Nail-Star

Spirit-class celestial Being (classed as deity), one of the vaʼirgьt (sacred Beings). Bogoras glosses the Pole-Star as the 'Nail-Star' / 'motionless star'; the romanized native term Unpener ('the driven-in one', i.e. nail) follows Chukchi star-names recorded by Bogoras. The four/five directions and Dawn, Mid-day and Zenith are likewise treated as Beings.

Domains

• celestial axis
• the directions

Powers

• stands unmoving as the nail that pins the turning sky
• marks the centre from which the directions and Dawn are reckoned

Relations

• companion: Zenith

Sources

• Waldemar Bogoras, The Chukchee, Jesup North Pacific Expedition VII, 1904–1909