July 5, 2024 • 47 mins
All around the globe, goddesses have and continue to influential and inspirational. We showcase some examples from different regions.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey, this is Anny and Samantha. Welcome to Steffon Never
Told You production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
You know, it's been a minute since we've talked about
legendary female feminine beings. So we wanted to take a
look at goddesses around the world and celebrate the power
they bring. Okay, and as a preface, I feel like
we have to do these, especially when we try to
do international levels of things and we're talking about legendary people,
(00:41):
slash things that may have disappeared from history and are
now coming back, stuff like that. But with that, we
are bringing a short list of goddesses, even though this
is probably going to be a full hour, if not longer.
You know, there's a lot of information, but they're all
around the world, but from all around the world. As
I said, it's international, and we're categorizing them by regions.
(01:01):
Of course, that means we haven't even scratched the surface
of the amount of deities that exists. So if you
have one that you would love to talk about, or
you wish we had talked about, or we didn't give
enough detail about the ones that you love, please let
us know and we'll add that as another edition. We'll
do this as a listener, male favorite Goddesses, you know
(01:23):
we'll do that. Look, I've already titled it for you,
because you know, we love a series and I, like
I said, this is a pretty large outline, not the
largest that I've done, and obviously, as you know, we
love a series. I try to condence this to one,
but picking them out was difficult. Also when it comes
to doing international episodes, we try our best to be
(01:47):
accurate in our pronunciations, but sometimes and oftentimes not, Sometimes
we have a hard time getting those actual pronunciations.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Y'all.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
It took two hours alone just to find pronunciations, so
we tried our damnedest. I still have a Southern accent,
as you can tell. So with that Southern accent, we're
going to try our best. Some of these don't exist.
Some of the pronunciations do not exist, and as we've
talked about previously with guests on our show, especially when
it comes to indigenous first Native peoples, colonizers really try
(02:18):
to eradicate those languages, so for even them, they're having
to relearn.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
So just bear with us.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
And I do say that because in our North American Goddesses,
we're lacking we're lacking a lot of information. And when
it comes to ancient deities around the world, the history
is long and deep, and some of them are very
much still believed in and still practiced so as they
provide comfort and our backstory and sometimes just answers that
people are starting more beyond what they can see. So
(02:45):
when we're talking about this, we're talking about it historically
and as legends essentially, and we want to respect the
beliefs as well as take time to learn about them.
So if you have personal history personal beliefs in this,
please let us know. We would love to hear about it. Also,
I feel like I'm putting in a lot of caveats
as always, we recognize the heavy influences of colonization as
(03:08):
well as colonization is trying to eradicate some of these
beliefs a little missionaries blah blah blah blah, and how
that has affected the beautiful legends and traditions of different cultures.
And yes, as we said earlier, some of them are
coming back and I love this and some of them
being rediscovered, and through the many who keep these legends
alive through their storytelling, we are still able to learn
about them and are very thankful that people have been
(03:31):
able to preserve the richness of these legacies. One of
the resources that you will hear us talk about often
is mythlock dot com. So thank you mythlock because they
had a lot of information which I was able to
get more research through.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Them, So shout out to them.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Hey.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Oh, and as it goes when it comes to religion
or mysticism, there's a lot of overlap.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
So some of these.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
May sound familiar, they just have different names because different
regions call them something different. But we still want to
talk about them, So forgive us if we're being a
little bit repetitive.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
Yeah, so let's begin again.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Like we said, we were trying to keep it a
little more organized, so we're keeping it regionally and we're
going to start off with Asia. Yeah, the entire area
of Asia. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. No, right,
and getting those just snippets of those, because I didn't
even jump into like the bigger nomees. We're trying to
find lesser nones also, but that is a caveat. So
(04:25):
when it comes to religions and deities of the Asian region,
the history is rich and diverse or that we're talking
about Buddhism, Hinduism, Shinto, or even folk. The depth of
mysticism and tradition surrounding these religions have given a rich
history of legends to talk about. But for now, we're
going to talk about these four and I'm going to
talk about about Harmony, which she is known as the
Korean water Goddess, like the actual translation, it's like the
(04:46):
water grandmother, I think, who has the power of healing,
especially for the physical and spiritual eye literally called on
for any ailments having to do with the eyes.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
So I was like, oh, that's very very specific.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
According to legend, she is also the goddess of women,
healers and shamans, and controls visibility of the third eye
and can remove the veil from the third eye for
any priestess who requests to take it off. So you know,
if you're trying to find that power, apparently she's a
good one to go to. And then we have a
Pani Bolignian, the Sunbride. Filipino listeners are there, let me
(05:26):
know if I said, I'm pretty sure I butchered that,
so let me know. So this Filipino story has been
around for some time and talks about a beautiful, magical
woman who married the Sun.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
That's a theme like people who marry like.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Giant gods or deities or Sun the moon the Sun,
stuff like that. The tale was written down and compiled
with other stories in nineteen sixteen by anthropologists that Mabel
Cook Cole, who had traveled and listened to the many
lores from the Tingyan people of the Philippines. And a
quick summary from the story as told on storynore dot com.
