Lady Nart Sana, the Forest Mother

In a frenzy brought on by the powerful sana drink, Lady Nart Sana unknowingly kills her beloved.

Lady Nart Sana was the queen of a band of women warriors; her realm was the deep forest.  She knew the secrets of the earth and the sky.  The power of the drink, sana, also came from her.  She was very beautiful and was sometimes called Lovely Golden Knees.

She and her followers drank sana before battle and would so enter the fray in a state of frenzy.  Once Lady Nart Sana struck down a young warrior during a battle.  When her frenzy had passed, however, and she took a careful look at her vanquished foe, she discovered that she had killed her own beloved.  She bent down, took his head in her arms, and kissed him, then grasped his limp body to her bosom in a vain effort to bring him back to life.  Her powers were of no avail.  Finally, in utmost sorrow she stabbed herself in the heart and fell dead upon his body.  Their blood flowed upon the ground and mingled, and from that spot rose a medicinal spring.  To this day.  its waters are believed to have great healing powers.

Significance of this myth

If trees are worthy of veneration, then a whole grove or forest should be even more awe inspiring, so the fact that Circassians once venerated groves or forests is not surprising.  The one myth that expresses this veneration has a truly remarkable feature whose significance far transcends the limits of the Caucasus.

The race of heroes, the Narts, enjoyed drinking an intoxicating beverage called sana, which imparted a sense of well-being and courage and, in some myths, even immortality.  It was the drink of the gods in some tales, much like the Norse mead of inspiration or the Greek ambrosia.  For the Circassians, however, this drink was personified not by a hero or a god, but by a young woman, Lady Nart Sana, the Forest Mother. She knew the secrets of the earth and sky, much as did Lady Tree.  As seasonal in her comings and goings as the Milky Way, Lady Nart Sana was also known as Lady Middle Season; that is, Lady Winter.  Another name, Lovely Golden Knees, suggests not only her beauty but perhaps a notion of health as well.