I like Theology and character design

While you’re right that I mainly cover mythological figures and individuals, I do also know a bit about mythological events as well!

So the wild hunt is primarily a Germanic and Nordic tradition, although like you said it does have equivalents in other areas like Britain and Wales. The wild hunt itself is thought to come from the wind rattling windows during the night, which was thought to be a band of hunters on horseback.

The leader of the wild hunt in particular is interesting. Sometimes the leader is described as a ghost or the spirit of a culture hero like Sigurd or King Arthur, or even biblical figures. However, the most common and most important figure labeled as the leader of the wild hunt is Odin, the chief god in Nordic and Germanic mythology.

The other members of the wild hunt are less defined and are variably described as ghosts or fairies, some were said to be accompanied by wolves or monsters. Sometimes they were even thought to have been Odin’s own Valkyries.

The actual goal of the wild hunt is similarly vague. Occasionally they’re said to be on the hunt and viewing them foretells a horrible fate, other times they’re instead said to be on the prowl for souls to abduct, they’re even sometimes said to be hunting demons, with some even depicted as carrying them away. In any case it’s always advised that if you hear the wild hunt you stay inside until it’s over, or else your soul would be lost forever.

The wild hunt is symbolic of the development of the pagan Germanic mythology. Originally Odin and the rest of the pantheon were seen warmly by those who grew up with those figures, even during the christianization period where they were characterized as heroes early on, their myths living on although in different forms, with the original wild hunt likely reflecting this. However as time passed and further generations became more distant from the gods of old, the pantheon took a darker turn. These now unfamiliar gods naturally became associated with the darker side of folklore, passing from admiration to fear. This is where the wild hunt we now know of likely originated, becoming a stampede of phantoms from a foreign time.

Cybele, the scorned Phrygian mother Goddess. Thought to reside in the very mountains and wilderness of the earth. Cybele is the primordial mother of the Phrygian pantheon, mother of the gods and man.

Worshipped in her purist form through chunks of meteorite, her worship commonly intersected with the gods of Olympus.

Cybele only has one full myth dedicated to her, yet there are numerous variations and retellings. Her lover: Attis, is said to have once been a mortal man who was raised into godhood by Cybele.

Hellenistic versions stated that like many before her, Cybele drew the unwarranted ire of Zeus, who in a fit of jealousy sent a boar to destroy her crops, temples and murder her followers. It was in this attack where Attis was gored by the boar.

In another myth spread by the Greeks and Romans, when Attis was undergoing the ceremonial castration done to the priests of Cybele, he died. Within death he came to see that Cybele was an uncaring goddess who no longer had interest in him

In yet another myth Cybele (as Agdistis) was born from the spilling of Zeus’ seed. originally intersex, Cybele had both male and female reproductive organs. For this, the gods feared Cybele and castrated Cybele’s male bits, which in turn grew into an almond tree. The goddess Nana ate from this tree, thus making her pregnant with Attis. When Cybele gazed upon Attis she instantly fell in love, however Attis was already betrothed into an arranged marriage with the daughter of king Midas. On the wedding day, right before the marriage would be ratified Cybele showed herself to the gathering. Her godly form caused all her onlookers to go mad and castrate themselves, including her beloved Attis. Devastated, Cybele brought Attis’ corpse to Zeus, pleading for him to revive Attis. Zeus refuses, rather than appeasing her, Zeus instead stops the decomposing process of Attis’ corpse.

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Known as Kubileya in her home land, Cybele was a native Phrygian goddess, and the head god of the pantheon. Despite her seeming popularity, no native myths of Cybele survive, with the only evidence of her existence coming from historical records and monuments.

Later on, Cybele’s worship was taken into Greece and eventually Rome, with her name being mutated into Cybele. It was here where her only myth was recorded, already under Hellenistic influence it likely doesn’t fully represent her original mythology. She was conflated with Hellenic goddesses such as Gaea, Rhea and Demeter.

While Cybele’s arrival in Greece was thought to be a response to calamitous events like meteor showers and famine, her worship in these lands didn’t mean that her reverence was completely tolerated. The foreign worship of Cybele was seen as barbaric by the native Greeks and Romans. Even those in these lands who did worship Cybele seemed to put emphasis on her foreign nature, ascribing a number of foreign stereotypes to her character. Many Greek and Roman writers spoke about the disdain for Cybele’s “effeminate” worship. Even the myths that have been recorded could’ve also originated rather as slander pieces against her worship, with a definitive example being the myth in which Attis comes to realize Cybele’s selfishness. This discrimination was present in the Christian era of Rome.

Cybele’s worship was unique to the Hellenic world, as many of their practices were remarkably different, ecstatic and emotional. One of the most interesting characteristics of her worship was her priests otherwise known as “Galli”. These priests would perform ritualistic castration in honor of their goddess. This castration is thought to parallel that of Attis’ own castration. Literature detailing them seems to conflict on their gender identity after this, some use feminine language and portray the Galli in a female sense, while others seem to consider the Galli as a third gender. It is known that the Greeks and Romans were repulsed by their practices, so the heavy use of feminine terms alongside slurs were used to disparage the Galli. However modern historians do generally believe that the Galli could’ve been practicing gender transitioning, variance and/or nonconformity. Due to the connecting etymologies and similarities, some have suggested that the Galli could be developmentally related to the Sumerian Inanna’s own priests, the Gala. However due to the paucity of evidence a definite conclusion cannot be reached.

The goddess Agdistis mentioned previously also hails from Phrygia. She was seen as the goddess of the titular mount Agdistis, a holy landmark in Cybele’s cult center of Pessinus. Although the two goddesses are occasionally seen as separate individuals, as seen in renditions of her myth where both Agdistis and Cybele raid Attis’ marriage ceremony and mourn his death, as well as Agdistis’ androgyny. Despite this being the case, the two goddesses were heavily conflated with each other to the point where the two were seen as identical to one another. Even in myths where the two are separated, they’re still heavily connected with each other. It’s possible that Agdistis was seen as a manifestation of Cybele.

