9 World Chronicles

Mihos he who is true beside her

Classification: Neter/god

Region/Culture: North African, Kemetic, Later Egyptian

Associated: war, protection, and weather, as well as that of knives, lotuses, and devouring captives

The son of the goddess Bastet and the god Ptah.  He is depicted in leonine form he was venerated at the cult center Leontopolis in Lower Kemet which included enclosures for live lions.

whose name means "he who is true beside her"

A sanctuary in his honor war built at Bubastis by Osorkon III 

He was depicted as a lion or a lion-headed man. When shown as a lion-headed man, Mihos would wear a short kilt and any one of a number of headdresses. He would often be shown holding a knife and with a bouquet of lotuses near him.

He helped Re in the daily battle against Apep. Mihos was a god of war and a patron of sacred places. A late Greek text described him as a god of storms and darkness.

As a protector and guardian of Egypt he was given titles such as the "Lord of the Massacre", the "Lord of Slaughter" and the "Wielder of the Knife".

The role of Mihos also included upholding the 'Spirit of Ma'at' upholding the principles of truth, morality and justice. In this role he was given the titles of "Helper of the Wise Ones" in reference to the gods Ma'at, Thoth, Seshat and Imhotep and the "Avenger of Wrongs" in reference to ensuring justice according to the laws of Egypt.

Like his mother Bastet (see picture below), the symbol of Mihos was the the flint knife or dagger used in ancient Egypt that was called a Khop. Depictions of Mihos also included him wielding these knives.

Baiame the Sky Hero

Classification: Creator God

Culture: Australian aboriginal

Period of worship: from antiquity

Biame is a creator god revered as the supreme being and instrument of good. Principally by the Wiradyuri and Kamilaroi groups of aboriginals in the southeast of Australia.

His voice is represented when the bull roarer native instrument is swung. .

The Baiame story tells how Baiame came down from the sky to the land and created rivers, mountains, and forests. He fashioned two men and two women from the Red Earth of Australia  He then gave the people their laws of life, traditions, songs, and culture. He also created the first initiation site. This is known as a bora; a place where boys were initiated into manhood. When he had finished, he returned to the sky and people called him the Sky Hero or All Father or Sky Father

He is the father of Daramalan and is identified in the Heavens by the Southern Cross

It was forbidden to mention or talk about the name of Baiame publicly. Women were not allowed to see drawings of Baiame nor approach Baiame sites—which are often male initiation sites (boras).

In rock paintings Baiame is often depicted as a human figure with a large head-dress or hairstyle, with lines of footsteps nearby. He is always painted in front view; Dharramalan is drawn in profile. Baiame is often shown with internal decorations such as waistbands, vertical lines running down the body, bands and dots.

Arawa  she who is beloved

Culture/Region  - East African moon goddess. Associated with the Suk and Pokot tribes of Kenya and Uganda

Associated: The Moon, lunar cycles

Sacred Stone: Moon Stone

Sacred Number 29

Arawa was the daughter of Tororut who was the creator and Seta (a fertility goddess). 

The Moon Goddess is an important deity in many cultures around the world where they form a central role in mythology. 

The moon is associated with the divine feminine as in many tribal societies the feminine cycles were linked to the phases of the moon. Through this Arawa is connected to womanhood.

The Moon was important in ancient calendars, helping people to measure time and to determine when the best time was for planting and harvesting crops. And she is thus tied to the fertility of the land.

She is a beloved and benign deity who is venerated by dance and festival.

Tienoltsodi

Classification: God/Spirit

Culture Navajo

Associated: Oceans and Fresh Water

Sacred Stone: Turquoise

He controls the waters which have fallen on to Earth. As distinct from those in the Heaven which are rule by the rain god Tonenili.

He is described as a kind god who ensures the fertility of the land and keeps the sky clean.

He was venerated in dance and may have been the object of token worship as well.

Through his association with water, he is associated with fertility and the renewal of life.

Hi natural enemy is the god Hastsezini, who invented fire and thus the mantle of fire god.

Myth tells us that the Fire gods grew mad with his power and threatened to consume the entire Earth for his pleasure.

The people danced for Tienoltsodi, the god arrived with a great storm and the flames of the fire god were extinguished.

Ganaskidi

Goddess  of harvests, plenty and of mists.

