Yekyua
Encyclopedia
Yekyua or "mother animal" is a class of Yakut
spirits that remain hidden until the snow melts in the Spring. Each yekyua is associated with a particular animal, and they act as familiar spirit
s to protect the Yakut shaman. They are dangerous but powerful. The most dangerous are attached to female shamen. The type of animal manifestation also determines the strength of the yekyua. For example dog yekyua have very little power, while elk yekyua are quite powerful. Only shaman can see the yekyua. When a shaman puts his spirit into that of his yekyua, he or she is dependent on his animal part, in as much as if another shaman who has manifested his animal kills that of another, the shaman with the dead animal will himself die. When the yekyua are fighting in the spring, the shamen with which they are associated feel very ill. The dog yekyua are not prized as they gnaw at the shaman and destroy his body, bringing him sickness. Ordinarily, though, a good yekyua protects the shaman.
Yakuts
Yakuts , are a Turkic people associated with the Sakha Republic.The Yakut or Sakha language belongs to the Northern branch of the Turkic family of languages....
spirits that remain hidden until the snow melts in the Spring. Each yekyua is associated with a particular animal, and they act as familiar spirit
Familiar spirit
In European folklore and folk-belief of the Medieval and Early Modern periods, familiar spirits were supernatural entities believed to assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic...
s to protect the Yakut shaman. They are dangerous but powerful. The most dangerous are attached to female shamen. The type of animal manifestation also determines the strength of the yekyua. For example dog yekyua have very little power, while elk yekyua are quite powerful. Only shaman can see the yekyua. When a shaman puts his spirit into that of his yekyua, he or she is dependent on his animal part, in as much as if another shaman who has manifested his animal kills that of another, the shaman with the dead animal will himself die. When the yekyua are fighting in the spring, the shamen with which they are associated feel very ill. The dog yekyua are not prized as they gnaw at the shaman and destroy his body, bringing him sickness. Ordinarily, though, a good yekyua protects the shaman.