A Yekyua or "mother animal" is a class of Yakut spirits that remain hidden until the snow melts in the Spring. The Yakuts are a Turkic people.
Each yekyua is associated with a particular animal. They act as familiar spirits to protect Yakut shamans. They are dangerous and powerful. The most dangerous are attached to female shamans. The type of animal determines the strength of the yekyua. For example, dog yekyua have little power, while elk yekyua do. Only shaman can see yekyua. When a shaman puts his/her spirit into his yekyua, he/she is dependent on his animal part. If another shaman who has manifested his animal kills the animal of another, the shaman with the dead animal dies. When the yekyua are fighting in the spring, the shaman with which they are associated feel ill. Dog yekyua are not prized as they gnaw at the shaman and destroy his body, bringing him sickness. Ordinarily, a good yekyua protects the shaman.
Notes
- Lehmann, Arthur C.; Myers, James E. (1993). Magic, witchcraft, and religion: an anthropological study of the supernatural (03 ed.). Mountain View (Calif.) London Toronto: Mayfield. ISBN 978-1-55934-170-7.
- Stutley 2003, p. 55.
- Layard, J. W. (1930). "Shamanism: An Analysis Based on Comparison with the Flying Tricksters of Malekula". The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. 60: 525–550. doi:10.2307/2843791. ISSN 0307-3114. JSTOR 2843791. citing Czaplicka 1914, p. 183
- & Czaplicka 1914, p. 0.
References
- Stutley, Margaret (2003). Shamanism: An Introduction. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-0-415-27318-3.
- Czaplicka, Marie Antoinette (1914). Aboriginal Siberia : a study in social anthropology. Robarts - University of Toronto. Oxford : Clarendon Press.
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