Verethragna the most highly armed.

Classification God

Culture: Persian Iranian

His sacred animal is the Wild Boar whose iron-shoden feet crush opponents and is perceived to be ever present in the fierce wind.

"as a giver of victory Verethragna plainly enjoyed the greatest popularity of old." In Zoroastrian Middle Persian,

the figure of Verethragna is highly complex, parallels have also been drawn between, Puranic Vishnu, Manichaean Adamas, Chaldean/Babylonian Nergal, Egyptian Horus, Hellenic Ares and Heracles.

In the Bahram Yasht

Verethragna is described as "the most highly armed" the "best equipped with might" , with "effervescent glory" , has "conquering superiority" , and is in constant battle with men and daemons.

he is connected with sexual potency and "confers virility" , has the "ability to heal"  and "renders wonderful"

ten forms in which the divinity appears: As an impetuous wind; as an armed warrior and as an adolescent of fifteen and in the remaining seven forms as animals: a bull with horns of gold ; a white horse with ears and a muzzle of gold; a camel in heat, a boar a bird of prey (veregna,; a ram ; and a wild goat.

Verethragna was both identified as Ares and associated with Heracles, and given the Greek name Artagnes.

Ipy mistress of magical protection

Classification: Goddess/neter

Culture: North African Kemetic/Egyptian

Cult Center: Thebes, Karnak Temple Complex

Associated: Motherhood

Literary references: Pyramid text

Ipy appear as a benevolent guardian and wet nurse to the pharaoh.

She is perceived to exert a benign influence on amulet.

Opet was usually depicted as some sort of combination of hippopotamus, crocodile, human and lion, though her hippopotamus aspect is dominant. She was represented as a female hippopotamus, usually standing upright on legs which have the feet of a lion.

The Hippo itself is associated with the protective nature of mother as is reflected in the neter Taweret.

First reference to her comes from the Pyramid Texts, where the king asks that he may nurse at her breast so that he would "neither thirst nor hunger...forever".

 Afterwards, she is called "mistress of magical protection" in funerary papyri. Under the epithet 'the great Opet',

She appears to have had a very strong connection with the Theban area and might have even been considered a personification of that city. In the theology of Thebes, she was thought to be the mother of Ausar.

Title

Author

Date

Publisher

Reference Number

Ancient Gods Speak, The: A Guide to Egyptian Religion

Redford, Donald B.

2002

Oxford University Press

ISBN 0-19-515401-0

Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, The

Wilkinson, Richard H.

2003

Thames & Hudson, LTD

ISBN 0-500-05120-8

Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt: The One and the Many

Hornung, Erik

1971

Cornell University Press

ISBN 0-8014-8384-0

Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, A

Hart, George

1986

Routledge

ISBN 0-415-05909-7

Egyptian Religion

Morenz, Siegfried

1973

Cornell University Press

ISBN 0-8014-8029-9

Gods and Myths of Ancient Egypt

Armour, Robert A.

1986

American University in Cairo Press, The

ISBN 977 424 669 1

Gods of Ancient Egypt, The

Vernus, Pascal

1998

George Braziller Publisher

ISBN 0-8076-1435-1

Gods of the Egyptians, The (Studies in Egyptian Mythology)

Budge, E. A. Wallis

1969

Dover Publications, Inc.

ISBN 486-22056-7

Behhanzin

Classification – God

Culture: Fon People of West Africa

Invoked by fishermen to ensure plenticul catches.

Bera Pennu –  she who receives human sacrifice.

Classification: Goddess

Culture: Khonds in Bengal North India

Sacred Number 8

Associated: Vegetation

A crucial influence on the success of the crop and thus the harvest she was among the most revered for these people.  The Khonds are people of the hills and jungles of Orissa state, India. Their numbers are estimated to exceed 800,000, of which about 550,000 speak a langue of the Dravidian language family.

She was the recipient of human sacrifice to ensure good harvest, particularly of the spice turmeric, and as a protection against disease and infirmity.

The sacrificial victim or meriah was youthful, often kept for years as a holy person before death and was always either the offspring of a previous sacrificial victim, or purchased from impoverished families for the purpose. He or she was generally strangled, sometimes in the fork of a tree, after days of festivities. In other instances the victim was cut up alive.

