Al Basti
Encyclopedia
Al Basti or Al Kardai is an ancient female spirit, the personification of guilt
, found in folklore
throughout the Caucasus
mountains, with origins going as far back as Sumerian mythology
.
, the Biblical first wife of Adam
, cast out of Paradise
for her willfulness and independence. In this form much of the mythology surrounding Lilith has also been ascribed, in different accounts, to Al Basti, though with local regional variances taken into account.
, a Succubus
, as well as any number of Middle Eastern female spirits which are told to enter a man's erotic dreams. However, the difference in the Al Basti legends is that she not a sexual spirit, rather she visits those “who have guilty souls” and “come from families that have committed bloody crimes that have gone unpunished.”
According to scholar Özhan Öztürk
those who Al Basti visits are said to wake up in “an intense fever ... She is also known to steal horses, who are found sweating and exhausted in the morning, and unable to provide a full day's work. Due to her torments, she is also known as the 'red mother'.”
.
Guilt
Guilt is the state of being responsible for the commission of an offense. It is also a cognitive or an emotional experience that occurs when a person realizes or believes—accurately or not—that he or she has violated a moral standard, and bears significant responsibility for that...
, found in folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
throughout the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
mountains, with origins going as far back as Sumerian mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
.
In Sumerian Folklore
A variation of the Al Basti myth stretches back into Sumerian times as one of the names given to LilithLilith
Lilith is a character in Jewish mythology, found earliest in the Babylonian Talmud, who is generally thought to be related to a class of female demons Līlīṯu in Mesopotamian texts. However, Lowell K. Handy notes, "Very little information has been found relating to the Akkadian and Babylonian view...
, the Biblical first wife of Adam
Adam
Adam is a figure in the Book of Genesis. According to the creation myth of Abrahamic religions, he is the first human. In the Genesis creation narratives, he was created by Yahweh-Elohim , and the first woman, Eve was formed from his rib...
, cast out of Paradise
Paradise
Paradise is a place in which existence is positive, harmonious and timeless. It is conceptually a counter-image of the miseries of human civilization, and in paradise there is only peace, prosperity, and happiness. Paradise is a place of contentment, but it is not necessarily a land of luxury and...
for her willfulness and independence. In this form much of the mythology surrounding Lilith has also been ascribed, in different accounts, to Al Basti, though with local regional variances taken into account.
In Turkish Folklore
In Turkish folklore Al Basti has been often confused as both a MareMare (folklore)
A mare or nightmare is a spirit or goblin in Germanic folklore which rides on people's chests while they sleep, bringing on bad dreams . The mare is attested as early as in the Norse Ynglinga saga from the 13th century, but the belief itself is likely to be considerably older...
, a Succubus
Succubus
In folklore traced back to medieval legend, a succubus is a female demon appearing in dreams who takes the form of a human woman in order to seduce men, usually through sexual intercourse. The male counterpart is the incubus...
, as well as any number of Middle Eastern female spirits which are told to enter a man's erotic dreams. However, the difference in the Al Basti legends is that she not a sexual spirit, rather she visits those “who have guilty souls” and “come from families that have committed bloody crimes that have gone unpunished.”
According to scholar Özhan Öztürk
Özhan Öztürk
Özhan Öztürk is a Turkish writer and researcher. He was a writer for the first Turkish Folklore Encyclopaedia and first encyclopaedic dictionary of the culture, folklore of the peoples Black Sea region of Turkey.- Works :...
those who Al Basti visits are said to wake up in “an intense fever ... She is also known to steal horses, who are found sweating and exhausted in the morning, and unable to provide a full day's work. Due to her torments, she is also known as the 'red mother'.”
In Armenian Folklore
There is a further version of Al Basti, referred simply as Āl, a “demon of childbirth who blinds unborn children and causes miscarriages and stillbirths to women who have committed crimes that have gone unpunished. In this form she appears as spirit of flame, with snake-like hair, brass fingernails and iron teeth ... [she] hides in damp places.” According to Ann and Imel there is a similar legend found in AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
.