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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