There’s been a great surge in interest recently in Balladeer’s Blog’s long-ago examination of the gods of Samoa. In honor of that here’s a look at a male and female pair of deities from that same pantheon.
ALEI & PATA – Two ancient culture deities of Samoa. Alei and Pata taught the Samoans about home construction, laying out a village and various funerary practices, including embalming. The figures were worshiped jointly as the patron deities of these undertakings, just as the goddesses Taema and Tilafaiga were jointly considered the patron deities of tattooing.
Alei and Pata did not come down to Earth in their godly bodies like their fellow divinities usually did. Continue reading
Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the grand and exciting Hawaiian epic about the goddesses Pele and Hi’iaka.
Tsohanoai – “Sun bearer.” The Navajo sun god. In some myths he is depicted as a man carrying the sun across the sky on his back. In others he is depicted as a warrior on horseback (the blue steed of the sky) carrying the sun as his gleaming shield. 
After Balladeer’s Blog’s examination of the Mwindo Epic many readers expressed an interest in Nyanga mythology. I’m all about giving readers what they want so here are brief looks at the deities of the Nyanga people. 
The lightning god Nkuba looked down from the sky and prepared to attack the semidivine hero Mwindo in order to avenge his (Nkuba’s) friend, the monster Kirimu. That seven- headed creature had been slain, cooked and served as a meal by Chief Mwindo for killing three of his devoted corps of Pygmies. 
In the restored village of Tubondo, with all the dead brought back to life by Mwindo it was at last time to pass judgment on the captured Shemwindo. In some versions of the Mwindo Epic the semidivine hero sits upon a throne made of spears as if deciding the fate of prisoners of war. Other versions claim Mwindo’s friend Nkuba the lightning god sent down copper chairs for Mwindo and his Aunt Iyangura to sit on while judging the former Chief Shemwindo. 
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