Ossetian mythology is the collective term for the beliefs and practices of the Ossetian people of the Caucasus region, which contains several gods and supernatural beings. The religion itself is believed to be of Scythian origin, but contains many later elements from Christianity, like the Ossetian gods often being identified with Christian saints. The gods play a role in the famous stories about a race of semi-divine heroes called the Narts.
Hutsau or Xucau (Ossetian: Хуыцау). The chief of the gods.
Uastyrdzhi (Ossetian: Уастырджи), also known as Lagtydzuar or Lagdzuar. Named after Saint George, he is the patron of males and travellers, and the guarantor of oaths. Main patron of North Ossetia–Alania.
Uacilla (Ossetian: Уацилла). Named after Saint Elijah, also spelled Watsilla. God of rain, thunder and lightning. As protector of the harvest he is known as Хоры Уацилла (Hory Uacilla, "Uacilla of the wheat"). Anyone struck by lightning was considered chosen by the god and, if they survived, a sheep was sacrificed in their honour. His festival was celebrated in the summer with the sacrifice of a lamb and a bull and the drinking of specially brewed beer. On that day women baked bread in silence as a mark of reverence.[1]
Safa (Сафа). God of the hearth chain. The most important domestic deity for Ossetians.
Donbettyr (Ossetian: Донбеттыр). Lord of the waters. He is named after Saint Peter, and is a fusion of the Ossetian don (meaning water) and Peter. He uses his chain to drag down those who unwarily go swimming too late to his realm at the bottom of the sea. He has many beautiful daughters, comparable to the Rusalki of Slavic mythology. Up to the 19th century, his day was celebrated on the Saturday following Easter by young girls.
Dzerassae (Ossetian: Дзерассæ), one of Donbettyr's daughters, the mother of many Nart heroes.
Fælværa (Фæлвæра). Possibly named after Florus and Laurus. Fælværa was the protector of sheep and his festival was celebrated before sheep-shearing in September.[1] He only has one eye. He is often the enemy of Tutyr.
Kurdalægon (Курдалæгон). The heavenly smith. A close friend of the Narts.
Satana (Сатана). Mother goddess, mother of the Narts.
Saubarag (Саубараг or Сау бараджи дзуар, "black rider"), the god of darkness and thieves.[3]
Huyændon Ældar (Хуыæндон Æлдар). Lord of the fish. A great magician and a spirit who behaves like an earthly chief ("ældar"). His name means "Lord of the Strait" (according to Abaev, this is most probably the Cimmerian Bosphorus, the modern Strait of Kerch).
Barastyr (Барастыр, also transliterated Barastaer or Barastir) Ossetian psychopomp. The ruler of the underworld who assigns arriving dead souls to either paradise or his own realm.[4]
Aminon (Аминон). Gatekeeper of the underworld.
Alardy (Аларды). Lord of smallpox, who had to be placated.[5]
The uac- prefix in Uastyrdzhi and Uacilla has no synchronic meaning in Ossetic, and is usually understood to mean "saint" (also applied to Tutyr, Uac Tutyr, perhaps Saint Theodore, and to Saint Nicholas, Uac Nikkola). The synchronic term for "saint", however, is syhdaeg (cognate to Avestan Yazata). Gershevitch (1955) connects uac with a word for "word" (Sanskrit vāc, c.f. Latin vox), in the sense of Logos.
Kurys (Digor Burku) is a dream land, a meadow belonging to the dead, which can be visited by some people in their sleep. Visitors may bring back miraculous seeds of luck and good fortune, sometimes pursued by the dead. Inexperienced souls may bring back fever and sickness instead. Gershevitch (with V.I. Abaev) compares the name Kurys to the mountain Kaoiris in Yasht 19.6 (Avestan *Karwisa), which might indicate that the name is a spurious remnant of origin legends of Airyanem Vaejah of the Alans.
Folklore
Ossetian folklore also includes several mythological figures, including those in the Nart sagas, such as the warrior heroes Batraz, Akhshar and Akhsartag.
