KATIL

KATIL (from Arabic­killer) is the character from the “Ural-batyr” epic. He is a cruel and bloodthirsty tsar, whose lands are covered with the bones and blood of people; a black raven is his banner’s symbol (according to Bashkir and some other beliefs, the raven is a symbol of death). His appearance is terrifying: “Like an enraged camel he was, / Like a bloodthirsty predator he was, / With eyes coated in blood, / With heavy eyelids fallen off, / With his back similar to a boar’s spine, /with his legs thick and fat, / with his disgusting stomach...” On K.’s birthday people are required to hold a sacrificial ritual: girls are to be thrown into a well, men are to be burnt with fire. Annually his daughter chooses a groom on this day. When Ural-batyr comes into K. country, he defeats a huge bull and 4 giants, releases the habitats of the king dom and married K.’s daughter; she gives him a child called Yaik.