Ber Shishvlish
Svan · deity · Svan traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Ber Shishvlish, the Bare Elder or Lord of the Bare Mountain, presides over the high stony wastes above the forest and stands at the head of the Svan hunting pantheon. Georges Charachidzé records that three forest gods serve him: Apsat, master of the small game of fish and birds; the Angel of the Forest, who rules the beasts of the woods such as foxes and bears; and Saint George in his highland aspect as patron of wolves and hunters. He is the presiding power over the whole enterprise of the chase, the summit-dwelling elder whose domain is the naked rock where Dæl also pastures her ibex.
Domains
- the hunt
- bare mountain
Powers
- commands the deities of the hunt
Epithets
- შიშველი მთის პატრონი — Lord of the Bare MountainCharachidzé, Georges (1968), Le système religieux de la Géorgie païenne, Paris: Maspero (secondary)
Relations
- ally: ApsatCharachidzé, Georges (1968), Le système religieux de la Géorgie païenne, Paris: Maspero (secondary)
- ally: Cxekis AngelwezCharachidzé, Georges (1968), Le système religieux de la Géorgie païenne, Paris: Maspero (secondary)
- ally: JgërægCharachidzé, Georges (1968), Le système religieux de la Géorgie païenne, Paris: Maspero (secondary)
Sources
- Ber Shishvlish, the Lord of the Bare Mountain, is the chief of the Svan hunting deities, served by Apsat, the Angel of the Forest and Saint George.: Charachidzé, Georges (1968), Le système religieux de la Géorgie païenne, Paris: Maspero (secondary)