Moc'

Moc', the personified moon, forms with the sun the oldest layer of Avar deity, the two luminaries being the earliest objects of veneration. Among the Andalal Avars the moon is a youth set in gendered opposition to the sun-maiden, and popular narrative treats the pair as brother and sister. Moc' orders the lunar month and thereby the agrarian and festival calendar that governed sowing, herding and the seasonal rites. Sources differ on the exact kinship and mood of the two luminaries from village to village, but their pairing as sun and moon of opposite sex is consistent across the Avar highlands.

Domains

• moon
• calendar month

Powers

• measures out the months

Relations

• sibling: Bak'The moon-youth is paired as brother to the sun-maiden in the celestial tale.Пережитки домонотеистических верований и обрядов у аварцев-андалальцев в XIX – начале XX в. (secondary)

Sources

• The moon (motsI) is one of the two personified celestial bodies among the oldest Avar deities; among the Andalal it is imagined as male, opposed to the female sun.: Халилов Х.М. «Аваро-андо-цезская мифология» // Мифы народов мира. М., 1980–1982. (secondary); Пережитки домонотеистических верований и обрядов у аварцев-андалальцев в XIX – начале XX в. (secondary)