^Chaudhri, Anna (1996), "The Caucasian hunting-divinity, male and female: traces of the hunting-goddess in Ossetic folklore", in Billington, Sandra; Green, Miranda (eds.), The Concept of the Goddess, Routledge, pp. 167–168, ISBN9781134641529
Dumézil, Georges, ed. (1965), Le Livre des héros: légendes sur les Nartes, Paris: Gallimard
Foltz, Richard (2019). "Scythian Neo-Paganism in the Caucasus: The Ossetian Uatsdin as a 'Nature Religion'," Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture". Vol. 13, no. 3. pp. 314–332.
Gershevitch, Ilya (1955), "Word and Spirit in Ossetic", Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 17 (3): 478–489, doi:10.1017/S0041977X0011239X.
Further reading
Миллер, Всеволод, Осетинские этюды [Ossetian Studies] (in Russian) , published in 3 volumes
Осетинские тексты, vol. I, 1881 , folklore texts
Исследования, vol. II, 1882 , phonetics and grammar of Ossetian; religious beliefs
Исследования, vol. III, 1887 , history and ethnography, proverbs
Hübschmann, H. (1887), "Ossetische Nominalbildung", Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft (in German), Harrassowitz Verlag, 41 (2): 319–346, JSTOR 43361867 , based on Miller's 1881 work
Dumézil, Georges, ed. (1976), Осетинский Эпос И Мифология [Ossetian Epics and Mythology] (in Russian)
Дзадзиев, Александр Борисович; Караев, Солтан Михайлович; Дзуцев, Хасан Владимирович, eds. (1994), Этнография и мифология осетин [Ossetian ethnography and mythology] (dictionary) (in Russian)
External links
Мелетинский, Е. М. (1990), МИФОЛОГИЧЕСКИЙ СЛОВАРЬ [Mythological Dictionary] (e-ext) (in Russian) , e-text based on the ru:Мифологический словарь (1990) with articles on various figures from Ossetian myth
January 05, 2023
ossetian, mythology, collective, term, beliefs, practices, ossetian, people, caucasus, region, which, contains, several, gods, supernatural, beings, religion, itself, believed, scythian, origin, contains, many, later, elements, from, christianity, like, osseti. Ossetian mythology is the collective term for the beliefs and practices of the Ossetian people of the Caucasus region which contains several gods and supernatural beings The religion itself is believed to be of Scythian origin but contains many later elements from Christianity like the Ossetian gods often being identified with Christian saints The gods play a role in the famous stories about a race of semi divine heroes called the Narts Contents 1 Deities 2 Folklore 3 See also 4 References 4 1 Sources 4 2 Further reading 5 External linksDeities EditHutsau or Xucau Ossetian Huycau The chief of the gods Uastyrdzhi Ossetian Uastyrdzhi also known as Lagtydzuar or Lagdzuar Named after Saint George he is the patron of males and travellers and the guarantor of oaths Main patron of North Ossetia Alania Uacilla Ossetian Uacilla Named after Saint Elijah also spelled Watsilla God of rain thunder and lightning As protector of the harvest he is known as Hory Uacilla Hory Uacilla Uacilla of the wheat Anyone struck by lightning was considered chosen by the god and if they survived a sheep was sacrificed in their honour His festival was celebrated in the summer with the sacrifice of a lamb and a bull and the drinking of specially brewed beer On that day women baked bread in silence as a mark of reverence 1 Safa Safa God of the hearth chain The most important domestic deity for Ossetians Donbettyr Ossetian Donbettyr Lord of the waters He is named after Saint Peter and is a fusion of the Ossetian don meaning water and Peter He uses his chain to drag down those who unwarily go swimming too late to his realm at the bottom of the sea He has many beautiful daughters comparable to the Rusalki of Slavic mythology Up to the 19th century his day was celebrated on the Saturday following Easter by young girls Dzerassae Ossetian Dzerassae one of Donbettyr s daughters the mother of many Nart heroes Tutyr Tutyr Named after Saint Theodore of Tyre Lord of the wolves Faelvaera Faelvaera Possibly named after Florus and Laurus Faelvaera was the