Tyushtya

Lore & Background

In later runes, Tyushtya lives in a palace in the East and is the richest in the world. He wears a white shirt and golden clothes. Queen Bee warns him he would be killed by a miraculously born child, his enemy being the 70-year Erzya Widow's son born with an iron heel. He uses his torama to call everyone to battle; its voice is like thunder and the voice of the ancestors. In one tradition, he leads the Mokshas to the East away from Russian pressure, parting the sea for them to cross, with the Supreme God helping and feeding them. When he grows old, he asks his people where they want him to die; they say they do not want to witness his death. He departs, leaving his torama for them to call him when the enemy comes, and he will return with his army for the ultimate battle before doomsday.

Reader's Guide

Tyushtya is a central figure in Moksha mythology, embodying the role of a divine king and cultural hero. His epic, based on archaic runes recorded by Heikki Paasonen, includes plots of being chosen as king, fighting foreign enemies, defeating divine birth opponents, ascending to heaven, and leading his people to new lands. The epic may have formed first among Mokshas and later been borrowed by Erzyas, where Tyushtya is a Moon god, son of Nishke (Thunder god) and mortal girl Litova. His mythology reflects Indo-Iranian influence, seen in horse cults, animal-style decorations, and linguistic traces such as the word 'azor' (master) traced to Iranian 'ahur'. The epic was compiled by Vasily Radayev in 1991 and by Aleksandr Sharonov in 1994. In 2021, Ukrainian band Komu Vnyz recorded a song 'Appeal to Tyushtya' based on a poem by Olyosh.

Did You Know?

• Tyushtya is able to turn into a white horse.
• The Moksha word for king (тюштян) derives from his name.