Idol-Spirits (Syadei)
Nenets · deity · mythic / perennial cult · Recorded classification
Spirit-class (master/guardian spirits), authored as a collective per the brief's 'syadei idols'; classed 'deity' since the schema forbids new types — these are a class of tutelary spirits, not a single named god. The carved idol itself is recorded under materialCulture. English 'Idol-Spirits' leads, native syadei in term.
Domains
- guardian and master spirits of place
Powers
- guard people, reindeer and game
Sources
- Syadei are Nenets master- and guardian-spirits embodied in carved wooden or stone idols, regarded as living beings that see, feel and act; they are kept in the chum and at sacred sites and receive sacrificial ritual.: University of Cambridge Museums, MAGIC project, 'Syadei: sacred objects'. (museum); Lehtisalo, T. (1924). Entwurf einer Mythologie der Jurak-Samojeden. (ethnography)