Batraz ( Osset. Batyraz ) is one of the main characters in the Ossetian Nart epic , the spirit of a thunderstorm, the son of Khamyts and a girl from the Bicent clan who belonged to the lord of the water kingdom Donbettyr . Batraz is called in the epic steel, invulnerable.
Content
Mythology
Batraz was born from the back of his father Hamyts, jumping out of there red-hot like fire. Batraz does not live on earth, he lives either with his mother in the sea or in the sky with the blacksmith Kurdalagon who tempered him. He appears on earth only in order to accomplish a feat, and each of his appearance is accompanied by an image of thunder, lightning and a whirlwind. Batraz far surpasses the Narts in strength and courage and comes to their aid at their first call. His breathing is so strong that, once having decided to mock the sledges, he suddenly sneezes and “such a hurricane rises that he carries unfortunate sledges on all the edges of the earth, killing some and mutilating others” [1] .
When Batraz participates in the Nart feasts, the magic bowl of Watsamong , revealing the true storytellers and indicating the Nart hero, immediately rises to his lips.
Young Batraz, learning about the death of his father, wants to take revenge on the killers. Once he went to his stepmother and took the iron roasting pan from her, glowing on a fire and brought it to the woman’s chest : “If you do not reveal to me the secret of my father’s death, I will put a brazier on your chest ” [2] . According to another version, Batraz asked his stepmother to cook him popcorn and when the woman took the brazier from the fire to put on the table, Batraz grabbed her hands, squeezed them and prevented her from letting the brazier go. Only after the stepmother revealed a secret to him did he let her go.
Batraz dies in the fight against celestials, having avenged the death of his father Hamyts to the sleds and heavenly deities. After his death, in the place where the three tears of God fell, shed by him because of tribulation over Batraz, three Ossetian shrines of Recom , Tarangeloz , and Mykalgabyrta arose.
Notes
- ↑ J. Dumézil, p. 68 - 69
- ↑ J. Dumézil, p. 47 - 48
Source
- Dzadziev A. B., Dzutsev H. V., Karaev S. M., Ethnography and mythology of Ossetians / Brief Dictionary, Vladikavkaz, 1994. S. 36-37. ISBN 5-7534-0537-1
- Dumezil J. Ossetian epic and mythology. Vladikavkaz: Science, 2001.