Tag Archives: Myths

May 1, 2017 · 9:03 pm

ZACA: VOODOO GOD

HaitiVoodoo mythology is a fascinating hybrid of Yoruban, Dahomey, Fon and Christian mythology intermixed with touches from Caribbean belief systems.

Haiti is the central location of the Voodoo belief system but naturally it has spread throughout the world as have other faiths.

Here is a VooDoo god whose Holy Day is today, May 1st.

ZACA – The god of agriculture and the harvest, making him the patron deity of farmers and fieldworkers. Zaca is the friendliest and most approachable of the gods and may be addressed as “Cousin Zaca” if spotted in the fields. He dresses in denims and a straw hat just like the rural Haitians do. In addition  Continue reading →

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April 18, 2017 · 9:30 pm

SUN GODS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Balladeer’s Blog’s mythology posts are among the most popular parts of this site. As a change of pace from my examinations of multiple deities from a single mythological pantheon this time I’ll do a light-hearted look at solar deities – both male and female – from around the world.

Seqinek11. SEQINEK

Pantheon: Inuit

Lore: Also called Malina, Seqinek’s home was in Udlormiut, the land that was on the other side of the sky. In Inuit cosmology the sky was the roof of the enormous ice- house (igloo) that enclosed the world and Udlormiut lay on the other side.

By day Seqinek would leave her home and run across the sky, with the sun itself being the flame from the torch she carried as she ran. The goddess was forever fleeing her brother, the moon god Tatqim, whose partially burnt- out torch was the moon.

For more Inuit deities – https://glitternight.com/inuit-myth/

10. SURYA

Pantheon: Hindu

Lore: The sun was Surya’s chariot racing across Continue reading →

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April 10, 2017 · 11:55 pm

AIWEL LONGAR: THE AFROCENTRIC PASSOVER TALE

Balladeer’s Blog has been examining various dead and resurrected deities from around the world as well as various Apocryphal Gospels. Since this is the season for Passover as well as Easter here’s a look at the Aiwel Longar Epic, which features many parallels with the myth about Moses, Passover and the Ten Commandments. 

Aiwel LongarThe 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 talk and function like an adult at a very young age. While still a toddler he often stole and drank entire gourds full of milk. After one such binge Aiwel’s mother caught him and the young demigod warned her not to tell anyone or else she would die.  Continue reading →

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April 8, 2017 · 10:14 pm

MORE HAWAIIAN GODS AND GODDESSES

HawaiianislandsBalladeer’s Blog’s examinations of the Hawaiian pantheon of deities have been some of the most popular items here. As a nod to that popularity here are some of the neglected Hawaiian gods and goddesses.  

INANEA – A fascinating lizard-goddess. CLICK HERE 

KUMUHEA – This caterpillar god was a son of Ku, the god of war. CLICK HERE.   Continue reading →

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April 5, 2017 · 8:00 am

TITIKANOHIMATA: GOD OF FLYING FOXES

Flying FoxTITIKANOHIMATA – The god of flying foxes, animals which figure very prominently in the myths and culture of Bel-Ren.

Rituals would be performed in this god’s honor before going out to hunt flying foxes. Titikanohimata was considered the brother of the goddess Tehahine’angiki. Continue reading →

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March 30, 2017 · 11:55 pm

A WAR BETWEEN GODS: VIETNAMESE EPIC MYTH

A WAR BETWEEN GODS 

Vietnam mapCANTO ONE – The jungle and mountain god Tan Vien was accompanying the semi-divine Emperor Hung Vuong XVIII on a Royal Hunt. A turn of fate puts them in a position to save the imperiled son of Long Vuong, the chief sea god. CLICK HERE

CANTO TWO – Tan Vien and Thuy Tinh, the god of the monsoon rains, both fall in love with Mi Nuong, the daughter of Emperor Hung Vuong XVIII. Against the backdrop of their growing rivalry, Thuy Tinh’s father Long Vuong honors Tan Vien for saving his son. CLICK HERE 

CANTO THREE – Tan Vien, Thuy Tinh and the patriarch of the Thuc family are among the suitors competing in various contests for the hand of Mi Nuong. CLICK HERE  Continue reading →

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March 8, 2017 · 8:18 am

TOP ELEVEN DEITIES IN AZTEC MYTHS

The underappreciated mythological pantheon I’ll be looking at this time will be the Aztec pantheon. It seems all anybody ever wants to talk about with the Aztecs is human sacrifice, blood, hearts being pulled out, etc. There are many more intriguing elements to their forms of worship than just blood and guts, however. Here is a list of some of their major deities. For other pantheons I’ve addressed see these links:

