Caucasian Female Deities through the Lens of the Mother Goddess Archetype

Abstract

The present study is based on a complex methodological approach and examines the connection between female deities represented in Caucasian folklore and the cult of the Mother Goddess. The principal deity of the Caucasians, like that of other peoples of the world, must have been called "Mother." This is indicated by the uniformity of the mythological figure and the identity of names in the traditions of Caucasian peoples revealed on the basis of comparative material – the designation of female deities "Nana" is connected to a common Caucasian root (-nan-//-an) which carries the semantics of "mother."

Female deities preserved in the memory of Caucasian peoples, similar to the beliefs and representations of other ancient civilizations, are differentiated by their functions and spheres of activity. Their names contain the following recurring epithets: "queen", "mother", "mistress", as well as the root "nana," denoting mother (Chechen: u-nana and xi-nana, Abkhaz: ancʼva, anana-gunda, etc.). The epithet "mistress" (Potnia) is not found for the Great Mother Nana; however, according to Georgian mythological traditions, Nana is the mother of the "batonebi" (i.e., mother of gods). In Svan, nana (nan) is a term with significant semantic weight, denoting not only "mother" but also "mistress." Female anthropomorphic figurines, regarded as representations of the Great Mother, establish the Caucasus as one of the earliest centers for the dissemination of the fertility cult. Of particular interest is a bronze axe discovered in the village of Ghebi in Racha, which bears an engraved figure of a female deity standing between a pair of deer − an iconographic scheme that precisely replicates the representational tradition of Mediterranean goddesses (Cybele, Ishtar), where the deity is depicted between a pair of lions or other animals.

Accordingly, the Caucasian cult of the Great Mother represents not an isolated, surviving relic, but an organic component of the beliefs and representations of the Mediterranean world, which acquired local peculiarities while preserving essential functions and semantics. Elements of this cult are still manifested in the folkloric memory of Caucasian peoples to this day.