Tag Archives: mythology

August 29, 2015 · 3:25 pm

BAYBAYAN: PHILIPPINE EPIC MYTH PART THREE

Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of this epic myth of the Bukidnon people of the Philippines.

PART THREE

MindanaoWith Alisngaran’s wedding to his beloved postponed by the rising of the dual suns and the arrival of the mountain- sized boar called the Makadingding, that most valued disciple of the demigod Baybayan was filled with sorrow. Other couples among Baybayan’s hundreds of disciples had gotten married already. Baybayan assured Alisngaran that he and his woman could get married once arrived in Skyland, the home of the gods, but the loving couple were still despondent. 

Alisngaran and his intended bride announced they would rather stay on Earth among the unblessed rather than risk getting separated or getting killed unwed in the dangerous journey to Skyland. Baybayan was saddened by this but he agreed to let them stay behind and exempted Alisngaran from any further actions on his behalf.

Meanwhile the Makadingding was still running amok and killing everything in its path. With Alisngaran “retired” that left twelve remaining members of Baybayan’s inner circle of disciples. He sent that dozen into action, pitting their spears and kampilan swords against the enormous boar. As the battle raged three of them wound up getting devoured by the creature and three more were killed by the Makadingding’s tusks, tail and spiny quills.    Continue reading →

6 Comments

Filed under Mythology

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

August 26, 2015 · 11:47 pm

BAYBAYAN: PHILIPPINE EPIC MYTH PART TWO

Bukidnon political mapBalladeer’s Blog continues its examination of this epic myth of the Bukidnon people of the Philippines. 

PART TWO

The demigod Baybayan had warned his 13 favorite disciples that a time of various trials was coming. When pressed for details he explained that the time in question would be heralded by the rising of two suns in the east.

Next an enormous boar with sharp quills all over its body would appear and blot out both suns with its gigantic form. The world would be plunged into darkness and many would die before the creature – called the Makadingding – could be slain. Continue reading →

34 Comments

Filed under Mythology

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

August 22, 2015 · 4:38 pm

BAYBAYAN: PHILIPPINE EPIC MYTH

Philippines Baybayan 1In the past Balladeer’s Blog has examined neglected epic myths from around the world. From Vietnam I dealt with A War Between Gods, from the Navajo pantheon I explored the saga of the war god Nayanazgeni battling the dark gods called the Anaye and I even examined the Dinka people’s epic about Aiwel Longar.

Epics from Inuit, Iroquois, Chinese, Korean and Bunyoro myths were also tackled.   

This time around I move on to the Philippines for a look at the epic myth of the demigod named Baybayan.

BAYBAYAN

This enjoyable and often action-packed tale comes from the Bukidnon people of the Philippine island of Mindanao. This story fuses native Bukidnon beliefs with elements of Vietnamese, Christian and Muslim myths.   

Baybayan’s mother, whose real name was considered too sacred to share with non-Bukidnons, was a beautiful and virtuous mortal woman. In Philippine myths the gods in Skyland found Earth women to be more beautiful than the goddeses in their celestial homeland. One of those gods frequently visited Baybayan’s mother in her dreams and had sex with her. (Exact godly parentage was never an obsession in Philippine or Vietnamese myths. It was enough to just refer to a hero as “the child of a god and a mortal woman.”) Continue reading →

32 Comments

Filed under Mythology

Tagged as , , , , ,

May 12, 2015 · 7:14 pm

AZTEC FIRE GOD: XIUHTECUHTLI

Aztec fire godFOR MY FULL LIST OF AZTEC GODS CLICK HERE:    https://glitternight.com/2011/05/10/the-top-eleven-deities-in-aztec-mythology/

XIUHTECUHTLI – The god of fire who was also considered the god of time, which puts you in mind of the expression “time is the fire in which we are burning”. In addition Xiuhtecuhtli was also the patron deity of the nobility. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Filed under Mythology

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

April 11, 2015 · 12:41 am

AINU GODS: THE THREE BROTHERS

AinuMy recent item about Ainu deities has proven so successful here’s a quick take on three of the lesser deities from the Ainu pantheon, the three brothers named Seremak, Urespa and Usapki.

SEREMAK – The patron god of vigor, vitality and general physical fitness. He had a flattened belly (“Six-Pack abs of the Gods!”), nine pairs of wings and wielded a sword and a spear made of mugwort. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Filed under Mythology

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

March 31, 2015 · 4:00 am

AIWEL LONGAR: THE EPIC MYTH

Aiwel Longar

Aiwel Longar

Once again Balladeer’s Blog examines a neglected epic myth from around the world. Previously I have dealt with epics from the Navajo, Vietnamese, Iroquois, Aztec, Hawaiian, Chinese and other belief systems.

