Kyi ( , ) or Kvyi ( ) is an alleged Polish

god In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

or mythical figure associated with smithery mentioned only in one source, the ''

Postil A postil or postill (; ) was originally a term for Bible commentaries. It is derived from the Latin ("after these words from Scripture"), referring to biblical readings. The word first occurs in the chronicle (with reference to examples of 1228 a ...

'' of Koźmieńczyk. So far, only has undertaken the interpretation of this figure.

Etymology

The

pan-Slavic Pan-Slavism, a movement that took shape in the mid-19th century, is the political ideology concerned with promoting integrity and unity for the Slavic people. Its main impact occurred in the Balkans, where non-Slavic empires had ruled the South S ...

word ''*kyjь'' (today "stick, cue, club") comes from word ''*kovati'' ("to forge") originally meaning "to beat". This noun used to mean not only "stick, club", but also "hammer" (cf.

Old Church Slavonic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic ( ) is the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language and the oldest extant written Slavonic language attested in literary sources. It belongs to the South Slavic languages, South Slavic subgroup of the ...

: ''кꙑи''/''kyi'' "hammer",

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian ( / ), also known as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS), is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It is a pluricentric language with four mutually i ...

: ''kij'' "hammer" (15th cent.), Lithuanian: ''kūjis'' "hammer"). From the word ''*kovati'' come such Polish words like ''kijanka'' "

washing paddle The washing paddle (or washing beetle, battledore, laundry bat), known as ''thaapi'' in Haryanvi and Hindi languages, is a hand tool used to do laundry. It is made of wood, shaped like a baker's peel, but with a much shorter handle used as a gr ...

", ''kuźnia'' "

forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to the ...

", ''kowadło'' "

anvil An anvil is a metalworking tool consisting of a large block of metal (usually Forging, forged or Steel casting, cast steel), with a flattened top surface, upon which another object is struck (or "worked"). Anvils are massive because the hi ...

", ''okowy'' "bonds", ''podkowa'' "

horseshoe A horseshoe is a product designed to protect a horse hoof from wear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface (ground side) of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall that is anatomically akin to the human toenail, altho ...

", ''kowal'' "

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

". The ''Dictionary of Old Polish Personal Names'' notes the surname Kij from the 13th century, and the surnames Kijan, Kijanowic, Kijanowski, Kijko since the 14th century. The surnames Kijski, Kijowski, Kijański, Kije, Kijk, Kijec, Kijec(s)ki appear starting with the 15th century. The name ''Kij'' meant "the one who beats, forges" (cf Lithuanian: ''káuti'' "to beat, forge",

Old High German Old High German (OHG; ) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally identified as the period from around 500/750 to 1050. Rather than representing a single supra-regional form of German, Old High German encompasses the numerous ...

: ''houwan'' "to hit", Celtic ''cuad'' "to beat").

Interpretation

Due to the fact that there is only one source listing this character and the lack of information about it in this source, possibilities for interpretation are limited. ''Kija'' could be alternation of Niya, but the fact that in the first enumeration of the Kija and ''Nyia'' are listed together speaks against this. Kyi mentioned by Koźmieńczyk may be somehow connected with the legendary Kyi – the ruler of Eastern Polans and the founder of

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, mentioned in the ''

Primary Chronicle The ''Primary Chronicle'', shortened from the common ''Russian Primary Chronicle'' (, commonly transcribed ''Povest' vremennykh let'' (PVL), ), is a Rus' chronicle, chronicle of Kievan Rus' from about 850 to 1110. It is believed to have been or ...

'' ( Długosz sees in the founder of Kyiv "one Polish pagan prince"), as well as with other characters with similar names, name donors for places with similar names to Kyiv, including hypothetically

Kuyavia Kuyavia (; ), also referred to as Cuyavia, is a historical region in north-central Poland, situated on the left bank of Vistula, as well as east from Noteć River and Lake Gopło. It is divided into three traditional parts: north-western (with th ...

. The name is associated with a certain archaic mythological complex, whose personification in Iranian mythology is Kaveh (from

PIE A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), fruit preserves ( jam tart ...

. ''*kou̯'' "to forge"), also known as Kobe. According to a message from the 10th century B.C. Kaveh was a blacksmith-hero who killed a three-headed dragon ( Aži Dahaka) and founded the

Kayanian dynasty The Kayanians (; also Kays, Kayanids, Kaianids, Kiyani, Kayani, or Kiani) are a legendary dynasty of Persian/Iranian tradition and folklore which supposedly ruled after the Pishdadians, each of whom held the title Kay (such as Kay Khosrow), me ...

, where the title of kings from this dynasty was Key or Kay (e.g.

Kay Khosrow Kay Khosrow () is a legendary king of Iran of Kayanian dynasty and a character in the Persian epic book ''Shahnameh''. He was the son of the Iranian prince Siavash who married princess Farangis of Turan while in exile. Before Kay Khosrow wa ...

). Like Kaveh, before the founding of Kyiv, Kyi kills the dragon. A similar motif has been preserved in the

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name ''Małopolska'' (; ), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate cult ...

(where metallurgy had existed for several hundred years) legend about Krak from the 13th century, who, according to one version, also kills the dragon. Kyi could therefore be a mythical blacksmith, a dragon slayer.

References

{{Slavic mythology Slavic gods Smithing gods