In the folklore of the Andi people, living in the northwest of Dagestan (the North Caucasian republic of Russia), Janaza (Жъаназа) is a "hungry spirit", a cemetery demon. It is believed to be the restless spirit of a deceased person who did not receive enough funeral offerings ("садакъа", "sadak'a"). This spirit roams either in a bodiless form or as a tangible entity, frightening lonely night travelers. It appears as a white figure stretching from the ground to the sky.

There is an old story about an Andi man who left a village one night under the moonlight and suddenly saw a Janaza before him — white, stretching from the ground to the sky, just as it's usually described. He spurred his horse, but the apparition kept up with him. He galloped home, dismounted, and ran into the house — with the ghost still following him. But when he took off his papakha (a wool hat), the ghost vanished. It turned out that a shiny straw had been dangling from his hat in front of his eyes, and in the moonlight, he had mistaken it for a ghost. Truly, fear makes the wolf bigger than he is (1726: с.220).

According to Andi beliefs, Janaza would disappear if a dog barked or roosters crowing. To protect themselves from encountering this "hungry spirit", the people would say the following phrase when giving alms or concluding a meal:

In addition to cemeteries, Janaza could also be found in abandoned dwellings. In a popular tale, one man found a Janaza in his empty house. He tried to drive it out with a kick, but fell unconscious — and his leg withered away (1418: p.215-216; 1726: p.220-221).