Umai
Shor · deity · Shor traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Umai, also called May-ene, is the mother-goddess who protects infants and women in childbirth. Among the Shor and neighbouring Khakas the same word names the newborn's caul and the fragile child-soul that Umai keeps beside the infant; should she withdraw, sickness or death was thought to follow, and her presence was invoked until the child could walk and speak freely, after which the soul was reckoned as kut. She belongs to the benevolent powers of the upper world and is addressed as Ak Umai, 'White Umai', in blessing.
Domains
- childbirth and infancy
- the childs soul
Powers
- guards infants and nursing children
- aids women in childbirth
Epithets
- Ак Умай — White UmaiL. P. Potapov, 'Umai — bozhestvo drevnikh tiurkov', Tiurkologicheskii sbornik 1972, Moscow, 1973. (secondary)
Sources
- Umai is the female protective deity of infants and childbirth; among the Shor the term also denotes the newborn's caul and the child-soul that Umai safeguards until the child is weaned.: L. P. Potapov, 'Umai — bozhestvo drevnikh tiurkov v svete etnograficheskikh dannykh', Tiurkologicheskii sbornik 1972, Moscow, 1973. (secondary); D. A. Funk, Miry shamanov i skazitelei, Moscow, 2005. (secondary)