Tag Archives: Tupari gods

TUPARI MYTHS: GODS AND GODDESSES OF THE AFTERLIFE

The Tupari of Brazil had a very rich pantheon of deities. For the full list click HERE  This blog post looks at the Soul’s Journey after death. 

Tupari live near the Rio BrancoTHE SOUL’S JOURNEY TO THE LAND OF THE DEATH-GOD PATOBKIA – Like  many other groups of people the Tupari distinguished between an animating force and an actual spirit.

After death, while the spirit, or Pabid, proceeds to the land ruled by the god Patobkia, the Kiapoga , the animating force or “ghost” remains in the heart of the dead human. Eventually it bursts from the heart like a bird from an egg. The village shamans clean the Kiapoga, shape its clay-like form to resemble the deceased, and then release the ghost, which forever floats invisibly in the air near the place of death.

masc graveyard newThe Pabid, meanwhile, journeys far away from the land of the living, completely blind as it makes its way. First it proceeds over the backs of two gigantic male and female crocodiles. The male crocodile attacks the moon god Puepa at times, causing eclipses of the moon, and the female crocodile attacks the sun goddess Karam at other times, causing eclipses of the sun. Though Puepa and Karam are both elderly they are still powerful – Karam more than Puepa in fact – and always drive the crocodiles away eventually. Continue reading

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GODS AND GODDESSES OF TUPARI MYTHS

Tupari live near the Rio BrancoBalladeer’s Blog looks at another neglected pantheon of gods and goddesses. The Tupari people live near the Rio Branco in Brazil and though they are far from numerous I find their mythology to be as riveting and full of rich details as the belief systems of any other group.

A striking element of the Tupari belief system is the way in which the word “pod” is used the way “kami” is used in Shinto myths. Pod, like kami, can be used when referring to actual deities but also to lesser supernatural beings, so there is often debate over the exact status of an individual entity in the Tupari’s metaphysical heirarchy.

10. MULHER – The primordial Earth goddess from whom all the other deities descended. In the beginning when there was no life on Earth and no gods in the heavens Mulher existed alone. Her original form was that of an enormous black rock with a very smooth surface, much like Zoroastrian mythology describes the Earth before the evil god Ahriman ruined its pristine perfection. Mulher split open one day like an egg and her first child, the god Valedjad was born amid a stream of blood flowing from Mulher. Again she split open and her second son Vab emerged from within her in a similar blood stream. When earthquakes occur today it is Mulher splitting open again, but no more children are born – rather her blood – lava – flows like the blood from menstruating women.  

9. PATSIARE – The god who separated the Earth and the sky. He then created the poles that support the sky above the Earth the way similar poles support the domed roofs of the Tupari’s houses. In Tupari cosmology the world is shaped like a Continue reading

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ARKOANYO: A GOD OF THE TUPARI

Tupari live near the Rio BrancoARKOANYO – The bird-creating deity who often protected his fellow divinities, especially from the storm god Valedjad. That god often grew so angry with his fellow deities that he unleashed powerful storms on them, sometimes destroying lesser deities who dared to oppose him.

At one point Valedjad grew so angry he caused a storm so powerful it flooded the Earth, killing many of the other gods and goddesses. The surviving deities struggled to devise a way of at last ending Valedjad’s reign of terror. Arkoanyo, the bird-creating deity was the one who took action.  Continue reading

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ANATBA AND KOLUBEH, GODDESSES OF CHILDBIRTH

Here are two goddesses of the Tupari people in what is now Brazil. FOR THE FULL LIST OF TUPARI GODS CLICK HERE

Tupari live near the Rio BrancoANATBA and KOLUBEH – The twin goddesses of childbirth, who began gracing humanity with children after they left the underground world. In Tupari myths the only way women can become pregnant is for these two deities to visit them at night and place a baby in the woman’s womb. Before the baby’s presence in the body of the mother it forms from the otherworldly “flesh” of Anatba and Kolubeh, sometimes linking them like the joints that link Siamese twins.

It is speculated that  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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TUPARI MYTHOLOGY: KARAM THE SUN GODDESS

Tupari live near the Rio BrancoKARAM – This deity was the sun goddess of the Tupari people who lived near the Rio Branco in Brazil. Karam was much more pwerful than her husband Puepa the moon god and Continue reading

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TUPARI MYTHOLOGY: THE GODDESS VAUGEH AND HER SPOUSE MPOKALERO

Tupari live near the Rio BrancoVAUGEH – The goddess who embodied female physical beauty for the Tupari people who lived near the Rio Branco region of what is now Brazil. Her spouse MPOKALERO was her counterpart, the god who embodied male physical beauty. The two of them were also the patron deities of sexual desire and caused carnal attraction between people.

In Tupari beliefs when a Continue reading

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THE TOP TEN DEITIES IN TUPARI MYTHOLOGY

Tupari live near the Rio BrancoBalladeer’s Blog presents its latest look at a neglected pantheon of gods and goddesses. The Tupari people live near the Rio Branco in Brazil and though they are far from numerous I find their mythology to be as riveting and full of rich details as the belief systems of any other group.

The deities of the Tupari deserve to stand alongside the gods of the Greeks, Egyptians, Aztecs and others. A striking element of the Tupari belief system is the way in which the word “pod” is used the way “kami” is used in Shinto myths. Pod, like kami, can be used when referring to actual deities but also to lesser supernatural beings, so there is often debate over the exact status of an individual entity in the Tupari’s metaphysical heirarchy.

10. MULHER – The primordial Earth goddess from whom all the other deities descended. In the beginning when there was no life on Earth and no gods in the heavens Mulher existed alone. Her original form was that of an enormous black rock with a very smooth surface, much like Zoroastrian mythology describes the Earth before the evil god Ahriman ruined its pristine perfection. Mulher split open one day like an egg and her first child, the god Valedjad was born amid a stream of blood flowing from Mulher. Again she split open and her second son Vab emerged from within her in a similar blood stream. When earthquakes occur today it is Mulher splitting open again, but no more children are born – rather her blood – lava – flows like the blood from menstruating women.  

9. PATSIARE – The god who separated the Earth and the sky. He then created the poles that support the sky above the Earth the way similar poles support the domed roofs of the Tupari’s houses. In Tupari cosmology the world is shaped like a Continue reading

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