Kyi ( pl, Kij , la, !Qui) or Kvyi ( pl, Kwij ) is an alleged Polish

god In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

or a figure associated with smithery, mentioned only in one source, ''

Postil A postil or postill ( la, postilla; german: Postille) was originally a term for Bible commentaries. It is derived from the Latin ''post illa verba textus'' ("after these words from Scripture"), referring to biblical readings. The word first occurs ...

'' of Koźmieńczyk. So far, only has undertaken the interpretation of this figure.

Etymology

Pan-Slavic Pan-Slavism, a movement which crystallized in the mid-19th century, is the political ideology concerned with the advancement of integrity and unity for the Slavic people. Its main impact occurred in the Balkans, where non-Slavic empires had rule ...

word ''*kyjь'' (today "stick, cue, club") comes from word ''*kovati'' ("to forge") originally meaning "to beat". This noun used to mean not only "stick, club" but also "hammer" (cf.

Old Church Slavonic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language. Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with Standard language, standardizing the lan ...

: ''кꙑи''/''kyi'' "hammer",

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and ...

: ''kij'' "hammer" (15th cent.), Lithuanian: ''kūjis'' "hammer"). From the word ''*kovati'' come such

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

words like ''kijanka'' "

washing paddle The washing paddle (or washing beetle, battledore, laundry bat), known as ''thaapi'' in Haryanvi and Hindi languages, is a hand tool used to do laundry. It is made of wood, shaped like a baker's peel, but with a much shorter handle used as a gri ...

", ''kuźnia'' "

forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to th ...

", ''kowadło'' "

anvil An anvil is a metalworking tool consisting of a large block of metal (usually forged or cast steel), with a flattened top surface, upon which another object is struck (or "worked"). Anvils are as massive as practical, because the higher th ...

", ''okowy'' "bonds", ''podkowa'' "

horseshoe A horseshoe is a fabricated product designed to protect a horse hoof from wear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface (ground side) of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall that is anatomically akin to the human toen ...

", ''kowal'' "

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

". Since 13th century ''Dictionary of Old Polish Personal Names'' notes surnames Kij, since 14th century notes surnames Kijan, Kijanowic, Kijanowski, Kijko, since 15th century notes surnames Kijski, Kijowski, Kijański, Kije, Kijk, Kijec, Kijec(s)ki. Name ''Kij'' meant "the one who beats, forges" (cf Lithuanian: ''káuti'' "to beat, forge",

Old High German Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050. There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...

: ''houwan'' "to hit", Celtic ''cuad'' "to beat").

Interpretation

Due to the fact that there is only one source listing this character and the lack of information about it in this source, possibilities for interpretation are limited. ''Kija'' could be alternation of Niya, but the fact that in the first enumeration of the Kija and ''Nyia'' are listed together speaks against this. Kyi mentioned by Koźmieńczyk may be somehow connected with the legendary Kyi – the ruler of Eastern Polans and the founder of

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, mentioned in the ''

Primary Chronicle The ''Tale of Bygone Years'' ( orv, Повѣсть времѧньныхъ лѣтъ, translit=Pověstĭ vremęnĭnyxŭ lětŭ; ; ; ; ), often known in English as the ''Rus' Primary Chronicle'', the ''Russian Primary Chronicle'', or simply the ...

'' ( Długosz sees in the founder of Kyiv "one Polish pagan prince"), as well as with other characters with similar names, name donors for places with similar names to Kyiv, including hypothetically

Kuyavia Kuyavia ( pl, Kujawy; german: Kujawien; la, Cuiavia), also referred to as Cuyavia, is a historical region in north-central Poland, situated on the left bank of Vistula, as well as east from Noteć River and Lake Gopło. It is divided into three t ...

. The name is associated with a certain archaic mythological complex, whose personification in

Iranian mythology Iranian mythology or Iranic mythology may refer to any of the following mythologies of various Iranian peoples: * Persian mythology * Kurdish mythology * Scythian mythology ** Ossetian mythology * Azerbaijani mythology See also * Iranian religio ...

is Kaveh (from

PIE A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), brown sugar ( sugar pie), swe ...

. ''*kou̯'' "to forge"), also known as Kobe. From a message from the 10th century B.C. Kaveh was a blacksmith-hero who killed a three-headed dragon ( Aži Dahaka) and founded the

Kayanian dynasty The Kayanians (Persian: دودمان کیانیان; also Kays, Kayanids, Kaianids, Kayani, or Kiani) are a legendary dynasty of Persian/Iranian tradition and folklore which supposedly ruled after the Pishdadians. Considered collectively, the Kay ...

, where the title of kings from this dynasty was Key or Kay (e.g. Kay Khosrow). Like Kaveh, before the founding of Kyiv, Kyi kills the dragon. A similar motif has been preserved in the

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a s ...

(where metallurgy had existed for several hundred years) legend about

Krak KMPS (910 AM) is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Hesperia, California and broadcasts to the Victor Valley area. It is owned by El Dorado Broadcasters and airs a Regional Mexican radio format with programming from La X 103.1. KMP ...

from the 13th century, who, according to one version, also kills the dragon. Kyi could therefore be a mythical blacksmith, a dragon slayer.

References

{{reflist Slavic gods Smithing gods