Yambe-Akka
From Srafopedia
Yambe-Akka (The Old Woman of the Dead) is the goddess of the underworld in Sami mythology. She is supposed to be a guardian of the dead. It is important for Yambe-Akka that the dead are given a good send-off and that their lives are celebrated.
In His Dark Materials
In His Dark Materials Yambe-Akka is the goddess of death among witches. She comes when a witch is ready to die. She comes smiling and kisses the witch, whilst carefully sliding a blade into the dying witch's heart. Yambe-Akka is wholehearted and joyful and her visits are considered a blessing for all witches.
In The Subtle Knife, Serafina Pekkala takes the role of Yambe-Akka to mecifully kill the Tortured Witch. In telling Ruta Skadi about the incident, she says: "...the witch she was torturing on the ship near Svalbard nearly gave it away, but Yambe-Akka came to her in time."
(TSK, Page 287, lines 17-19)
