The great creator mother among
the Inuit people.
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Ab Kin Zoc
Mayan god of poetry.
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Abaangui
Guarani Indian god who cut off
his huge nose, which then flew into the sky and became the moon.
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Ac Yanto
Mayan god of white men.
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Acan
Maya god of wine.
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Acat
Mayan - Aztec god of tatooers, life.
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Aclla
This was the name given to the sacred sun
virgins among the Incas. In times of dire emergencies they willingly
sacrificed their lives to appease the gods.
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Acna
Mayan - Mexico mother goddess associated
with the moon. Patron of childbirth. Also known as Akna.
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Acolnahuacatl
Aztec underworld god.
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Acolmiztli
Aztec underworld god.
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Acuecucyoticihuati
Aztec - Mexico goddess of the
ocean. Closely associated with Chalchiuhtlicue. Aztec women appeal
to her as they go into labor. Also known as: Acuecueyotl.
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Adamisil Wedo
Haitian water goddess. Also
known as Si Adaman.
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Adlivun
The home of Sedna, Eskimo goddess
of the sea. This is where the dead are purified before continuing
on to the Land of the Moon.
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Agaman Nibo
Haitian goddess of the dead.
Mother of Baron Samedi, father and chief of the gods of the dead
and cemeteries.
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Aguara
Tunpa fox-god who gave the carob
tree to the people.
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Agwe
Haitian vodun (voodoo) goddess.
A manifestation of Yemanja. Agwe is also a male deity.
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Agweta
Haitian sea goddess. Daughter
of Agwe.
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Ah Bolom Tzacab
Mayan leaf-nosed god. God of
agriculture.
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Ah Cancum
Mayan god of hunting.
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Ah Chun Caan
Mayan tutelary deity.
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Ah Chuy Kak
Mayan fire destroyer. War god.
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Ah Ciliz
Mayan god of solar eclipses.
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Ah Cun Can
Mayan serpent charmer. War god.
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Ah Cuxtal
Mayan god of birth.
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Ah Hulneb
Mayan god of war.
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Ah Kin
Mayan sun god. Controls drought
and disease.
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Ah Kinchil
Mayan god of the sun.
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Ah Kumix Uinicob
Mayan attendant water gods.
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Ah Mun
Mayan god of maize.
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Ah Muzencab
Mayan bee god.
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Ah Patnar Uinicob
Mayan attendant water gods.
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Ah Peku
Mayan god of thunder.
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Ah Puch
Mayan.lord of death. Barebones.
Hunahau or Hunhau. Rules Mitnal. God of death and the personification
of disaster and darkness. God of childbirth.
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Ah Tabai
Mayan hunting god.
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Ah Uaynih
Guatemalan goddess of sleep.
She causes males to fall asleep.
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Ah Uincir Dz'acab
Mayan god of healing.
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Ah Uuc Ticab
Mayan chthonic deity.
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Ah Wink-ir Masa
Guatemalan nature goddess. Protector
of wild animals, especially deer.
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Ahau Chamahez
Mayan medicine god.
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Ahau-Kin
Mayan lord of the sun face. Sun
god. Jaguar god. Lord of the underworld.
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Ahmakiq
Mayan god of agriculture.
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Ahnt Alis Pok'
Mexico goddess, two feet tall,
who lives with her mother Ahnt Kai'.
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Ahnt Kai'
Mexico goddess of women and
children. Daughter of Koo-mah'mm hahs-ay' tahm (First Woman). She
flies at night and lives above the peak of Tiburon mountain. She
is the teacher of singing and dancing, and tells the women and children
when to do the Fish Dance. She heals snake bites. Equivalent to
Athena (Greek), Kuan Yin (Far East) and Estsanatlehi (North America).
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Ahuic
Aztec Mexico goddess of the
running water in rivers, streams, and waves on the beach. A manifestation
of Chalchiuhtlicue.
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Ahulane
Mayan war god. The archer.
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Aida Wedo
Haitian goddess of the rainbow
and fresh water who determines human destiny. Followers offer sacrifices
to her before their marriage. Her husband is Damballa, god of rivers
and springs, and they both materialize as snakes. Also known as
Aida Cuedo, Aido Wedo, Ayida, Ayida Cueddo.
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Ajbit
Mayan god. One of the 13 gods
who created the people. He assisted in the actual creating.
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Ajtzak
Mayan god. One of the thirteen
gods who created human beings.
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Akewa
The sun goddess of the Toba
tribe of Argentina.
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Akhushtal
Mayan goddess of childbirth.
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Akycha
Eskimo sun god of the Alaskan
Eskimo.
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Alaghom Naom Tzentel
Ancient Mayan goddess of thought
and intellect. Also known as Alaghom Naum, Ixtat Ix.
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Alignak
Eskimo god of the moon, storms,
earthquakes and tides.
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Alom
Mayan god of the sky. One of
the 7 gods who assisted in the creation of the world.
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Amimitl
Aztec god of lakes and fish
hunters.
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Angpetu Wi
Dakota sun god.
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Aningan
Eskimo moon god. Called Igaluk
in Alaska.
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Apozanolotl
Aztec - Mexico form of Chalchiuhtlicue,
represented by foam, suds, or white-capped waves on the water surface,
suggesting the virtue of purity.
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Apu Punchau
Inca sun god. Head of the day.
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Asintmah
The first woman according to
the Athabascans (American Indian), who was responsible for the birth
of animal life on earth.
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Atabei
Caribbean earth goddess in Cuba.
Also known as Attabeira, Apito, Siella, Suimado, Mamona, Guacarapita,
Liella, Guimazoa, Iella.
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Atahensic
Iroquois sky goddess who fell
to the earth at the beginning of creation.
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Atl
Aztec god of water.
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Atlacamani
Aztec - Mexico goddess of ocean
storms.
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Atlacoya
Aztec - Mexico goddess of drought.
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Atlatonin
Aztec - Mexico. One of the names
for the Aztec mother goddess.
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Atlaua
Aztec water god. Lord of the
waters. God of fishermen.
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Auchimalgen
Chilean moon goddess.
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Auilix
Mayan god of dawn.
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Ayauhteotl
Aztec- Mexico goddess of fog
and mist in the early morning or at night. She is associated with
fame and vanity.
