Creator
Chukchi · deity · primordial · Recorded classification
Spirit-class creator (classed as deity). Bogoras records the name as Tenanto'mwan, 'the one who induces/creates being'; in many tales the Creator's work is performed by Raven (Kurkil), so the two overlap. Cyrillic Тэнантомгын reflects the later Russian-orthography rendering of the Chukchi name.
Domains
- creation
- supreme being
Powers
- watches all that happens through holes in the sky about the Pole-Star
- brings the present world-order into being
Epithets
- Tenantomwan The Creator, “the One who Comes into Being”; maker of the Chukchi worldWaldemar Bogoras, The Chukchee (secondary)
Relations
- companion: Raven the TransformerReciprocal of chukchi_kurkil.companion — Raven carries out the Creator's commissions in Chukchi creation tales, shaping land and bringing light.Waldemar Bogoras, The Chukchee (Jesup North Pacific Expedition, 1904-1909) (secondary)
Sources
- Tenanto'mwan ('the Creator') is the Chukchi creator-being, counted among the superior Beings, who watches the world through holes in the sky around the Pole-Star.: Waldemar Bogoras, The Chukchee, Jesup North Pacific Expedition VII, 1904–1909 (secondary); Waldemar Bogoras, Chukchee Mythology, Jesup North Pacific Expedition VIII, 1910–1913 (secondary)