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dBang po brgya byin Another name for sKyer rdzong snyanpo, the king of Heaven. Tibet Da The rainbow serpent, ”the symbol of flowing, sinuous movement” is of a dual nature, male and female. The Fon, Dahomey Daemons A race of invisible beings. Assigned by Zeus to every mortal to attend to, protect, and guide. They were nameless unless they attended a god or goddess. To be watchful of your life, cheerful, and honorable, is to respect your daemon. To be reckless and ignore your conscience is to go against the daemon. The daemon would die with its assigned mortal. The Greeks believed that great heroes and champions were possessed by daemons. Eventually this belief extended, and the Greeks believe that every hero died honorably was actually ascended to live with the gods. Greece Dag, Dagr Scandinavian god of the Day, son of Nott and Delling (r) (er). Dagda The all-wise chief god of the Irish, the beneficent All-father ”who arranges everything.” Leader of the Tuatha de Danaan. He was a god of the sky, of the atmosphere, as well as a god of the earth symbolizing “fecundity and virility,” and a god of death. An Omnicompentent deity—the leader in times of war and the ”lawgiver in times of peace.” He mates with his wife, the raven Morrigan, on New Years day. His mistress was Boann (Bonand), the river goddess. He was considered the father of Oengus, Brigit, Danu, and possibly Ogma. A formidable fighter, but a god of simple tastes who dresses in a brown tunic, hooded cape and leather boots. Dagda had a staff that could slew nine men with one end, but could bring back life with the other end. He possessed two swine, one of which was perpetually roasting, the other perpetually growing. His other symbols are the bottomless cauldron of plenty and a harp with which he controls the seasons. Ireland Dagubal A demiurge, son of Wolaro. Kimberley, Australia Daksa As an androgyne, Daksa divided himself into male and female, produced numerous daughters as wives for the gods. His daughter Rati was produced from his sweat. He is also the father of Sati, a wife of Siva. Daksha As one of the Prajapatis, he is a god of the creation. He is also one of the Adityas, is regarded as a god of skillfulness, of intelligence. He is the father of Uma and of the twenty-seven Naksatras who are the wives of Soma. India Daikoku God of wealth. His "lucky mallet" can bestow fortune with one stroke. Japan Dame A sky-fertility god of the Akan at Nkoranza. Ghana Dan The Mahi bisexual deity, rainbow serpent, who symbolizes continuity, the vital force. Dahomey Danu Hindu goddess of primordial waters. Danu Celtic goddess, the mother of The Dagda, god of the Tuatha de Danaan. Aspect of Morrigu. Considered to have been an early form of Anu, the Universal Mother. Patroness of wizards. Symbolizes rivers, water, wells, prosperity, magick, and wisdom. Ireland Dao The primordial mother, having first given birth to the first pairs, deities and humans—impregnated by the winds—“gave the earth being by her death.” Batu Islands, Indonesia Daramulun The supreme being and a primordial god whose voice is heard in the bull-roar and in the thunder. He is important in initiation rites and gives medicine men their powers. The Yuin, Southeastern Australia Darawintha The sun god who dies and is resurrected. India Darukavaitere Male stone being whose wife was Uarahiulu. They were the parents of the sun and moon as well as the other celestial beings. The Paressi, Brazil Dasan Among some of the northern Pomo he is the creator god rather than Kuksu. With his father, Makila, brought civilization to the Pomo. California Dasra One of the Asvins, gods of the dawn, son of Vivasvat (Vivaswat) and Sanjna (Samjna). India Dat Ba’dan An Arabian solar goddess. Dattas The Latvian sky and storm god. Near East Datu Patinggi Mata-ari The sun is invoked at the beginning of the rice-farming season. The Sea Dyaks, Borneo Dau The supreme being who is identified with the sky. The Beru Adikas, Ethiopia Daw-wa The ”sun-chief.” The Moquis, Arizona Dazhbog, Dazbog, Daybog Slavic god of the sun and the god of justice ”punished the wicked and rewarded the virtuous.” Son of Svarog. Russia and Poland. In Serbia he was the beneficent ”personified sun and sunshine.” Deban, Jar The sky was the primary god of the Agao. Ethiopia Debata Creator of the sun, the moon, and the stars. The Bataks, Sumatra, Indonesia Debata Hasi Asi The supreme being and creator god. The Batals of Silindung, Sumatra, Indonesia Debelmelek A name of Ktahandowit, the Great Spirit. The Penobscot, Maine Debwenu