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Ayizan
Haitian goddess that protects
the market place, public places, roads, doorways, and gates. She
is seen as a serpent and is represented by a palm leaf. Also known
as Ayizan Velequete.
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Bacabs
Mayan gods of the four winds,
the four directions. Four protective deities.Cauac, Ix, Kan, and
Mulac.
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Bachué
The ancestor goddess of the
Chibcha of South America. She mated with her son to produce the
human race.
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Backlum Chaam
Mayan god of male sexuality.
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Balam
Mayan deities who protect people
in their daily lives. Protectors of the community against external
threats.
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Bikeh Hozho
Navajo personification of speech,
who appears in the Navajo creation myth in human-like form.
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Bitol
Mayan sky god. One of the seven
gods who created the world and the humans.
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Bochica
Chibcha supreme sun god.
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Bolontiku
Mayan group of chthonic deities
of the underworld.
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Breath of Wind
Iroquois daughter of Atahensic,
and the mother of Ioskeha and Tawiscara.
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Buluc Chabtan
Mayan god of war to whom humans
were sacrificed. He is the so-called 'God F'.
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Cabaguil
Mayan heart of the sky. One
of the seven gods who assisted in the creation of the world and
of mortals.
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Cacoch
Mayan creator god.
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Cakulha
Mayan subordinate to Yaluk,
and ruler of the lesser lightning bolts.
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Camaxtli
Mayan god of fate. Aztec Mixcoatl.
God of war, hunting, and fate, and creator of fire. He is one of
the four gods who created the world.
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Camozotz
Mayan bat god.
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Caprakan
Mayan god of earthquakes and
mountains.
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Ca-the-ña
Mohave goddess of love (the "Mohave
Venus"). She presides over fertility in humans and animals.
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Cauac
Mayan. One of the four Bacabs.
Cauac is associated with the south. His color is red.
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Cavillaca
Peruvian goddess. The myth:
Coniraya, the moon god, is said to have shaped his sperm into the
likeness of a fruit which Cavillaca, a virgin goddess, unwittingly
ate, thereby becoming pregnant; she bore a son. She called all the
gods together and demanded to know who was the boy's father. When
no one owned up to it she placed the boy on the ground whereupon
he crawled toward Coniraya. Cavillaca, ashamed because the moon
god was the poorest and seediest of the gods, grabbed her son and
ran away. When she reached the coast of Peru she changed her son
and herself to rocks.
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Centeotl
Aztec Centeocihuatl. Cinteotl.
Maize god.
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Centzonuitznaua
Aztec gods of the southern stars.
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Chac
Mayan Chac Mol. Long-nose. Rain
and vegetation god. God of fertility and agriculture. One of the
Bacabs. Personification of the east. He is also known as Ah Hoya
("he who urinates"), Ah Tzenul ("he who gives food
to others"), and Hopop Caan ("he who lights up the sky").
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Chac Uayab Xoc
Mayan fish god.
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Chakwaina Okya
Zuni goddess of childbirth.
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Chalchiuhtlatonal
Aztec god of water.
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Chalchihuitlicue
Aztec goddess. She unleashed
the flood (to punish the wicked) that the destroyed the fourth world
(according to the Aztecs, we are in the fifth world). She ruled
over all the waters of the earth; oceans, rivers, rain, etc. The
wife/sister of Tlaloc. The goddess of running water, and of fertility;
she was also associated with marriage. Goddess of the East. Precious
Green Lady. Precious Jewel Lady. Precious jade skirt. Vegetation
Goddess. Goddess of storms, youthful beauty, whirlpools, spring
growth, love, flowers, spirits, streams, sea, springs. Protectress
of newborn babies and marriages.
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Chalchiutotolin
Aztec god of pestilence.
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Chalmecacihuilt
Aztec goddess of the underworld.
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Chalmecatl
Aztec god of the underworld.
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Chamer
Mayan god of death.
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Chantico
Aztec goddess of hearth fires
and volcanic fires, home, fertility. Her name means 'she who dwells
in the house'.
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Chaob
Mayan. The four wind Gods, each
associated with one of the cardinal directions.
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Chasca
Inca goddesses who cared for
princesses, girls and flowers.
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Chibiabos
Algonquin brother of Nanabush.
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Chibirias
Mayan earth goddess.
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Chiccan
Mayan. A group of four rain
Gods, associated with the four cardinal directions. They create
rain clouds from the deep lakes in which they reside.
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Chicomecoatl
Aztec maize goddess. She appeared
in multiple forms; a maiden adorned with water flowers, a young
woman whose embrace brought death, and a mother carrying the sun
as a shield. The goddess of plenty, she was the female aspect of
the corn.
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Chicomexochtli
Aztec god of painters.
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Chiconahui
Aztec hearth goddess. Guardian
of the household.
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Chiconahuiehecatl
Aztec creator god.
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Chie
American Indian fun-loving Chibcha
goddess who advised the people to live a life of merrymaking, joy
and laughter instead of just obeying the laws. This teed off Bochia
(god of law) who turned her into an owl.
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Chirakan
Mayan goddess who was brought
to the world when four of the gods who created the world split themselves
up and became four additional beings.
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Cihuacoatl
Aztec Chihucoatl. Earth and
mother goddess. Patroness of birth and of women who died while giving
birth. Goddess of childbirth. When weeping and wailing through the
night she was forecasting wars and misery.
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Cinteotl
Aztec god of corn. Corn spirit.
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Cipactli
Aztec earth monster to whom
Tezcatlipoca sacrificed his foot.
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Cit-Bolon-Tum
Mayan god of medicine.
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Cit Chac Coh
Mayan war god.
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Citlalatonac
Aztec creator god.
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Citlalicue
Aztec Citlalinicue. Ilamatecuhtli.
Star garment. Creator goddess.
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Ciucoatl
Aztec Ciuacoatl. Goddess of the
earth.
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Ciuteoteo
Aztec spirits of the underworld.
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Cizin
Mayan god of death.
