Azhdaha
Rutul · numen · Rutul traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Azhdaha is the dragon of Rutul magic tales, a monstrous serpent whose name and figure descend from the Iranian Aži Dahāka and are shared across the whole Daghestani and Turkic world. In the characteristic narrative he coils about a spring or river and cuts off a settlement's water, granting it drop by drop only in exchange for tribute — most often a maiden delivered to be devoured — until a hero confronts and kills him and frees the water. He functions less as an object of cult than as the archetypal adversary of the folktale hero, the embodiment of drought and devouring chaos set against the human community.
Domains
- monster of the waters
Powers
- withhold a village's water
- devour those given up to it
Sources
- Azhdaha, the multi-headed dragon derived from Iranian Aži Dahāka, is a stock antagonist of Rutul prose folklore, blocking springs and rivers and exacting tribute until slain by the hero.: Мифологические персонажи в прозаическом фольклоре рутульцев: дис. ... канд. филол. наук. Махачкала, 2007. (primary); Аждарха // Мифы народов мира. Энциклопедия. М.: Советская энциклопедия, 1980–1982. (secondary)