The remote creator god of all things, but who is not directly involved in or with human affairs—no altars or sacrifices. Father of Do. The Bwa, Mali Delling(r) Scandinavian god of the dawn, third and last husband of Nott and father of Dagr. Deivam The supreme being is also the creator. The Pulaya (Cochin), India Delquen Sagan Burkan ”World White God, is the highest existence in the Universe. He is also called Esege Malan. In him are three spirits: Baronye Tabin Tabung Tengeri, Zum Dishin Dirlun Tengeri, and Sagade Ugugun….From the first spirit came fifty-five Tengeris; from the second the forty-four Tengeris; the third has seven sons and seven daughters.” He is invoked ”for cattle, for grass, and for health.” The Mongol, Buirat, Siberia Demeter Earth goddess. All-nourishing mother of the earth. Her daughter, Persephone, was gathering flowers one day when Hades came out from the earth and abducted her to make her his bride. Demeter grieved and searched all the lands for her. Wherever she was warmly received, she would give people instruction in agriculture. Along her way she met the kind Keleos of Attica, and left him her snake-drawn carriage and the seed of barely so that he could spread the knowledge of agriculture around the lands. Demeter finally found out where Persephone had been taken. Though Zeus had given Hades permission to carry off the girl, and had instructed the other gods not to help, Demeter was able to convince them to come to her aid. They agreed, provided that Persephone had not eaten anything in her time in the underworld. However, Persephone had eaten 6 seeds of a pomegranate Hades had given her as proof of her love. They came to a compromise; Persephone would spend 6 months of the year with Demeter, during which time the earth would prosper and flourish in Demeter's joy. Persephone in the underworld with Hades would pass the other 6 months. While Persephone is with Hades, Demeter grieves her and the earth suffered extreme temperatures and poor harvests. This is a myth that explains the seasons. Demeter is the daughter of Chronos and Rhea. She is associated with agriculture, crops, and all produce, as well as abundance in childbirth and agriculture. Greece Dendid The omnipotent, all-seeing, and beneficent supreme being of the Dinkas. Upper Nile, Africa Deng African sky god. Associated with rain, birth, and fertility. Dercetius A solar god of the mountains. (Monte Castillo). Spain Derron A Thracian deity—“probably a sun-god with whom Apollo had been identified.” Deur A name of the supreme being or creator. The Koyas, Orissa, India Deus Coelestis A name of Baal Hamon. Libya Deva An androgynous supreme being, all-seeing, who is invoked in oaths. All celestial, atmospheric phenomena are representations of him, which he uses to punish misdeeds. The Ngadha, Flores Island, Indonesia Devaki Hindu mother goddess. She bore Krishna and Balarama. Devapurohita A Hindu astral god associated with the planet Jupiter. Devi The Hindu mother goddess. She can be portrayed as a mild and loving goddess, holding pleasure and pain in her right hand, and life and death in her left. She can also be portrayed as a frightening and vicious death goddess, with a sword in one of eight arms. Also the goddess of women and creativity. Also known as Mahadevi. Dewi An old Celtic god represented by a red serpent or dragon. Wales Dgagha With Bartsing the creators of ”the sun, moon and stars.” The Amia, Formosa Dhanistha Another malevolent Hindu goddess of misfortune. Dhanvantari Hindu physician of the gods, teacher of medicine to humans. He was originally a sun god. Dharam Deota The sun who is venerated but made no offerings. He emerged from the primordial muddy water and created male and female from the dirt on his body. They had a son whom the gods saw and caused to be killed, from whose body and blood the earth was formed. ”His head became the sun, his chest the moon.” The Bhuiya, Central Provinces, India Dharih A god of the extreme south seeming ”to denote the rising Sun.” Arabia Dharma Thakar A god ”identified with Vishnu and the Sun,” to whom offerings were made for the cure of leprosy. He was also a god of fertility and of prosperity. The Doms, Bengal Dharmer God of the sun and head of the pantheon who is worshipped at the beginning of the harvest and to avert misfortune. The Mal, the Male Paharias, India Dharmes(h) The supreme god and creator is identified with the sun. He is also called Biri Bela. He controls and punishes the gods and mankind, and is invoked to avert sickness or calamity. As the one who gave mankind seed and taught him its