Tag Archives: gods and goddesses

VIETNAMESE WAR GOD THAN GIONG

Than GiongTHAN GIONG – Vietnamese god of war and 1 of the 4 main deities in their mythology (often called The Four Immortals). The mother of Than Giong once fell into one of the enormous footprints left from long ago by Khong Lo, the primordial giant. She thereby became pregnant (you know mythology!) and gave birth to a baby who was always silent and unmoving for the 1st several years of his life. At length during an invasion by China the reigning member of the Hung Vuong Dynasty sent messengers around the kingdom asking for any help that could be given against the invaders.
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The baby spoke for the first time, telling his parents to bring the messenger in their village, Phu Dong Village , to him. He was brought and the baby identified himself as a god who would repel the invasion. Because the child talked like an adult the messenger and the villagers believed him. The messenger went to tell the reigning Hung Vuong, while Than Giong’s parents and the other villagers obeyed the child’s instructions to bring him all the food they could find. Over the next days the child consumed enormous quantities of rice, pork, beef, fish and vegetables, growing and growing all the while.

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AEGIR AND RAN: NORSE DEITIES

AegirFor my full list of Norse deities click here: https://glitternight.com/2011/04/10/the-eleven-most-neglected-deities-in-teutono-norse-mythology/

AEGIR – The god of the sea who brewed the ale that he would share with the other Teutono-Norse deities when they would get together at his hall on the island of Hlesey. Many poetic references are made to Continue reading

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NEGLECTED GODS FROM POPULAR PANTHEONS

Regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog are familiar with my tendency to examine neglected pantheons of deities, as in Vietnamese, Bunyoro, Inuit, Tupari, Navajo and other Native American tribes.

When I covered popular pantheons I avoided the major gods to prevent rehashing the same myths many people were already familiar with. That enabled me to spread some love to the less appreciated deities in those pantheons. Here’s a convenient guide to those items:

helNORSE

The Usual Suspects: Thor, Odin, Loki, Sif and Baldur

Sampling of the Deities I Covered Instead: Skadi the mountain goddess, Ull the hunting god, Forseti, the god of the laws, Aegir the sea god and Hodur the god of darkness.   

Top Deity on List: Hel, Loki’s daughter and the goddess who ruled over the land of the dead, inflicting misery on anyone too wimpy to die in battle.

Comment: I first did this list in 2011 and since then the popularity of the Thor movies and of tv shows like The Vikings and The Almighty Johnsons have sent interest in Norse mythology through the roof.

FULL LIST CLICK HERE: https://glitternight.com/2011/04/10/the-eleven-most-neglected-deities-in-teutono-norse-mythology/ Continue reading

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THE TOP PANTHEONS COVERED HERE AT BALLADEER’S BLOG

Balladeer's Blog

Balladeer’s Blog

Balladeer’s Blog’s examinations of pantheons of deities outside of the frequently-covered Greco-Roman, Egyptian and Norse have been very popular and well-received. To make sure all mythology buffs who visit here are aware of how many belief systems I’ve looked at here’s a convenient overview.

FuchiAINU  

Sampling of Deities: Shiramba the vegetation god, Hashinau-Uk the goddess of the hunt, Okikurmi the culture god and monster-slayer, Wakka-Ush the water goddess and Kando-Koro the sky god and ruler of the land of the gods.

Top Deity on List: Fuchi the fire goddess. 

Comment: This is the most recent mythological pantheon I examined.

FULL LIST CLICK HERE: https://glitternight.com/2014/11/20/the-top-gods-in-ainu-mythology/

Tupari live near the Rio BrancoTUPARI

Sampling of Deities: Mulher the Earth goddess, Arkoanyo the bird god, Karam the sun goddess, Valedjad the storm god and Aunyaina the wild boar god.

Top Deity on List: Patobkia, the god who rules over the afterlife and the series of trials each soul undergoes.

Comment: With only thousands of the Tupari people left this is a sadly neglected pantheon of deities.

FULL LIST CLICK HERE: https://glitternight.com/2013/04/02/the-top-ten-deities-in-tupari-mythology/ Continue reading

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PEGANA DEITIES: SLID, THE SEA GOD

Slid

Slid

SLID – The god of the seas and all the rivers and streams. He also owns all the pearls and treasures lost at sea. When Slid first unleashed his waves upon the world there was nothing but land and the sea god had to fight a war with the other gods for every mile of territory his waters spread along. Slid’s aquatic army first conquered the winds and then began eating away at large rocks that stood between the sea god’s forces and more territory he desired.

The advance of Slid’s aquatic army was checked momentarily when the other gods of Pegana sent the white cliffs of the lowlands to stop him. Slid pretended to be halted before these high cliffs but in the meantime caused rivers and springs to form behind the lines of his opponents.  Continue reading

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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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