Bestiary |
Takemikazuchi
The god of thunder and swords. He was also born from the blood dripping from the blade. This happened when the creator Izanagi cut off the head of Kagu-tsuchi, the god of destructive flame, who burned his mother Izanami at birth.
From the blood of Izanagi's son and from the sword that is considered their father (and whose name was either Ame-no-ohabari or Itsu-no-ohabari), several new gods were born, as the Kamiumi myth tells us; Takemikazuchi-no-o-no-kami, also known as Kashima (after his largest temple), or Takefutsu no kami or Toyofutsu no kami, was neither alone, nor the first, nor the most important. (Originally, he was not even considered and worshipped as he is today. He belonged to the Ō clan and oversaw sea voyages. As the patron of his successful people, he rose to high positions through politics and history.)
The fundamental role of Takemikazuchi (as you can see in the attached picture) is to tame the great catfish Namazu, responsible for Japanese earthquakes. Long ago, however, he was sent to Earth by the Celestials and his stern father to battle the local gods. Amaterasu therefore assigned both Itsu-no-ohabari and Takemikazuchi to the expedition, but Izanagi's former sword shirked the task and entrusted its fulfillment entirely to his son. Accompanied by (or aboard) the god/ship Ame-no-torifune, he landed on the coast of Izuma. He laid claim to the land. The local god Ōkuninushi let his two descendants decide on the request; while Kotoshironushi was persuaded to step down, Takeminakata first measured his strength against Takemikazuchi. That match—a typical divine battle of transformations—is now considered the first sumo match.
Another account attributes the god of thunder as a partner in this operation to a war god named Futsunushi. It omits the story of Takeminakata, reports on Ōkuninushi's resignation in exchange for a palace and a pension, and adds the evil star god Ama-tsu-mika-boshi, who resisted both celestials the longest.
Artwork of Takemikazuchi guarding the catfish Namazu: Unknown author / Public domain
8.8.2025 (16.8.2020)
Olorun
The god of peace, harmony, justice, and moral purity, he is also the ruler of the sky and the father of Heaven and Earth, a position that could hardly be higher.
Olorun (sometimes known as Ogus or Yansan) belongs to the African Yoruba people, and he owns everything in the world that is white. Clouds, air (which is white to the point of transparency), bones, brains... Whether that includes white people, I really don't know.
Although he is usually depicted as a man, in some places (as usual, not here) he is depicted with both male and female features, representing the male and female principles of heaven and earth. In other cases, Olorun is entirely a female deity.
8.8.2025 (4.9.2005)
Anahita
In ancient Persia, Anahita was worshipped as the goddess of fertility and patroness of women. She was associated with lakes and rivers, and was sometimes claimed to be the partner of the god Mithra. Her mission was not monotonous, because in addition to the above, she also devoted herself to the much more dangerous profession of goddess of war. This suggests that the face of the former Great Goddess is hidden under her makeup.
Her name means Immaculate, and her other known names include Ardvi Sur. Statues and paintings depict her as a virgin in a golden cloak, with a diamond crown, sometimes with a water jug, accompanied by doves and peacocks as sacred animals.
Anahita's cult reached its peak during the reign of King Artaxerxes, when a number of Anahita temples were built. From today's perspective, these were truly interesting shrines, because, similar to her Mesopotamian goddess relatives, the priestesses were prostitutes.
8.8.2025 (11.9.2005)
Tara
There are two goddesses of this name, and since they come from the same cultural super-region, they may originally have been one goddess. That's just to confuse you a little at the outset.
The Buddhist Tara is younger, born from Avalokiteshvara's tears. Later, she had twenty-one forms. The basic model is depicted on a lotus throne emerging from the sea, the goddess holding a blue lotus flower in her left hand, her right foot ready to descend from the throne.
She is the Protector and Guiding Star of sailors to the other shore, because she performs reincarnation. She is worshipped mainly in Tibet, while South Indian Buddhists avoided their Tara when she was blue, red, or yellow. In white or green, she was loving and friendly.
The Hindu Tara, wife of the god Brihaspati, was kidnapped by Soma, an interesting character in Indian mythology. Even after Brahma's intervention, he did not release Tara, which meant only one thing – there would be war. And there was. The demons, the Asuras, sided with Soma. At the eleventh hour, Brahma tried once more to negotiate, and it worked. Soma released Tara to return home.