cultivation he is propitiated at the planting season. The Oraons, India Dharmo Deota The benevolent supreme being of many tribes of Orissa. India Dharti Mata Puranic Hindu mother goddess. Dhatara A Hindu sun god. Dhatr Creator of the universe. He is also a god of procreation invoked for offspring and for longevity. He is identified with Prajapati. India Dhisana A Hindu goddess of prosperity. Dhorom The creator god who is invoked in marriage ceremonies. The Santals, India Dhruva Hindu god of the pole star. Dhula Deo He and Budha Deo are supreme deities, beneficent as well as punitive. ”A warlike deity but he is reverenced as a household god.” The Gonds, India Diancecht Celtic god of healing and medicine. Once saved Ireland, married to Morrigan. In the first battle of Moy Tura, Nuada lost his hand. Diancecht fashioned a new one of silver and joined it to Nuada's arm. One day, Diancecht's son Miach took what remained of Nuada's original flesh hand, placed it next to Nuada's arm, and spoke an incant. After three days and nights the hand was rejoined to the arm seamlessly. Nuada rejoiced, but Diancecht was furious that his son was a better healer than he was. Diancecht struck Miach thrice on the head with his sword. Miach was able to heal each wound. Diancecht, more furious now, split Miach's head in two, killing him. From Miach's grave grew 365 herbs, each one with curative powers for one of the 365 nerves in the body. Miach's sister, Airmid, picked these herbs and arranged them according to their curative powers. Diancecht became so enraged that his son rivaled him even after death that he scattered the herbs about, hopelessly confusing them. If Diancecht hadn't done this, man would be immortal. Ireland Didigwari The sky god of the Ik (Icien) is also the remote creator god. Sudan, Kenya, and Uganda Dietyi The sun goddess. Southeastern Australia Dievas The god of the sky, of heavenly light, stimulates the growth of the crops, and with Laima, controls human destiny. Lithuania Dievs, Debestevs Baltic sky god and supreme deity. Dione Nature and earth goddess, daughter of Uranus and Gaia. Mother of Aphrodite. Associated with divination, predictions, love, and prophecy. Greece Dionysus A two-fold god—a man/woman. Archaically he was depicted with a beard, his virility unquestioned, yet he was always considered dressed in women’s clothing. Later Hellenistic art made him effeminate—“the most bisexual of the gods”—androgynous both in appearance and function as well as being the child of the androgynous Zeus, born from his thigh. Greece Dioslele The creator of all things who is ”omnipotent and omniscient, stern and unforgiving and personally directs the punishment of sinners and admits the souls to heaven.” His wife is Nana, or Olotililisop. This is another name of Papa. The San Blas Cuna Indians, Panama Dis Pater Celtic god, originally of death and the underworld, eventually the chief of gods. It is said that Dis Pater is the ancestor of all the Gauls. Diti Hindu earth and mother goddess, in Hinduism, an ancestor of demons and giants. Divata, Diwata A god of the Bagobos of Mindanao who created the sea, land, trees, the humans. Philippines Diwata-sa-langit The ”god of heaven…the most powerful and the almighty lord of all!” The Subanun of Zambanga, Philippines Diwya, Diwja A goddess at Pylos to whom offerings were made. ”She would appear to be a female counterpart to Zeus…perhaps a sky-goddess.” Mycenaean, Greece Djalai A sky goddess of the Kenta (Negritos), Malaya Djamar The supreme being and creator, the giver of the moral laws and of initiation rites. He was responsible for the first bull-roar. The Bad of the West Kimberley, Australia Djua Mulungu The sun god. The Mbugwe, Tanzania Doeadilah The supreme being. Timor-laut, Indonesia Doing-angung The benevolent and all-seeing supreme sky god. The Minyong Abors, Assam Doini The sun. Among the Bori, the daughter of Sitking-Kedding and Peddo-Dodum, and sister of Pollo. The Adi, Northeastern India Doini-Polo, Donyi-Polo The Sun-Moon duality. They hold a high place as the illuminators of the world and ”are looked upon as the custodians of law and truth…are invoked in the beginning of kebands on disputes to reveal the truth and expose the false.” The Adi. Among the Gallongs ”Oaths taken in the name of Doini-Polo—Sun-Moon—are the most sacred and binding.” Northeastern India Dokibatt The creator god of all things and of man. In Twana and Nisqually, Washington Dombe A god who, with the goddess Niwa, created the world and its creatures. The Tangsas (Khemsing tribe), Indo/Burmese Don Celtic Queen of the