Smith-God of the Abkhaz
Abkhaz · deity · mythic · Recorded classification
Abkhaz ⟨Шәашәы⟩ Šʷašʷə; epithet 'Shashwy-akhjakhdu' glossed 'great golden lord'. Sevenfold (семеричное) deity. Counterpart of Circassian Tlepsh and Ossetian Kurdalægon, but with a far stronger oath/justice function.
Domains
- smithcraft
- oath and justice
Powers
- sanctifies the smithy and the blacksmith's work
- strikes down those who swear falsely at his anvil
Epithets
- Шәашәы-ахьаху-ду Shashwy the great golden lord (the smith-god's cult epithet)Chirikba / Bgazhba, on Abkhaz traditional religion (smith-cult of Shashwy) (secondary)
Relations
- equated with: Divine Smith of the NartsReciprocal of circassian_tlepsh.equated-with — Smith-god counterparts in the Abkhaz-Adyghe koine (MNM; Inal-ipa): Nart forge-patron Tlepsh ~ Abkhaz smithy-and-oath deity Shashwy. Identification functional; Tlepsh lives in epic, Shashwy chiefly in forge-shrine cult.M. I. Mizhaev, 'Tlepsh', in S. A. Tokarev (ed.), Mify narodov mira (1980-82) (secondary); Sh. D. Inal-ipa, Abkhazy (1965) (secondary)
Sources
- Shashwy ('Shashwy-akhjakhdu', the great golden lord) is the archaic Abkhaz smith-god, embodied in the sacred household smithy (ažʼira), the supreme place of oaths, honored at the Azhyrnyhwa winter rite.: Bartsyts, Marina. 'The Sacred Time of the Azhyrnyhwa Ritual.' (Abkhaz smith-cult of Shashwy). (secondary); Colarusso, John. Nart Sagas from the Caucasus, 2002 (Abkhaz smith-deity context). (secondary)