Dolay
Karachay Balkar · numen · Karachay Balkar traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Dolay is the patron spirit of butter-churning and, more broadly, of the dairy abundance of the herds. His name forms the refrain of the churning song that women raised over the churn to make the butter gather swiftly and richly, and by which the ordinary domestic labour of a pastoral household was bound to a protecting power. He belongs with Erirey of the threshing floor and Aymush of the flocks to the class of labour-song numina that personify the increase sought from each seasonal task, and whose cult survives chiefly in those songs.
Domains
- dairy
- livestock
Powers
- makes the butter come plentifully
Epithets
- Долай — Dolay (churning refrain)Малкондуев Х.Х. «Древняя песенная культура балкарцев и карачаевцев». Нальчик: Эльбрус, 1990. (secondary)
Sources
- Dolay is the patron of butter-churning and of the dairy produce of the herds, invoked in the churning song.: Малкондуев Х.Х. «Древняя песенная культура балкарцев и карачаевцев». Нальчик: Эльбрус, 1990. (secondary); Джуртубаев М.Ч. «Древние верования балкарцев и карачаевцев». Нальчик: Эльбрус, 1991. (secondary)