Another goddess Cybele is connected to is the neighboring Lydian Artimus. Artimus shares most of Cybele’s characteristics, such as being the head god of the pantheon, being a mother goddess, and having a strong association with animals. In some depictions Artimus is shown to be the mother of the goddess Kufaws, who some believe to be the Lydian incarnation of Cybele’s forerunner, however others believe that she’s rather a localized version of the Sumerian goddess Kubaba. The exact developmental relationship between Artimus and Cybele seems to be unclear, however it is possible that the two may have developed from the same source or were influenced by each other.

Cybele seems to have a contentious history with another Anatolian god, Sabazios. Sabazios was a popular sky god in Phrygia and Thrace, and much like Cybele herself he too was introduced to the Greek world. Sabazios was commonly depicted on horseback and is commonly seen trampling a bull beneath its hooves. Some have suggested that the bull represents Cybele or her Phrygian worship.

Cybele’s origins are hazy. It’s possible that Cybele could’ve developed from a possible prehistoric mother goddess found in the Çatalhöyük figurines that date back to 6000 BC. These figurines depict a larger nude woman seated with two lions, animals known to be associated with Cybele. However, because of the age of these figurines, it cannot be proven to have a connection to Cybele. Similarly, some claim that Cybele is instead a descendant of a Aegean-Balkan prototype goddess, a similar explanation to the goddess Artimus. This theory does seem to rely on the idea that the Phrygians were migrants from the Balkans rather than natives to Anatolia. Others have claimed that Cybele could’ve originated or was influenced by Kubaba. Critics of this theory instead argue that while Cybele’s Phrygian name may not actually be etymologically related to Kubaba despite how widespread the notion is.

Cybele is one of the many primary pieces of evidence that proponents of the “great goddess” or “prehistoric goddess” theory use in their arguments, along side the likes of the Semitic Asherah, the controversial Minoan Snake Goddess, and even the tiger goddess of the Indus River Valley. This theory claims that prehistoric society held a matriarchal structure and focused on the worship of mother goddess, until men performed a nigh universal overthrow of their matriarchies just before the advent of civilization. This hypothesis has been thoroughly thrown out by modern academics and categorized as pseudo-history. The theory heavily relies on the assumption that the appearance of alleged mother goddesses, seen through the numerous prehistoric female figurines, equated to a female focused society. Cybele and the figurines found at Çatalhöyük are used to represent the idea that the later goddesses of the ancient world were hold overs of this matriarchal religion. However this conclusion is based on dubious grounds and the lack of evidence to support lofty claims like it. The seeming focus on goddesses does not necessarily mean that the society was matriarchal, nor that goddesses headed the religion, only that they were supposedly prominent. However this does not mean that there wasn’t any chief goddess in prehistoric times, only that it wasn’t a universal notion. Modern research into the potential structure of such prehistoric societies seems to point more to the presence of more egalitarian societies rather than the complete dominance of a single gender.

Redesigned the Mimi! I still kept the basic structure but I wanted to change a few things to align with the themes

I always wanted to redraw Sivan’s art since the linework and shading weren’t great. So here he is!

Sadly I have not covered any Korean mythological figure yet, as Korean mythology is a blind spot for me. I have been wanting to cover Korean mythology for a while now but there are a few things that make it a little complicated.

Like you said, there very little information on Korean mythology on the English web. But I’m used to that with researching Ainu mythology, so I’ll probably have to go on the Korean web to learn more but that’s gonna take a little time.

Another reason is that like most of east Asia, Korean religion was entangled and exchanged with other religions such as Buddhism and Taoism. Since a lot of their myths were recorded later on in their history these influences are deeply rooted in these recorded myths. As such it’s kind of difficult to separate and parse out native myths from ones that originate in other lands. Though I could still cover these deities that are influenced by these foreign cultures.

Lastly and most importantly, Korean mythology is VERY diverse. Just from what little I’ve read there’s a lot of variation in their mythology, as it seems that it was uniquely individualized to an extent as it was primarily passed on through shamans rather than institutions themselves. It doesn’t help that their shamanistic myths are primarily preserved orally and greatly vary between tellings. This leads to Korean gods having less available information to go on than the gods of other cultures (though of course there’s exceptions).

This isn’t going to stop me though, as I’m still planning on covering a Korean figure at some point, it’s just going to be difficult finding and researching one lol.

Another Anansi redesign! I actually really like this one so hopefully I don’t get the itch to redo him again lol

La Llorona, the weeping sinner. A ghastly spirit, La Llorona prowls the shores of rivers and lakes. Her grim wailing induces complete terror in those who’re unlucky enough to be in earshot. These very screams curse those who hear it, inflicting lifelong misery. To see her face is to sentence yourself to death.

There are many different legends on the origins of La Llorona’s baneful existence.

The most common legend places her as a loving wife and mother of two children. Despite her loving devotion, the woman catches her husband’s infidelity. Distraught, the woman looks upon her children’s faces and sees the disgusting visage of their unfaithful father. With her mind clouded by grief, the woman takes her children to the nearby river and drowns them in its waters. Immediately, regret clears her mind and tormented by guilt she drowns herself. However, because of her sin she isn’t reunited with her children in the afterlife. Her grief chains her to the mortal world, sentencing her to forever grieve as La Llorona. To this day she restlessly searches for her children, her memory clouded in the fog of death

There are other renditions as well. In another version of the previous legend, the children that she birthed were out of wedlock, so she drowned them so that they couldn’t be raised by the newly married father’s wife. In a Guatemalan legend, it was instead the woman who had an affair. She became pregnant, and in order to hide her unfaithfulness she drowned the child. In Nicaragua, the woman fell in love with a white man, disobeying her mother’s advice. When the woman gave birth the man ran away, deserting the woman who loved him. The woman then threw her child into lake Nicaragua, regretful the woman tried to swim after the child but the two ultimately drowned together. Most Colombian legends about her follow the same structure, occasionally changing it to where the child was murdered before hand and hidden by a river. However, some areas instead state that La Llorona is a demonic force who appears on full moon nights. In Peru, La Llorona protects ancient ruins. Legends in these areas tend to have La Llorona suffer from mental illness, either causing her to accidentally drown her child, or to not understand the full consequences of such an action only to later learn and drown herself in regret.

