Fire-Mother of the Mordvins
Mordvin · deity · mythic · Recorded classification
Erzya/Moksha ⟨Тол ава⟩ Tol ava (tol 'fire' + ava 'mother'). Fire was tended and tabooed in the Mordvin household; Tol-ava is its owner. Parallel to the Mari fire-spirit and to the wider Finno-Ugric hearth-mother concept.
Domains
- fire and hearth
Powers
- owns the flame of hearth and sacred fire
Sources
- Tol-ava (Tolen azor-ava) is the Mordvin fire-mother, the female owner-spirit of fire and the hearth-flame, one of the standard elemental Ava (forest/water/fire).: Holmberg (Harva), Uno. Finno-Ugric Mythology (The Mythology of All Races, vol. IV). Boston, 1927, Mordvin sections. (secondary); 'Mari and Mordvin Religion.' Encyclopedia of Religion (Encyclopedia.com), s.v. Mordvin nature-spirits (Vir-ava, Ved-ava, Tol-ava). (secondary)