ört

ört, in Finno-Ugric religion, a shape or shadow that corresponds to the individual soul. The Mari people believe that the ört is “free”—i.e., it can leave the body and wander about during dreams or trance states. The concept of a free soul is common to all Finno-Ugric peoples. The Votyak urt and the Zyryan ört, as well as the soul of the Sami shaman, are also believed to be capable of visiting places far distant...