While Mexico does have legends that fit the typical La Llorona structure, in which the woman stabs her children and is executed for it. Other myths recount that she was a Nahua woman who betrayed her indigenous people for the conquistadors. In some versions, the conquistador that she fell in love with took their son with him back to Spain and left her. Either for the separation of her and her son, or for the betrayal of her people, the woman’s regret forced her to stay on earth and weep for eternity.

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La Llorona is one of, if not, the most famous Latin American folkloric spirit. Many of these spirits exist across the numerous latino cultures, such as El Sombreron, El Charro Negro, El Coco, Juan Machete, and the Duende among a multitude of others. Like many of these other pieces of folklore, La Llorona’s purpose is to serve as a kind of moral guide of sorts. By invoking the fear that these spirits bring, they’re able to form a kind of moral foundation for those who know their legends. In particular, La Lorona’s legend not only warns children of the dangers of playing near the water side, but also advises women to exercise caution with dubious men and against adultery.

La Llorona has been adopted as a symbol for a number of feminist movements and literature. These movements reinterpret her story as one of a victim who buckled under the oppression of colonialism and the patriarchy.

The name La Llorona can be translated in a few ways, such as “the wailer” “the crying woman” and “the weeping woman”. However, other areas have other names for her, like Tarumama, María Pardo. The name La Llorona held before she died also deviates, such as María and Luisa. Ecuador even has titles for her like La Llorona de Los Andes meaning “La Llorona of the Andes” and La Llorona de Los Ríos meaning “La Llorona of the rivers”.

In Mexico, La Llorona is intriguingly conflated with the historical figure of La Malinche. Born among the Nahua, her original name is unknown. She would eventually be given to the Spanish conquistadors as a slave and given the baptismal name Marina. The conquistador Hernán Cortés took a sexual interest in her and used her as an interpreter for the conquistadors. Malinche’s favor would grow with the Spanish, becoming something a kin to an advisor and diplomat. Legends perpetuated by the Spanish allege that Malinche was alerted to a planned Cholula rebellion against the conquistadors and told Cortés who would go on to massacre the Cholula. While Malinche’s legacy in Mexico is complex, some have sited this as Malinche’s betrayal of her people with legends stating that she couldn’t rest with that guilt on her shoulders, eventually becoming La Llorona. The actual historicity of Malinche’s role in this event is incredibly shaky. Historians now generally agree that the story was invented by Cortés as an excuse for the massacre.

The origins of La Llorona aren’t concrete, as she seems to be a synthesis of a multitude of different figures. I’ve seen some sources claim that La Llorona was a Spanish invention, the horror of her story being used to quash rebellious ideas and beliefs. This analysis does a complete disservice to La Llorona’s indigenous identity and fails to account for the numerous legends of hers that criticize the colonial authorities. While it’s possible that some spanish legends aided in the development of La Llorona, it’s more likely that she was primarily an indigenous creation. La Llorona’s indigenous precursors exist all across central and South America, after the Spanish conquest, many of these myths likely came together with the newfound interconnectivity. The archetype of deadly and ghastly spirit women is incredibly prolific across these cultures, with La Llorona’s ancestors including the likes of the Mayan Xtabay, the Bibri Tulevieja and Itsö, the Mapuche Pucullén, the Guarani Urutaú among many others. Specifically, some Mesoamerican peoples conflated La Llorona with their goddesses, like the Zapotec Xonaxi Queculla who would appear to men as a beautiful woman before luring them to a secluded place and taking their souls. Another goddess would include the Mayan Ixtab by way of Xtabay, who was a hunting goddess and later interpreted as a goddess of suicide. Finally La Llorona also pulled from various Mexica goddesses like Cōātlīcue in her aspect as Cihuacóatl who wandered in the night searching for her son Mixcoatl, and Tenepecutli who’s children were drowned in a river.

Mot, the Canaanite maw of death. Mot is death incarnate, his home is the mirey pits of the underworld, the realm of the dead. Mot was born between the union of El and Asherah, the preeminent gods of the cosmos. This made him apart of the main pantheon of deities, the Elohim, brother to the likes of Attar, Yam, and Astarte among 70 others.

After another Elohim, Baal, defeated his rival and ascended the throne he declared that no other ruler besides El himself could control the world that he now did. This of course, included death itself, and as ruler, Baal wished to have Mot submit. Baal instructs his messengers, Gupan and Ugar, to deliver a message requesting Mot to yield himself to Baal’s rule. The storm god also advises the two on how to travel to the Mot’s palace in the underworld, stating that Mot lives in mire, his throne is a pit, and filth is the land of his heritage. Baal warns the two about Mot’s veracious appetite, that if they even get near the god he’d consume them without a moment’s hesitation. Gupan and Ugar deliver Baal’s message successfully, however Mot has a message of his own. Mot rebukes Baal’s order to submit, declaring that he himself could defeat Baal whenever he so pleased. threatening to consume Baal and cause a worldwide drought, Mot states that his hunger was “akin to that of a wild lion, or the desire of a dolphin in the sea? Or does it resemble the thirst of wild oxen, as they approach a calm pool, or bounding deer as they seek a refreshing spring. Or rather, does my hunger consume an abundant feast?”

It’s unclear what the following events are, but it seems that El declares that Baal must now submit himself to Mot. Debilitated by fear, Baal concedes to Mot, offering to become the death god’s servant forever more. While Baal does complain to El about his circumstances his fate doesn’t seem to change. Before Baal gives himself to Mot, he copulates with something called a heifer, with the heifer giving birth to his son.

