Golden Old Man
Khanty · deity · primordial · Recorded classification
A son of Num-Torum, classed as a deity, known by the by-names Postajankt-iki ('the fast old man') and Sorńi-iki ('the golden old man') and at offerings by a third, evasive name. He rides a white horse and is reckoned in Karjalainen's record a (in some tellings the) youngest son — the figure distinct from his brother the World-Watching Man, with whom the 'youngest son' epithet is shared across variant tellings. Worshippers feared startling him: spoken carelessly, his name made him leap up, and to summon him without cause brought woe. Documented for the Ob-Ugrians by Karjalainen.
Parentage
- father: Sky FatherA son of the sky-father Num-Torum, among the seven brothers.Karjalainen, Die Religion der Jugra-Völker II (1922) (secondary)
Domains
- horsemanship
- fortune
Powers
- rides upon a white horse
- is startled into the air when his name is spoken carelessly
Epithets
- Sorńi-iki the golden old manK. F. Karjalainen, Die Religion der Jugra-Völker (FFC, 1921-1927) (secondary)
- Postajankt-iki the fast old manK. F. Karjalainen, Die Religion der Jugra-Völker (FFC, 1921-1927) (secondary)
Relations
- father: Sky FatherA son of the sky-father Num-Torum, among the seven brothers.Karjalainen, Die Religion der Jugra-Völker II (1922) (secondary)
- sibling: World-Watching ManBrother of the World-Watching Man among the sons of Num-Torum; both are heavenly riders, one on a winged, the other on a white horse.Karjalainen, Die Religion der Jugra-Völker II (1922): both reckoned sons of Num-Torum (secondary)
- sibling: Lower Sky LordFull sibling — shares the same attested parentage (Sky Father) per the figures' cited genealogy.
- sibling: World-Surveyor ManFull sibling — shares the same attested parentage (Sky Father) per the figures' cited genealogy.
Sources
- Postajankt-iki ('the fast old man'), also Sorni-iki ('the golden old man'), is in Ob-Ugric (Khanty/Mansi) religion a son of the sky-father Num-Torum who rides a white horse, invoked with offerings under an evasive by-name because he is startled by his own name and dangerous to call without cause.: K. F. Karjalainen, Die Religion der Jugra-Völker II (FF Communications 44), 1922 (secondary); Uno Holmberg [Harva], Finno-Ugric [and] Siberian Mythology (The Mythology of All Races IV), 1927 (secondary)