Tag Archives: mythology

August 7, 2013 · 10:31 pm

IROQUOIS EPIC MYTH: HODADEION PART SEVEN

Iroquois Confederation

Iroquois Confederation

Continuing the adventures of the Iroquois god of magic, Hodadeion.

PART 7 – THE TWIN HERONS – Hodadeion moved swiftly through the forest. He wanted to put as much space between himself and the giant horned serpents as possible before they grew hungry again. He continued heading north and at length came upon a pathway guarded by two enormous white herons. Each bird was bigger than a horse and at the sight of the demigod they attacked him, trying to claw and peck at him while simultaneously battering him with their powerful wings.

Hodadeion fled as quickly as Continue reading →

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June 12, 2013 · 10:46 pm

IROQUOIS EPIC MYTH: HODADEION PART SIX

Iroquois longhouse lodgePART 6: HORNED SERPENTS – Continuing his journey, Hodadeion the god of magic came to a river across which an impossibly long and thick tree served as a bridge. Believing this might lead to the village of the cannibalistic wizards he was searching for the demigod set off across the makeshift bridge.

When he was halfway across Hodadeion abruptly stopped. He sensed something immense lying in wait on the other side of the river. Frustrated by being detected by their potential prey two enormous serpents with deerhorns on their heads sprang from hiding and hissed insults at the demigod who stood tantalizingly just outside their reach. Unafraid, Hodadeion shouted insults of his own back at the two monstrous serpents, who were as big around as several tree-trunks and as long as Continue reading →

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June 3, 2013 · 10:09 pm

MOON U: A LOOK AT NINE LUNAR DEITIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

moonIn the past Balladeer’s Blog examined sun deities and monster slayers from neglected pantheons of gods from around the world. This time around neglected moon deities will be the subject.

9. PUEPA

Pantheon: Tupari

Comment: Puepa is the husband of the sun goddess Karam in Tupari myths. Though both are aged they retain a great deal of divine power, Karam more so than her husband, hence her brighter light. Eclipses occur when the sun and moon are attacked by the celestial crocodiles who usually guard the realm of Patobkia, god of the dead. Puepa and his wife always succeed in driving the crocodiles off with their power.

For more Tupari deities : https://glitternight.com/2013/04/02/the-top-ten-deities-in-tupari-mythology/

8. HINA

Pantheon: Hawaiian

Comment: Hina was the Continue reading →

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June 2, 2013 · 10:38 pm

IROQUOIS EPIC MYTH: HODADEION PART FIVE

Iroquois2PART 5 – WITCHES WITH HIDDEN HEARTS – Hodadeion the god of magic continued traveling northeast on his quest. Presently Hodadeion spied three hideously old witch-women pounding corn outside their longhouse lodge. The demigod’s sharp eyes noticed that the three women were using human bones as cooking implements and remained hidden in the forest so he could observe the obviously dangerous ladies and devise a strategy for dealing with them. 

As with so many heroes in Iroquois myths Hodadeion suddenly found the breeze blowing through his ears to be the whisperings of the wind god Geha. Hodadeion was Geha’s grandson, after all, and he did not abandon his descendant in his time of need. Geha whispered to the god of magic that the witches were cannibals like the sorcerors who had depopulated so many Iroquois villages. Though very old each member of the trio was far stronger than any mortal man and used human thigh bones from their previous meals to club new victims to death.

Rashly Hodadeion let his anger get the better of him and emerged from hiding. The cannibal witch-women caught sight of him and Continue reading →

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May 29, 2013 · 9:34 pm

IROQUOIS EPIC MYTH: HODADEION PART FOUR

IroquoisPART FOUR – THE EYELESS ONE – With the evil medicine man Hodiadatgon overcome the god of magic Hodadeion continued his quest toward the north to find the cannibal wizards who had depopulated so many villages.

At length he came upon a longhouse lodge in a clearing. Creeping closer, Hodadeion looked within and saw an elderly man with no eyes sitting on the floor of the lodge. The old man was surrounded by furs and meat while the walls of his lodge were filled with the severed heads of men, both young and old. Seeing nothing inside that concerned him Hodadeion decided to move on, only to come out of thick woods to find the exact same clearing with the exact same lodge. Even the old man with no eyes and his macabre trophies lining the walls dwelt inside.