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Coatlicue
Aztec earth monster: In the
darkness and chaos before the Creation, the female Earth Monster
swam in the waters of the earth devouring all that she saw. When
the gods Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca decided to impose form upon
the Earth, they changed themselves into serpents and struggled with
the Earth Monster until they broke her in two. Coatlicue's lower
part then rose to form the heavens and her upper part descended
to form the earth. Coatlicue has an endless, ravenous appetite for
human hearts and will not bear fruit unless given human blood. One
day while performing penance and sweeping at Coatepec, the chaste
and pious Coatlicue discovers a ball of feathers. Wanting to save
the precious feathers, Coatlicue places them in her waistband. However,
when she later looks for the ball of feathers, it is gone. Unknown
to her at the time, the feathers had impregnated her with the seed
of Huitzilopochtli. Gradually Coatlicue grows in size until her
sons, the Centzon Huitznahua, notice that she is with child . Enraged
and shamed, they furiously demand to know the father. Their elder
sister, Coyolxauhqui, decides that they must slay their mother.
The news of her children's intentions terrifies the pregnant goddess,
but the child within her womb consoles Coatlicue, assuring her that
he is already aware and ready. Dressed in the raiment of warriors,
the Centzon Huitznahua follow Coyolxauhqui to Coatepec. When her
raging children reach the crest of the mountain, Coatlicue gives
birth to Huitzilopochtli fully armed. Wielding his burning weapon,
known as the Xiuhcoatl or Turquoise Serpent, he slays Coyolxauhqui
and, cut to pieces, her body tumbles to the base of Coatepec.
Another Myth of Coatilcue: "Mother
of gods": Earth goddess. Coatlicue conceived Quetzalcoatl,
god of creation, after keeping in her bosom a ball of hummingbird
feathers (the soul of a fallen warrior) that dropped from the sky.
Quetzalcoatl, with Tezcatlipoca, pulled her down from the heavens,
and in the form of great serpents, ripped her into two pieces to
form the earth and sky. Coatlicue was known as "The Mother
of Gods", "The Devourer of Filth", "Our Grandmother".
She wears a skirt made of braided serpents secured by another serpent
and a necklace of human hands and hearts with a human skull. Her
feet and hands are adorned with claws. Coatlicue was seen as an
insatiable deity feasting on the corpses of men. Her breasts are
depicted as hanging flaccid from nursing. Also known as Teteoinan,
(Teteo Inan), "The Mother of Gods", gave birth to the
moon, stars, and Huitzilopochtli (the Sun god). She was also known
as Toci, "Our Grandmother", and known as Cihuacoatl, patron
of women who die in childbirth. Cihuacoatl was transformed into
modern Mexican culture as La Llorona, "The Weeping Woman",
said to carry the body of a dead child and weep at night in city
streets.
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Cochimetl
Aztec god of merchants and commerce.
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Cocijo
Zapotec rain god.
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Cocomama
American Indian goddess of health
and happiness. Originally a promiscuous woman cut in half by jealous
lovers; her body grew into the first coca bush, whose leaves men
were not suppose to chew until they had satisfied a woman's sexual
needs.
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Colel Cab
Mayan earth goddess.
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Colop U Uichkin
Mayan sky god.
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Copil
Aztec son of Malinalxochi.
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Coyolxauhqui
Aztec goddess of the moon. One
of the four hundred of Coatlique's children killed by Huitzilopochtli,
who when he saw his mother's grief at this particular death (she
did not mourn the others), cut off Coyolxauhqui's head and threw
it high into the sky where it became the moon, so that his mother
might take comfort nightly from the sight of her daughter in the
sky.
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Coyopa
Mayan brother of Cakulha, and
ruler of the sound of thunder.
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Coyote or
Old Man
American Indian. Also called
Inktomi by some tribes. The "trickster" who assists in
one aspect or other of some American Indian creation myths.
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Cum Hau
Mayan god of death.
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Dagwanoenyent
Seneca personification of a
whirlwind.
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Deohako
Seneca collective name of the
three daughters of the Earth Mother. They are the guardians and
spirits of corn, beans, and squash.
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Djigonsasee
A heroine of the Ontario Hurons,
Djigonasee was the mother of the peacebringer Deganawada, founder
of the Iroquois League (Six Nations): Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga,
Oneida, Mohawk, and Tuscarora. Like many mothers of heroes, Djigonasee
was a virgin when her son was born. A herald from beyond this world
announced the birth.
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Dzalarhons
Haida volcano goddess of the
Haida tribe.
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Ee-loolth
Duwamish mountain goddess.
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Ehecatl
Aztec god of the wind. He brought
love to the human race when he aroused desire in the maiden Mayahuel.
Their love was made manifest by a beautiful tree which grew upon
the spot where they landed on earth.
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Eithinoha
Iroquois. The earth; her name
means "our mother".
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Ek Ahau
Mayan war god.
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Ekchuah
Mayan god of war. Patron of merchants.
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Esceheman
Arapaho grandmother earth goddess.
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Eschetewuarha
Chamacoco. She is the Great
Spirit's wife and the mother of the rain.
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Estsanatlehi
Navaho sky goddess, wife of the
sun. The twin sister of Yolkai Estsan, wife of the moon. The "woman
who recreates herself". The most respected Navajo deity. She
is the mother of the twins Monster Slayer and Born for Water, who
rid the earth of monsters. The first humans are said to have been
created from skin rubbed from her body.
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Evaki
American Indian goddess of night
and day. She had a pot with a lid; when she closed the lid the sun
was left outside (night), when she took the lid off the pot, the
sun could be seen (day).
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Ewauna
Coquille creator goddess.
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Gaoh
Iroquois master of the winds.
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Gawaunduk
Ojibwa. She was a young woman
given in marriage to a respected elder of the tribe, who was more
than three times her age. She went obediently, if unhappily, feeling
her life would be less satisfying than if she had found a love-mate
her own age. As the years passed and she had many children by the
old man, her heart softened towards him. When he grew sick at age
85, Gawaunduk cared for him tenderly and nursed him back to health.
He recovered and lived another 15 years. Then, at 100 years old,
he died quietly in his sleep. She grieved so at his grave that she
died of that grief and they were buried together. Mists that rise
from spruce forests are said to be her tears as she mourns for him.
