Category Archives: Mythology

April 26, 2012 · 8:43 pm

NAVAJO MYTHS: WHEN A GOD DIES …

Here’s an encore of my look at the neglected Navajo epic myth about their war god taking on the evil gods called the Anaye. My readership was much smaller back in 2010 when I first ran it, so it will seem like new to most of you –

PART 2 – WHEN A GOD DIES … In those ancient times Nayanazgeni (“Alien God Killer”)and his brother Tobadzistsini (“Child of the Water”)were living with their mother, the goddess Estsanatlehi, on a plateau near their worshippers, the Navajo people of the time. They were aware of the alien gods called the Anaye who were preying on the world at large.
 
One such Anaye was a club-wielding giant who rode an equally huge cougar. The giant had a double-face, one in front and one in the rear so it could not be snuck up on. This Anaye had begun to Continue reading →

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April 25, 2012 · 12:04 am

NAVAJO MYTHS: GOD SLAYER

 A side effect of the overwhelming response to my post on the neglected Chinese epic myth about Yi the Divine Archer has been a huge demand for an encore of my look at the neglected Navajo epic myth about their war god taking on the evil gods called the Anaye. My readership was much smaller back in 2010 when I first ran it, so it will seem like new to most of you –

And by the way, for my look at Yi the Divine Archer click here: https://glitternight.com/2012/03/17/mythology-the-neglected-epic-myth-of-yi-the-divine-archer/

GOD SLAYER –  The story of the Navajo god of war, Nayanazgeni ( “Foreign God Slayer”) and his brother battling the Anaye, meaning “foreign or alien gods” is one of my favorite mythological tales, partly  because of  how Continue reading →

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April 22, 2012 · 3:35 pm

SHINTO DEITY: INARI THE RICE GOD

 INARI – The Shinto rice god. His wife was the goddess Ukemochi and when she was slain by the moon god he married Mitama, the goddess of agriculture. His son was the scarecrow and divination deity Kuyebiko. There are even versions of Shinto myths in which Saki is said to be Inari’s daughter and the goddess of the intoxicating drink Saki like Dionysus is the god of wine in Greek myths.

Inari often roamed the rice fields of Earth, sometimes in the form of a fox, his familiar animal. This connection between the rice god and foxes came from the way foxes often Continue reading →

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April 12, 2012 · 11:57 pm

SHINTO DEITY: SUSANOWO

 SUSANOWO – The Shinto storm god. He is appropriately depicted as an impetuous, ill-tempered god and was often at odds with his sister the sun goddess, Amaterasu. In the Nihongi he is the son of both Izanagi and Izanami but in the Kojiki he is born from Izanagi’s nose as a sneeze. 

At one point he was seriously over-stepping his authority in a fit of anger. In some versions he was angry over his sister Amaterasu being the Chief Deity in the Shinto pantheon instead of him, in others he was angry because his mother the goddess Izanami could never return from Yomi, where she was now fated to rule over the dead forever. At any rate he was Continue reading →

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April 1, 2012 · 8:34 pm

THE TOP SIX ALTERNATE GOSPELS AND SCRIPTURES PART 2

 As promised, here is the second part of Balladeer’s Blog’s look at the top six apocryphal gospels, meaning the rejected and obscure gospels outside of the four accepted by mainstream Christianity as “authentic”  (snicker).

Those four are, of course, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. There were dozens of others and I’ve selected the six that provide the best opportunities for comparative mythology.

And remember, this is NOT an April Fool’s Day joke.

3. THE GOSPEL OF THE SAVIOR – The narrative of this gospel centers around dialogues between Jesus and his apostles in the last few days before his arrest and crucifixion. Some of the material is similar to the Gospels of John and Matthew, but  some is Gnostic, with references to Continue reading →

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April 1, 2012 · 1:31 am

THE TOP SIX ALTERNATE GOSPELS AND SCRIPTURES

 Everyone but the most sheltered Christians have known for centuries about the alternate, or apocryphal gospels. The gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were the four canonical or “official” gospels that were accepted by the mainstream church but there were dozens of other gospels with wildly varying versions of the story of Jesus.

With my love of mythology I first got into those other gospels when I was 18 and that was long before Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code fouled the territory by attracting countless conspiracy kooks to the subject of these obscure writings. It complicates conversations now because when  many people hear you discussing the apocryphal gospels they think you’re a paranoid crackpot looking for the  descendants of Jesus and Mary Magdalene around every corner. 

At any rate it’s fun to wonder what form Easter celebrations would have taken if the following rejected gospels had been accepted as “official.” And remember, this is NOT an April Fool’s Day joke.

6. THE ACTS OF THECLA – Since the Gospel of Mary has gotten so much attention following the success of Dan Brown’s writings and their screen adaptations I decided to throw a spotlight on the neglected woman named Thecla instead. Thecla supposedly became a follower of Continue reading →

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March 27, 2012 · 9:10 pm

INUIT MYTHS: KIVIOQ

 For more of my entries on Inuit myths click here: https://glitternight.com/inuit-myth/

KIVIOQ – The greatest hero and monster- slayer of Inuit mythology. The exact structure of Kivioq’s saga varies wildly from region to region, some of them with a fully Continue reading →

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March 24, 2012 · 4:34 pm

BALLADEER’S BLOG INTERVIEWS PHILIP LEE MCCALL II, AUTHOR OF ING THE VIKING

 Balladeer’s Blog recently got to interview Philip Lee McCall II, best-selling author, reviewer, publisher and imaginist about his latest book, Ing The Viking. McCall’s previous works include The Imaginist and Poisonous Prose: A Limited Collection of Dark Rhymes (2  volumes). 

All of those books are available at Amazon.com, plus McCall has The Imaginist II coming out in just over two months. The time seemed right to try to ride Mr McCall’s coattails to some more blog hits for myself (I’m kidding!) so I sent my private jet to pick him up and fly him to my spacious villa overlooking Japan’s Inland Sea. 

We passed the time trying to spot one of the thousand dragons of the Shinto god Kotohira swimming in the waters below while “PLMII” as he’s called, graciously answered my interview questions. 

Balladeer’s Blog: For the uninitiated could you provide an overview of Ing the Viking’s setting and raison d’etre? 

PLMII: Ing the Viking is an anthology which collects the stories of a fabled Viking’s adventures. I worked with a group of fantasy artists to render art for each tale. I was honored to have the great Larry Elmore not only excited about the project but also provide two images for the book.  This book was definitely a labor of love and homage to both Norse mythology and the Pulp fiction era. There are Continue reading →

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March 21, 2012 · 10:36 pm

SHINTO DEITY: AMATERASU

 This sun goddess was the chief deity of the Shinto pantheon. In the Nihongi she is the daughter of both Izanagi and Izanami but in the Kojiki she springs from Izanagi’s left eye. During one of the conflicts with her brother Susanowo the storm god she withdrew to a cave in protest of the storm god’s incessant belligerence. Susanowo had been overstepping his bounds by Continue reading →

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March 17, 2012 · 6:34 pm

MYTHOLOGY: THE NEGLECTED EPIC MYTH OF YI THE DIVINE ARCHER

 I.WHAT’S UP WITH YI?  – Yi the Divine Archer from Chinese mythology deserves to be remembered in one breath with some of the other great heroes and monster slayers from belief systems around the world. Most people are only familiar with his feat of shooting down multiple suns that appeared in the sky one day, but this article will provide a light- hearted look at all of his fantastic adventures.  Continue reading →

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