(06:02):
Aponi Bolignan was taken into the sky by vine where
she discovered the home of the Sun. There she cooked
grice and fish for him, and which began their love story.
Soon she and the Sun return to the Earth, where
they would reside together with their people. Of course, the
story is much more laid out, so if you want
(06:22):
to go check it out at storynoor dot com, you should.
But it's very interesting because essentially she travels to him,
they get together, they have this misunderstanding. She melts because
he takes her to the Sun and then she comes
back as a puddle, but then she gets remade as
human on Earth. It's a pretty fascinating story. But because
of them, they.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
Live happily, yeah, ever after for the village.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
But then there's like a variation where she cheats on
him or she gets like or she gets cast out
by him and another character comes in. I'm not going there,
but just go check it out. I feel like all
these stories have so much more that you're like, what what.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Okay?
Speaker 2 (06:57):
And so this one is a Cambodian vietname goddess, and
y'all I could not find the actual pronunciation. I'm sorry.
If y'all know the correct one again, let me know.
Poeeno Nogar is a Cambodian Vietnamese polyandrous goddess known as
a Great One, and according to the blog title Journeying
to the Goddess, the agricultural goddess name means simply great
(07:20):
one in Cambodia, likely to do to the fact that
she brings fertility to the earth and its people. It
is her duty to protect the fills and harvest. Epics
sometimes symbolize Poeto Nogar as a gentle rain because local
myths claim that she was born in the clouds and
still controls the water's generative gift to the land and.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
To our souls.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
And again this is kind of a big theme as
well about being the goddess of water, the land and harvest,
So renewal is definitely a big thing theme that you're
going to hear throughout. I found that fascinated because of
so many tales about like water creatures that are created
by goddesses, or specific foods and specific crops for different peoples,
(08:03):
and it was all goddesses, So that's saying a lot.
It's both one of those like yes, the nurturer, but
the provider as well.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Yeah, I found fascinating.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
So we have Tara, the Star who leads across, and
she exists across Hinduism, Jadism and Tantric Buddhism and is
known as the Savior Goddess or Savior Us. She is
beloved and looked to for protection spiritually and physically. According
to some legends, just whispering her name can bring peace
and dispel any danger. She is the embodiment of perfect
(08:34):
wisdom and hears a bit more about her from Sacred
Wind dot com. Tara Dolma in Tibetan means she who saves,
she who leads across, or star. She's also called Holy Mother, Tarah, green,
Tera and white goddess Tara as a manifestation of the
Divine Mother. Tara symbolizes the white flames of purity. Many
see her as a component of enlightenment, helping to transcend,
(08:56):
to see truth, and to purify the heart, enabling a
person to speak from the heart in a kind, gentle
and loving way.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
And that brings us to Africa, which again is a
huge place. So this is just a sampling, and we're
going to start with Dia Africa, who is believed to
have been the creator of Africa, and that the different
tribes weren't African because they were from Africa, but that
they were African because they were born by Africa aka
(09:34):
Dia Africa. The legend states that the Supreme God sent
the goddess to watch over Africa. Here's a quote from
blog dot swallyafrica dot com. This popular goddess performed different
functions in different parts of Africa. In some parts, she
was a goddess of fertility and abundance, i e. She
is the one preyed to when the land is barren
(09:55):
or when a woman is unable to conceive. In Gerber
ifree or Ifru, Dia Africa is a goddess of war.
She was a god who listened to her people and
helped them whenever they were in need, which could also
lead us to the similar goddess Nana Baruku. According to
the same website, Nana Baruku is a female deity worshiped
(10:18):
in several West African traditional religions as the supreme being.