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Geezhigo-Quae
Ojibwa. She was the sky mother,
a manitou (great spirit) who dwelt in the heavens and watched over
her people from there. She was the creator of humanity; she created
the earth by descending into the primal soup to find land under
the waves and fashioning it into the hills and valleys and the mountain
ranges of the earth.
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Gendenwitha
Iroquois. The morning star (means
"she who brings the day"). Her story tells of the time
when the great hunter Sosondowah was stalking a supernatural elk.
The hunt brought him to the heavens, where the goddess Dawn trapped
him as her doorkeeper. But he did not remain faithful to his duties;
down on earth he saw Gendenwitha (a mortal woman) and daily left
his duties to court her. While Dawn was busy coloring the sky, the
hunter was singing to his beloved: in spring as a bluebird; in summer,
as a blackbird; in autumn, as a hawk. And it was as a hawk that
he tried to carry Gendenwitha to heaven with him. But the jealous
Dawn turned the woman into a star and set Gendenwitha just above
Dawn's door, where she shines today as the morning star.
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Genetaska
Iroquois. She was a human woman
so wise that squabbles among her people were brought to her for
settlement. Genetaska was always impartial and fair, but one day
she fell in love with a defendant and then married him. This ruined
her reputation for impartiality and her "office" of mediator
was abolished.
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Ghanan
Mayan god of agriculture.
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Gitche Manitou
The Great Spirit, the All-Father.
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Glispa
Navajo. She learned the healing
chant (Hozoni) and its rituals from her lover, a leader of the snake
people of the lower world. Back on earth, she tried to teach the
song of beauty to her brother, but he was not as fast a learner
as she and had trouble remembering the elaborately beautiful song.
By the use of magic she finally taught him; when she returned to
the lower world, the Navajo were left with the gift of healing.
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Gluskap
Algonquin. The creator force.
Also Glooscap.
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Godasiyo
Tuscarora. It is said that at
the beginning of time, all the people spoke the same language. The
heroine Godasiyo was a chief in the biggest village. One day, Godasiyo's
favorite dog gave birth to seven puppies, the last-born of which
was the cutest puppy you have ever seen. This magical puppy was
so cute that Godasiyo's people grew envious. They began to argue
violently for possession of the dog. Godasiyo invented canoes and
ordered those of her people who were still friendly into them. She
wanted them to travel to a new place, where they could establish
a new village and live in peace with the adorable puppy. But even
as they pepared to embark arguments began about which canoe the
chief and her puppy should ride in. Godasiyo then invented an outrigger,
so she could ride between the canoes. But even this was not good
enough. The migrating people reached a place where the river divided
and began to argue furiously about which way to go. During the argument,
the chief and her dog were accidentally thrown into the water and
drowned. But almost immediately they were reborn, she as a huge
sturgeon, the puppy as a little whitefish. When the people tried
to comment on this miracle, they found they could no longer understand
each other. Because of the conflict over possession of a puppy,
the many human languages were born.
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Great Seahouse
Mayan. See Jaguar Night.
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Guabancex
Caribbean goddess of storms,
wind, and water. Her messenger goddess was Guantuava.
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Gucumatz
Mayan creator god. Serpent god.
God of agriculture and civilization.
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Gukumatz
Mayan sky god. One of the seven
gods who created the world and the humans.
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Gunnodoyak
Iroquois. A young hunter (mortal)
who was adopted by Hino and brought up to heaven.
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Gyhldeptis
Tlingit - Haida. The Tlingit
and Haida tribes of Alaska considered her a kindly forest goddess.
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Hacauitz
Mayan god of the mountains.
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Hacha'kyum
Mayan god of real people.
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Hachiman
A historical figure in Mayan history, was
elevated to the status of god after death. A god of war, battle,
honor, courage, bravery, personal success.
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Hamedicu
Huron high god.
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Hanghepi Wi
Dakota moon god.
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Hastseoltoi
American Indian goddess of hunting.
Wife of the war god.
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Haya-Ji
Mayan god of the winds, whirlwinds. Invoke
for air elemental magic.
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Heng
Huron spirit of thunder.
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Hino (Hinu, Heno)
Iroquois sky god and the spirit
of thunder. He killed the water serpent who lived in the Great Lakes.
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Hisakitaimisi
Creek. "Controller of Life".
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Hotoru
Pawnee wind god.
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Huehuecoyotl
Aztec trickster god. God of gaiety,
physical sex, irrational fun.
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Huehueteotl
Aztec old god. God of fire. Torquoise
lord. Patron of warriors and kings. God of domestic and spiritual
fire, ritual, the calendar. The alternative name of the Aztec god
Xiuhtecutli.
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Huitaca
Chibcha moon goddess, wife of
Bochica. Also the goddess of indulgence.
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Huitzilopochtli
Aztec god of war and the protector
of the city, was the blazing midday sun. He was depicted with hummingbird
feathers on his head and left leg, his face black, and brandishing
a serpent made of turquoise. The story goes that Coatlicue, the
mother of Coyolxauhqui (night) and of four hundred stellar divinities
was praying when a bunch of feathers fell from heaven. She placed
them in her bodice and, shortly afterwards, discovered she was pregnant.
Her children reproached her for this belated pregnancy and discussed
killing her. But Huitzilopochtli emerged fully armed from her womb,
wearing blue armor and carrying a blue lance and the "turquoise
serpent", and massacred his brothers and sisters.
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Huixtocihuatl
Aztec fertility goddess.
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Hummingbird
Mayan. See Jaguar Night.
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Hun Hunahpu
Mayan fertility god.
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Hunab Ku
Mayan supreme god. Creator god.
God of the gods.
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Hunahpu
Mayan creator god. Sun god. One
of the two heroes (with Xbalanque) who contested against the gods
in a game of pokatok, the Mayan equivalent of basketball combined
with soccer. In the regular games, the losing team was sacrificed
to the gods!
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Hunahpu Utiu
Mayan. One of the thirteen Gods
who created human beings.
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Hunahpu-Gutch
Mayan. One of the thirteen Gods
who created human beings.
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Hunhau
Mayan. Chief of demons and ruler
of Mitnal.
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Hun Pic Tok
Mayan war god.
