Nane
Daughter of Aramazd: goddess of war-wisdom, household strength, motherhood and plain practical judgement.
Warrior Daughter, Lady of Good Sense
Nane derives from Mesopotamian Nanaya but was fully naturalised: an armed daughter of Aramazd, likened by Greeks to Athena, whose temple stood at Thil in Ekeghiats near her mother Anahit's at Erez. Mother and daughter were worshipped as a pair, and pilgrims went from one shrine to the other.
Her name survives in ordinary Armenian speech: nane and nani are words for grandmother and mother. The goddess of the war-council became the word for the woman who runs the house — which is exactly right for her.
She is the sober one. Where Vahagn gives fury, Nane gives strategy, and the households under her protection are the ones that survive the winter.
Sacred Associations
Associations
Կապեր- Defensive war, strategy, guarding the home
- Motherhood and grandmotherhood
- Weaving, provisioning, thrift
- Common sense and hard judgement
Realms
Տիրոյթներ- The threshold and the doorway
- The storeroom and the loom
- The fortified hill
- The family council
Sacred Offerings
Ընծաներ- Bread and salt at the door
- Wool, thread or a woven thing
- Preserved food: dried fruit, cured meat, stored grain
- A household repair made properly
Taboos
Արգելքներ- Do not ask her blessing on a house you keep in bad faith.
- Do not waste food in her name.
- Do not use her for aggression; she guards, she does not raid.
Sacred Colours
Գոյներ- Iron grey
- Deep red
- Undyed wool
Sacred Numbers
Թիւեր- Four — the corners of the house
- Eight — the year's stores divided
Establishing a Relationship
- 1
Put your house in order. Nane arrives in a repaired hinge, a stocked shelf, a debt paid — not in incense.
- 2
Keep bread and salt by the door and renew them.
- 3
Ask her for judgement, not for luck. Then take the answer, even when it is unwelcome.
Bread and Salt at the Threshold
When moving in, when the household is under strain, or at the first frost
- 1Sweep the entrance of your home, outside and in. Do this yourself.
- 2Place a small dish of salt and a piece of bread on or beside the threshold.
- 3Touch the doorframe with both hands and say: 'Nane, daughter of Aramazd, wise and armed — stand in this doorway. Let what is good come in and what is harmful stay out.'
- 4Name every person and animal who lives under the roof, aloud, one at a time.
- 5Walk the perimeter of the home once, clockwise, checking each lock and window as you pass. The checking is the prayer.
- 6Return to the door, take a pinch of salt on your tongue and a bite of the bread.
- 7Leave the dish for one night, then scatter the salt at the outside corners of the house.