No one hears from Baal after he leaves to deliver himself to Mot, with the world’s rain and fertility drying out. Worried for their lord’s safety, Gupan and Ugar search for Baal, only to find his corpse on the shore of the river of the dead. The two immediately report to El of Baal’s demise, the supreme god subsequently retreated to his quarters to grieve for his son. The entire cosmos joined with El in grieving the loss of Baal, the sun stopped shining as its goddess Shapsh joined Baal’s wife Anat in burying and mourning him, their weeping unending.

Anat scours the land of the dead hoping to find the ghost of her beloved Baal. Despite her frantic and desperate search, she comes up with naught. Frustrated and grieving she begged Mot to restore Baal back to her side. Mot antagonizes her, saying that he was the one who killed Baal. Mot found Baal at the entrance to the underworld when Baal was delivering himself to him, and so he devoured him right on the spot. Enraged, Anat lashed out, cleaving him apart with a blade, threshing him with a sieve, burning him to ash, and grinding his remains only to feed them to scavenging birds, thoroughly eradicating Mot.

While El rests he dreams that Baal is alive. Enthusiastic at his son’s resurrection, he asks Anat to dispatch Shapsh to find him. Evidently, the sun goddess succeeds, and Baal returns to his throne.

However, Mot too reforms from his complete annihilation. Mot angrily complains to Baal about Anat, lamenting the shame she brought upon him. Mot demands that Baal give him one of his brethren to consume and satiate his anger. Rather than capitulating to Mot, Baal tricks Mot into devouring one of his own brothers. Now livid, Mot does battle with Baal. The two were evenly matched, and eventually both lay on the ground exhausted. That’s when Shapsh intervened, she threatened Mot that if he continued to defy Baal, he’d be going against El himself. Thoroughly frightened, Mot concedes to Baal, declaring him king.

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Mot is one of Baal’s two main rivals alongside Yam in Canaanite myth. Rather than being a distinct deity with control over their respective phenomena, again similar to Yam, Mot was seen as the embodiment of death and the underworld. This is reflected in Mot’s name, which is the word for death itself in many Semitic languages, derived from its Afroasiatic root. Mot and its other deviations are also used for the name of the realm of the dead as well.

However unlike the previously mentioned Yam, Mot wasn’t worshipped. In fact, in Canaan, Mot is only mentioned within the Baal cycle. This is unique as surrounding cultures such as the Egyptians and Sumerians still revered their death divinities. Because of this, it’s been postulated that Mot was a Ugarit exclusive god, however this is highly unlikely. Even stranger is the fact that while ancestral worship was prominent in Canaanite culture, Mot wasn’t affiliated with them despite being death and the underworld being the foundation of his character. Rather than Mot, the ancestors were thought to be associated with gods like Baal and Shapsh.

Mot was uniquely characterized as a dreadfully evil being. As the perpetrator behind death, droughts and famine, Mot was diametrically opposed to Baal. Baal as the bringer of the fertile rain symbolized life itself. And so the two’s battle in the Baal represented the conflict between death and life.

Some have proposed that the battle between Mot and Baal was in actuality a cyclical seasonal myth. They hypothesize that it was believed that every year Baal was killed by Mot which would usher in the dry season. But once Baal was resurrected and defeats Mot, he would then bring upon the rain season. Despite how widespread this is treated as fact, there isn’t any actual textual evidence within the Baal cycle to support this conclusion. The seasonal interpretation relies largely upon the conflation of seasonal myths of other local peoples such as the Sumerian Inanna and Dumuzid. Critics instead say that the text indicates that it was rather a singular event of a significant cataclysm. While it is possible that there was a seasonal myth relating to Baal’s decent into the underworld, its most likely untrue that the Baal cycle represents that myth. It isnt until the later development of the Phoenician god, and Baal’s son, Melqart does the seasonal myth somewhat definitively appear in Semitic culture.

The term heifer as used in the myth typically refers to a younger female cow who hasn’t yet given birth. While some take this wording straightforwardly referring to an actual cow that Baal sleeps with, some suggest that the heifer actually refers to a goddess, possibly Anat or Astarte. Some have even suggested that the son born from them is Melqart, but Melqart is first attested in later Phoenician texts and seems to be native to Phoenicia.

The specifics of Baal’s death and resurrection is unclear. Some researchers have proposed that Baal hadn’t actually died and somehow faked his death. They theorize that he either used the son birthed from the heifer to trick Mot into consuming him instead, or that his consciousness was able to occupy the body of the son. Nevertheless, other scholars have condemned this theory, as the text seems to explicitly state that Baal was the one who died and has not reappeared. Ultimately, as the section of text describing Baal’s death and resurrection is heavily damaged, there really isn’t any way to know whether or not which of these are true.

Mot was also present in the post Hellenized Phoenician religion. Under the effect of Interpretatio graeca, a common convention in which Hellenistic cultures would appropriate foreign gods under the names of their owns Mot was referred to with a number of names from different Hellenistic deities like Hades, Thanatos and Pluto. According to the standard mythological account, Mot was born of Chronus and Rhea, who’re in turn the Interpretatio graeca names of El and Asherah. Mot is strangely stated to have died and was only later made into the god of death because of it. In a separate and stranger creation myth, at the beginning of the world only a chaos conflated with Erebus and a “breath” or “wind” exist. From the two’s mingling or from their resulting desire, Mot is born. Most intriguingly, they attribute the creation of the cosmos to Mot. Neither of these two likely reflected the original Levantine creation myth and likely came about through Greek influence.

While most of the time Mot is most often used like a term in the Bible, it is occasionally personified much like the Canaanite Mot. This personified Mot shares the same insatiable characteristics of their Canaanite originator, but is often used as a metaphor of some kind. Some have even thought that this personification could’ve given rise to the Grim Reaper, inspired by Elijah mentioning the term in relation to reaping in his conflict against the worshippers of Baal. While Mot as a deity was lost during the conversion to monotheism, his presence could linger in the descendant faith. The cultural memory of Mot may have helped to influence the creation of the death and destroyer angels seen in the Bible and possibly even Satan himself. However this is more of a personal eccentric hypothesis rather than anything truly academic as there isn’t any real evidence.