The mythic tale of Aiwel Longar comes from the Dinka pantheon. Nhialic is the supreme deity to the Dinka and the first man and woman he created were Garang and Abuk. The Dinka people live in the Upper Nile in Sudan, as they have for centuries.

AIWEL LONGAR

I often cover the way in which cultures which come into contact borrow mythic material from each other to embellish their own respective belief systems. The story of Aiwel Longar clearly influenced (and vice versa) Egyptian, Jewish, Christian and Muslim myths. It also bears striking similarities to the Gnostic Hymn of the Pearl.

PART ONE – Born as simply Aiwel, this figure was a gift from the god of the Nile River to Aiwel’s widowed and childless mother. The infant already had a full set of teeth when his mother picked him up out of the Nile River, where the river god had set him adrift.

Like many mythic figures Aiwel could Continue reading →

4 Comments

Filed under Mythology

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

March 29, 2015 · 9:21 pm

DEAD AND RESURRECTED DEITIES OF THE DISTANT PAST

Persephone and pomegranateSpring keeps trying to arrive but this bitter winter refuses to give up just yet. Our nationwide longing to be liberated from the tyrannical grip of winter made this a good time to examine some of the ancient myths about winter and the coming of spring. The celebration of those myths at this time of year plus the fact that many of those myths centered around dead and resurrected deities necessitated Christianity’s attempt to superimpose its OWN dead and resurrected deity over top of those older stories. Hence the celebration of Easter in springtime. (And it’s not just Christianity that behaved that way – other religions also would superimpose their own celebrations over top of those held in honor of the previously dominant gods in their region. I’ll cover the behavior of those other belief systems – especially Islam and the Incan faith – another time.)

Not all seasonal myths conformed to the following pattern. I’m limiting this list to the ones that did.

PERSEPHONE

Pantheon: Greek (The Romans called her Proserpine)

The Tale: Persephone was the beautiful daughter of the goddess Demeter (Ceres to the Romans). Persephone caught the eye of Hades, the god who ruled over the realm of the dead. Overcome with lust Hades (Pluto to the Romans) emerged from his subterranean domain and stole Persephone away to his realm to become his Queen.

The Savior: Demeter went searching for her daughter throughout the world, often assuming the form of a mortal woman. Her search wore on and on with no results, causing Demeter to fall more and more deeply into despair. Because she was the goddess of nature that despair manifested itself in colder weather, in the leaves falling off the trees, other vegetation dying and some animals hibernating or migrating to flee the cold.  Continue reading →

17 Comments

Filed under Mythology

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

January 27, 2015 · 9:37 pm

NEGLECTED MYTHICAL EPICS

Regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog are familiar with my examinations of obscure pantheons of gods. I’ve also covered several neglected epic myths from around the world. Here’s a guide to the ones I’ve covered:

Aiwel LongarAIWEL LONGAR

Pantheon: Dinka

Central Figure: Aiwel Longar

Synopsis: Aiwel Longar was the son of the Nile River god and was set adrift as a gift for the childless woman who found him. The young godling displays his divine nature from childhood onward and many years later when various plagues strike the land Aiwel Longar leads his faithful followers to a new promised land where they can live but which he is forbidden to enter. A miraculous crossing of the Nile is also featured in this ancient epic with a broad influence.  

FOR FULL STORY CLICK HERE: https://glitternight.com/2013/08/13/mythology-the-epic-of-aiwel-longar/

Lac Long QuanA WAR BETWEEN GODS

Pantheon: Vietnamese

Central Figures: The jungle and mountain god Tan Vien and Thuy Tinh, the god of the monsoon rains.

Synopsis: While on a safari with the semi-divine emperor Hung Vuong XVIII, Tan Vien saves the life of the rain deity Thuy Tinh. Thuy Tinh’s father, the sea god Long Vuong, welcomes Tan Vien to his undersea kingdom to thank him. Thuy Tinh and Tan Vien’s friendship grows as the jungle and mountain god is feasted and celebrated for weeks before being sent home with various supernatural gifts from the god of the sea.

When Hung Vuong XVIII’s daughter Mi Nuong is offered up to be courted Tan Vien and Thuy Tinh best all of the mortal suitors competing for her hand. Next follows a tragic conflict between the two deities, a conflict with long-lasting consequences. 

FOR FULL STORY CLICK HERE: https://glitternight.com/vietnamese-myth-2/ Continue reading →

14 Comments

Filed under Mythology

Tagged as , , , , , ,

January 22, 2015 · 3:03 pm

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 →

10 Comments

Filed under Mythology

Tagged as , , , , , ,

January 6, 2015 · 9:16 pm

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 →

15 Comments

Filed under Mythology

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,