Mistress of the North (Hosedem)

The Ket evil female underworld being; classed 'deity' (malevolent spirit-class). Antithesis of warm-south Tomam and quarry of the hero Alba. English descriptor leads, native Khosedem in term. Documented by Anuchin and Alekseenko; landscape associations by Vajda.

Domains

• death and the underworld
• cold north and winter
• disease and misfortune

Powers

• swallow the souls of the dead
• Bringer of disease, cold and death from the north

Epithets

• Hosedem

Relations

• enemy: Alba
• spouse: Sky-God
• rival: Mother of Heat (Tomam)

Sources

• Anuchin, V.I. (1914). Essay on the Shamanism of the Yenisei Ostiaks.
• Vajda, E.J. (2011). Siberian Landscapes in Ket Traditional Culture — Khosedem and the north.