But that wasn't the end of the problems, because Tara was pregnant. And who was the father? Both Soma and Brihaspati claimed to be, but in the end – I won't keep you in suspense – Tara admitted that the father of little Budha (not to be confused with Buddha) was her kidnapper, Soma.
8.8.2025 (11.9.2005)
Shachihoko
In the seas around China, there is a monster with a tiger's head and a fish body, covered with poisonous spines. However, when it comes ashore, it takes on other feline features in addition to its tiger head. Although it is a Chinese monster, in medieval Japan it was given the same honor as Gargoyle in Europe, builders used its image for water spouts.
8.8.2025 (11.9.2005)
Cipactli
A giant crocodile, which, like some other animals, was given the honor of carrying the world on its back. Thus, a creature that was originally marine in nature was reclassified as one of the monsters of the earth.
Although its animal origin seems indisputable, thanks to the artistic style of Aztec painters, a number of hypotheses have emerged, with which zoo-mythological detectives have attempted to identify the model for Cipactli.
Who did the gods pull out of the depths of the ocean to become the land for their new toy, humans?
In addition to the obvious reptile already mentioned, suspicion fell on snakes, lizards, sharks, and swordfish. And lo and behold, ichthyologists finally came to the conclusion that the most likely suspect was the sawfish. This relative of the stingray, which inherited the scientific name pristis from the same monster as the sperm whale, was apparently the most common model.
However, Cipactli – the Crocodile – became the symbol of the first of the twenty days of the Aztec month, the day of happiness, the symbol of birth, life, and food.
8.8.2025 (18.9.2005)
Merrow
Merrows (also known as Maighdean-mhara, Murdhuacha, or various variations of this name) are simply sea people, a common race of supernatural beings found among coastal nations, and this is what they are called in Ireland.
They are also associated with a common legend, or rather a practice, which otherwise belongs to their freshwater relatives; namely, as you kow, fine feathers make fine birds, or rather the creature, and that when they are lost, bad things happen. Irish sea people wear red feathered caps, and without them they cannot find their way home or even enter the water.
This is especially true of sea maidens, who are delicate and beautiful and have a soft spot for young sailors. Unlike women, sea men are ugly to the point of horror, with green teeth, green hair, pointed red noses, and piggy eyes, but their nature is not evil. Merrows often appear as harbingers of storms, and occasionally, in the form of small hornless cattle, they can be seen on shore.
8.8.2025 (18.9.2005)
Muireartach
Muireartach is the Pictish Mother of Western Storms, or Sea Crone. She also rules over storms. She suffers from hair loss and has only one eye. Her son is the ruler of the underwater kingdom of Lochlann.
8.8.2025 (18.9.2005)
Remora, a.k.a. Echeneis
As Jorge L. Borges explains, this fish is called Echeneis, and the word remora is a term for its activity, but in the Spanish-speaking world, the activity has been transferred to the fish, and that is what they call it. In any case, it is a fish thirty to forty centimeters long with a parasitic suction organ on its head; I won't keep you in suspense and will reveal right away that real remoras are called common remora (remora remora) or Live sharksucker (Echeneis naucrates) in English, and their suction cups are actually their first dorsal fins. So these are not legendary and mythical creatures; what brought them into this and other bestiaries are the large eyes of ancient observers.
The naturalist Pliny describes how one remora managed to stop Emperor Caligula's ship, powered by four hundred oarsmen. It is true that remoras hitchhike by attaching themselves to large turtles, sharks, or even ships. None of the above usually minds such stowaways, but legends, as in the case of Caligula, tell a different story: despite its tiny size, a remora can slow down and even stop a ship.
What natural echeneids certainly cannot do, but their mythical counterparts can, is the ability of (salted) remoras to attach themselves to gold and pull it to the surface.
8.8.2025 (25.9.2005)
Zif
It is larger than most whales and, in any case, much more aggressive. It likes to attack ships, using its weight and the following tactics: it leaps out of the water and lands on the deck, surprising and frightening the sailors, while also safely breaking the hull, causing the ship to sink.
The zif can be easily distinguished from other sea monsters – before it eats you, notice its large beak-like mouth.
Not that it will do you any good at that point...