Odin – the king of the Norse gods – demanded human sacrifices.

In Mesoamerican culture human sacrifices were viewed as a repayment for the sacrifices the gods had themselves made in creating the world and the sun.

Erzulie Dantor – Voodoo Goddess of love romance, art, jealously, passion and sex.

Classification: Loa/Goddess

Cultural Origins: Haitian Voodoo

Associated: Love Romance Beauty, love, art, passion and sex

Dantor is the patron loa of lesbian women, fierce protector of women experiencing domestic violence and patron loa of New Orleans. Beauty, love, and sensuality are Her Creations. Emotions are what link Her to the endless reservoir of universal creativity.

“She has tribal scars on Her cheek, and is considered heterosexual because She has children, but She is also the patron loa of lesbian women. Thus, She loves women fiercely, and will defend them to the death. She loves knives and is considered the protector of newly consecrated Voodoo priests and priestesses, as well as of women and children who are victims of domestic violence, and women who have been betrayed by a lover.

She is highly respected and much feared due to Her Woman Power. Most Haitian women serve Dantor, and she is also the patron loa of New Orleans and so she is served by many there as well. She also supports independent business women and is the patron of women’s finances. Many women invoked Erzulie Dantor against their partners (male or female) should they become violent. And enlightened men also serve Dantor, especially men who honor, love and respect women.”

The relevance of the water deity is held in high regard in almost every culture. Water is  life, fertility and renewal.

Water deities may manifest in oceans rivers, brooks, streams or flask.

They can be wise and gentle, or volatile and tempestuous.

Creatures of the sea have been vile terrors and divine teachers.

Benin

Ezili, goddess of sweet water, beauty, and love.

Dogon

Nommos, amphibious spirits that are worshiped as ancestors.

Serer

Mindiss (or Mindis) is not a deity in Serer religion, but a pangool with goddess–like attributes. She is a female protector of the Fatick Region. Offerings are made in her name at the River Sine. She appears to humans in the form of a manatee

Yoruba

Oshun, a river orisha.

Olokun, an ocean orisha.

Yemoja, a river orisha and ocean orisha as well in new world Yoruba religions.

Lugandan

Sezibwa, goddess of the Sezibwa River.

Batonga Nyami Nyami, a river spirit of the Batonga of Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Kongo

Bunzi, goddess of rain, rainbow and waters.

Funza, goddess of waters, twin phenomenon and malformations in children. Wife of Mbumba.

Kimbazi, goddess of sea storms.

Kuitikuiti, serpent god of Congo river.

Lusunzi, god of spring and waters.

Mamba Muntu, goddesses of waters and sexuality.

Makanga.

Mpulu Bunzi, god of rain and waters.

Mundele, albino gods of the sea.

Simbi dia Maza, nymphs or goddesses of waters, lakes and rivers.

Canaanite

Yam (god), god of the sea.

Egyptian

Anuket, goddess of the Nile and nourisher of the fields.

Bairthy, goddess of water and was depicted with a small pitcher balanced on her head, holding a long spear-like sceptre.

Hapi, god of the annual flooding of the Nile.

Khnum, god of the Nile.

Nephthys, goddess of rivers, death, mourning, the dead, and night.

Nu, uncreated god, personification of the primordial waters.

Osiris, god of the dead and afterlife; originally a god of water and vegetation.

Satet, goddess of the Nile River's floods.

Sobek, god of the Nile river, depicted as a crocodile or a man with the head of a crocodile.

Tefnut, goddess of water, moisture, and fertility.

Hebrew

Leviathan, sea serpent.

Mesopotamian

Abzu, god of fresh water, father of all other gods.

Enbilulu, god of rivers and canals.

Enki, god of water and of the river Tigris.

Marduk, god associated with water, vegetation, judgment, and magic.

Nammu, goddess of the primeval sea.

Nanshe, goddess of the Persian Gulf, social justice, prophecy, fertility and fishing.

Tiamat, goddess of salt water and chaos, also mother of all gods.

Sirsir, god of mariners.

Buk – the daughter of the Fireflies

Classified as a goddess or guardian spirit.