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Hurakan
Mayan. Hurricane. Triple heart
of the universe. God of wind and storm. Creator god. God of the
whirlwind, hurricanes, thunder, spiritual illumination.
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Iatiku
and Nautsiti
Acoma. The sisters who created
man.
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Idlirvirisong
Eskimo demonic cousin of the
sun.
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Ilamatecuhtli
Aztec mother goddess.
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Illapa
Inca storm and weather god.
God of thunder and lightning.
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Ilyap'a
Inca weather god. Pictured as
a man in the sky with a sling. He made rain fall by breaking with
his slingshot a pitcher of water held by his sister. The crack of
his sling was thunder, the shot was the lightning bolt.
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Inti
Inca sun god. God of fertility
and crops.
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Ioskeha
Iroquois creator of the first
man and woman.
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Ipalnemohuani
Aztec supreme deity. Also called
Tloque Nahuaque.
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Isakakate
Crow supreme being.
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Itzamná
Mayan god of the sky. Father
of the gods. Creator of mankind. Lord of knowledge. Moon-god. Personified
the East, the rising Sun, light, life. God of healing,drawing, letters,
crops, fertility, water, regeneration, medicine. The most important
deity in the Maya pantheon, Itzamna was the son of the creator god
Hunab, and was lord of the heavens, and also lord of day and night.
He was represented as a kindly old man, toothless with sunken cheeks
and a pronounced nose. A cultural hero, he invented writing and
books, established religious ceremonies, and divided the land. He
was entirely benevolent, never responsible for any destruction or
disaster.
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Itzananohk`u
Mayan god of Lacandon.
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Itzlacoliuhque
Aztec obsidian knife god. God
of darkness, terrible cold, volcanic eruptions, disaster.
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Itzli
Aztec stone knife god. God of
sacrifice.
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Itzpapalotl
Aztec obsidian knife butterfly
goddess of agriculture, fate, stars. She is mentioned as a dragon-like
being.
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Ix Chebel Yax
Mayan goddess of weaving.
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Ixbalanque
Mayan god of the moon, magic.
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Ixchel
Mayan. The rainbow. Earth and
moon Goddess. Patroness of pregnant women. Goddess of childbirth,
medicine, the moon, pregnancy, floods, weaving, domestic arts.
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Ixchup
Mayan young moon goddess.
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Ixmucane
Mayan. One of the thirteen gods
who created human beings.
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Ixpiyacoc
Mayan. One of the thirteen gods
who created human beings.
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Ixtab
Mayan goddess of the noose and
the gallows. Protector of those who committed suicide. Patroness
of hunting and hanging.
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Ixtlilton
Aztec god of healing and medicine,
as well as feasting and games.
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Ixtubtin
Mayan protectress of all jade
cutters.
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Ixzaluoh
Mayan water goddess.
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Iztaccihuatl
Aztec mother goddess.
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Iztacmixcohuatl
Aztec. The mythical founder of
the Aztec peoples.
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Jaguar
Night
(Maya) One of the first four men created
by the gods from maize (ground to a fine powder) mixed with water.
The others were Jaguar Quitze, True Jaguar and Mahucutah. The first
four women who were created at the same time were Great Seahouse,
Shrimp House, Macaw Woman and Hummingbird.
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Jaguar Quitze
Mayan. See Jaguar Night.
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Katsinas
Acoma. The younger children of Iatiku who
had the power to bring rain and food.
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Kan
Mayan. One of the Bacabs, the Gods of the
four cardinals directions. Kan is associated with the east, and
his color is yellow.
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Kan-u-Uayeyab
Mayan god who guarded cities.
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Kan-xib-yui
Mayan god who recreated the earth after it
was destroyed by the four Bacabs.
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Kanati
Cherokee. The male. First Ancestor.
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Ketchimanetowa
Fox. The Great Spirit.
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Ketq Skwaye
Huron. The creator. Grandmother Toad.
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K'in
Mayan sun god.
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Kianto
Mayan god of foreigners and diseases.
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Kilya
Incan. The moon, a female deity and wife
of the sun.
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Kinich Ahau
Mayan sun god.
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Kinich Kakmo
Mayan sun god.
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Kisin
Mayan god of earthquakes.
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Kukulcan
Mayan. Kukulkan. Kukumatz. Gugumatz. Feathered
serpent. Supreme God. God of the four elements. Creator God. God
of resurrection and reincarnation. His attributes, each representing
one element, are a maize-ear (earth), a fish (water), lizard (fire),
and vulture (air). Personification of the west. God of light, learning,
culture, organization and order, laws, calendar.
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Kun
Aymara - Andean people of Bolivia. Snow god
and main deity.
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Loha
Klamath beneficent goddess portrayed as a
beautiful woman.
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Loo-wit
Klikitat fire goddess. Personification of
Mt. St. Helens.
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Macaw
Woman
Mayan. See Jaguar Night.
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Macuilxochitl
Aztec. Five Flower. God of music and dance,
of games and feasting.
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Maho Peneta
Mandan. The great spirit.
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Mahucutah
Mayan. See Jaguar Night.
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Malinalxochi
Aztec sister of Huitzilopochtli, and a sorceress
with special powers over scorpions, snakes and other stinging, biting
insects of the desert.
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Malsum
Algonquin brother of Gluskap, but a destructive
force.
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Mam
Mayan earthquake god. The rain god.
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Mama Cocha
Inca mother sea. Wife of Viracocha, and goddess
of the rain and the wind. Goddess of fishing.
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Mama Quilla
Inca. Mother moon. Moon goddess. Goddess
and protectress of married women, the calendar., religious festivals.
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Manco Capac
Inca sun god. God of magick.
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Mani'to
Lenape. The Great Spirit. According to present
Unami usage: Gicelemu 'kaong, usually translated "great spirit",
but meaning literally, "creator".
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Manu
American Indian. The first man in some American
Indian myths.
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Masaya
Mayan goddess of volcanoes and divination.
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Master of Winds
Iroquois god of the winds, husband of Atahensic,
and father of Ioskeha and Tawiscara.
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Mayahuel
Mayan goddess discoverer of pulque (forerunner
of tequila), a fermented drink. Aztec goddess of the maguey plant.
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Menahka
Mandan sun god.