8.8.2025 (25.9.2005)
Pauus Maris
When swimming on the surface, you probably wouldn't be able to tell it apart from an ordinary peacock (assuming, of course, that you believe peacocks can swim). The sea peacock's back, neck, and head are indistinguishable from those of a bird. However, the lower, submerged half of its body is different, resembling that of a fish.
8.8.2025 (25.9.2005)
Phorcys
In recent weeks, several saltwater creatures have appeared here, so it's time for a prominent figure. I will summon him from ancient Greece, where the sea god Phorcys served as guardian of the sea and all its monstrous inhabitants.
While his father was Pontos, god of the sea depths, and his mother was Gaia, Phorcys gave birth to a whole host of later infamous celebrities of the mythological world. Scylla, the well-known monstrous companion of Charybdis of Messina, was an illegitimate daughter; his relationship with her mother, the goddess of sea power Cratois, was just a brief visit to a stranger's bedroom, as the other offspring were born from a proper marriage between Phorcys and Ceto, who was also the daughter of Pontus and Gaia.
Most of them did not deny their mother, for Ceto was ugly from birth, old from birth, and moreover, the personification of everything that people feared in and on the sea. Yes, you are right, the three Graeae, old and ugly from birth, are her children. Also, the dragon Ladon, later the guardian of the Hesperides, and the nymph Thoosa, also unsightly, which did not prevent her from having an affair with Poseidon, resulting in another well-known figure, the cyclops Polyphemus.
The last group of Phorcys' children is a little out of the ordinary in today's understanding—the three Gorgons, Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa, were, as the story goes, originally beautiful girls who were turned into monsters by the gods for their vanity. However, according to classical times, the Sirens were also charming young ladies at first, weren't they? So let's not dramatize it.
8.8.2025 (1.10.2005)
Cetus (Kétos)
Mentioned the ugly Ceto (Kéto) in previous text, I omitted the fact that the ancient Greeks usually used her name to refer to any sea monster or large sea creature (and it has remained in Latin as cetus to this day).
Kétos is obviously the masculine form of the same name and is used precisely to identify a sea monster.
You may encounter it in stories about Perseus, Andromeda, Medusa, and others. Sometimes it is used to refer to the sea monster that Poseidon sent to Cepheus' Ethiopian kingdom in revenge for the insult committed by the local queen Cassiopeia, who claimed to be more beautiful than all the sea nymphs.
Forget the kraken from the movie Clash of the Titans, and in fact, forget the movie altogether in this case. By the way, I like it and have seen it countless times, but it treats the original story a bit arbitrarily. Unlike others (hello Hercules and Xena), however, it leaves the characters unchanged.
8.8.2025 (1.10.2005)
Tuna-Roa
Half man, half eel, Tuna-Roa crossed paths with two great Polynesian heroes. The first was Tawhaki, who met Tuna-Roa while climbing a vine that stretched up to the sky. Tawhaki was heading upward, while Tuna-roa, complaining that there was now a shortage of water in the sky, was climbing in the opposite direction. He no longer liked living in Puna-kau-ariki, where he had lived up to that point. When Tawhaki met him, Tuna-Roa was wearing an ancient headdress called Te kawa a Marae-nui, and he remarked that he intended to move to Muri-wai-o-ata. Tawhaki's mind was elsewhere, as he was searching for his lost wife, which is a common adventure in myths for a hero who thinks it's all over and that it's time to enjoy his retirement. Therefore, he did not pay much attention to the eel man and continued on his way.
Tuna-Roa exchanged only a few words with Tawhaki, but with the other, the greatest Pacific hero, Maui, it was much more dramatic and did not end well for the water creature.
As I mentioned, Tuna-Roa moved from heaven to Muri-wai-o-ata, a ditch where Maui's wife Rau-Kura, or, according to another, much better-known version, the goddess Hine-a-te-repo, used to fetch water.
One day, Tuna-Roa went after her. Whether he just knocked her into the water or kidnapped her (only for her to escape), Maui was angry in any case.
He took his axe, Ma-toritori, and set off for the stream. He didn't have to wait long before Tuna-Roa appeared. He was floating in the current, but suddenly two logs appeared in his path, which Maui laid across the water, and which were called Rongo-mua and Rongo-roto. (If there were only two, other versions of the story speak of nine or even ten logs.) No sooner had he overcome the first one than the axe whistled through the air and Tuna-Roa became history.
