Alba
Ket · demigod · mythic / first times · Recorded classification
Culture-hero / monster-slayer tier; classed 'demigod'. The chief Ket hero, defined by his cosmic pursuit of the death-goddess Hosedem; note that a separate Ket tradition makes the Milky Way the trail of the first shaman Doh — both star-path traditions are recorded.
Domains
- heroic pursuit and monster slaying
Powers
- hunt down Hosedem and burn her in the Arctic
- Drove Hosedem northward and burned her in the Arctic
- Cut the channel of the Yenisei
Relations
- enemy: Mistress of the North (Hosedem)The hero Alba's defining deed is his cosmic pursuit of the death-goddess Hosedem down the Yenisei, cutting the river's course before she escapes to the icy north.E. A. Alekseenko (ed.), Mify, predaniya, skazki ketov (2001) (secondary)
Sources
- Alba (Albe) is the Ket culture-hero who pursues the evil Hosedem northward along the Yenisei into the Arctic and burns her; the Milky Way is identified as the trail he left across the sky in this chase.: Vajda, E.J. (2011). Siberian Landscapes in Ket Traditional Culture. ANLC — the Alba/Hosedam pursuit and the Milky Way. (secondary); Alekseenko, E.A.; Anuchin, V.I. (1914) — Yenisei-Ostiak hero traditions. (ethnography)