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Metztli
Aztec moon god.
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Mexitl (Mextli)
The principal god of the ancient Mexicans
to whom hundreds of human sacrifices were made annually. Sometimes
called Huitzilopochtli (Humming-bird of the South), he was the god
of war and storms and was born fully armed with weapons.
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Mictecacihuatl
Aztec. Mictlantecuhtli's wife who helped
govern the nine layers of the underworld and its nine rivers.
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Mictlan
Aztec. The lowest layer of the underworld.
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Mictlantecuhtli
Aztec lord of the realm of the dead. Also
spelled Mictlantecihuatl. Creator and ruler of the underworld (Mictlan),
she wore a skirt of snakes and had clawed feet for digging her way
beneath the earth.
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Mitnal
Mayan realm of the dead. It
is the ninth and lowest level of the underworld; a place of eternal
cold and darkness. This is where the souls of those who lived a
bad life are sent to. The ruler of Mitnal is the god Hunhau.
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Mixcoatl
Aztec star god. Cloud Serpent. God of the
hunt and war, and god of the polar star. God of the underworld,
and father, with Coatlicue, of four hundred children.
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Mulac
Mayan giant, one of the Bacabs. Mulac stands
in the north. His color is white.
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Nacon
Mayan god of war.
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Nagual
Aztec tutelary spirit.
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Nahual
Aztec protectors of mortals. They are created
from the same stuff as mortal, and each person has a nahual who
looks after him.
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Nakawé
Huichol earth goddess.
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Nanabojo
Chippewa. The Trickster god. Also called Winabojo.
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Nanabush
Algonquin. Also known as Manabozho, Wisaaka
and Glooscap. He is the central figure in myth and legend. His grandmother
is Nokomis, the earth.
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Nanahuatzin
Aztec god of courage and bravery.
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Nanautzin
Aztecgod of disease, who sacrificed himself
so that there would be a sun for the fifth world (our world).
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Nanih Waiya
Choctaw. The place where the people emerged
to this world; later used as a name for the creator.
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Nanook (Nanuq)
Eskimo bear god. The Pleiades
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Naum
Maya god who created mind and thought.
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Negafok
Eskimo cold weather spirit.
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Nesaru
Arikara. "The Power Above".
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Nishanu
American Indian great sky god of the Arikara
tribe (Plains Indians).
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Nohochacyum
Mayan god of creation.
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Ockabewis
Chippewa messenger of the gods and teacher
of mankind.
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Oklatabashih
Choctaw. The survivor of the Flood.
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Omacatl
Aztec. Two reeds. God of feasts and joy.
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Omecihuatl
Aztec creator goddess.
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Ometecuhtli
Aztec. Ometeoltloque. Ometecutli. Tloque
Nahuaque. Citlatonac. Two Lord. Creator god. God of fire and the
highest god of the Aztec pantheon. He is the lord (or androgynous
master) of duality and of the unity of the opposites.
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Onatha
Iroquois spirit of wheat; she is Eithinoha's
daughter.
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Opochtli
Aztec god of fishing, hunting, and bird snaring.
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Oshadagea
Iroquois. An eagle who attends Hino and lives
with him in the sky, along with Keneu, another eagle attendant.
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Pachacamac
Incan lord of the earth. Supreme god. Earth
god. God of the sun, arts, occupations, oracles.
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Pachamama
Inca earth mother.
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Pah
Pawnee moon goddess who marries the sun.
They are the creators of the first people.
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Paiowa
Yana. She and her daughter created the first
Paiute people.
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Pana
Inuit. She cares for the souls of the dead
in heaven while they wait to be reincarnated.
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Patecatl
Aztec god of healing and fertility. He is
also 'lord of the pulgue root'.
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Pautiwa
Hopi sun god.
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Paynal
Aztec messenger to Huitzilopochtli.
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Pinga
Inuit. She takes the souls of the dead to
heaven, and gives them to the care of Pana.
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Qaholom
Mayan god of the sky. One of the seven creators
of
creation
and humans.
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Qakma
Bella Coola. The first woman.
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Quetzalcoatl
"plumed serpent ".
Aztec. Feathered Snake. Morning Star. Great
Priest. Master of life. Creator God. Creator sky-god and wise legislator.
God of the wind (the wind-god Ehecatl is one of his forms), as well
as a water-god and fertility-god. God of the sea breeze, civilization,
the arts, metallurgy, fate. One legend says he was the god of creation,
who with Tezcatlipoca, pulled the earth goddess, Coatlicue, down
from the heavens, and in the form of great serpents, ripped her
into two pieces to form the earth and sky. Another that he was the
son of the sun god and of Coatlicue, one of the five goddesses of
the moon. He was the god of vegetation, earth and water. He was
also worshipped as Ehecatl, a god of the wind. Originally he was
a Toltec god.
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Quootis-hooi
Chinook. The creator goddess who created
people by eating thunderbird eggs.
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Ragno
Hopi. She is associated with the creation
of life.
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Rukko
Mandan. The creator goddess. She makes human
bodies and her male counterpart adds the souls.
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Sedna
Eskimo goddess of the sea. An earth mother
figure who had been a child of giants. When her ravenous hunger
led her to start eating her sleeping parents, they took her out
to sea and cut off her fingers, which became whales, walrus, seals
and fish. They then cast her into the depths of the ocean which
she then ruled. Called Arnarquagsaq in Greenland and Nerivik in
Alaska.
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Selu
Cherokee. The female First Ancestor.
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Shakuru
Pawnee sun god.
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Shilup Chito Osh
Choctaw. The Great Spirit.
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Shrimp House
Mayan. See Jaguar Night.
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Sio Humis
Hopi rain god.
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Supai
Inca god of the underworld and
death.
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Talocan
The home of the Aztec gods.
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Tarhuhyiawahku
Iroquois. The giant who holds up the heavens.
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Tawa
Pueblo. The sun kachina.
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Tawiscara
Iroquois. The evil twin brother of Ioskeha.
(Huron) Called Taweskare or Tawiskaro; The evil Creator Twin.
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Tecciztecatl
Aztec moon god.
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Teoyaomqui
Aztec god of dead warriors.
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Tepeu
Mayan creator god. God of the power in the sky.
