’s hill (currently in the center of what is today considered Albac). Under the light of the moon the pine forest looked as if it was made of silver. For this reason they named this place Ac Alb, which literally translates to white needle. One year they brought along an initiate, younger vâlvă. She was so enchanted by the beauty of that place that she mixed up her words and called it Albac (It’s an inversion, white needle/needle white). Endeared, the other vâlve decided that this would be the permanent name of the places around Stag’s Hill.
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