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Culture : Nuer of the Sudan

Associated: River

A guardian against attack by  crocodiles.  Her protection is invoked by the ritual sacrifice of a goat,

She is typically  depicted as beautiful woman with

She’s the mother of Deng, who is the creator god in this mythology. As well as Candit and Nyaliep, both of whom are river deities.

The role of a river of water goddess is very important in its role in creation. AS the mother of the creator god the water is thus the source of the creation of life.

The river its self if of particular important inn the foundation of human settlements and essentially human civilization.

But with the benefits of the river come the danger.

The West African crocodile inhabits much of West and Central Africa, ranging east to South Sudan and Uganda, and south to Democratic Republic of the Congo (Other countries where found include Mauritania, Benin, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Chad, Sierra Leone, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Gabon, Togo, Ivory Coast and Republic of Congo.

Mauritanian traditional peoples who live in close proximity to West African crocodiles revere them and protect them from harm. This is due to their belief that, just as water is essential to crocodiles, so crocodiles are essential to the water, which would permanently disappear if they were not there to inhabit it.

Hakea

Classification: evil (rejected spirit)/ God

Culture: Polynesian, Hawaii

Associated: The Underworld

Sacred Animal: the Devil Fish

Her role is shared with the chthonic goddess Miru.

She is depicted as a squid or an octopus. But just as often as a beautiful woman.

She was part of a group of spirits that were “spit out” by the gods.

Lead by Kanaloa, another spirit, they launched a rebellion against the gods but were defeated.

They were banished to the underworld.

The Ant

Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period, and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. It is estimated that there are roughly 22 thousand species of ant.

Ant society have a division of labor, communication between individuals, and the ability to solve complex problems

A symbol of diligence, patience, humility and foresight. In China, the  ant symbolized order and the tireless servant.

Its industry seen in the bible as a virtue is considered somewhat excessive in Hindu and Buddhist thought, thus becoming a symbol of the ceaseless, petty activity of those blind to the transience of human life.

In Mali ants were the beneficent organizers, originators of the skills of building and weaving and by the sympathetic magic their nest could bring fecundity.

Anteaters conversely symbolism harm and chaos.

In Greek mythology the Myrmidons were a nest of ants that Zeus transformed into humans. They were said to be among the most fierce and efficient armies in Greece.

In some southwestern tribes, ants played a more important mythological role-- in the Cahuilla creation myth, it was ants who spread the earth out for people ant animals to live upon, and in Hopi mythology, it was the Ant People who sheltered humans underground during the destruction of the First World.

In northern California tribes, ants were said to predict earthquakes, and it was considered taboo to disturb their nests. In South America, ants are more often portrayed as warriors in Indian legends, probably because of the painful sting inflicted by South American fire ants, and some Native South American initiation rites involve young people subjecting themselves to ant bites.

there are some southwestern tribes with Ant Clans, including the Hopi, Pueblo, and Akimel O'odham (Pima) tribes. Ant groupings were particularly important among the Pimas, where the people of every Pima village used to be divided into one Red Ant Clan and one White Ant Clan. The Cherokee also have an Ant Dance among their tribal dance traditions.

The Ant  is credited in North African myths with teaching the first humans about the uses of plants and grains.

The Berber and Kabyl tribes have a myth that tells the story of the wise ant that helped the first humans. Teaching them to cook grains in spring water. gave them directions for grinding the grain into flour. he showed them how to start a fire with stones, dried grass and wood, and a flint stone. The Ants taught them to bake bread.

It was the ant that directed man to save seeds and to plant them in the rainy season.

In the mythology of the Kuba People of Conga Nyonye Ngaga, the eldest son of the creator god Bumba, is the creator of the humble ant.

He made billions of ants and died of fatigue. His effort would be the standard for ants work ethic.

 the ants were grateful to Nyonye Ngana for making them, and scurried into the earth to give him a decent burial. They’ve been busy doing that ever since.

colonies consist of various castes of sterile, wingless females, most of which are workers (ergates), as well as soldiers (dinergates) and other specialised groups. Nearly all ant colonies also have some fertile males called "drones" and one or more fertile females called "queens" (gynes). The colonies are described as superorganisms because the ants appear to operate as a unified entity, collectively working together to support the colony.

Ants have colonised almost every landmass on Earth. Ants thrive in most ecosystems and may form 15–25% of the terrestrial animal biomass.