Nail-Star
Chukchi · deity · primordial · Recorded classification
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: ZenithThe Nail-Star (Pole-Star) is 'often identified with the middle-crown' of the Zenith-being.Bogoras, The Chukchee, Part II 'Religion' (1907), p. 303 (secondary)
Sources
- The Chukchi Pole-Star is the 'Nail-Star', the one motionless star at the centre of the sky, counted among the superior Beings and the hub of the directions.: Waldemar Bogoras, The Chukchee, Jesup North Pacific Expedition VII, 1904–1909 (secondary)