No matter which direction Hodadeion traveled or how long he ventured through the thick forest he always emerged on the clearing where the eyeless old man’s lodge stood. This time while he was standing outside the door the man with no eyes called out to Continue reading →

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May 22, 2013 · 12:04 am

IROQUOIS EPIC MYTH: HODADEION PART THREE

Iroquois confederationPART 3- THE WIZARD HODIADATGON. With the Wasp-Men overcome, Hodadeion the god of magic piled all of their naked bodies in a pile and burned them, all the while being observed by a sinister-looking owl. Then he ordered his wooden soldiers to go back to the cabin he shared with his sister Yeyenthwus and brother Otgoe. The demigod further ordered them to fall in a neat pile once there and revert to their stick forms so that they could be used as firewood by his siblings.

When those tasks were completed Hodadeion continued north on his quest, happily noting the vile owl was nowhere in sight. At length he came upon a large tree stump in the middle of the path he was following. The path was well-traveled so it seemed impossible that a tree had grown and eventually died on the path, leaving  only this tall, thick stump.

Apprehensively the god of magic approached the stump, only to feel himself bounced back as he Continue reading →

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May 20, 2013 · 12:01 am

IROQUOIS EPIC MYTH: HODADEION PART TWO

Iroquois longhouse lodge villageIn the tradition of Balladeer’s Blog’s previous looks at neglected epic myths from the Navajo, Vietnamese and Chinese pantheons here is Part 2 of my look at the Iroquois god of magic Hodadeion.

PART 2 – THE WASP-MEN – (Hodadeion was the son of the creator god Tharonhiawakon and a mortal woman, the same mortal woman who bore him Hodadeion’s siblings. Those siblings were Otgoe, the wampum god and Yeyenthwus, the future goddess of chestnut trees.)

Hodadeion ventured to the north despite his sister Yeyenthwus’ warnings. He came across a few more villages that were now deserted like his own and he realized how far-reaching was the reign of terror of the cannibalistic wizards who had decimated the population of his and his siblings’ home village.

Eventually Hodadeion stumbled into the territory of the Wasp-Men, who flew after Hodadeion, forcing him to Continue reading →

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May 7, 2013 · 8:37 pm

AZTEC GODDESS: CHALCHIHUITLICUE

ChalchihuitlicueCHALCHIHUITLICUE – The Aztec goddess of lakes, streams, rivers and the ocean. She was also the patron goddess of birth, with the newly-born being soon after immersed in her waters to “cleanse” them. The diseased would often pray to Chalchihuitlicue for a cure before bathing in a body of water asking the goddess to wash away their illness. She was also considered the goddess of whirlpools, which the tectonics under Mesoamerica made fairly frequent back then. At Lake Texcoco in Pantitlan there was Continue reading →

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April 30, 2013 · 12:03 am

THE TOP DEITIES IN SAMOAN MYTHOLOGY

SamoaSamoan mythology as a subset of Polynesian mythology will be the subject of this blog post. I have previously covered various deities of the Hawaiian islands and in the future I will address the gods of the other Polynesian island groups. 

*** FOR THE GODS OF OTHER POLYNESIAN ISLAND GROUPS –

BELLONA ISLAND AND RENNELL ISLAND – CLICK HERE

GEGE – A deity who specialized in ridding the Samoan island of Upolu of demons. Operating out of his base at Falealili he roamed the island, met demons in contests of magic and transformed them into stone. Countless unusual rock formations on Upolu are said to be the petrified bodies of the demons overcome by Gege.

PAPA – In other Polynesian island groups Papa is the Earth goddess. In the Samoan pantheon she is Continue reading →

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April 16, 2013 · 12:03 am

THE TOP EIGHT NEGLECTED MONSTER-SLAYERS IN WORLD MYTHOLOGY

Heng

Heng

When it comes to gods and/or demigods who slay monsters Hercules, Thor and Gilgamesh get the bulk of the attention. Vishnu and Shiva’s roles slaying monsters in Hindu myths are well-known, too. Balladeer’s Blog as usual will show some love for those figures who get neglected simply because their pantheons are not as familiar to most of the world.

8. HENG

Pantheon: Iroquois

Chief Weapon: Spears made of lightning.

Rogues Gallery: This storm god destroyed an enormous porcupine with tree-sized quills, a giant bird with feathers made of wampum, a worm large enough to engulf an entire village, cannibalistic wizards plus a gigantic horned serpent and its army of equally large serpents.

For more Iroquois deities: https://glitternight.com/2013/01/28/the-top-fifteen-deities-in-iroquois-mythology/

Continue reading →

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