Ossetian mythology

Background

The chief of the gods is Hutsau (Xucau). Uastyrdzhi (Wasgergi), named after Saint George, is the patron of males and travellers and the guarantor of oaths, and is the main patron of North Ossetia–Alania. Uacilla (Watsilla), named after Saint Elijah, is the god of rain, thunder and lightning, and protector of the harvest; anyone struck by lightning was considered chosen by the god. Safa is the god of the hearth chain, the most important domestic deity.

Donbettyr, lord of the waters, is named after Saint Peter and uses his chain to drag down unwary swimmers. His daughter Dzerassae is the mother of many Nart heroes. Tutyr, named after Saint Theodore of Tyre, is lord of the wolves. Fælværa, protector of sheep, has only one eye and is often the enemy of Tutyr. Æfsati, possibly named after Saint Eustace, is a male hunting god.

Kurdalægon is the heavenly smith and a close friend of the Narts. Satana is the mother goddess and mother of the Narts. Saubarag is the god of darkness and thieves. Huyændon Ældar is lord of the fish and a great magician.

Barastyr is the psychopomp and ruler of the underworld. Aminon is gatekeeper of the underworld. Alardy is lord of smallpox, who had to be placated.

Deities

The chief of the gods is Hutsau or Xucau. Uastyrdzhi, also called Wasgergi, Lagtydzuar, Lagdzuar, or Uastylag, is named after Saint George and serves as patron of males and travellers, guarantor of oaths, and main patron of North Ossetia–Alania. Uacilla (or Watsilla), named after Saint Elijah, is god of rain, thunder and lightning; as protector of the harvest he is known as Hory Uacilla. Anyone struck by lightning was considered chosen by the god, and if they survived, a sheep was sacrificed in their honour.

His summer festival involved sacrificing a lamb and a bull and drinking specially brewed beer, with women baking bread in silence as reverence. Safa is god of the hearth chain, the most important domestic deity. Donbettyr, lord of the waters, is named after Saint Peter, fusing the Ossetian 'don' (water) with Peter; he uses his chain to drag unwary swimmers to his realm at the sea bottom. One daughter, Dzerassae, is mother of many Nart heroes.

Tutyr, named after Saint Theodore of Tyre, is lord of the wolves. Fælværa, possibly named after Florus and Laurus, is the one-eyed protector of sheep whose festival occurred before sheep-shearing in September; he is often enemy of Tutyr. Æfsati, possibly named after Saint Eustace, is a male hunting god. Kurdalægon is the heavenly smith and close friend of the Narts. Satana is the mother goddess and mother of the Narts.

Saubarag is god of darkness and thieves. Huyændon Ældar, lord of the fish, is a great magician and spirit behaving like an earthly chief; his name means 'lord of the strait', likely the Cimmerian Bosphorus.

Barastyr is the psychopomp and ruler of the underworld who assigns arriving dead souls to paradise or his own realm. Aminon is gatekeeper of the underworld. Alardy or Alaurdi is lord of smallpox, who had to be placated.

Dream journey to the land of the dead

Among the Ossetians, some old men and women fall into an ecstasy on the eve of Saint Sylvester, remaining motionless as if asleep. Upon awakening, they report seeing souls of the dead, sometimes in a great swamp or astride pigs, dogs, or rams.

A soul gathering wheat and bringing it to the village is taken as an omen of abundant harvest. Kurys (Digor Burku) is a dream land, a meadow of the dead, visited in sleep by shaman-like Kurysdzauta or Burkudzauta. 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.