Lord of the Forest and Game

Abkhaz ⟨Ажәеипшьаа⟩ Ažʷeipšʼaa. Closely parallel to Circassian Mezitha and Georgian Dali; the keep-the-bones-whole revival motif is pan-Caucasian.

Domains

• the hunt
• forests and wild herds

Powers

• milks his wild deer and grants their flesh to favored hunters
• owns and herds the wild beasts of the forest as master of the game

Relations

• equated with: Lord of the Forest and the Hunt

Sources

• Abkhaz traditional religion / ethnographic sources on the hunting cult (Azhveipshaa).
• Colarusso, John. Nart Sagas from the Caucasus, 2002 (Caucasian hunt-deity context).