His head, which Maui threw into the sea, became a sea eel (or coconut palm), the pieces that fell into fresh water became common eels, and his tail became the paulownia vine. The spurting blood stained several animals and plants, which still bear its color today—kakariri parrots, pukeko marsh hens, matai pine trees, and tawai beech trees (which are trees with reddish wood).
So says the simpler story. According to the more extensive version, Tuna-Roa managed to eat two of Maui's children before Maui was ready for him, thus provoking the hero even more. The address of the eel-man also changes here and there; sometimes it is the swamps on the island of Ao-tea-roa, other times an unnamed deep hole full of water. In many stories, Tuna-Roa crosses the stream on logs, but I would say that the one I mentioned is enough for an introduction. After all, show me a myth that doesn't have multiple variants. If you know of one, then know that it is very, very young and doesn't even go to kindergarten yet.
8.8.2025 (8.10.2005)
Fenrir
The giant wolf is the eldest son of Loki and the giantess Angrboda. He currently spends his life behind bars, or rather in chains, waiting for his five minutes of fame: just as his brother Jormungand is destined to kill Thor in the final battle, Fenrir is destined to destroy Odin himself. It's not difficult to live with such a fate, especially if you are a monster whose open mouth touches the ground with its lower jaw while its snout reaches the heavens. Unless, of course, you have not heard that you will be impaled by the sword of Odin's son Vidar immediately afterwards. As you can see, the Scandinavian gods have everything carefully planned, from the creation of the world to its destruction.
Fenrir, however, could have roamed free until then, if his nature had not told him to wait for the distant future and attack Asgard immediately. He knew his strength and knew that there was nothing he could not overcome, so he decided to demonstrate it for the purpose of demotivating propaganda. He allowed the gods to bind him with the strongest chains, and with one flex of his muscles, he broke them. After this display, his confidence grew, while that of the Aesir declined, and it seemed that the wolf's intentions were beginning to succeed.
But that's how it is with the gods—they don't like to lose even the smallest disputes, and here there was much more at stake. So they turned to the dwarves, who made them a delicate but incredibly strong band called Gleipnir from the roots of a mountain, bear tendons, a woman's beard, fish breath, bird saliva, and cat breath. All that remained was to lure Fenrir into the trap, which they succeeded in doing, although as a guarantee (because the wolf was not that stupid), the god Tyr had to put his hand between his teeth. He lost his hand, but Fenrir was unable to break the strap.
To make sure that he could not bite through Glepnir during the long millennia remaining until the final battle, they stuck a sword between his jaws and tied him to the rock Gioll. There he waits for Ragnarök, when the bonds will break and he will be able to set out to fulfill his destiny.
Fenrir, bound by the gods, drawn by Mabel Dorothy Hardy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
8.8.2025 (16.10.200)
Akhlut
On land, this Eskimo demon appears in the form of a wolf, but if you follow its tracks in the snow and they lead to the sea, you can be sure that the killer whale swimming nearby is Akhlut's aquatic form. It is an evil and dangerous creature, so be careful when wandering along the Alaskan coast.
8.8.2025 (22.10.2005)
Tuurngait
Tuurngait (singular tuurngaq) are Inuit demons responsible for all failed hunts, broken tools, and broken legs. They are spiritual beings without bodies, so they sometimes like to possess a human one. Then it takes the skill of a good shaman to exorcise the demon. Such an Eskimo exorcist often uses tuurngaits that he has defeated and controlled in previous actions against demons that are still wild.
8.8.2025 (22.10.2005)
Matshishkapeu
or Farty. Despite his not-so-ominous name, he is a very powerful spirit. When Lord Karibu refused to allow the Inuit to hunt caribou, he punished them with constipation. Even a powerful god could not stand up to his curse and had to back down.
8.8.2025 (22.10.2005)
Na ashje'ii 'Asdzáá
A wise grandmother who sometimes appears as a spider, sometimes as an old woman. She lives on Spider Rock, a geological formation in Arizona's Canyon de Chelly. Before she moved there, however, she had to take care of many things: for example, teaching the Navajo how to weave. Her main task, of course, was fulfilled at the very beginning of Navajo existence, when the first humans appeared in the world and had to share it with a whole host of dangerous creatures. Dealing with them was a matter for the gods, so the wise grandmother called her grandsons Nayenezgani and Tobadzischini, sons of the Sun, and gave them the power of their heavenly father to find a solution. They succeeded, learned how to destroy the monsters, and the Navajo people were able to begin a productive civilized life, into which Spider Woman had introduced them.
