Tzovinar (Ծովինար) or Nar (Նար) was the Armenian goddess of water, sea, and rain. She was a fierce goddess, who forced the rain to fall from the heavens with her fury. Her name, Tzovinar, means "daughter of the seas" and she is identified as the mother of Sanasar and Baghdasar in Armenian epic tradition.

Name and etymology

Her name can be decomposed into two parts:

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

Old Armenian Classical Armenian (, in Eastern Armenian pronunciation: Grabar, Western Armenian: Krapar; meaning "literary anguage; also Old Armenian or Liturgical Armenian) is the oldest attested form of the Armenian language. It was first written down at ...

''tzov'' 'sea, large body of water', and ''nar'' or ''Nar''. The second part is speculated to be related to Nara, a Hittite or Hurrian deity. Scholar James R. Russell translates her name as 'Lady of the Lake'. Larisa Yeganyan translates the name as 'Marine' or 'Nymph of the Sea'. Tsovinar Harutyunyan interprets her name as "the sea", "the spirit of he sea" and "the light of the sea".

Role

As a goddess

Yeganyan associates Tzovinar with the celestial waters or a primordial ocean, where the rain waters gather. On the other hand, Armenian folklorist

Manuk Abeghian Manuk Abeghian ( hy, Մանուկ Աբեղյան, , alternatively Manouk Abeghian, or Manuk Abeghyan, March 15, 1865 – September 26, 1944) was a scholar of Armenian literature and folklore. He is best remembered as the main designer of the refo ...

interpreted her as "an angry storm goddess". According to Abeghian's studies, in the role of a storm goddess, she is described as having "fiery eyes". She also dances in the clouds riding on her horse, creating thunderstorms.

In epic

In the Armenian epic ''Sasna Cŕer'' (or

Daredevils of Sassoun ''Daredevils of Sassoun'' ( hy, Սասնա ծռեր ''Sasna cṙer'', also spelled Daredevils of Sasun) is an Armenian heroic epic poem in four cycles (parts), with its main hero and story better known as ''David of Sassoun'', which is the story ...

), a female character named ''Dzovinar'' or ''Covinar'' (dialectal 'lightning', according to Armen Petrosyan) functions as ancestress of a line of heroes that appear in later portions of the epic: by drinking of the spring or ''Kat'nov haxpür'' ('Milky Fountain'), she becomes pregnant with heroes Sanasar and Baghdasar. In another account, Covinar drinks a "milky liquid" that sprouts from a rock in the middle of

Lake Van Lake Van ( tr, Van Gölü; hy, Վանա լիճ, translit=Vana lič̣; ku, Gola Wanê) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the far east of Turkey, in the provinces of Van and Bitlis in the Armenian highlands. It is a saline soda lake ...

Parallels

Russell sees a parallel between Covinar's impregnation episode with a similar event involving Ossetian character ''

Satanaya Satanaya ( Adyghe Сэтэнай ; Kabardian Сэтэней ; Ubykh ; Ossetian Сатана Satana) is a mythological figure who appears in many cycles of the Nart sagas of the North Caucasus. Satanaya is the mother of the Narts, a fertility ...

'', in 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 ...

. It is also been suggested that both characters are remnants of Scythian goddess

Api An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how ...

,Hovannisian, Richard G.
Armenian Van/Vaspurakan
'. Mazda Publishers, 2000. p. 55. . described as a mother goddess tied to water.

References

External links

Armenian Mythology from the Tour Armenia site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsovinar (Goddess) Armenian goddesses Sea and river goddesses Sky and weather goddesses