Shen Nung or Shen Nong was the Chinese god of agriculture. He invented the glow according to legend and taught men how to grow crops and also how to use herbs. He is usually depicted as having the head of an ox. This is only natural, as oxen were the main beasts of burden who pulled the plows that made cultivation of crops possible. Agriculture was very important in early societies, since it was the main way of feeding the family and at one time this Chinese god held a very important position in religious worship for the early Chinese. Universally, the development of industry and trade has tended to reduce the importance of the early agricultural dieties around the world, but to those still engaged in farming, the energy represented by this diety, as well as by OrishaOko is still greatly valued.
The Ox-Horse God is another diety that was venerated by the early Chinese. He was also the god of agriculture and was of course, represented by oxen and horses. This is natural, since they were the animals that made farming possible. This representation of the agriculture god does not correspond well with OrishaOKO of the Yorubas, since in the early periods of their agricultural development, there were no oxen or horses in West Africa. This made OrishaOko even more important to them, since tilling the soil and planting their crops required a great deal of manual labor and crop loss could be devastating at that time. Therefore, dependence on the agricultural deity was even more important since harvests were not easily earned.
Inari, the rice grower, is the god of foodstuffs in Japan. He is depicted as an old bearded riding a white fox. Sometimes Inari is seen as a woman with long hair riding a white fox also. Since rice is the staple food of Japan, the agriculture diety is closely tied with the rice harvest. Foxes are supposedly endowed with supernatural powers, which is why the diety is pictured riding a white fox. The dependence on supernatural powers was universal in early societies with regard to sucessfully raising food, as the modern aids of fertilizers and pesticides were not available and a failed harvest would mean starvation.
