Lord of the Underworld

Spirit-class underworld lord (classed as deity). kul/khul = evil spirit/devil; otyr = lord/hero. Authored under the Khanty label with the Mansi form Kul-Otyr as transliteration; counterpart of the sky-father Num-Torum in the upper/lower-world dualism.

Domains

• underworld
• disease and death
• earth diver creation

Powers

• dives to bring up the first earth from beneath the water
• spreads disease and misfortune from the lower world
• takes the form of the diving bird that brings up the first silt
• rules the disease-spirits (kulis) of the lower world

Relations

• lover: KaltesIn one Ob-Ugric variant Kaltes's fall from heaven follows an illicit union with Kul-otyr, lord of the lower world.Kulemzin et al., Khanty Mythology (2006) (secondary)
• equated with: Lord of the Lower WorldSame Ob-Ugric underworld lord Kul'/Khul' (Kul-Otyr ≈ Khul'-Ater).Encyclopaedia of Uralic Mythologies (Khanty & Mansi vols.), eds. Napolskikh, Siikala & Hoppál; Holmberg, Mythology of All Races vol. 4, 1927 (secondary)
• sibling: Sky FatherIn Ob-Ugric cosmogony the underworld lord is the dark brother of the sky god Num-Torum.V. Kulemzin et al., Khanty Mythology (Encyclopaedia of Uralic Mythologies 1, 2006) (secondary)
• enemy: Sky FatherAdversary of the sky god: he corrupts the creation and rules the dead below.V. Kulemzin et al., Khanty Mythology (Encyclopaedia of Uralic Mythologies 1, 2006) (secondary)

Sources

• Kul-Otyr is the Ob-Ugric (Khanty/Mansi) lord of the underworld, source of disease and death and chief adversary of the sky-god, who in some variants raises the first earth from the water.: K. F. Karjalainen, Die Religion der Jugra-Völker, 1921–1927 (secondary); Bernát Munkácsi, Vogul Folklore Collection, 1892–1921 (secondary)