Erzya/Moksha ⟨Вирь ава⟩ Virʼ ava (vir 'forest' + ava 'mother'). Her male counterpart is Vir-atya (atya 'old man, father'). One of the standard elemental Ava (forest/water/fire/wind/earth) of the strongly female-dominated Mordvin pantheon. Functional parallel of Mari Kožla-jumo and Estonian Metsaema.
Domains
forests and woodland
wild beasts and game
fertility and childbirth
Powers
owns and herds the beasts, birds and trees of the forest
aids women and quickens fertility in some tales
Sources
Holmberg (Harva), Uno. Finno-Ugric Mythology (The Mythology of All Races, vol. IV). Boston: Marshall Jones, 1927, Mordvin sections.
Hamari, Arja, & Rigina Ajanki. 'Mordvin (Erzya and Moksha).' The Oxford Guide to the Uralic Languages. Oxford: OUP, 2022, ch. 23 (nature-deities; vir 'forest', ava 'mother').