The First Staff God, ancestor to the Andes.

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Nothing about this god has survived, not its character, myths, nor surrounding pantheon. This god is only known through a single representation on a shattered gourd.

This god originates from the Caral Supe civilization, also called Norte Chico. Caral Supe was the oldest civilization in America, forming around 3500 BC. Caral Supe chronologically existed alongside Sumer and ancient Egypt. The civilization would slowly dissolve around 1800 BC, believed to be caused by the dispersion of its people to more fertile land leading to more powerful societies eclipsing Caral Supe.

The actual contents and precise history of the civilization is largely unknown. They were able to build massive structures such as cities and pyramids. Despite this technological and laborious achievement, the Caral Supe people seemingly hadn’t discovered ceramics yet, this has resulted in almost a complete absence of art in archaeological sites, as their art was likely made with and on decomposable materials. The only known evidence of traditional carved and painted art from Caral Supe is the aforementioned staff god portrait.

Surprisingly however, Caral Supe apparently had a writing system. Quipu or items that resemble Quipu have been found in Caral Supe sites. Quipu was a record keeping system found throughout the Andean cultures, akin to proto-writing, some have even suggested that it could’ve also been used to record language like a true writing system. Quipu were cord like objects made from wool and hair from llamas, Alpacas, Vicuña and Guanaco. Various cords were attached to one long cord. Numerous knots were tied along the individual cords. The color of the cords, the number of knots, and even the space between them, all ascertained certain recorded data.

The discovery of Caral Supe was not without controversy. The Caral Supe civilization was discovered by Ruth Shady, a native Peruvian. Allegedly, the couple Jonathan Haas and Winifred Creamer approached Ruth Shady offering to co-author her paper, believing that since they were from the United States, their co-authoring would bring it to a wider audience and hopefully more funding. Ruth Shady would accept and write her 2001 paper with the couple as co-authors. Later however, the two would take credit for the discovery of Caral Supe, only mentioning Ruth Shady in footnotes. An angered Ruth Shady accused the two of plagiarism, believing that since the two were American the two could sway the media more affectively than she could in Peru. Despite her arguments, the couple was controversially acquitted of their alleged plagiarism. The two have continued to take credit for the discovery of Caral Super in further articles despite the academic backlash they’ve received.

While its character and surrounding mythology has been lost, the few traits of them that’ve survived possibly pointing to them being the bedrock of the entirety of Andean mythology. Much like the later staff gods the figure holds onto two staffs, even their general pose mirrors the ones given to these staff gods. The figure also seems to be wearing some sort of headress, and while headdresses were common in Andean imagery, they were especially important and prolific for the staff gods. Most intriguingly, the figure seems to possess feline traits, such as fangs and cat ears along with large eyes, these felid features are also a hallmark of staff gods. The presence of such qualities, both culturally and mythologically, point to Caral Supe being the foundation of the greater Andean cultures, with their staff god serving as the origin of their later descendant staff gods, such as the Inca Viracocha, the Nazca and Paracas Kon, the Aymara Thunupa, the Moche Ai Apaec, the Ichma Pachacamac (mainly due to his conflation with Viracocha), and the Chavín staff god among many others.

It’s possible that the first staff god’s descendants still hold onto lost traits that the staff god once had, and by examining them you could make a crude framework for the deity. Like the other staff gods, the staff god of Caral Supe was likely the chief deity of their culture, in addition to most likely being the creator god as well. The staff god could’ve been associated with the sky, sun and moon, along with storms and the sea, but the presence of these vary among their descendants so it’s not a certainty the original staff god was associated with them too.

Make-make, the avian zenith of Rapanui. At the beginning, Make-make made the sky, sun, moon, sea and the earth. In this newborn state, Make-make gazed into the infant water, his own reflection creating his first son Haua. Make-make then desired to create something like himself, to do so he began to fertilize various things. From water Make-Make fathered the fish of the sea, yet this was unsatisfactory. Next he tried with stones, but he failed once again. Finally, Make-Make fertilized red earth and fathered the gods Tiva, Hova, Rarai, and Arangi-Kote-Kote, these gods would eventually give rise to humanity.

According to one myth, a priestess once looked after a skull with immense spiritual power. One day, a large wave came and took the skull, with the priestess leaping into the sea in pursuit. The priestess swam for what seemed like an eternity until she finally grew exhausted in the middle of the ocean. Eventually she washed up on an island only to be greeted by the god Haua. Haua asked her what she was doing, when she answered that she was looking for her lost skull Haua informed her that it was no ordinary skull, but rather an incarnation of the god Make-make. Make-make then showed himself and spoke to his son, saying that the birds were at risk of extinction from overhunting. With Haua, Make-make drove the birds from island to island. However each time they drove the birds to an inhabited island, they were once again threatened with overhunting. Lastly, the duo drove the birds to the uninhabited islets of Motu-nui and Motu-iti. Make-make and Haua would then teach the local Rapanui people about the Tangata Manu selection ritual in order to preserve the bird population. The priestess then taught these people how to give offerings to Make-make and Haua.

According to oral tradition, the Rapanui king Tuu Ku Ihu called upon the power of Make-make to command the constructed Moai statues to walk to their resting grounds.

Make-make lords over the afterlife as well, he consumes the souls of evildoers, while those who did good rest with him.

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Make-make was by far the most important god in Rapanui religion, paramount to their culture. Make-make was conceived of as the chief god and the origin by which everything traces back to.

Like all the gods of Rapanui, Make-make exercised his will through the island’s priests, of which his will was preeminent in importance. There were both male and female priests, these priests would be possessed by the spirit of Make-make who would declare his desires through them, often placated with offerings of food. If these offerings weren’t given, it would anger Make-make. Despite his anger, it’s known that Make-make was quite forgiving, quickly forgiving those who showed remorse in their disrespect of him. Despite their religious importance, more important rituals were instead organized and held by the noblemen and chiefs.