protector of sheep and his festival was celebrated before sheep shearing in September 1 He only has one eye He is often the enemy of Tutyr AEfsati AEfsati Possibly named after Saint Eustace he is a male hunting god 2 Kurdalaegon Kurdalaegon The heavenly smith A close friend of the Narts Satana Satana Mother goddess mother of the Narts Saubarag Saubarag or Sau baradzhi dzuar black rider the god of darkness and thieves 3 Huyaendon AEldar Huyaendon AEldar Lord of the fish A great magician and a spirit who behaves like an earthly chief aeldar His name means Lord of the Strait according to Abaev this is most probably the Cimmerian Bosphorus the modern Strait of Kerch Barastyr Barastyr also transliterated Barastaer or Barastir Ossetian psychopomp The ruler of the underworld who assigns arriving dead souls to either paradise or his own realm 4 Aminon Aminon Gatekeeper of the underworld Alardy Alardy Lord of smallpox who had to be placated 5 The uac prefix in Uastyrdzhi and Uacilla has no synchronic meaning in Ossetic and is usually understood to mean saint also applied to Tutyr Uac Tutyr perhaps Saint Theodore and to Saint Nicholas Uac Nikkola The synchronic term for saint however is syhdaeg cognate to Avestan Yazata Gershevitch 1955 connects uac with a word for word Sanskrit vac c f Latin vox in the sense of Logos Kurys Digor Burku is a dream land a meadow belonging to the dead which can be visited by some people in their sleep Visitors may bring back miraculous seeds of luck and good fortune sometimes pursued by the dead Inexperienced souls may bring back fever and sickness instead Gershevitch with V I Abaev compares the name Kurys to the mountain Kaoiris in Yasht 19 6 Avestan Karwisa which might indicate that the name is a spurious remnant of origin legends of Airyanem Vaejah of the Alans Folklore EditOssetian folklore also includes several mythological figures including those in the Nart sagas such as the warrior heroes Batraz Akhshar and Akhsartag See also EditAEtsaeg Din Scythian mythology Persian mythology Slavic mythology Georgian mythologyReferences Edit a b Arys Djanaieva 2004 p 163 Chaudhri Anna 1996 The Caucasian hunting divinity male and female traces of the hunting goddess in Ossetic folklore in Billington Sandra Green Miranda eds The Concept of the Goddess Routledge pp 167 168 ISBN 9781134641529 Sau baradzhi dzuar in Russian Lurker Manfred 1987 The Routledge Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses Devils and Demons Routledge p 30 ISBN 0 415 34018 7 Arys Djanaieva 2004 p 165 Sources Edit Arys Djanaieva Lora 2004 Parlons ossete Paris Harmattan Dumezil Georges ed 1965 Le Livre des heros legendes sur les Nartes Paris Gallimard Foltz Richard 2019 Scythian Neo Paganism in the Caucasus The Ossetian Uatsdin as a Nature Religion Journal for the Study of Religion Nature and Culture Vol 13 no 3 pp 314 332 Gershevitch Ilya 1955 Word and Spirit in Ossetic Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 17 3 478 489 doi 10 1017 S0041977X0011239X Further reading Edit Miller Vsevolod Osetinskie etyudy Ossetian Studies in Russian published in 3 volumes Osetinskie teksty vol I 1881 folklore texts Issledovaniya vol II 1882 phonetics and grammar of Ossetian religious beliefs Issledovaniya vol III 1887 history and ethnography proverbs Hubschmann H 1887 Ossetische Nominalbildung Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlandischen Gesellschaft in German Harrassowitz Verlag 41 2 319 346 JSTOR 43361867 based on Miller s 1881 work Dumezil Georges ed 1976 Osetinskij Epos I Mifologiya Ossetian Epics and Mythology in Russian Dzadziev Aleksandr Borisovich Karaev Soltan Mihajlovich Dzucev Hasan Vladimirovich eds 1994 Etnografiya i mifologiya osetin Ossetian ethnography and mythology dictionary in Russian External links EditMeletinskij E M 1990 MIFOLOGIChESKIJ SLOVAR Mythological Dictionary e ext in Russian e text based on the ru Mifologicheskij slovar 1990 with articles on various figures from Ossetian myth 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