Heavens and Goddess of air and sea. Ruled over the land of the dead. Corresponds to the Celtic (Irish) goddess Danu. Symbolizes control of the elements, the moon. Wales Donyi The benevolent sun goddess and second most powerful deity. The Kadengs, the Dafla tribes. Assam and India Doris Sea goddess. Greece Dosojin A Shinto god, who protected the roads and travelers, was invoked to ensure an abundant harvest. Symbolized by the phallus. Agriculture, sex, fertility. Japan Doying-Angong, Doying-Bote An omniscient primeval high god of the very beginning. By some considered remote and unconcerned. Others credit him with good harvests and fortune, the guardian of morals. The Adi, Northeastern India Dra ”Dra is interpreted variously as the name of the Supreme Being, a mountain, or a plant called ‘tse’ with special curative properties. Dra is also believed to be a kind of avenging spirit which can point out a guilty person.” The Lendu, Congo/Sudan Druantia "Queen of the Druids". Celtic Fir Goddess and Mother of the tree calendar. Symbolizes protection, knowledge, creativity, passion, sex, fertility, growth, trees and forests. Duadleera-wulan, Duad-lerwuan, Duadlera The supreme god who dwells in the sun is also the creator and giver of fertility with the rain and the sunshine. He is the guardian of marriages, is consulted about the future, and invoked in oath taking and to heal illness. His wife is Duanluteh. The Kei Archipelago, Indonesia Duamutef God who protected the stomach of the deceased, one of the sons of Horus. Egypt Dua Nggae The omniscient, omnipresent, primeval supreme being who is duality; usually Dua is male and in the sky, and Nggae female and lives in the earth, but this is sometimes reversed. Flores Island, Indonesia Duata, Ruata The highest god in Siau. Indonesia Dudilaa, Upulera The sun god who is also the male principle and fertilizing agent. Timorlaut Islands, Indonesia Dula Deb, Pharsi Pen The supreme being of the Gonds. India Dumagwid The god who ”lives in the Skyworld where the sun rises.” The Ibaloy, Luzon, Philippines Dumuzi At Eridu the sun god of spring or of summer depending upon the area of worship climatically. He is the son of Ea and Dav-kina: consort of Ishtar. He is ”slain by the cruel hand of night and winter.” Festivals of lament and of joy are held celebrating his death and resurrection. Babylonia Durgavva A goddess who represents the female creative principle. The village of Sivapur, state of Karnataka, India Durga Hindu goddess who represents the power of the Supreme Being, which stands for morals and ethics. She protects mankind from misery by destroying evil forces such as jealousy, anger, and prejudice. The tiger, the conch, and weapons symbolize her. She is often shown with many weapons in her hands to represent how evil cannot be killed with just one weapon, but takes many. Also associated with sorcery, fertility, Leo magic, the moon, general magic. Dushara The principle god and sun god of the Nabataeans at Petra and Damascus. Also a god of fertility, and son of the virgin earth goddess Chaabou. Jordan and Syria Duur ing Angkasa, Duwring Akasa ”Lord in the Sky,” a deity of the firmament, is identified with Siwa. As a multiple term it indicates the ancestors as gods of the sky. Bali Dyabu lara The sun who fertilizes the earth, Dyabu fafa, with the rains of the western monsoon. The Aru Islands (Moluccas), Indonesia Dyad shin A Tibetan sky god. Dyammavva A goddess who is considered a manifestation of the cosmic female creative energy. She ”alleviates smallpox” and protects the fields. The village of Sivapur, state of Karnataka, India Dyau Pita Hindu sky and rain god. Originally the chief Hindu god, he eventually forfeited his position to his son Indra, the father of the gods. Also known as Dyaus. Dyaus The omniscient Vedic sky god, the sky personified, is with Prithivi the primeval parents of the gods, and is the origin of all things. India Dyâvâ-Prthivî, Dyavaprthivi The earliest androgyne in India—Sky (Dyaus)-Earth (Prthivi). The primeval parents. Their separation ”reflects the need to dispel chaos (here regarded as noncreative) and establish order.” India Dyiowa, Jua The beneficent sun god stores heat during the winter and distributes it to the people in the spring. The Evenks, Siberia Dysis The sunset, one of the Horae. Greece Dylan Celtic sea god and brother of Lleu. Son of the wave, god of the sea. His symbol is a silver fish. Wales Dyuok, Djuok The all-seeing supreme being is also a wind god. The Luo, Kenya and Uganda Dzakuta A sky god—”the ‘thrower of celestial stones.’ ” The Yoruba, Nigeria |