Satanaya (
Adyghe Сэтэнай ;
Kabardian Сэтэней ;
Ubykh ;
Ossetian Сатана Satana) is a
myth
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of Narrative, narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or Origin myth, origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not Objectivity (philosophy), ...
ological figure who appears in many cycles of the
Nart sagas
The Nart sagas ( Abkhaz: Нарҭаа ражәабжьқәа; ''Nartaa raƶuabƶkua''; ady, Нарт тхыдэжъхэр, translit=Nart txıdəĵxər; os, Нарты кадджытæ; ''Narty kaddžytæ''; ''Nartı kadjıtæ'') are a series of ...
of the
North Caucasus.
Satanaya is the mother of the Narts, a
fertility figure who is also an authority over her children. Satanaya is often cast in the light of a "wise woman" or
matriarch, which mirrors the relative freedom of women in
North Caucasian societies generally. Satanaya can be compared to the
Greek Demeter
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Demeter (; Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over crops, grains, food, and the fertility of the earth. Although s ...
, with whom she shares many traits.
In Ossetian tradition, she is the daughter of
Uastyrdzhi
Nykhas Uastyrdzhi ( os, Ныхас Уастырджи, ) is the name of Saint George in Ossetian folklore. Uastyrdzhi is the patron of the male sex and travellers as well as being a guarantor of oaths, like his Iranian counterpart Mithra wit ...
(St. George).
The Chechen-Ingush version is somewhat different in that the counterpart of Satanaya, Sela-Sata, is primarily a goddess of
crafts and women's work rather than a Nartic matriarch. However, many of her characteristics, including the story of her miraculous birth of a dead Nart mother and her involvement in the birth of chief hero Seska-Solsa (
Sosruko
Sosruko, Sosruquo, or Sosriqwa (; os, Сослан, ''Soslan''; kbd, Сосрыкъуэ, ''Sosryqwa''; krc, Сосурукъ/Сосуркъа, ''Sosuruq/Sosurqa'') is a central character in many cycles of the Nart sagas of the Caucasus.
Sosr ...
), correspond closely to those of Satanaya in the other versions.
Her Ossetic name is most likely of exogenous origin, with the original possibly having been preserved as Tavuna (Тавуна) in the Iron Ossetic dialect and Tavyna (Тавына) in the Digor dialect respectively.
Episodes of the Nart Saga including Satanaya
In "Why the Sun Pauses at the Horizon at Sunset", Satanaya makes a bet that she can weave a coat in one day, and has to ask the sun for a favour, to slow down, that she may finish her task before the day is through.
In "Lady Satanaya's Blossom", Satanaya finds a beautiful flower by the river Kuban and plucks it and replants it in front of her house. The next day, she is sad to discover that it has withered. Once again she goes and plucks another of the same flower, only to see the same result the following morning. The third time she re-plants a flower in front of her house, it rains, and the flower is invigorated and continues to live on until the next day. Satanaya realizes the importance of water to life.
See also
*
Tabiti, queen of the Scythian gods.
Sources
External links
*
Circassian mythology
Ossetian mythology
Mythological characters
{{Europe-myth-stub