Oracular Prophet of the Sacred Mountain

Abkhaz ⟨Дыдрыҧшь⟩ Dədrəpšʲ; shrine-form Dydrypsh-nykha (a-nəxa 'sanctuary'). Personified as an apaimbar of Antswa rather than an independent high god, hence classed deity (a divine intermediary) with a subordinate-to relation to abkhaz_antswa. The first of the Seven Sanctuaries (Abzhnyha): Dydrypsh, Lashkendar, Ldzaa, Lykhny, Elyr (Ilor), Inal-Kuba and Bytkha.

Domains

• sacred mountain and shrine
• oracle and divine judgement
• oath and justice

Powers

• hears oaths at the mountain shrine and discerns the truth of the swearer
• strikes down the perjurer and the wrongdoer who swears falsely before him
• stands as the earthly prophet and messenger of the supreme god Antswa

Relations

• subordinate to: Supreme God of the Abkhaz

Sources

• Chirikba, V. A. Between Christianity and Islam: Heathen Heritage in the Caucasus. Brill, Leiden, 2015 (Dydrypsh-nykha, name containing a-dəd 'thunder', chief shrine of Abkhazia).
• Zelnitskaya, R. 'The Sanctuary of Dydrypsh-nykha Yesterday and Today.' Kunstkamera (Kunstkamera journal), no. 1(19), 2023 (Dydrypsh as apaimbar of Antswa; oracle, oath and sacrifice).
• Hewitt, George (ed.). The Abkhazians: A Handbook. Curzon Press, 1999 (the sacred groves/mountains, the seven shrines and oath-cult of Abkhaz traditional religion).
• Chirikba, V. A. Between Christianity and Islam, 2015 (etymology of Dədrəpšʲ-nəxa, a-dəd 'thunder').