Khatan Temieriye- Sakha SpiritSpirit"Water Bull"
Also known as: Хатан Тэмиэрийэ and Khatan Temiriye
Description
Ice cracks and groans across the frozen Lena as the water bull bellows beneath, heralding spring. Fishermen cast offerings before their nets, knowing the spirit of the lake decides whether they return with a catch or return at all.
Mythology & Lore
The Bull Beneath the Water
Khatan Temieriye takes the form of a great bull beneath the lakes and rivers of the Sakha homeland. When the frozen rivers of the Lena basin crack and groan under warming spring temperatures, the Sakha heard his bellowing: the water bull stirring beneath the ice, heralding the return of flowing water. The spring breakup of river ice is one of the most dramatic seasonal events in the region, and Khatan Temieriye was its cause (Seroshevsky, Yakuty, 1896; Jochelson, The Yakut, 1933).
As an ichchi, a nature spirit bound to a specific feature of the landscape, his disposition toward humans depended on the respect they showed. He governed the waters that provided fish and served as transportation routes by boat in summer and over ice in winter. Anger him, and the fish vanished, the ice thinned, the boat capsized (Seroshevsky, 1896; Alekseev, Shamanism of the Turkic-Speaking Peoples of Siberia, 1984).
The Fisherman's Offerings
Before casting nets or crossing a body of water, fishermen and travelers offered gifts: small portions of food, drops of kumiss, tokens acknowledging that the waterway had a master who expected recognition. Empty nets and dangerous ice were the price of neglect (Seroshevsky, 1896; Jochelson, 1933).
Taboos governed behavior near the water. No pollution of a lake or river. No excessive noise. No boasting about a catch. The Sakha treated waterways the way they treated the hearth fire: as inhabited places where a spirit watched, and where carelessness carried consequences (Seroshevsky, 1896; Alekseev, 1984).