It’s possible that Make-make’s myths were recorded in the Rongorongo tablets. Etched onto these tablets is a script lost to time, and while many attempts have been made to decipher them, and some claiming to have succeeded, none have truly been successful. While originally thought to be an entire writing system, the modern consensus is that it was rather a “proto-writing system”, a script with a specific individual meaning that is unable to be read by others.

Make-make was the main subject of Rapanui rock art. Predominantly, Make-make was depicted as a face with large eyes and a long nose. Researchers have tried to explain these traits, some believe that the face was meant to represent a skull pointing to the face’s large orbits, this however does not explain the large nose. The most popular and most likely theory is that the face was based on bird, with the elongated nose being akin to the long beak of a bird.

The god’s primary companion was the god Haua. The two were so connected that Haua was never mentioned outside of Make-make. The creation myth detailing the creation of Make-make’s first son does not detail the son’s name or identity. Some have postulated that the first son was the Tangata Manu or “bird man”, pointing to the plentiful rock art depicting bird men. However, the Tangata Manu acted more like a title rather than an actual character, with the native Rapanui people instead relating the bird man rock art to Make-make. I instead believe that this first son was Haua. While there is no concrete proof, Haua’s character as the primary and constant companion of Make-make, I feel like this is an apt conclusion.

The Tangata Manu selection was one of if not the most important ritual to the Rapanui people. The first step entailed the selection of numerous contestants, who were chosen by priests via prophetic dreams and were men of significant status. These contestants would then choose a representative of a lesser prestige called a hopu who would actually partake in the event. These hopu would then be provided with living supplies before they swam to Motu Nui. Each of the hopu would then wait for the arrival of the migrating sooty terns who would lay their eggs on the islet. Which ever hopu claimed the first egg would climb to the highest point in Motu Nui and call out to their respective contestant to proclaim their victory. The losing hopu would swim back to the main island empty handed, while the winning hopu would swim back with the egg in a reed basket tied to their head. Upon presenting the egg to their sponsor, the contestant (not the hopu) would shave their head and paint it red or white and be crowned the Tangata Manu. Following their victory, the Tangata Manu would then lead an entourage to Rano Raraku or Anakena depending on which group of clans they were from, either the Ko Tuꞌu Aro or Hotu Iti respectively. The Tangata Manu, now seen as the earthly representative of Make-make and exceedingly holy, would be privy to numerous gifts and offerings while his clan would have the sole right to claim the eggs of the island for themselves. The Tangata Manu would be sent into isolation for a year, letting their hair and nails grow out and only sleeping and eating.

Make-make has an incredibly interesting relationship with the Christian faith. After Rapanui was ransacked by slave traders, the next notable foreign influence was from Christian missionaries. Most notably, the Rapanui seemed to have conflated Make-make with the Abrahamic God themselves. There’s actually direct evidence of this, as in a separate account of creation, Make-make was said to have created man from red earth and when he noticed that the man was lonely he took one of his ribs and created a woman, a clear analog to the Abrahamic Genesis. The missionaries used this as a springboard for colonization. Conversion destroyed much of Rapanui religion and culture, with the vast majority of myths and gods being lost to time, with those who could read the Rongorongo that recorded them dying out from the effects of colonization. Many of the surviving myths are garbled and hard to understand, missing integral context and entire portions leaving the majority of figures in Rapanui mythology to be only known by their names. Despite this, Make-make seems to be the clear exception, with his importance and reverence surviving to the modern day, modern Christian practices by the Rapanui even synchronize the two religions.

The historical development of Make-make is hard to trace for the previously explained effects of colonization. Some have however posited a framework for the timeline. It’s hypothesized that the Rapanui religion was originally centered entirely around ancestor worship, epitomized by the erecting of the Moai. It was only later with the erosion of the Island’s ecology and the alleged spread of warfare did a new warrior class emerge and introduce Make-make and the Birdman cult. Despite how widespread this theory is, it’s notably faulty and relies on the ecocide hypothesis. The notion that the decline of the Rapanui was self inflicted has been historically criticized. While the Rapanui did log their trees, the island itself was more susceptible to deforestation than other Polynesian islands. Archaeology has proven that warfare was actually quite rare, being restricted to small tribal conflicts. Weapons were more often used for farming rather than actual fighting. The Rapanui population, while small, only ever grew continuously. The die off only started after the arrival of Europeans and once colonization reared its head. While I do agree that there was probably a paradigm shift sometime in the past that shifted towards the later culture, I doubt that Make-make was completely absent in that early mythos. I find it hard to believe when Make-make’s character is so ingrained with the traditional themes found within the greater Polynesian cultural landscape. I think that Make-make, or some ancestral form of his, was present in the old ancestor cult but only took on his more modern form later.

Cupray, the eclipse of dread. As malice incarnate, this demon rules over the other Kunne-Kamuy. While his origins are unclear, what is known is that Cupray is a massive monster, his immenseness being able to easily envelop the celesial bodies. Behind his dark form spewed a great fiery aura, with dark lightning cascading off of him. Living at the epicenter of Tenei-Pokna-Moshiri’s mire, cupray commands the Kunne-Kamuy atop of a pile of obsidian.

Cupray watched Kotan-kar-Kamuy create the world in envy. Loathing the world Kotan-kar-Kamuy made, Cupray devised a plan. The demon noticed the light that emanated from the sun goddess Tokapcup-Kamuy, this light bringing the life and warmth that graced the living beings of Kotan-Kar-Kamuy’s world. So late at night, Cupray waited for sunrise, and when Tokapcup-Kamuy arose into the sky upon the break of dawn, Cupray burst forth from the depths, opening his maw in an attempt to devour the sun. Kotan-Kar-Kamuy had noticed this however, and quickly created the crow god Kararak-Kamuy. The crow bravely flew into Cupray’s jaws, choking the demon and stopping him from consuming Tokapcup-Kamuy. Cupray was subsequently banished back to the abyss of Tenei-pokna-Moshiri.

