The Aiyy Faith is a contemporary Yakut religious organization that is the successor to Kut-Siur, founded in 1990 by philologist Lazar Afanasyev, known as Téris, during the period of religious liberation that came with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Afanasyev, who studied shamanism during the Soviet era, articulated his monotheistic modernization of Yakut teachings in the book Teachings of Aiyy, published in 1993.
Afanasyev’s Aiyy Faith centers on Aiyy as the Creator God in the ninth heaven. The 63 other Yakut deities are viewed as his manifestations. “White shamans” serve Aiyy, while engagement with “black shamans” is forbidden. Humans are believed to have three souls (Kut) that return to Aiyy after death. Afanasyev claimed to have received these teachings from a “white old spirit.” The organization is led by figures like the Philosopher and the Toyon (tribal chief) and maintains Aiyy houses for communal prayers and ritual bloodless sacrifices.
Yakut cosmology describes a three-tiered universe: the upper world of deities, the middle world of humans and spirits, and the lower world of dark forces. Humans originated in the upper world. The middle world is inhabited by Icchi, neutral spirits residing in all aspects of nature, requiring respect through stated intentions and offerings. Disrespect can lead to perceived punishment. Only shamans are believed to interact with the lower world’s evil spirits, often negotiating for the lives of the sick.
The Aiyy Faith was officially registered in Yakutsk, Russia, in 2015. Afanasyev died two years later.
Key Sources:
Afanasyev, L. A. (Téris) (1993). Teachings of Aiyy.
Eremenko, A. (2014, May 27). Yakut Pagan creed recognized in Russia. The Moscow Times.
Fedorova, N. (2024, April 22). “We are not above the nature”: In the Republic of Sakha, the traditional Ayii Itegele faith still lives on. Satakieli.
Schulz, C. (2017, January 10). Siberia in the News: Paganism goes formal and a God is found. The Wild Hunt.
Vorontsova, L., & Filatov, S. (2006). Paganism in Sakha Republic (Aiyy Teaching, Tengrism, “Kut-Siur.”) Contemporary Religious Life of Russia. Keston Institute.
Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religious Movements 