#insect god

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!

an album of noise.

low moment.

insect god.

Kaggen, the divine mantis. Kaggen was never born, but rather had existed since the beginning. The deity gave rise to all things that existed, without tools or action Kaggen created all things, from the earth to the Fauna that walked across it. Kaggen is a shapeshifter, most commonly taking the form of a praying mantis but is known to transform into a caterpillar and especially a bull eland. At first Humans and beasts alike lived together in harmony with Kaggen beneath the earth. Kaggen however wished for the creatures to live upon the surface, so he created a tree whose branches stretched across the universe. At the base of the tree Kaggen dug a hole to the land within the earth, and one by one helped the creatures out of the hole. When they all stood upon the surface Kaggen told the world’s animals to live in peace with each other, but Kaggen pulled the humans aside and told them to not light any fires or else risk catastrophe. However as the sun fell across the horizon, night fell. The humans could no longer see in the dark nor could they keep their warmth with fur like the other animals, because of this the humans quickly feared the night and in their desperation they lit a fire to bring light and warmth. But the human’s companions, became frightened by the flames, the beasts running away and severing their once close bond. With his wife, the Hyrax goddess Coti, Kaggen fathered two sons, Cogaz and Gewi. Together with Coti, Kaggen created his prized creation, the Eland. Kaggen greatly cared for the Eland, showering it with love and affection. But when Cogaz and Gewi were out hunting, they accidentally killed the Eland. Infuriated, Kaggen had his sons stir the Eland’s blood in a pot, but when its blood spilled out it became snakes. Because of their mistake, when the brothers spread the blood, it instead formed Hartebeests. Finally Kaggen asked his wife Coti to churn the pot, with Coti adding the fat from the dead Eland into the concoction as well. Now when the family dumped the blood onto the ground, it successfully revived the dead Eland into a lively and plentiful heard, made to bring meat and sustenance to Kaggen’s people. On the surface world, Kaggen regularly combated the destroyer, Gauna, a malicious entity who lead the spirits of death. After a normal victory against Gauna, Kaggen found a lost child, that child was Xo the porcupine, daughter of Gauna. Kaggen pitied the poor abandoned child, adopting her into his family. One day while Kaggen was walking home, the sun set behind him, ushering the world into night. But Kaggen grew irritated each time he stumbled and tripped in the darkness, so in frustration he grabbed his sandal and chucked it into the sky. Kaggen then used his powers to have his sandal lighten the dark sky. After the countless years of living with humanity, the people began to take Kaggen for granted, forgoing his teachings and refusing to recognize his protection over them. In response Kaggen gathered his family and retreated to the sky, with Gauna introducing death to the once immortal earth.

—————

Worshipped among the San of Southern Africa, Kaggen is universally depicted as a shapeshifter. Kaggen is most commonly seen as a praying mantis, but can also transform into a caterpillar, Vulture, Louse, and especially an Eland. The Eland has always been an extremely important animal to the San people and even the rest of the Kalahari peoples of South Africa. The Eland was a major food source among the pastoralists, their abundance making them a consistent source of nourishment, leading to them gaining an important role among the hunter-gatherer societies. The San are the oldest still living culture in the world, with Kaggen likely being one of the oldest known gods. Though the San have been able to trace their origins back 40,000 years, the worship of Kaggen among them is unclear. Many of Kaggen’s attributes and aspects are prolific among the San’s rock art, especially the Eland which likely signifies Kaggen’s presence in the religious landscape. Kaggen goes by numerous names and titles, like Cagn, Kaang, Thora, and Karab. Kaggen is well known as a trickster god, many of his stories have him outwitting or outwitted by others. Though the omnipotent creator god, in his earthly incarnation Kaggen is susceptible to many such hardships. Kaggen, in his role as a trickster god, is capable of being both selfish and selfless, two competing personalities that both punish and reward those who interact with him. This darker more destructive persona could be represented in Gauna, Kaggen’s counterpart. Another such manifestation of Kaggen is Kho the moon, though the two are treated as one and same unlike the differences between Kaggen and Gauna. In the role of a moon god, Kaggen brings about death or Gauna after a hare deceived the humans with Kaggen’s message. Kaggen is one of the many African supreme gods, correlating with the Dogon Amma, the Akan Nyame, the Yoruban Olorun and the Egyptian Ra among many others. As ancient as Kaggen is, he may have given rise to some of these gods. Kaggen holds cognates with his neighboring gods like the Khoekhoe Tsui’goab, the Naron Gauwa and and the Damaran Gamab.