'Sosriqwe is Alive' Translated & Annotated by

1. Sosriqwe is Alive

Kabardian text

The Narts said, “We will not allow Sosriqwe to die on the face of this earth; we shall propel him into the world under where he will spend the remaining days of his life in misery.” Hence, the Narts buried Sosriqwe alive in the underworld. Many phenomena’s entwine with Sosriqwe’s burial, people would say:

- Sosriqwe did not die, he resides under this earth.  And every year when the spring season approaches crowning the green leaves with dew, and when the Nebghu [1] brood begin hatching, Sosriqwe cries from beneath the earth saying: “When the skies turn bluer and the fields grow greener, I long to stroll over the earth freely, if it was only for seven days. In which I will defy my enemies and spread justice once I wipe out every tyrant. 

(Qumuq, I984, p. 340)

Original text found in (The Narts, I974)

* This account carries a similar tenor to Jesus Christ’s burial and second coming parable. Both, Sosriqwe and Christ share the equivalent notion of resurrecting from the dead in order save and set free the world from oppressors.  Spring begins in the month known as “Wejeh” amongst the Circassian; the beginning of a ‘new life’ or New Year, denoting the souls’ return to air then into water then, to earth with a week’s span between each. It is a celebration commemorating fertility and rebirth. “Wejeh Maze,” or the month of Wejeh also corresponds to the Christian Equinox, Norse Ostara, and ‘Coming forth of the great ones in the house of Ra’ festivity amongst the ancient Egyptians.