God of Thunder and the Sun
Vainakh · deity · mythic · Recorded classification
Chechen ⟨Села⟩ Sela. His consort/daughter Sela Sata is goddess of crafts and helps Pkharmat. The Milky Way is the 'scattering of Sela'.
Children
Domains
- thunder and lightning
- stars and sky fire
Powers
- hoards the world's sole fire upon the mountain
- flings lightning and shakes the heavens with thunder
Relations
- enemy: Fire-Stealing Smith-HeroReciprocal of vainakh_pkharmat.enemy — Stole celestial fire from Sela for mankind; the thunder god chained the Nart smith to Mount Kazbek, the eagle Ida tearing his liver.Amjad Jaimoukha, The Chechens: A Handbook (2005) (secondary)
- equated with: God of Thunder and LightningReciprocal of abkhaz_afy.equated-with — Areal Caucasian identification across NW-Caucasian/Nakh lines (MNM cross-refs): thunder-lords with parallel lightning-death rites. Not cognate; Sela adds solar/calendar ties Afy lacks — flagged as areal-typological.'Sela', in S. A. Tokarev (ed.), Mify narodov mira (1980-82) (secondary); B. K. Dalgat, Pervobytnaya religiya chechentsev (1893) (secondary)
Sources
- Seela (Sela) is the Vainakh god of thunder, lightning, the stars and the sun, depicted as cruel; he guards fire and punishes Pkharmat.: Jaimoukha, Amjad. The Chechens: A Handbook. RoutledgeCurzon, 2005, mythology chapter. (secondary)