Zenith
Chukchi · deity · primordial · Recorded classification
The Zenith-being is, in Bogoras's words, 'the chief' of the benevolent beings sacrificed to (taaronyo vairgit). The Chukchi call it 'being-a-crown' (kana'irgin) or 'middle-crown' (ginon-kana'irgin); it resides at the apex of the sky, and Mid-day, the Sun and the Pole-Star are each 'often identified with the middle-crown' without being reduced to it. Distinct from the Creator (Tenanto'mwan), it heads the spatial system of directional Beings; it is classed here as a deity with no attested divine parent.
Domains
- the zenith
- supreme being
Powers
- stands as chief over the benevolent Beings sacrificed to
- occupies the 'middle-crown' at the very top of the sky
Epithets
- ginon-kana'irgin 'Middle-Crown' (being of the zenith)Bogoras, The Chukchee (Jesup North Pacific Expedition) (secondary)
Relations
- companion: Mid-dayReciprocal of chukchi_midday.companion — the Zenith and Mid-day are co-named Beings of the upper directions; Mid-day is one of those 'identified with' the zenith's middle-crown.Bogoras, The Chukchee, Part II 'Religion' (1907), pp. 303–304 (secondary)
- companion: Nail-StarThe Pole-Star (Nail-Star) is, with Mid-day and the Sun, 'often identified with' the zenith's middle-crown, while remaining a distinct Being of the celestial axis.Bogoras, The Chukchee, Part II 'Religion' (1907), p. 303: the Polar Star among those 'identified with the middle-crown' (secondary)
Sources
- existence: Waldemar Bogoras, The Chukchee, Part II 'Religion' (Jesup North Pacific Expedition VII / Memoirs AMNH XI), 1907, p. 303 (secondary); M. A. Czaplicka, Aboriginal Siberia (Oxford, 1914), Part III 'Religion,' ch. XIII (secondary); Ülo Siimets, 'The Sun, the Moon and Firmament in Chukchi Mythology,' Folklore 32 (2006): 129–156 (secondary)