Tag Archives: Iroquois gods

IROQUOIS EPIC MYTH PART TEN: THE CANNIBAL WIZARDS

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pile of human bonesHODADEION PART 10 – THE CANNIBAL WIZARDS – Now safely on the northern side of Niagara Falls following his battle with the whirlwind, the demigod Hodadeion continued walking toward the northeast.

The god of magic knew he was getting closer and closer to the home village of the cannibal wizards who had abducted his younger brother, the wampum god Otgoe. Hodadeion could tell that from the greater frequency with which he came upon empty villages which the cannibal wizards had depopulated by feasting on all the inhabitants.  Continue reading

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IROQUOIS EPIC MYTH PART NINE: BATTLE WITH A WHIRLWIND

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Niagara FallsHODADEION PART 9 – BATTLE WITH A WHIRLWIND – At what is now called Niagara Falls, the demigod Hodadeion stood facing an enormous Dagwanoenyent. Those beings were the ancient whirlwinds so often fought by Iroquois deities.

Dagwanoenyents were enormous, flying humanoid heads with long hair which sliced the air like chainsaw blades as the whirlwinds spun around at great speed. The destruction wrought by Dagwanoenyents was legendary and Hodadeion, the young god of magic regarded the figure floating above him with dread as he stood there on the rocky outcrops at the base of Niagara Falls.    Continue reading

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IROQUOIS DEITIES: SIX MORE

2 Iroquois confederacyHere’s a look at six more deities of the various tribes in the Iroquois Confederation.

6. SHAGODIAQDANE – The Iroquois goddess of the summer. She was depicted as an old woman sitting cross-legged in the forest and she sang a song that only birds could hear and their own chirping and singing was considered to be their response to the goddess’ song.

As summer started to turn into autumn the entourage of the evil winter god Tawiskaron began to return. First the winter god’s nephews would race through the forests shooting trees with their ethereal arrows with flint heads, causing the leaves to die and fall from the trees. 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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THE IROQUOIS GODDESS SHAGODIAQDANE

Iroquois confederationSHAGODIAQDANE – The Iroquois goddess of the summer. She was depicted as an old woman sitting cross-legged in the forest and she sang a song that only birds could hear and their own chirping and singing was considered to be their response to the goddess’ song. As summer started to turn into autumn the entourage of the evil winter god Tawiskaron began to return. Continue reading

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AIRESKOI: THE IROQUOIS WAR GOD

Iroquois Confederation

Iroquois Confederation

AIRESKOI – The Iroquois god of war, identified with the Aurora Borealis. While other Iroquois souls would go to the conventional afterlife warriors slain in battle got to reside with Aireskoi in the heavens, their souls glowing with the grandeur of their battlefied heroics, thus accounting for the brightness of the Aurora Borealis. Continue reading

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IROQUOIS DEITY: ONHDAGWIJA THE MOOSE GODDESS

mooseONHDAGWIJA – The moose goddess. Onhdagwija wandered the forests interacting with and looking after the animals she ruled over. The most prominent myth featuring her depicts her falling in love with an Iroquois hunter. She assumes human form and begins preparing acorn bread for him in his temporary bark cabin while he is off hunting during the day. Continue reading

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IROQUOIS EPIC MYTH: HODADEION PART EIGHT

Iroquois

Iroquois

Part 8: Niagara Falls Death Trap  – As part 7 concluded Hodadeion, the Iroquois god of magic, was alarmed to find that the twin enchantresses who were in reality two giant white herons had flown him in a huge basket to a rock at the top of what is now called Niagara Falls. They had stranded him there surrounded by a massive volume of water roaring its way past the small outcropping of rock the demigod was on, ultimately descending in a loud roar of falling liquid.

Hodadeion did not know what fate awaited him in that precarious position, or what dire menace the Heron Maidens expected to assault him in his perilous situation but he Continue reading

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SIX MORE IROQUOIS DEITIES

2 Iroquois confederacyThe reaction to my latest look at a neglected pantheon of deities has been through the roof! I’ll soon be examining an epic myth from Iroquois mythology but in the meantime here’s a look at six more deities of the various tribes in the Iroquois Confederation.

6. SHAGODIAQDANE – The Iroquois goddess of the summer. She was depicted as an old woman sitting cross-legged in the forest and she sang a song that only birds could hear and their own chirping and singing was considered to be their response to the goddess’ song. As summer started to turn into autumn the entourage of the evil winter god Tawiskaron began to return. First the Continue reading

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THE TOP FIFTEEN DEITIES IN IROQUOIS MYTHOLOGY

Iroquois Confederacy

Iroquois Confederacy

The original five tribes of the Iroquois Confederation were the Mohawk, Seneca, Oneida, Onondaga and Cayuga. They were later joined by the Tuscarora.

As with Inuit mythology the exact names and roles of the major Iroquois deities varied a bit from tribe to tribe but there is an overall pantheon that is recognized as belonging to the Iroquois belief system. I will be using deity names selected from each of the nations of the Iroquois League so be aware that when looking into the beliefs of one particular tribe the names may be different from the ones I use here.

As always my goal is to restore the figures from these neglected pantheons to their rightful place alongside other world deities like Isis, Odin, Aphrodite and others. The following entries are done in the same style as my examination of gods and goddesses of the Navajo, Choctaw, Polynesians, Vietnamese and many others.

15. DOENDZOWES – The Iroquois earthquake goddess. She lived in a longhouse lodge in a large crack in the ground caused by one of the tumultuous tremors she controlled. Earthquakes were caused by the wild dancing that often took place in her lodge. Her son Thagonhsowes had a handsome face that was split down the middle by a scar like the crevices that Doendzowes’ earthquakes tore in the ground.

The swan goddess Oweeyegon had her two daughters bake Marriage Bread and sent them to marry the earthquake goddess’ son. After a suitable time Doendzowes invited Oweeyegon to come live in the longhouse lodge with them and join in the raucous dancing that causes earthquakes. “Doendzowes’ parties are NUTS, dude!” 

14. OTGOE – The wampum god. Otgoe’s tears, mucous and vomit were wampum, like the white shells found in sandy deposits near bodies of water. When he smoked from his pipe and then spit the spittle also turned into wampum.

As highly prized as wampum was Otgoe was a very valuable deity and was once kidnapped by an evil and very powerful medicine man to provide wampum for him and the malevolent tribe he ruled over. The tribe did this by prodding him with firebrands to make him cry wampum tears.

Eventually he was freed by his brother, Hodadeion the god of magic. Later Otgoe was devoured by a gigantic bird, who Continue reading

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