voršud

voršud, among the Finno-Ugric Udmurt (Votyak) people, a family spirit, literally “luck protector”; the term also designates a birchbark container kept in the family shrine, or kuala, as a receptacle for offerings and possibly an image of the protector. The voršud was believed to watch over the welfare and prosperity of the family members worshipping at the kuala. The voršud case was kept on a shelf on the back wall of the kuala resting on...