Many other Kunne-Kamuy have tried to imitate Cupray and capture Tokapcup-Kamuy, such as Moshirechik-Kotanechik who captured the goddess and fled to his castle in Tenei-Pokna-Moshiri, only to be felled by Okikurumi. The fox demon Sitonpichironnop once tried to replace the sun goddess, but was foiled by his own daughter. The giant whale demons Shokina are sometimes also said to swallow the sun. When Tokapcup-Kamuy is injured or abducted like this it causes a solar eclipse and all the beings in the world begin to lose their life force. But with the aid of the prayers made by the Ainu, Tokapcup-Kamuy can regain her strength.

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The reoccurring eclipse myth is an incredibly prolific archetype among the indigenous Ainu, being just as well circulated as Okikurumi. Due to how cemented they are within the Ainu mythos, the eclipse myths could’ve originated from the Jomon, the Ainu’s ancestors. Some have even theorized that the Shinto myth of Amaterasu hiding away in the cave could’ve been patterned off of these myths.

The name Cupray is purely a tentative one, as I have not concretely found the figure’s real name. The name itself means “sun death” or “the sun is dead”, it’s the word for solar eclipses in the Ainu language. Other words and titles for the solar eclipse include Chupu Kamui Tasm meaning “the sun is sick”, another being “the dead black sun”. In the sources that detail his myth he’s only referred to as the devil, demon, or evil god. The missionary author John Batchelor, who lived with and advocated for the Ainu, equated Cupray with his own Christian Devil, Lucifer and Satan, and actively referred to him as “the devil”. I have however found names that could potentially correlate with the figure, such as Moshirishinaisam and Alaen-Kamuy. Moshirishinaisam is a demon recorded within the Ainu mythos who not only also takes up the role of the leader of the kunne-Kamuy but was also conflated by John Batchelor with his “devil”. However in modern times, Moshirishinaisam seems to have been appropriated into becoming more of a Yokai.

The origin of the Kunne-Kamuy varies widely across Ainu culture. Some myths state that after Kotan-Kar-Kamuy finished shaping the world, they left their 60 obsidian axes. These Axes rotted into a swampy mire that the Kunne-Kamuy emerged from. In another legend, Kotan-Kar-Kamuy attempted to create a fire drill from a mud tree, but when the drill failed to ignite, Kotan-Kar-Kamuy blew the shavings produced into the wind, birthing the first of the Kunne-Kamuy. While in other stories the Kunne-Kamuy are just violently disposed heavenly Kamuy. Each of these could even be used in tandem with one another.

John Batchelor believed that the Ainu held a kind of dualistic belief in their mythology, describing his “devil” as functionally the opposite of the creator Kotan-Kar-Kamuy, heading his own force of gods, the Kunne-Kamuy. In his writings, John Batchelor alleged that this “devil”, who he seemingly conflates with Moshirishinaisam, was self created and existed before anything was created like Kotan-Kar-Kamuy, almost mirroring the Zoroastrian cosmology with Ahriman and Ahura Mazda. Other sources state that Moshirishinaisam was one of the first Kunne-Kamuy created by Kotan-Kar-Kamuy with the failed fire drill.

The actual leadership of the Kunne-Kamuy is ill defined in myth, with figures like the aforementioned Moshirishinaisam, Uesoyoma, and Moshirechek-Kotanechek all described as commanding the Kunne-Kamuy. Ultimately, it seems that while there was a general idea that the Kunne-Kamuy had a powerful leader, the character itself was subject to change within stories. It’s also theorized that John Batchelor’s own Christian beliefs could’ve influenced the Ainu he was staying with, resulting in the Ainu adopting some of his ideology, creating a more dualistic view within their culture.

Yet another redesign of Haua! I even revamped his profile! Hope you enjoy!

Leprechauns, the gilded cobblers. The lonesome Leprechaun is one of the numerous Irish fairies. Universally dwarfish and bearded, they dress themselves in coats alongside buckled hats and shoes. The Leprechauns were known to be impeccable cobblers, constantly making new shoes. It’s said that it’s while they’re doing their craft is when it’s best to capture them and force them to bestow upon you their wealth. Leprechauns, like most fairies, enjoy being sly tricksters, though they typically don’t seek to injure anyone, only to play pranks. Leprechauns are known for their vast amount of golden wealth, with them known to hide their stashes in pots at the end of a rainbow.

One story details how the king of Ulster, Fergus mac Léti, was napping on the beach when 3 leprechauns came across him. The leprechauns thought to pull a prank on the sleeping king, so they attempted to drag him into the water. Once the cold water brushed against his feet Fergus quickly awoke and seized the three fairies. In exchange for sparing them, the three leprechauns offered to grant a wish of his. Fergus agreed and asked if he could breathe underwater, the Leprechauns obliged but warned him not to dive into Loch Rudraige. Fergus ignored their ominous advice and dived into the loch anyways. His royal arrogance was met with a terrifying sea monster that frightened the king so much that his face remained permanently frozen in a horrific expression, risking his kingship.

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The leprechaun is probably the most popular folkloric concept from Ireland aside from possibly Halloween. Despite this popularity and world recognition, the Leprechaun has changed frequently throughout the ages. The first mention of the Leprechauns was in the Middle Ages, in particular the 8th century. This tale, known as Echtra Fergus mac Léti translating to “the adventure of Fergus mac Léti”, is the story detailed above. This story details a very early Leprechaun, then known as Luchorpán. These leprechauns like the other fairies had their trickiness as a prominent part of their character. Surprisingly however, these leprechauns were also associated with the sea, even being called sea sprites occasionally, something that is rarely seen in leprechauns outside of this tale.

