Äbädä (
Cyrillic
The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...
: Әбәдә) is an innocent forest spirit in
Turkic mythology
Turkic mythology refers to myths and legends told by the Turkic people. It features Tengrism, Tengrist and Shamanism in Central Asia, Shamanist strata of belief along with many other social and cultural constructs related to the nomadic and wa ...
. It looks like an old woman. Äbädä also is represented in mythologies of
Siberian
Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states si ...
peoples.
Äbädä is a demon or spirit. He is a Turkic forest being, similar in nature to the
Ä°yes. He protects the birds, trees, and animals of the forest; he appears in the shape of a human with blue skin, two great horns, green hair, and a long green beard across his face, carrying a club or whip indicating his mastery of the forest.
He can shapeshift into many different forms. As a human, he looks like a peasant with glowing eyes, and his shoes are on backwards. Should one ever encounter an Äbädä, one must thwart him immediately by turning all one's clothes inside out and backwards, and placing one's shoes on the opposite feet.
See also
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Archura
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Bichura
References
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External links
Татар мифлары
Turkic legendary creatures
Forest spirits
Shapeshifting
{{Europe-myth-stub