Lord of the Forest and the Hunt
Circassian · deity · mythic · Recorded classification
Adyghe ⟨Мэзытхьэ⟩ Məzytḥə, lit. 'forest-god' (məz 'forest' + tḥə 'god'). Functionally parallel to Abkhaz Azhwepshaa and the Georgian hunt-cult of Dali.
Domains
- the hunt
- forests and wild beasts
Powers
- releases wild game to the hunters who honor him
- disposes of the fate of the wild beasts and grants luck to the hunt
Epithets
- Мэзытхьэ forest-god (məz 'forest' + tḥə 'god')A. Jaimoukha, 'The Circassian Pantheon' (oocities.org) (secondary)
Relations
- equated with: Lord of the Forest and GameForest-and-game lords cross-identified in Abkhaz-Adyghe ethnography (MNM; Chursin): both grant and ration hunters' quarry and take first-game offerings. Georgian Dali is also compared, but no Georgian roster exists here.Sh. Kh. Salakaya, 'Azhveipsh', in S. A. Tokarev (ed.), Mify narodov mira (1980-82) (secondary); G. F. Chursin, Materialy po etnografii Abkhazii (1957) (secondary)
Sources
- Mezitha is the Circassian god of the forest, wild animals, and the hunt, propitiated by hunters.: Jaimoukha, Amjad. The Circassians: A Handbook. Curzon, 2001, religion chapter (Mezitha/Mezithe). (secondary); Colarusso, John. Nart Sagas from the Caucasus, 2002 (Caucasian hunt-deity context). (secondary)