Ishtar-Dela, Lord of the Dead
Vainakh · deity · mythic · Recorded classification
Vainakh death-lord and ruler of the underworld Deeli-Malkhi, the figure behind the 'Mater-Dela / Dika-Dela' slot of the brief (no separate good/mother-Dela is securely attested; the attested distinct del- figure is the death-lord). English 'Ishtar-Dela, Lord of the Dead' leads; native Иштар-Дела (Ishtar-Dela) in term. SOLITARY: despite the shared del- element with the supreme Dela, the sources do not state any individuated kinship, spouse or parentage for him (Jaimoukha 2005; Tsaroïeva 2005; the Vainakh-religion survey).
Domains
- death and the underworld
- life and death
- punishment of the wicked
Powers
- rule the subterranean realm of the dead
- dispose of life and death
- punish the wicked
Sources
- Ishtar-Dela (Иштар-Дела; also Eshtar) is the Vainakh lord of life and death and ruler of the subterranean world Deeli-Malkhi, the realm of the dead, where he punishes the wicked.: Amjad Jaimoukha, The Chechens: A Handbook (RoutledgeCurzon, 2005), religion and mythology chapter (secondary); Vainakh religion, Wikipedia (Ishtar-Deela; Deeli-Malkhi) (tertiary); Mariel Tsaroïeva, Anciennes croyances des Ingouches et des Tchétchènes (Paris: Maisonneuve & Larose, 2005) (secondary)