Rag

In Aghul folk cosmology the Sun, Rag, is a luminous female being whose daily course brings light, warmth and the ripening of the harvest. Recorded within the wider South-Daghestanian (Lezgic) astral complex, she is venerated together with the Moon, and popular legend casts the two as sister and brother. Reverent gestures greeted sunrise and oaths were sworn by her; her temporary seizure during a solar eclipse was blamed on a devouring dragon, against which villagers raised a protective din. The Aghul sun-word stands as a cognate of Lezgin рагъ.

Domains

• sun
• light and warmth

Powers

• gives light and warmth to the world
• ripens the grain and fruit

Relations

• sibling: WarzPopular astral legend of the Lezgic peoples casts the Sun and Moon as sister and brother.Халидова М.Р. Мифологический и исторический эпос народов Дагестана. Махачкала, 1992 (легенда о солнце-сестре и месяце-брате). (secondary)
• enemy: AzhdahaAt a solar eclipse the dragon azhdaha was believed to seize and swallow the Sun.Халидова М.Р. Мифологический и исторический эпос народов Дагестана. Махачкала, 1992 (представления о затмениях). (secondary)

Sources

• The Sun, Rag, is a venerated celestial being of Aghul folk religion within the South-Daghestanian astral cult.: Булатова А.Г. Сельскохозяйственный календарь и календарные обычаи и обряды народов Дагестана. СПб.: Петербургское Востоковедение, 1999. (secondary); Сефербеков Р.И. Пантеон языческих божеств народов Дагестана. Махачкала, 2009. (secondary)
• The Aghul Sun and Moon appear in legend as sister and brother, a motif shared across the Lezgic peoples.: Халидова М.Р. Мифологический и исторический эпос народов Дагестана. Махачкала, 1992. (secondary)