He is one of the seven deities who assisted in creation.
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Tepeyollotl
Aztec lord of uncertainty. Earth and cave god.
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Teteoinnan
Aztec. Tozi. Mother of the gods. Personification
of the powers of nature. Goddess of healing and the sweat baths.
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Tezcatlipoca
Aztec supreme god. Mirror that smokes. The
Shadow. He who is at the shoulder. Smoking mirror. God of night and
all material things. God of the north. Lord of the world and the natural
forces. God of beauty and war, the lord of heroes and lovely girls.
God of warriors, magicians, sorcerer, drought, harvest, dancing, music,
magick, cold. God of war. He was represented in human form with a
stripe of black paint across his face and an obsidian mirror replacing
one of his feet. He was supposedly mutilated by the crocodile on which
the earth rests. He was also called Yoalli Ehecatl (night wind), Yaotl
(warrior), and Telpochtli (young man). As a creator god he ruled over
the first of the four worlds which were destroyed prior to the creation
of this one. In animal form he was a jaguar.
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Tieholtsodi
Navajo water monster.
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Tirawa atius
Pawnee supreme god.
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Tlacolotl
Mayan god of evil.
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Tlahuixcalpantecuhtli
Aztec. Tlahuizcalpantecutli. Lord of the Dawn.
God of the planet Venus as the morning star.
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Tlaloc
Aztec. Originally an Olmec god, worshipped
as a jaguar deity. The one who makes things sprout. Lord of the sources
of water. Lord of the water. Earth and nature god. God of agriculture,
fire, and the south, thunder, hail, fertility, water, clouds, lightning.
God of rain, springs, and mountains. He had control over fertility.
He was represented as a man painted black with huge, round eyes circled
by long-fanged snakes. He had two companions; Uixtocijuatl (goddess
of sea water) and Chalchiutlicue (goddess of fresh water).
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Tlaltecuhtli
Aztec earth monster god, called 'Lord of the
Earth'.
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Tlauixcalpantecuhtli
Mayan god of the dawn. Lord of the planet Venus.
Aztec Lord of the house of dawn. The morning star Venus.
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Tlazolteotl
Aztec goddess of filth. Dirt goddess. Lady
of Witches. Goddess of the cresent moon. Earth and mother goddess.
Goddess of sex. Goddess of physical love, fertility, death. Goddess
of lust and sexual guilt. Was also known as Tlaelquarni, "cleansing"
goddess and Tlacolteutl (she had four aspects; four sisters: Tiacapan,
Teicu, Tlaco and Xocutzin).
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Tohil
Mayan god of fire.
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Tonantzin
Aztec goddess of motherhood.
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Tonatiuh
Aztec. Pilzintecutli. Royal Lord. Ruler of
fate. Sun god. God of warriors who died in battle and women who died
in childbirth.
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To'nenile
Navajo rain god.
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True Jaguar
Mayan. See Jaguar Night.
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Tsentsa
Huron. The good Creator Twin.
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Tsichtinako
The female spirit of the Acoma Indian creation
myth.
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Tunkan Ingan
Dakota sex god.
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Tzakol
Mayan sky god.
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Tzitzimime
Aztec stellar god.
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Uchtsiti
The Acoma Indian creator of the world; Father
of the gods.
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Ueuecoyotl
Aztec god of sex and irresponsible gaiety.
His name means "Old, Old Coyote".
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Uitzilopochtli
Aztec god of the sun.
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Ukat
Yana goddess of good luck.
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Unk
Lakota goddess ancestor of all evil beings.
She also created fish.
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Urcaguary
Inca god of underground treasures.
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Viracocha/Huiracocha
Inca. The Creator. Foam of the lake. Great
god. God of the sun, storm, lightning, oracles, languages, moral codes,
rain, water, fertility.The supreme god. He created mankind, was disappointed
with their actions and destroyed them. He re-created them, but this
time created the sun and moon also so that they could live in the
light. He then created mountains, rivers, animals so that all could
have the means to exist.
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Voltan
Mayan god of the earth.
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Wah-Kah-Nee
Chinook. The Chinook people were once struck
with a terrible endless winter. They were completely ice-bound with
no relief in sight, and so the people began to fear for their survival
for they would soon have no food. A council was called, and the elders
recalled that endless winter resulted from the killing of a bird.
Each person was asked if he or she had been guilty of such a crime.
Everyone denied it. But the children pointed to a little girl who,
crying, confessed that she had struck a bird with a stone, and it
had died. The Chinook dressed the girl in the finest garments and
exposed her on a block of ice as an offering to the winter spirits.
Almost immediately a thaw ensued and summer came with a rush. Now
the people could gather food again. Nearly a year later, when the
winter returned, the Chinook saw a block of ice containing the girl's
body and fetched it to shore. Miraculously, the girl revived and afterward
lived among them as a sacred being, able to walk unprotected, even
barefoot, through the winter and to communicate with its spirits.
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Wakan-Tanka
Sioux. A collective union of the gods. Dakota
supreme deity.
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White Buffalo Woman
Oglala. This sacred woman brought secret knowledge
to the Oglala. It was said that she first appeared to two young men
as a white-clad lady whose clothing was lavishly embroidered with
porcupine quills in exquisite patterns. One of the young men was overtaken
by lust, but the second recognized that she was no earthly woman.
The first, although warned, could not contain himself; he rushed open-armed
toward the woman. She smiled, and a soft white cloud descended to
cover their embrace. When it passed, the woman stood alone with the
young man's skeleton at her feet. Smiling, she told the second man
that the dead man had been awarded just what he sought. She instructed
the man to return to his village and set his people to building a
huge sacred tent. Then she entered the village, and the people were
enraptured by her presence. Walking seven times around the central
fire, she spoke to them, giving them a bag containing a sacred pipe
and teaching them the ceremonies that went with these objects. She
reminded them of the mysteries of their mother, the earth. Urging
them always to honor her, she disappeared in the shape of a white
buffalo.
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Windigo
(Whitiko,Weendigo, Witigo, Wehtiko)
Ojibwa, Chippewa, Algonquin. A
race of giant cannibals who feed upon other human beings in the winter
when food is scarce.
