View source for Aisyt

{{short description|Yakut goddess of birth, newborns, and fate}}
{{Turkic mythology}}
'''Ajyyhyt''' ('''Aysyt''', '''Ajsyt''' or '''Ajyhyt'''; {{langx|sah|Айыыһыт|Ayııhıt}}; {{langx|tr|Ayzıt}}) is a  Turkic goddess of the [[Yakuts|Yakut]] people from the [[Lena River]] region of [[Siberia]] and is an important figure in [[Turkic mythology]]. The name means "birthgiver" and she may also be called the "mother of cradles".<ref name="Loar2010">{{cite book|author=Julie Loar|title=Goddesses for Every Day: Exploring the Wisdom and Power of the Divine Feminine Around the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OturV0aQa-IC&pg=RA1-PA8|access-date=3 January 2012|date=1 December 2010|publisher=New World Library|isbn=978-1-57731-950-4|page=1}}</ref> Her full name is given as '''Айыыһыт Хотун''', meaning "birth-giving nourishing mother".{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}} Aisyt brings the soul from heaven at the birth of a baby and records each one in the Golden Book of Fate. She is the daughter of [[Yer Tanrı]].
==Role==
Ajysyt was responsible for conducting the [[Soul (spirit)|soul]] of a newborn child to its birth and attended every birth. Women would [[channeling (as a medium)|channel]] Ajysyt, believing that doing so would relieve them of pain during childbirth.<ref name="Loar2010"/> She kept a golden book in which she recorded each one. She is said to have lived on a mountain top in a house with seven stories,<ref name="Loar2010"/> from which she controlled the fate of the world.
==Versions==
The Yakut revere a variety of {{transl|sah|ayıı}} ({{langx|sah|Айыы}}). The primary manifestation, {{transl|sah|Ņelbey Ayııhıt}} ({{langx|sah|Ньэлбэй Айыыһыт}}), is responsible for the birth of children. {{transl|sah|Cöhögöy Toyon}} ({{langx|sah|Дьөһөгөй Тойон}}) governs the reproduction of horses, {{transl|sah|İhegey İeyiexsit}} ({{langx|sah|Иhэгэй Иэйиэхсит}}) is responsible for oxen, and Noruluya manages dogs and foxes.<ref name="Meletinskii">{{cite book|editor=E. M. Meletinskii|title=Mefologicheskii slovar'|date=1990|publisher=Sovetskaya entsiklopediya}}</ref>
When referring to the deity for the births of male animals, such as stallions or bulls, the word ''{{transl|sah|ayııhıt}}'' is understood to be male. However, when relating to the birth of a mare or cow, the word is feminine.<ref name="Jordan2004">{{cite book|author=Michael Jordan|title=Dictionary of gods and goddesses|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aqDC5bwx4_wC&pg=PA10|access-date=3 January 2012|year=2004|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-0-8160-5923-2|page=10}}</ref>
==Legends==
One legend recalls how she appeared from the roots of the [[cosmic tree]] (alternatively the [[world pillar]] of {{transl|sah|Ürüñ Âr Toyon}} ({{langx|sah|Үрүҥ Аар Тойон}}) to a pale young man; the tree stood beside a lake of milk. By [[suckling]] the youth she caused his strength to increase a hundredfold.{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}}
==Contemporary representation==
Ajysyt is a featured figure on [[Judy Chicago]]'s installation piece ''[[The Dinner Party]]'', being represented as one of the 999 names on the ''[[List of women in the Heritage Floor|Heritage Floor]].''<ref name="AjysytBM">{{cite web | author= | year=2007 | title=Ajysyt | work=Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art: The Dinner Party: Heritage Floor: Ajysyt | publisher=[[Brooklyn Museum]] | url=http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/dinner_party/heritage_floor/ajysyt.php | access-date=3 January 2012}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Animal goddesses]]
[[Category:Childhood goddesses]]
[[Category:Time and fate goddesses]]
[[Category:Turkic goddesses]]
[[Category:Yakut mythology]]
{{Asia-myth-stub}}
{{Deity-stub}}
{{Siberia-myth-stub}}