She is well known among the Faun people been in Dahome,
the a Khan people Ghana, and the Away people Togo,
and is popularly seen as the most influential deity in
West African theology. The goddess is the Mother's supreme Creator,
(10:39):
who gave birth to the Moon spirit, Sun spirit and
all of the universe itself, and soon after gave Ma Wulisa,
the secondary Creator, the responsibility for the world and all
of this is a part of modern voodoo. Here's a
bit from the collector dot com about voodoo quote. The
African elements of the religious prius are derived mainly from
(11:01):
the Dahome region of West Africa, modern Beanen and from
the Yaruba, Fawn and Away peoples of West Africa and
the Congo people from Central Africa. Many elements of African
spirituality continue to exist in modern voodoo in the practices
of transcendental drumming and dancing, worship of the ancestral dead,
and worship of the spirits called lobile and that brings
(11:25):
us to Oya. O Ya is considered one of the
most powerful goddesses. She is known as the weather goddess
or a river goddess who has the power to create
storms and much more. It is said she escorts souls
to the underworld and is associated with the afterlife. Many
say that she symbolizes the need to treasure life and
to live for the moment, and along with Oya, we
(11:48):
have Oshan. She is one of the most popular goddesses
and is a goddess of fertility, love and freedom. She
is also a river goddess and represents divine, feminine energy
and power. She is a part of the Yoruba religion
and many different myths exist around her. According to Britannica
dot Com quote, in most Yoruba's stories, Oshan is generally
(12:09):
depicted as the protector's savior or nurture of humanity. O'shan
has also been described as the maintainer of spiritual balance
or mother of sweet things. One myth highlights Oshan as
the central figure in the creation of human beings.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
And next we're going to jump into the Middle Eastern goddesses.
I do want to put a little asterisk here because
there's been a lot of controversy, especially with the Trinity
of Goddesses we're about to talk about, in which as
I was reading it, the prophet Mohammed did kind of
include them and then was like trying to cast them
and saying that they're evil, and then they try to
(12:47):
exclude them and try to erase them from existence. They were,
according to historians, pre Islamic goddesses, so they existed beforehand.
There's a lot of questions, of course, like people are
trying to bring them back, and if you're seeing like
extremist Muslim ideology, they do not want to bring this
back obviously, So there's this back and forth. I think
(13:08):
this happens with any and honestly all religious beliefs that's
not centered around the most dominating religion in that area,
because I would say that about Christianity here in the
US as well.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
So just put that as a capat.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
So we're going to talk about, as I said, the
Trinity of goddesses. While we were researching specifically for the
goddesses of Middle East. It was immediate that these three
goddesses held a lot of importance to Arabic mythology, so
of course we wanted to share all three of them.
They are Mono, the goddess of death and fate, Alat
the goddess of agriculture, of prosperity and springtime, and Alusa
(13:43):
the goddess of justice, honor, and passion. And in fact,
in twenty twenty one, archaeologists were able to discover some
of the artifacts that were evidence of the goddess's worship,
as they say, quote long before the rise of Islam.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
And this was in an article.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
During their discovery, they were able to discover remains of
the time end quote, grain structures dedicated to the goddesses,
specifically to the goddess al Usa. So there's this conversation
about what they were and who they were, and just
like at the amazing temple that was raised for her specifically,
and the fact that they were able to find it
about four years ago, three years ago intact, including the
(14:18):
sanctuary and the temple that was in so if y'all
want to go look it up, it's pretty cool.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
They have pictures.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
And then we have Ishara, also known as the Scorpion Goddess,
not to be confused with a scorpion king, y'all.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
Not to be confused. I know, we just did an episode.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
Of The Mummy, but you know, just saying she was
a goddess of creativity, passion, and even a sexual prowess.
She was the goddess of fire and of the scorpion,
and according to methluck dot com. In Syria, she was
worshiped in the form of a stinging and hot object
in order to improve one's passion or sexual prowess. In
other traditions, she was also known to judge people's affairs
(14:51):
fairly firmly. In addition to being a goddess, she was
also known to inflict severe punishments on oathbreakers. She was
regarded as a deity who acted as a healer, as
she was even referred to as a goddess of medicine.
She's just well rounded, y'all. And then we have Tiamat Or,
also known as the Primordial Goddess, and again according to mythlock,
(15:13):
she personifies the primordial see and is integral to the
universe's creation narrative. As a primordial goddess, Tiamat embodies the
untamed power of the ocean and the raw chaos of creation.
Feared and revered, she symbolizes both the source of life
and the destructive potential of nature. Of course, with all
her power and chaos, she also is the mother of
(15:35):
the first generation of gods and is able to create
monsters to start wars against them as well, and all
of this leads to the shaping and creation of the universe.
So essentially it is the creation story with monsters day.
