The first person to die who then had to make a place for everyone else
Warning
He keeps the account and he is not the one who decides what you deserve
Resonance
The dying the bereaved those who work with the dead
Symbols
DandaNooseBuffaloLedger
Mythology Summary
Yama is the first mortal to die, who then becomes the lord of the dead and the keeper of the road they travel, sitting in judgement in the south with his books and his messengers. He is not a punisher: he is the one who keeps the record.
Modern Practice
Yama is honoured at funerals and in ancestor work, and at the new moon. His practice is a clean account of your own life, made yearly rather than at the end.