While today leprechauns are known for their green attire and buckled shoes, originally however Leprechauns consistently wore red rather than the modern green, with the specific attire changing frequently with no set clothing, changing from area to area and even by story. Its believed that the modern recognizable attire comes from the Irish migration. During the Irish potato famine, many Irish families migrated to other countries to escape the disaster, in particular many moved to America. During this time the Irish wore very outdated clothing, with Elizabethan fashion, the buckled shoes, cloak and hat, being more common. This likely formed a kind of Irish stereo type for the time, being reflected into the leprechaun itself. Their association with green likely also comes from its connection with the Irish identity, as green was seen as a national symbol of the Irish for a long time before.

While the Leprechaun is more modern than most other Irish fairies, they’re still recounted as a member of the Aos Sí, the fairies descended from the Tuatha Dé Dannan. As one of the Aos Sí, the leprechaun was grouped with the likes of the banshee, Dullahan, Selkie, Lennán Sidhe and many others. Some however, have urged the separation of the Leprechaun from the Aos Sí, citing the leprechaun solitary nature, despite this many still consider them to be among the Aos Sí’s ranks. The Leprechaun shares many of his traits with other similar fairies, the Far Darrig, and the Cluichaun. So similar are these spirits that renditions of their stories will commonly just name them as Leprechauns.

Sorry that I haven’t posted much recently, I’ve been very busy. Plus with my new illness I don’t think I’ll be drawing as much for a little bit. I’m sorry

I do have something planned for Saint Patrick’s day, so look forward to that!

Of course I can!

So the MOST important thing about Ahura Mazda is that he’s the god of light and all things good. He’s not conceived as being even remotely tied to the concept of evil (except for certain new practices that I’ll get to later). Evil is instead embodied by Ahriman who is a completely separate entity who is in dualistic antagonism with Ahura Mazda’s goodness.

Now this should already be raising a red flag since Ahura Mazda himself is depicted as being a dualistic being comprised of both good and evil. While Ahura Mazda is in a dualistic system, he himself IS NOT the dualistic force, he’s only one part of the duality with the other being his opposite Ahriman. It’s especially egregious since this misinterpretation is the basis of his entire character. Similarly his title of “Divinity Who Transcends Good and Evil” doesn’t really make sense in the Zoroastrian mindset either, since Ahura Mazda does not transcend those concepts not only because he is LITERALLY the god of good, but also because he isn’t omnipotent in the same way as, for example, God is in the bible, Ahriman can and does actively affect Ahura Mazda, even if he’s stated to be weaker.

The narrative presented in the manga is that Spenta Mainyu the leader of the good gods, and Angra Mainyu leader of the evil gods, fused together to create Ahura Mazda and kill Azi Dahaka. Firstly, Spenta Mainyu is a bit difficult to explain, but in essence he is a kind of “form” or “manifestation” of Ahura Mazda. Spenta Mainyu was still subordinate to the actual leader of what can be described as the “good gods” (in Zoroastrianism this should probably translate to the Yazatas/Ahuras), Ahura Mazda, being one of the many Amesha Spentas that were created by Ahura Mazda. Secondly, yes Angra Mainyu was occasionally seen as the opposite of Spenta Mainyu, but he had no relation to Ahura Mazda himself, only in the idea that he was also considered Ahura Mazda’s opposite as well. It also doesn’t help that Agra Mainyu IS Ahriman, with the two being consistently conflated and treated as the same being. Thirdly Azi Dahaka was not a being of chaos separate from good and evil, Azi Dahaka was a creation of Ahriman and was thus considered evil.

The one thing that might’ve inspired this radically altered character may have been the idea that Ahriman/Angra Mainyu was created by Ahura Mazda. This idea is a newer concept and comes from attempts to align Zoroastrian concepts with a more Abrahamic framework, originally resulting from contact with Islam and later being reiterated to defend against discrimination by Christians. In order to fit Zoroastrianism within a monotheistic system, Ahriman could no longer be considered an equal of Ahura Mazda. So taking after the story of Lucifer, Ahriman was later reinvented as another manifestation of Ahura Mazda like Spenta Mainyu and the other Amesha Spentas. Since Ahura Mazda was stated to only create good, it was then interpreted that Ahriman used his free will to choose evil and rebel against Ahura Mazda and Spenta Mainyu. Other interpretations posit that Spenta Mainyu and Angra Mainyu weren’t entities at all, but rather the good and evil thoughts of mankind. This originates from some of the older Zoroastrian texts, where the Amesha Spentas are more abstract and ethereal beings than the more personal ones depicted later. This is still a hot topic within the Zoroastrian community, so it’s still a bit complicated.

A Zoroastrian figure that I believe the Record of Ragnarok Ahura Mazda resembles more is Zurvan. Zurvan is not actually apart of the mainline Zoroastrian canon, and actually originates from their own distinct sect. Originally, Ahura Mazda and Ahriman were seen as the first beings in existence. But in Zurvanism, this is instead replaced with the primordial Zurvan who’s thought to be time itself. Zurvan is described as androgynous and desires children, but each time they try to create them Zurvan fails. Their last attempt is successful and creates Ahura Mazda and Ahriman. Zurvan tells the two twins within the womb that they’ll give the world to the firstborn, upon learning of this Ahriman tore himself out of the womb in order to claim the world. Zurvan agrees to give Ahriman lordship over the universe, but only for 9000 years where upon Ahura Mazda will then reign forever. In this sect, Zurvan was seen as the source of Ahura Mazda’s goodness and Ahriman’s evil. I feel like the fusing of the two gods in RoR mirrors how Ahura Mazda and Ahriman split off from Zurvan. Plus with Zurvan being the source of Ahura Mazda and Ahriman, the title of “Divinity Who Transcends Good and Evil” makes SIGNIFICANTLY more sense with Zurvan than Ahura Mazda.

Here’s my newest rendition of my Kaggen design! The last one I did was one of my first forays into digital art so it’s pretty crusty, so I wanted to give him another go now that I’m a little better!

Here’s my redesign of my Anansi! I hope you like it!