Dawn and Birth Goddess

Spirit-class mother/dawn goddess (classed as deity). 'Ekwa' = woman/old woman in Mansi; her name is also given Kaltaś. Mother of the World-Surveyor; her sphere joins birth, dawn, the moon and fate. The 'goose' association is properly her son Mir-susne-khum's, so it is not assigned to her here.

Domains

• birth and childbirth
• dawn
• fate

Powers

• grants safe birth to women who call on her
• brings the daylight and the dawn
• changes into a hare to move between the worlds

Epithets

• Kaltas

Relations

• lover: Lord of the Lower World
• equated with: Earth Mother
• equated with: Kaltes
• spouse: Upper Sky Father

Sources

• Bernát Munkácsi, Vogul Folklore Collection, 1892–1921
• K. F. Karjalainen, Die Religion der Jugra-Völker, 1921–1927