Ajyyhyt (Aysyt, Ajsyt or Ajyhyt; sah, Айыыһыт) is a fertility deity of the Yakut people from the

Lena River The Lena (russian: Ле́на, ; evn, Елюенэ, ''Eljune''; sah, Өлүөнэ, ''Ölüöne''; bua, Зүлхэ, ''Zülkhe''; mn, Зүлгэ, ''Zülge'') is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean ...

region of

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

. The name means "birthgiver" and may also be called the "Mother of Cradles". Her full name is given as Айыыһыт Хотун, meaning "Birthgiving nourishing mother". Aisyt brings the soul from heaven at the birth of a baby and records each one in the Golden Book of Fate and daughter of

Yer Tanrı A yer is either of two letters in Cyrillic alphabets, ъ (ѥръ, ''jerŭ'') and ь (ѥрь, ''jerĭ''). The Glagolitic alphabet used, as respective counterparts, the letters (Ⱏ) and (Ⱐ). They originally represented phonemically the "ult ...

Role

Ajysyt was responsible for conducting the

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

of a newborn child to its birth and attended every birth. Women would

channel Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...

Ajysyt, believing that doing so would relieve them of pain during childbirth. She kept a golden book in which she recorded each one. She is said to have lived on a mountain top in a house with seven stories, from which she controlled the fate of the world.

Versions

The Yakut revere a variety of ( sah, Айыы). The primary manifestation, Ньэлбэй Айыыһыт (Njelbey Ajyhyt), is responsible for the birth of children; Дьөһөгөй Тойон (Djøhøgøj Tojon) govern the reproduction of horses; Иhэгэй Иэйиэхсит (Ihegej Iejehsit) has responsibility for oxen; and Noruluya manages dogs and foxes. When referring to the fertility deity for the births of male animals, such as stallions or bulls, the word ' is understood to be male. However, when relating to the birth of a mare or cow, the word is feminine.

Legends

One legend recalls how she appeared from the roots of the

Cosmic Tree The world tree is a motif present in several religions and mythologies, particularly Indo-European religions, Siberian religions, and Native American religions. The world tree is represented as a colossal tree which supports the heavens, thereb ...

(alternatively the

world pillar In astronomy, axis mundi is the Latin term for the axis of Earth between the celestial poles. In a geocentric coordinate system, this is the axis of rotation of the celestial sphere. Consequently, in ancient Greco-Roman astronomy, the ''ax ...

of Үрүҥ Аар Тойон (Yryng Aar Tojon) to a pale young man; the tree stood beside a lake of milk. By

suckling Breastfeeding, or nursing, is the process by which human breast milk is fed to a child. Breast milk may be from the breast, or may be expressed by hand or pumped and fed to the infant. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that brea ...

the youth she caused his strength to increase a hundredfold.

Contemporary representation

Ajysyt is a featured figure on

Judy Chicago Judy Chicago (born Judith Sylvia Cohen; July 20, 1939) is an American feminist artist, art educator, and writer known for her large collaborative art installation pieces about birth and creation images, which examine the role of women in history ...

's installation piece '' The Dinner Party'', being represented as one of the 999 names on the '' Heritage Floor.''

References

Yakut mythology Earth goddesses Eurasian shamanism {{Siberia-myth-stub Altai culture