Forest-Mother of the Mordvins
Mordvin · deity · mythic · deity
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').