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Winonah
Ojibwa. She was the daughter of
the great goddess Nokomis. Winonah was a virgin mother who was raped
four times by the same manitou or spirit. It happened that she was
in the forest picking berries one day, and overtaken with a need to
urinate, she forgot the warning that women should never face west
while making water. When the manitou saw her vagina, he took form
and had intercourse with her immediately. Through this spirit-union,
she not only acquired magical powers of fertility and longevity, but
also gave birth to four heroic sons.
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Wisagatcak
Cree. The Trickster god.
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Xaman
Ek
Mayan. Guide of the merchants.
God of the north star. Protector and guide of merchants and traders.
God of business, peace, plenty.
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Xibalba
Maya. Xibalbay. The realm of the
dead.
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Xilonen
Aztec. The hairy one. Maize goddess.
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Xipe Totec
Aztec god of springtime renewal
and nocturnal rain. God of flowers. God of vegetation. His ceremonies
were marked by human sacrifices. The victims were pierced with arrows
so that their blood flooded the ground like a fertilizing rain. Then
their hearts were torn out and, finally, they were flayed. People
who had certain skin diseases wore the skin of the tortured for 20
days in order to be cured. Perhaps because of the yellow skins worn
by the penitents, Xipe Totec was the god of goldsmiths.
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Xiuhcoatl
Aztec fire snake and the personification
of drought and scorched earth.
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Xiuhtecuhtli
Aztec. Also known as Otontecuhtli
or Huehueteotl. God of fire. Depicted as an old bearded man who carried
a brazier on his head in which burned incense. He was the god of the
hearth. As the god of fire he was also the god of the sun and of volcanoes.Xiuhtecuhtli
was associated with peppers, symbols of the life force. The pine,
from which torches are made, was his tree.
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Xiuhtecutli
Aztec. Xiuhtecuhtli. He is the
personification of light in the darkness, warmth in coldness, and
life in death. God of light and fire.
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Xmucane
Mayan goddess of childbirth. Wife
of Xpiyacoc and mother of One Hunahpu and Seven Hunahpu.
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Xochipili
Aztec. The brother and consort
of Xochiquetzal, associated with Xipe Totec and Cinteotl. God of flowers.
God of sport. God of dance. God of games. God of beauty. God of love.
God of youth.
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Xochiquetzal
Aztec goddess of weavers who was
also responsible for fertility, childbirth, flowers, singing and dancing.
She was (like the Roman Flora) a deity of sexual license as well.
Marigolds were her favorite flower, but she loved every plant and
every creature. Much loved by Aztec women, she was honored with little
pottery figurines that showed her with feathers in her hair; these
are still frequently unearthed in Mexico. In some legends, this goddess
was the only female survivor of the great flood that destroyed the
world preceding this one. With a man, she escaped the torrent in a
small boat. Faced with the prospect of repopulating the world, they
set to work as soon as the flood receded. But all of their children
were born mute. Finally a pigeon magically endowed them with language,
but every child received a different tongue so that each was unable
to communicate with the others.
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Xocotl
Aztec god of fire and of the stars.
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Xolotl
Aztec. The Animal. Lord of the
evening Star. Lord of the Underworld. God of lightning who guides
the dead to the Mictlan. Lord of the evening star and personification
of Venus. God of monsters, magicians, twins.
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Xpiyacoc
Mayan god of marriage, husband
to Xmucane and father of One Hunahpu and Seven Hunahpu, mighty warriors
who were experts in pokatok and never lost a game.
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Xpuch and Xtah
Mayan. According to legend, the
world's first prostitutes.
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Yacatecuhtli
Aztec. Yiacatecuhtli. Yiacatecuhtli.
God of traveling
merchants.
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Yaluk
Mayan chief of the lightning gods.
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Yebaad
Navajo female leader of the gods.
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Yeba Ka
Navajo male leader of the gods.
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Yeitso
Navajo child of the sun. A giant
in Navajo legend.
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Yemanja
(Imanje)
Brazil. She is the ocean goddess
of the crescent moon. Goddess of the sea. On New Year's Eve, at midnight,
those who love Yemanja go to a beach and light a candle in her name.
Then, little boats constructed of flowers are set adrift on the waves.
If they are taken out to the sea by Yemanja, a good year will come.
if they are refused and thrown back onto the sand, it will be a bad
year.
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Yemaya
(Imanje)
Caribbean goddess of the deep
sea.
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Yiacatecuhtli
Mexico. God of merchants.
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Yolkai Estsan
Navajo. The sister of the turquoise-sky
goddess Estsanatlehi, she was a Navaho moon goddess. Called "white
shell woman" because she was made from abalone, Yolkai Estsan
ruled the dawn and the ocean; she was also creator of fire and maize.
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Yum Kaax
Mayan forest lord. Lord of the
harvest fields. Lord of the woods. God of maize in particular and
of agriculture in general. Personifies perfect male beauty.
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Zaramama
Peru. This "grain mother"
was occasionally replicated in her own fields in the form of strangely
shaped ears of corn or ears that joined in multiple growths. Sometimes
these goddess images were dressed as human women in a robe and shawl
with a silver clasp; or they were created from precious metals or
stone. Sometimes, Zaramama came to earth in deformed cornstalks, which
were hung by her followers on willow trees; festive dances were held
around the willows, then the cornstalks were burned (assuring a plentiful
supply of corn) while the people drank fermented corn beer and ate
the meat of sacrificed llamas, whose blood was used to anoint their
faces.
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Zip
Mayan god of the hunt. Protector of the deer.
According to legend, the deer created the vagina of the moon goddess
by stepping on her abdomen. She was then able to bear the children
of the sun god. Zip would deceive hunters to believe he was shooting
a deer when in fact it was a iguana (a sacred animal of Itzam Na;
to kill one is to incite the death penalty.). To gain Zip's favor
through worship and sacrifice results in a good hunt.
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Zipaltonal
Nicaraguan goddess who made everything
on earth. She lived in the east, where souls of the chosen went after
death; souls of evildoers were confined to beneath her surface.
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Zotz
Maya. Zotzilaha. Bat God of caves.
Patron of the Zotzil Indians in Chiapas (Mexico) near the Pacific
Ocean.