KOREAN MYTH – https://glitternight.com/2011/03/24/the-top-11-deities-in-korean-mythology/ 

SHINTO MYTH – https://glitternight.com/shinto-myth/

HAWAIIAN MYTH – https://glitternight.com/2011/02/20/the-top-eleven-deities-in-hawaiian-mythology/

HAWAIIAN MYTH PART 2 – https://glitternight.com/2011/03/02/eleven-more-deities-from-hawaiian-mythology-2/

NORSE MYTHS – https://glitternight.com/2011/04/10/the-eleven-most-neglected-deities-in-teutono-norse-mythology/

INUIT MYTHS –  – https://glitternight.com/2011/06/06/the-top-12-deities-from-inuit-mythology-2/

Plus see my pages on Navajo, Vietnamese and Bunyoro myth.

11. OMETEOTL – The primordial and hermaphroditic deity who embodied all duality and from whom all existence sprang. Ometeotl did not just personify male and female but also space and time, light and dark, order and chaos, etc. As both male and female Ometeotl conceived and gave birth to the god Tonacatecuhtli and the goddess Tonacacihuatl, who mated and went on to produce most of the rest of the deities in the Aztec pantheon, sort of like Izanagi and Izanami in Shinto myths.

Ometeotl was considered distant and aloof and took no more active role in myths after setting the ball of creation rolling, although he/she was considered to be present in every aspect of ritual. This god sat enthroned in the thirteenth and highest heaven, Omeyocan, often considered the Mt Olympus/ Asgard/ Hunamoku/ Takamagahara of Aztec myths.      Continue reading →

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January 26, 2017 · 10:39 pm

IROQUOIS EPIC MYTH: HODADEION

Iroquois longhouse lodge villageSince these items have proven so popular here’s another of my neglected epic myths presented in chapter format.

PART ONE: THE GOD OF MAGIC – The demigod Hodadeion was the son of the creator deity Tharonhiawakon and a mortal woman. He and his siblings discover their mother’s village to be deserted, the latest victim of a coven of cannibalistic wizards. Hodadeion sets out to slay the wizards and to see if any trace of life remains in other villages. CLICK HERE 

PART TWO: THE WASP-MEN – Hodadeion comes across a few more deserted villages and then gets attacked by the Wasp-Men, winged insectoid humanoids. CLICK HERE

PART THREE: THE WIZARD HODIADATGON – Hodadeion finds his path barred by an evil master of “otgon” – negative or dark life energy. To continue on his quest the hero must defeat Hodiadatgon in a duel of magic. CLICK HERE  Continue reading →

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January 21, 2017 · 6:00 pm

KIKOMIHCI: MUSCOGEE CREEK GOD

human chartKIKOMIHCI – The god who created human beings and animal life after the supreme deity Ibofanaga was finished creating the Earth, the heavens and the underground world. Kikomihci animated people and other animals with their “ghosts” which could leave their bodies at night in dreams and wander around, returning to their host body by morning to avoid causing illness.

Ibofanaga was solely responsible for the actual “souls” of the beings Kikomihci created. Like the Inuit and other peoples the Muscogee Creek distinguished between an animating force and an actual “eternal” soul.

Kikomihci created humans in the underground world and it was from there that the ancient Creek people eventually emerged from caves near what we call the Rocky Mountains. The Muscogee called those mountains “the spine of the world”  (although in some versions it is instead the Appalachian Mountains that are given that designation). The realm of the gods was on the other side of those mountains. Continue reading →

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January 18, 2017 · 10:24 pm

BAYBAYAN: EPIC MYTH OF THE PHILIPPINES

Philippines Map 3Here’s another piece in the tradition of Balladeer’s Blog’s guides to my examinations of the epic myths about Nayanazgeni, the Navajo War God and Pele & Hi’iaka, the Hawaiian volcano goddess and her sister.

I. PART ONE – After Baybayan’s miraculous birth and rapid growth the demigod travels the Philippines performing miracles and gathering a huge band of followers around him. Soon, the day of apocalyptic danger arrives. CLICK HERE   

II. PART TWO – As Baybayan performs a multitude of wedding ceremonies for his disciples all the merriment ends with the arrival of the gigantic, world-destroying monster called the Makadingding. CLICK HERE   Continue reading →

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