Oracular Prophet of the Sacred Mountain
Abkhaz · deity · mythic · Recorded classification
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 AbkhazDydrypsh is an apaimbar — an earthly prophet and representative of the supreme creator Antswa (abkhaz_antswa) — and so stands under and serves him. Non-symmetric (subordinate/representative) relation.Zelnitskaya, R. 'The Sanctuary of Dydrypsh-nykha Yesterday and Today.' Kunstkamera, 2023 (Dydrypsh is one apaimbar/representative of the god Antswa, dwelling on the mountain on his behalf). (secondary)
Sources
- Dydrypsh is the apaimbar ('earthly prophet'/representative of the supreme god Antswa) who dwells on the sacred Dydrypsh mountain above Achandara (Gudauta district); his sanctuary, Dydrypsh-nykha, is the chief and most revered of the Seven Sanctuaries of Abkhazia, a great oracular oath-shrine served by the Chichba priestly clan.: 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). (secondary); 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). (secondary); Hewitt, George (ed.). The Abkhazians: A Handbook. Curzon Press, 1999 (the sacred groves/mountains, the seven shrines and oath-cult of Abkhaz traditional religion). (secondary)
- The name Dydrypsh contains the Abkhaz element a-dəd 'thunder', tying the mountain-deity to the storm/thunder sphere of the high god.: Chirikba, V. A. Between Christianity and Islam, 2015 (etymology of Dədrəpšʲ-nəxa, a-dəd 'thunder'). (secondary)