8.8.2025 (30.10.2005)
Djien
The Iroquois Seneca also have a spider in their myths, but for a change, it is a pure monster. Djien grew to human size, and his peculiarity was his heart, nicely hidden underground so that it would not be harmed (a worldwide known safety measure). However, as you might guess, this did not help him. Othegwenhda (Flint), who was the evil half of a heroic pair of brothers, found the hidden organ and pierced it through the ground with a branch.
8.8.2025 (30.10.2005)
Krabinay
In the popular yet enigmatic Haitian voodoo, wrapped in a mystery (I apologize to Mr. Churchill for this partial paraphrase; he should not utter phrases that then enter history and people's minds), Krabinay is a loa petro, one of the evil ones.
He dresses in red, is cynical, and awakens in those possessed by him a nature that rejoices in the misfortune of others. He dresses in red, is cynical, and awakens in those possessed by him a nature that rejoices in the misfortune of others.
8.8.2025 (12.11.2005)
Obatala
The heavenly loa, king in white, whose followers also wear this color, is primarily responsible for prenatal development in Haiti. This is a somewhat unusual occupation for a male, but so be it. This culinary lover of well-prepared snails takes over from Mother Nature the responsibility for fetal defects, which is, after all, the lot of all gynecologists. The better-known and more original form of this lord is, of course, the orisha Obatala from other Caribbean cults, and indeed from the original Yoruba religion, in which he represents the supreme god.
8.8.2025 (12.11.2005)
Ekkeko
In Bolivia and the surrounding Andean region, you can still buy figurines of Ekkeko, a household god. If you take proper care of this symbolic representation of a real god, a little man with a round belly, Ekkeko (who also rules over small towns) will reward you with good fortune. To do this, you must hang miniatures of kitchen utensils on the statue – and be careful, once you have equipped Ekkeko, do not remove the accessories, or your luck will go down the drain.
8.8.2025 (12.11.2005)
Nuwals
The spirits of the ancestors of the Maya Indians, watch over the life-giving rains and the fertility of the land. They dwell in caves, one of the truly sacred ones being Paq'alibal, where many, many years ago the Maya turned to their rain god Chac, only to later, apparently disgruntled by his unreliability, reject him and import the Aztec Tlaloc. But even he did not survive his faithful followers, who blocked the altar in Paq'alibal, so it was not discovered until 1959.
Today's Maya communicate with the nuwalas through the priests, the ajqi'ij, the Guardians of the Day, who are experts in matters of faith and the famous and ancient Maya calendar (which is essentially the same thing).
According to the Tz'utujil Maya, the Nuwal spokesman is Francisco Sojuel, a hero who is said to have lived at the time of the creation of the world, during the Spanish conquest, or a hundred years ago. It is to him that the ajq'ij turn with their prayers. The ceremony is complex, full of singing and offerings, fortunately no longer bloody, consisting of food, cigarettes, alcohol (consumed by the participants in the prayers), and resin smoke.
8.8.2025 (20.11.2005)
Aitvaras
We all know about black cats or black roosters in the house. But this isn't about a witch's cottage that everyone avoids and sneaks up to from behind for magical support. We are in an ordinary Lithuanian household, and the black creature behind the stove is related to the Czech plivník or Hungarian liderc, a black chicken that brings cash or goods into the house.
The family relationship becomes even clearer when you realize that this greedy little creature is not acting altruistically, but demands a reward in the form of a human soul. Even the origin of the wealth acquired through the aitvaras' efforts is not exactly praiseworthy; as is often the case with such demons, it steals from other people.
8.8.2025 (20.11.2005)
Majas gars
Last week's Lithuanian domestic helper was not exactly a person to be emulated, so I looked around neighboring Latvia for someone more morally acceptable. And that's definitely what Majas gars (or Majas kungs) are. They also belong in the household, but they take care of well-being and happiness in a slightly different way, with no theft and no contracts with hell. On the contrary, one of their main tasks is to protect against evil. The added value is more or less moral support. After all, God favors those who are prepared, and with the feeling that you have some supernatural being on your side, it is easier to achieve your goals.
8.8.2025 (27.11.2005)
