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Ossetian mythology or Alan mythology () is the collective term for the beliefs and practices of the
Ossetian people The Ossetians ( or ; ),Merriam-Webster (2021), s.v"Ossete" also known as Ossetes ( ), Ossets ( ), and Alans ( ), are an Iranian peoples, Iranian ethnic group who are indigenous to Ossetia, a region situated across the northern and southern side ...
of the
Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...
region, which contains several gods and supernatural beings. The religion itself is believed to be of
Scythian The Scythians ( or ) or Scyths (, but note Scytho- () in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic people who had migrated during the 9th to 8th centuries BC fr ...
origin, but contains many later elements from
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
, with Ossetian gods often being identified with
Christian saints In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Ortho ...
. The gods play a role in the famous stories about a race of semi-divine heroes called the Narts.


Deities

*Hutsau or Xucau (). The chief of the gods. * Uastyrdzhi or Wasgergi (), also known as Lagtydzuar or Lagdzuar, more rarely as Uastylag. Named after
Saint George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...
, he is the patron of males and travellers, and the guarantor of oaths. Main patron of
North Ossetia–Alania North Ossetia–Alania (; ), officially the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania, is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. It borders the country of Georgia (country), Georgia to the south, a ...
. * Uacilla (). Named after
Saint Elijah Elijah ( ) or Elias was a prophet and Miracle Worker (disambiguation), miracle worker who lived in the Kingdom of Israel (Samaria), northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab (9th century BC), according to the Books of Kings in t ...
, 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 (). God of the hearth chain. The most important domestic deity for Ossetians. * Donbettyr (). Lord of the waters. He is named after
Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...
, 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 paganism, Slavic mythology, or Slavic religion refer to the Religion, religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation of the Slavs, Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and ...
. Up to the 19th century, his day was celebrated on the Saturday following
Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...
by young girls. * Dzerassae (), one of Donbettyr's daughters, the mother of many Nart heroes. * Tutyr (). Named after Saint Theodore of Tyre. Lord of the wolves. * Fælværa (). Possibly named after Florus and Laurus. 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 (). 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. Eustace ...
, he is a male hunting god. * Kurdalægon (). The heavenly smith. A close friend of the Narts. * Satana (Сатана). Mother goddess, mother of the Narts. *Saubarag (), 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 () Ossetian
psychopomp Psychopomps (from the Greek word , , literally meaning the 'guide of souls') are creatures, spirits, angels, demons, or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls from Earth to the afterlife. Their role is ...
. 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 underworld. ...
who assigns arriving dead souls to either
paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...
or his own realm. * Aminon (). Gatekeeper of the underworld. * Alardy or Alaurdi (). 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 (W ...
, 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 (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...
, ''Uac Nikkola''). The synchronic term for "saint", however, is ''syhdaeg'' (cognate to Avestan
Yazata Yazata () 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 is thus, in this more general ...
). Gershevitch (1955) connects ''uac'' with a word for "word" (Sanskrit ''
vāc Vac (, ') is a Vedic goddess who is a personified form of divine 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, the Vedi ...
'', cf. Latin ''vox''), in the sense of
Logos ''Logos'' (, ; ) is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology and rhetoric, as well as religion (notably Logos (Christianity), Christianity); among its connotations is that of a rationality, rational form of discourse that relies on inducti ...
.


Dream journey to the land of the dead

Among them there are also some old men and women who, on the eve of Saint Sylvester, fall into a sort of ecstasy, remaining motionless on the ground as though asleep. When they awaken, they say they've seen the souls of the dead, sometimes in a great
swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
, alternatively, astride pigs, dogs or rams. If they see a soul gathering wheat in the fields and bringing it to the village, they detect the omen of an abundant harvest.
Julius Klaproth 1823
Kurys (Digor ''Burku'') is a dream land, a meadow belonging to the dead, which can be visited by certain individuals (the
shaman Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...
-like Kurysdzauta/Burkudzauta) 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 The Alans () were an ancient and medieval Iranian peoples, Iranic Eurasian nomads, nomadic pastoral people who migrated to what is today North Caucasus – while some continued on to Europe and later North Africa. They are generally regarded ...
.


Folklore

Ossetian folklore also includes several mythological figures, including those in the Nart sagas, such as the warrior heroes Batraz, Akhshar and Akhsartag.


See also

* Nart saga * Ætsæg Din * Scythian mythology


References


Sources

* * * * .


Further reading

* , published in 3 volumes ** , folklore texts ** , phonetics and grammar of Ossetian; religious beliefs ** , history and ethnography, proverbs * , based on Miller's 1881 work * *


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 Caucasian Neopaganism Supernatural beings identified with Christian saints