Ot-ene, the Fire-Mother, is the tutelary spirit of the household hearth. She is fed the first fat and morsels of every meal, and offerings to her secure the family's prosperity and health. As the living power of the fire she purifies people, food and dwellings and repels the malevolent aina spirits; mistreatment of the hearth-fire was believed to anger her and bring misfortune. Her cult is part of the wider Sayan-Altai reverence for domestic fire and stands alongside the taiga, mountain and water masters (çe eezi) whom the Shor propitiate in the middle world.