Tuy-nyamy (Fire Mother)
Nganasan · deity · Nganasan traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Tuy-nyamy, the Fire Mother, is the elemental 'mother of the world' (nguo) who inhabits the hearth fire at the centre of the Nganasan dwelling. Of all the great mothers she stood closest to daily life: the household fed her the first portions of food and fat, addressed her in domestic ritual, and was bound by prohibitions against polluting or striking the fire. She thus served as guardian of the home and as a conduit through which offerings reached the wider company of spirits. Her name carries the Nganasan word tuj 'fire'.
Domains
- fire and hearth
- household protection
Powers
- to dwell in and animate the hearth fire of the household
Epithets
- Tuy-nyamyPopov, A. A. (1984). Nganasany: Sotsial'noe ustroistvo i verovaniya. Leningrad: Nauka. (secondary)
Relations
- sibling: Kou-nyamy (Sun Mother)The Fire Mother is paired with the Sun Mother as a kindred power of warmth and light among the elemental mothers.Popov, A. A. (1984). Nganasany: Sotsial'noe ustroistvo i verovaniya. Leningrad: Nauka. (secondary)
- sibling: Bydy-nyamy (Water Mother)Fire Mother and Water Mother are counted together among the household elemental mothers of the Nganasan world.Gracheva, G. N. (1983). Traditsionnoe mirovozzrenie okhotnikov Taymyra. Leningrad: Nauka. (secondary)
Sources
- Tuy-nyamy is the Nganasan Fire Mother of the hearth, an elemental nguo who receives the household's first offerings.: Popov, A. A. (1984). Nganasany: Sotsial'noe ustroistvo i verovaniya [The Nganasans: Social Structure and Beliefs]. Leningrad: Nauka. (secondary); Gracheva, G. N. (1983). Traditsionnoe mirovozzrenie okhotnikov Taymyra [The Traditional Worldview of the Hunters of Taymyr]. Leningrad: Nauka. (secondary)