voršud

▪ spirit and receptacle

      among the Finno-Ugric Udmurt (Votyak) people, a family spirit, literally “luck protector”; the term also designates a birchbark container kept in the family shrine, or kuala, as a receptacle for offerings and possibly an image of the protector. The voršud was believed to watch over the welfare and prosperity of the family members worshipping at the kuala. The voršud case was kept on a shelf on the back wall of the kuala resting on a bed of twigs, which were renewed for ceremonies. The original voršud case was handed down from father to eldest son, but lesser voršud could also be made as the family expanded. The new voršud had to be made in the old kuala, left there for a while, and then transferred with some ashes from the hearth to dedicate the new shrine that was to contain it (see mudor šuan).

      The tõnni-vakk of the Estonians (also a Finno-Ugric people) was a similar object of worship. The vakkas, or “cases,” were kept by families and in some cases collectively by a village. They contained offerings to St. Antony, to whom sacrifices of sheep and oxen were made on January 17. The tõnni-vakk could be made only by a shaman and cared for only by the master of the household. During sacrificial ceremonies the vakk was carried around the farmstead to bestow its blessings upon it.

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