Disani ( Kamkata-vari: ''Disaňi''), also known as Disni was a

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...

of the

Nuristani people The Nuristanis, formerly known as Kafiristanis, are an ethnic group native to the Nuristan Province of northeastern Afghanistan and Chitral District of northwestern Pakistan. Their languages comprise the Nuristani branch of Indo-Iranian langua ...

before their conversion to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

. To the people of Nuristan, she was depicted as living in the terrestrial world, appearing in the shape of a woman with a golden garland. Milk and milk-products were offered to her at the altar on the hillside.

Etymology

The etymology of Disani, known in

Kamviri Kamviri () is a dialect of the Kamkata-vari language spoken by 5,000 to 10,000 of the Kom people of Afghanistan and Pakistan. There are slight dialectal differences of the Kamviri speakers of Pakistan. The most used alternative names are ''Kati' ...

as ''Disaňi'' and

Kata-vari Kata-vari is a dialect of the Kamkata-vari language spoken by the Kata in parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The most used alternative names are ''Kati'', ''Kativiri'' or ''Bashgali''. It is spoken by approximately 40,000 people (mostly in Afgh ...

as ''Disai'', from which Prasuni ''Disni'' was borrowed from, is somewhat unclear. In

Ashkun The Nuristanis, formerly known as Kafiristanis, are an ethnic group native to the Nuristan Province of northeastern Afghanistan and Chitral District of northwestern Pakistan. Their languages comprise the Nuristani branch of Indo-Iranian langua ...

, the cognate term ''dasaňi'' means "ogress". It has been theorized by others, such as

Georg Morgenstierne Georg Valentin von Munthe af Morgenstierne (2 January 1892 – 3 March 1978) was a Norwegian professor of linguistics with the University of Oslo (UiO). He specialized in Indo-Iranian languages. Studies During the years 1923 to 1971, Morgenst ...

, that the word is cognate with the

Vedic Sanskrit Vedic Sanskrit was an ancient language of the Indo-Aryan subgroup of the Indo-European language family. It is attested in the Vedas and related literature compiled over the period of the mid- 2nd to mid-1st millennium BCE. It was orally preser ...

term Dhiṣáṇā, via a preform ''*Dhiṣanikā''. It has also been etymologized by Nuristani speakers themselves as ''di'' "sky" + ''saňi'' "soldier", though Morgenstierne and Strand regard this as

folk etymology Folk etymology (also known as popular etymology, analogical reformation, reanalysis, morphological reanalysis or etymological reinterpretation) is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more famili ...

.Halfmann, Jakob. "Nuristani Theonyms in Light of Historical Phonology". In: ''6th Indo-European Research Colloquium'', 2022. OI: http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.31805.54244 www.researchgate.net/publication/359109254_Nuristani_Theonyms_in_Light_of_Historical_Phonology

Role in religion

Disani is featured in a myth found among the Kati and Prasun peoples. The various Nuristani deities (including Disani) march up to a house near heaven, where demons live. She is told by the deities to sow seeds after they unsuccessfully try to shoot the house down with arrows. The seeds ripen quickly and the chaff, visible in white, attaches itself to the thread (compare

shimenawa are lengths of laid rice straw or hemp rope used for ritual purification in the Shinto religion. vary in diameter from a few centimetres to several metres, and are often seen festooned with —traditional paper streamers. A space bound by ty ...

in the Iwato myth). Later, she tells

Moni Moni or Mone ( Kamkata-vari: ''Mone''/''Mune''), also known as Mandi (from Prasun) was, after Imra, the second-most important god in the pre-Islamic pantheon of the Nuristani people. With his breath, Imra created Moni and Gish. Moni was believe ...

to look at her thighs, which are white and full. Moni gets excited, breaks the door and kills the demons. This story is reminiscent of the

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

variant of the myth (

Vala Vala or VALA may refer to: Religion and mythology * Vala (Vedic), a demon or a stone cavern in the Hindu scriptures * Völva, also spelled Vala, a priestess in Norse mythology and Norse paganism Fiction * Vala (Middle-earth), an angelic being in ...

) and the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

variant of the myth (

Amano-Iwato is a cave in Japanese mythology. According to the ''Kojiki'' (''Records of Ancient Matters'') and the '' Nihon Shoki'', the bad behavior of Susano'o, the Japanese god of storms, drove his sister Amaterasu into the Ama-no-Iwato cave. The land w ...

), suggesting a common

Proto-Indo-Iranian Proto-Indo-Iranian, also Proto-Indo-Iranic is the reconstructed proto-language of the Indo-Iranian/Indo-Iranic branch of Indo-European. Its speakers, the hypothetical Proto-Indo-Iranians, are assumed to have lived in the late 3rd millennium B ...

origin. Her attributes recall those of the Vedic

Ushas Ushas (Vedic Sanskrit: / ') is a Vedas, Vedic goddess of dawn in Hinduism. She repeatedly appears in the Rigvedic hymns, states David Kinsley, where she is "consistently identified with dawn, revealing herself with the daily coming of light to t ...

and Japanese

Ame-no-Uzume is the goddess of dawn, mirth, meditation, revelry and the arts in the Shinto religion of Japan, and the wife of fellow-god Sarutahiko Ōkami. She famously relates to the tale of the missing sun deity, Amaterasu Omikami. Her name can also be p ...

, who perform similar feats.{{cite book, last=Witzel, first=Michael, title=Vala and Iwato: The Myth of the Hidden Sun in India, Japan, and beyond, year=2005, url=https://www.onmarkproductions.com/monkey-mythology-compare-india-japan-by-michael-witzel.pdf

References

External links

Richard Strand's Nuristân Site
Indo-European deities Asian goddesses Nuristani culture

Etymology

Role in religion

See also

References

External links