The text on this page is used with permission from Oxford University Press from A Dictionary of World Mythology by Arthur Cotterell.

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Kadaklan - The greatest deity of Tinguian, a people living in the mountainous interior of Luzon. The thunder god Kadaklan lives in the sky with his faithful dog Kimat, lightning. Kimat will bite a house, a tree or a field whenever the divine master desires that a special ceremony be performed.

Kishimo-jin - The protectress of Children. She is the Japanese equivalent of Hariti, 'the snatcher', whom Buddha dissuaded from stealing and eating children. Moved by the doctrine of compassion, the demon goddess foreswore that she would cause no more destruction and became the tutelary deity for children. In shrines her image appears as a mother suckling an infant , while her symbol is a pomegranate (it stands for fertility).

Kuan Ti - The god of war in Confucian tradition. A popular figure in Chinese folklore, Kuanti was a leading general in a period of dissent known as San Kuo. Kuan Ti, unlike other gods, is one the prevents war not one that supports it.

Kumang - The mother goddess of the Ibans, the sea dayaks of Borneo. Kumang had a white back that was scorched by the setting sun. Kumang had charge of paradise, which was the home of Bujang, the first Iban. Kumang has appeared as a shy young warrior.

Kwan-Yin - The bestower of children and the all-compassionate mother goddess. The bodhisattva Avalokitesvara went through this metamorphosis in China, possibly through the influence of Tantric Buddhism.

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Lao-tzu - The mad man of Chu’u, the first of the irresponsible hermits according to Confucians. Lao-tzu was the founder of Taoism . There is little known about his life. Lao-tzu was a hidden wiseman, reluctant to found a school and gather a following.

Li T'ien - The first known use of fire-crackers against demons. The success of Li T'en is said to have led to the widespread use of fireworks.

Lieh-tzu - A semi-legendary sage, Lei-tzu provides a perfect example of the Taoist obscurity. He dwelt on a vegetable plot for forty years and no man knew him for what he was.

Lung - The dragon of Chinese folklore. Unlike the ferocious and evil creature in West Asian and medieval European mythology, the lung is essentially a benevolent divinity held in high regard. He is the rain bringer, the lord of the waters. The dragon was closely associated with the Chinese emperor.

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Mi-lo - The future Buddha, at present living as a bodhisattva in Tushita Heaven. In Indian mythology he played a minor role, but his role immediately expanded when he was introduced to China. Devotees prayed for rebirth in his paradise , but the pure land of Amithaba eclipsed his refuge during the seventh century. Mi-lo is referred to as the laughing Buddha.

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Okuninushi - Literally, 'the great land master'. Son - in - law of Susanowo, the Storm God of the Shinto tradition. He obtained the hand of Susanawo';s daughter through stealth, an attribute the father-in-law much admired.

Oni - Japanese demons. In Shinto, Oni's are associated with disease, calamity and misfortune. These spirits are basically human in appearance but possess three eyes, a wide mouth, horns and three sharp talons on both hands and feet. Oni can fly, often swooping down to seize the soul of a dying wicked man.

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P'an-ku - In Chinese mythology he is the primeval man, born of the cosmic egg. At the outset of the universe, 10,000 things were an egg. One day the egg split open and P'an-ku emerged.

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Radin - An eighteenth century leader of the Ibans.

Rati - Literally 'erotic desire'. The Balinese version of the HIndu goddess of maternity and fertility. In her portrayal as a heavily pregnant woman there is a surreal element. The teeming womb and the distended breasts are all juxtaposed with demonic voluptuousness, perhaps a sinister legacy from the island Polynesian past.

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Shaka-nyorai - In Japan the Buddha known as Sakyamuni, is the perfect embodiment of virtue. There are shrines dedicated to Shaka-nyorai in every monastery. The great festival of this Buddha is his birthday, April 8. Its popular name is Hanamatsuri, the festival of flowers.

Shen Nung - Typically Chinese was the legendary ruler Shen Nung, who taught the art of agriculture and discovered the medicinal properties of plants.

Shoten - The Japanese version of Ganesa who removes obstacles and vouchsafes wisdom. Incorporated into Buddhist mythology, the cult of this divinity flourished within various esoteric sects. Shoten was associated with Tantric practices, one of his images being the double-bodied union of male and female.

Sukuna-biko - The dwarf god of Japan. He is the son-in-law of Susanwo and King of Izumo.

Susanwo - Takehaya Susanwo is the storm god of Shinto. Susanwo planted the mountains with his own hair, which became trees. His tomb is thought to exist on the eastern coast Kii.

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T'ai Shan - Literally, 'grand mountain', the most revered of the five sacred mountains of China. T'ai Shan is the greatest terrestrial power. He controls the destiny and appoints birth and death.

Tengri - Literal meaning, 'god or heaven'. The sky god of the Mongols, their original creator deity. Tengri was regarded as the author of all things visible and invisible, the controller of destiny, the ruler of the world.

Tripitaka - The historical Hsuan-tsang, the great Chinese pilgrim. In 629 he started overland on the long journey to India. Legend has converted the pilgrimage of Tripitaka into the most popular cycle stories of Chinese folklore.

Tsao Chun - The Chinese kitchen god. Tsao Chun was a deity of remote antiquity and his temple is a small niche enclosed by a cooking stove, long regarded as the most important piece of furniture in the house. Tsao Chun is portrayed as a kindly gentleman surrounded by children.

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Ukulan-tojon - The water spirit of the Yakuts. In the Lena river valley, as throughout Siberia and Mongolia, it was believed that the world was ruled by spirits. Ukulan-tojon was a master spirit since had was in charge of other spirits.

Urashima - The fisher boy of Japanese folklore. He married a sea maiden and lived in a palace beneath the waves. Today the shrine of Urashima shines on the coast of Tango.

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Yakushi-nyorai - Literally, 'the master of remedies', one of the six meditation Buddhas. The Japanese worship of this savior is as the one who promised to cure all sickness and to obtain for mankind the remedies it needs.

Yen Wang - Yen Wang of China was imported as part of Buddhist mythology from India. His task was the enforcement of the law of retribution, but the idea that the wheel of birth operated automatically outmoded an infernal judgement, leaving 'king of the devils' as tormentor of the most abominable souls.

Yi - The William Tell of China. In remote times there were no less than ten suns in the sky that scorched the earth with excessive heat. A hero, Yi 'the excellent archer', shot down nine of the ten suns with a magic bow. The significance of this episode is obscure.

Yin-Yang - The two sustaining forces that sustain the Chinese cosmos. They are not seen as in conflict, but existing together in a precarious balance. Yin is negative, female, dark, earth while Yan is positive, male, white, heaven. If the balance is broken the fate of the universe would be thrown out of sync.

Yrin-ai-tojon - The word means white creator lord. Yrin-ai-trojon was the supreme being, whose tethering post was the pillar of the world, a gigantic tree. Another name for Yrin-ai-trojon was Ulgan who created the land on the water and placed under the earth disc three large fishes to support it, the movement of a fish was an earthquake.

Yu - Semi-legendary Chinese emperor, renowned as a hydraulic engineer. According to the Shu Ching, Yu asked to contain a deluge by Shun, a divine monarch. Yu was a paragon of virtue, the ancient standard of public duty. The Taoists, however, feared that his ways of hydraulic engineering were the inhibition of feudal relationships.

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