Satanaya ( ; ; Ubykh ; ''Satana'') is a

myth Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

ological figure who appears in many cycles of the

Nart sagas The Nart sagas (; ; ) are a series of tales originating from the North Caucasus. They form much of the basic mythology of the ethnic groups in the area, including Abazin, Abkhaz, Circassian, Ossetian, Karachay- Balkar, and to some extent ...

of the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...

. Satanaya is the mother of the Narts, a

fertility Fertility in colloquial terms refers the ability to have offspring. In demographic contexts, fertility refers to the actual production of offspring, rather than the physical capability to reproduce, which is termed fecundity. The fertility rate ...

figure who is also an authority over her children. Satanaya is often cast in the light of a "wise woman" or

matriarch Matriarchy is a social system in which positions of power and privilege are held by women. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege, and control of property. While those definitions apply in general English, ...

, which mirrors the relative freedom of women in North Caucasian societies generally. Satanaya can be compared to the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over cro ...

, with whom she shares many traits. In Ossetian tradition, she is the daughter of

Uastyrdzhi Uastyrdzhi (, ) is the name of Saint George in Ossetian folklore. Uastyrdzhi is the patron of the male sex and travellers as well as being a guarantor of oaths, like his Iranian counterpart Mithra (among others such as Verethragna and Fereyd ...

(St. George). The Chechen-Ingush version is somewhat different in that the counterpart of Satanaya, Sela-Sata, is primarily a goddess of

crafts A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...

and women's work rather than a Nartic matriarch. However, many of her characteristics, including the story of her miraculous birth of a dead Nart mother and her involvement in the birth of chief hero Seska-Solsa (

Sosruko Sosruko, Sosruquo, or Sosriqwa, Soslan (; , ''Soslan''; , ''Sosryqwa''; ''Sosuruq/Sosurqa'') is a central character in many cycles of the Nart sagas of the North Caucasus. Sosruko is a powerful but devious man who is the smallest of the Narts; ...

), correspond closely to those of Satanaya in the other versions.

Etymology

A nickname derived from Alanian-Armenian queen

Satenik Satenik (; also spelled ) was an Alanian princess who, according to Armenian tradition, married Artashes, the king of Armenia. The Artashes in the tradition is identified with the 2nd-century BC king Artaxias I, although it is generally believed t ...

, the name of

Vainakh Vainakh or Vaynakh may refer to: * Vainakh peoples The Nakh peoples are a group of North Caucasian languages, North Caucasian peoples identified by their use of the Nakh languages and other cultural similarities. These are chiefly the ethnic C ...

deity

Sata SATA (Serial AT Attachment) is a computer bus interface that connects host bus adapters to mass storage devices such as hard disk drives, optical drives, and solid-state drives. Serial ATA succeeded the earlier Parallel ATA (PATA) standard ...

, or a syncretic mix of both.

Episodes of the Nart Saga including Satanaya

In "Why the Sun Pauses at the Horizon at Sunset", Satanaya makes a bet that she can weave a coat in one day, and has to ask the sun for a favour, to slow down, that she may finish her task before the day is through. In "Lady Satanaya's Blossom", Satanaya finds a beautiful flower by the river Kuban and plucks it and replants it in front of her house. The next day, she is sad to discover that it has withered. Once again she goes and plucks another of the same flower, only to see the same result the following morning. The third time she re-plants a flower in front of her house, it rains, and the flower is invigorated and continues to live on until the next day. Satanaya realizes the importance of water to life.

Sources

External links

* Circassian mythology Ossetian mythology Mythological characters {{Europe-myth-stub

Etymology

Episodes of the Nart Saga including Satanaya

See also

Sources

External links