Ossetian

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...

is the collective term for the beliefs and practices of the

Ossetian people The Ossetians or Ossetes (, ; os, ир, ирæттæ / дигорӕ, дигорӕнттӕ, translit= ir, irættæ / digoræ, digorænttæ, label= Ossetic) are an Iranian ethnic group who are indigenous to Ossetia, a region situated across the n ...

of the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...

region, which contains several gods and supernatural beings. The religion itself is believed to be of

Scythian The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern * : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...

origin, but contains many later elements from

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

, 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 The Nart sagas ( Abkhaz: Нарҭаа ражәабжьқәа; ''Nartaa raƶuabƶkua''; ady, Нарт тхыдэжъхэр, translit=Nart txıdəĵxər; os, Нарты кадджытæ; ''Narty kaddžytæ''; ''Nartı kadjıtæ'') are a series of ...

Deities

*Hutsau or Xucau ( os, Хуыцау). The chief of the gods. * Uastyrdzhi ( Ossetian: Уастырджи), also known as Lagtydzuar or Lagdzuar. Named after

Saint George Saint George ( Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldie ...

, he is the patron of males and travellers, and the guarantor of oaths. Main patron of

North Ossetia–Alania The Republic of North Ossetia–Alania; os, Республикӕ Цӕгат Ирыстон — Алани, ''Respublikæ Cægat Iryston — Alani'', ) is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. Its population acco ...

. *Uacilla ( Ossetian: Уацилла). Named after

Saint Elijah Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) was, according to the Books of ...

, 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. *Safa (''Сафа''). God of the hearth chain. The most important domestic deity for Ossetians. *

Donbettyr Donbettyr ( os, Донбеттыр) is the god of all waters, and the protector of fish and fishermen in Ossetian mythology. He is related to a Scythian deity of the same name. His name is possibly derived from ''don'', meaning 'river', derived fr ...

( os, Донбеттыр). Lord of the waters. He is named after

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...

, 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 Slavic mythology or Slavic religion is the religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and the 13th century. The South Slavs, who likely settled in the Bal ...

. Up to the 19th century, his day was celebrated on the Saturday following

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...

by young girls. * Dzerassae ( os, Дзерассæ), one of Donbettyr's daughters, the mother of many Nart heroes. *Tutyr (Тутыр). Named after Saint Theodore of Tyre. Lord of the wolves. *Fælværa (Фæлвæра). Possibly named after

Florus and Laurus Saints Florus and Laurus are venerated as Christian martyrs of the 2nd century. According to a Greek tale, they were twin brothers who worked as stonemasons. They were originally from Constantinople, Byzantium but settled in Ulpiana, Dardania, ...

. Fælværa was the protector of sheep and his festival was celebrated before sheep-shearing in September. He only has one eye. He is often the enemy of Tutyr. * Æfsati (Æфсати). Possibly named after

Saint Eustace Saint Eustace (Latinized Eustachius or Eustathius, Greek Εὐστάθιος Πλακίδας ''Eustathios Plakidas'') is revered as a Christian martyr. According to legend, he was martyred in AD 118, at the command of emperor Hadrian. Eusta ...

, he is a male hunting god. * 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. *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 Psychopomps (from the Greek word , , literally meaning the 'guide of souls') are supernatural creatures, spirits, entities, angels, demons or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls from Earth to the afte ...

. The ruler of the

underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underwo ...

who assigns arriving dead souls to either

paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in para ...

or his own realm. *Aminon (Аминон). Gatekeeper of the underworld. *Alardy (Аларды). Lord of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

, who had to be placated. 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 Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-day Dem ...

, ''Uac Nikkola''). The synchronic term for "saint", however, is ''syhdaeg'' (cognate to Avestan

Yazata Yazata ( ae, 𐬫𐬀𐬰𐬀𐬙𐬀) is the Avestan word for a Zoroastrian concept with a wide range of meanings but generally signifying (or used as an epithet of) a divinity. The term literally means "worthy of worship or veneration",.. and i ...

). Gershevitch (1955) connects ''uac'' with a word for "word" (Sanskrit ''

vāc Vacha ( sa, वाच्, '), a Vedic goddess is a personified form of speech. She enters into the inspired poets and visionaries, gives expression and energy to those she loves; she is called the "mother of the Vedas" and consort of Prajapati, t ...

'', c.f. Latin ''vox''), in the sense of

Logos ''Logos'' (, ; grc, λόγος, lógos, lit=word, discourse, or reason) is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology and rhetoric and refers to the appeal to reason that relies on logic or reason, inductive and deductive reasoning. Aris ...

. 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 The Yashts are a collection of twenty-one hymns in the Younger Avestan language. Each of these hymns invokes a specific Zoroastrian divinity or concept. ''Yasht'' chapter and verse pointers are traditionally abbreviated as ''Yt.'' Overview The wor ...

19.6 (Avestan ''*Karwisa''), which might indicate that the name is a spurious remnant of origin legends of

Airyanem Vaejah (; ; ; , 'expanse of the Aryans') is considered in Zoroastrianism to be the homeland of the early Iranians and the place where Zarathustra received the religion from Ahura Mazda. The Avesta also names it as the first of the "sixteen perfect ...

of the

Alans The Alans (Latin: ''Alani'') were an ancient and medieval Iranian nomadic pastoral people of the North Caucasus – generally regarded as part of the Sarmatians, and possibly related to the Massagetae. Modern historians have connected the A ...

Folklore

Ossetian folklore also includes several mythological figures, including those in the Nart sagas, such as the warrior heroes

Batraz Batraz, Batradz, or Pataraz ( Ossetian: ) is a central character in the North Caucasian myths known as the Nart sagas. The Narts were the central figures of the folklore of peoples of the North Caucasus. Myth Batraz (''Батрадз'', or ''Б ...

, Akhshar and Akhsartag.

References

Sources

* * * * .

External links

* , e-text based on the :ru:Мифологический словарь (1990) with articles on various figures from Ossetian myth {{List of mythological figures by region European mythology Iranian mythology Supernatural beings identified with Christian saints

Deities

Folklore

See also

References

Sources

Further reading

External links