Tradition / Region: Dagestan (Rutuls, Avars, Andians, Botlikhs, Laks, and others)
Alternate Names: Untul Ebel, Yadlad Nin
Category: Disease spirit / evil spirit
The Myth
Zalzanagy was known among the peoples of Dagestan as the mother of illnesses, an evil spirit whose coming brought sickness and misfortune. She was said to appear as a woman of enormous stature, with a long nose, thick unkempt hair, and clothing of rags or long white or black garments. Wherever she showed herself, illness followed, and sometimes war, famine, or epidemic spread soon after. Yet it was believed that she could be appeased with food or old clothes, and that doing so might spare a household or an entire village.
Once, a young girl fell gravely ill, and her grandmother stayed by her side through the night. In those days there were no lamps, only torches. By the flickering light, the grandmother saw a strange, naked creature, small like a child, standing behind the half-open door. She leapt up and seized it, demanding to know who it was and why it had come. The creature answered, “Rub my body with oil.” Its body was hard and rough like oak bark. The grandmother rubbed two whole jars of oil into its skin until it was satisfied. After this, the girl recovered, and the illnesses that had plagued the village vanished.
Another tale tells of a shepherd named Surkhay, who lived long ago in the village of Shodroda and tended cattle at the Girgutl farm. One evening, after driving the cattle into the barn, he went to fetch water. Nearby he heard a sound like the moaning of a sick woman. Looking around, he saw a giant figure dressed in rags. He called out, but it did not answer. Realizing it was no human, and fearing an attack, he unleashed his two fierce dogs. Though the dogs feared no man, they fled at once from the creature. Surkhay then threw a stone at it, and then another. Fire burst from the creature’s mouth. When he threw a third stone, Surkhay collapsed and lost consciousness. He lay senseless for an entire day. When he awoke, he could not move. The village elders said he had encountered Untul Ebel, who had struck him with illness for his defiance.
There is also the story of Mariet, a woman from the village of Rutul. One day, after milking the cows and driving them into the barn, she went to bake bread. Near a bridge, she turned and saw a tall woman sitting upon a pile of stones. Her long, shaggy hair flowed freely, her face was strikingly beautiful, and she was dressed from head to toe in white. Mariet froze, unable to move as the woman smiled silently at her. Remembering her mother’s words, she said a prayer and threw a small piece of dough toward the woman. At once, the figure vanished. Mariet crossed the bridge, baked her bread, and returned home, never seeing the woman again that day. Soon after, however, she fell ill and remained so for a long time. People said that had Yadlad Nin appeared dressed in black instead of white, the sickness would have claimed many lives in the village.