I love it, So I guess it could be dinosaurs.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
I don't know, just kidding.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
And then we're going to jump into a North American goddesses,
so we are talking native or indigenous peace well, goddesses
that have existed throughout Again, as we said earlier, this
is one of those that colonization really tried to eradicate,
and those in the First Nations community have done an
(16:14):
amazing job in bringing back the storytelling because we know
that's existed for a long time. Again, with that, the
pronunciations I could not find for most of them, So
I'm so sorry if anybody is listening that knows these legends,
and you can send me a better pronunciation. A b
a better retelling, please do. We would love to hear it.
(16:36):
These are some of the most fascinating things. This is
why we're doing it. So we're jumping into Vashi, a
Choctaw nation goddess who, according to goddesschool dot com, is
the Chocktail People's moon mother goddess, appearing from nowhere and
without a mother or sister to trace her through matrilineal
lines as the people did. She came to the people
as a miracle and shared her wisdom teachings with them.
(16:59):
She became the first wife and offered the art of
marriage to the people. She is married to father son
and gave birth to the corn Goddess or the unknown woman,
who provided the chalked up people with the first corn seed,
which soon became a stable to them.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
She is seen riding through.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
The night with her beloved giant owl, and according to
the legend, she even brought song and danced to the nation.
Speaker 3 (17:22):
That was very cool.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
The pictures are really beautiful. And then we have oz
Pakashi or spider grandmother, which surprisingly is in a lot
of religions the spider woman or spider mother. I was like, huh, maybe,
and it's not like widow related, which I thought maybe
I was like, okay, cool. So the spider grandmother known
(17:43):
throughout different indigenous groups and has specific ties to those
nations of the American Southwest and is known there as
the Gogin Sawati and takes on the shape of an
old woman and even sometimes a spider. She is seen
as a leader and gives wisdom and good things to
the people. In some of the tales, it is said
that she is an assistant to the god Tawa, the
(18:03):
son God, and she is sent out to guide different
creatures throughout the world and throughout most of the legends,
she is a constant guide, helper, and protector of different creatures,
including humans. She aids others in order to help protect
the endangered and give wisdom and knowledge for many to
complete their journeys. You know what, I'm sorry to think
(18:23):
Charlotte's Web may be based on Native tales.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
Ooh, think about that.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
We should think about that, we should look into I
haven't read Charlotte's Web since it messed me up as
a kid.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
To be honest, it is horrified. Why did they write
these books?
Speaker 2 (18:38):
But all have to say, I wonder if there's a
link to that because Charlotte guides the pig.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
And for listeners who don't know, Charlotte is a spider. Oh,
I hope the title would tell you that, but you
never know.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
Man, are there people who don't know that book? If
that makes me super.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Sad, Samantha, I'm telling you right now, yes, wow.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
Okay, well I have to go back to that that
I'm going to be traumatized just by that. Sorry, Okay,
moving on next we have again don't have the pronunciation,
but I'm trying my best. Who is, by the way,
another spider mother, Nastayistan. She is sometimes known as the
mother of monsters, as well as being the spirit of
the underworld. And here's a bit from mythologists dot com.
(19:28):
According to the Hopee, at the beginning of time, Nasayistan
ruled the underworld residents of the gods, while Tawa ruled
in the sky. One day she molded animals with clay,
but they remained lifeless. Then Tawa spreadish soft white blanket
over them and they began to come to life. Then
she wanted to create humanity. She made beasts from the
clay and held them close to her heart while Tawah
(19:50):
sang a mysterious melody with her. Then she distributed the
animals and men on Earth and gave the humans very
specific roles. The women were to watch over the house
and the we're to take care of the offerings. I'm
not sure how old that one is, but it does
have a very similar linkage to Rossi Bukashi, so it
is obviously maybe that's from a different region. She has
(20:10):
little more hands in on creating the creatures instead of
just leading them, so I wonder. And then lastly we
have Sedna, an Inuit goddess known as the Mother of
the Sea or Mistress of the Sea. Her story is fantastic,
and of course, like any other legends, there are a
couple of variations to the story, and honestly, Wikipedia has
(20:33):
some great interpretations, so won't we wanted to include a
couple of them a quote. In one legend, Sedna is
a giant, the daughter of the creator god in Guta,
with a great hunger that causes her to.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
Attack her parents.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
Anger and Guta takes her out to sea and throws
her over the side of his kayak. As she clings
to the side, he chops off her fingers and she
sinks to the underworld, becoming the ruler of the monsters
of the deep. Her huge fingers become the seals wallruses,
and will hunted by the Inuit. In another version of
the legend, she is dissatisfied with men found for her
(21:06):
by her father and so marries a dog. Her father
is so angry at this time that he throws her
into the sea, and when she tries to climb back
into the boat, he cuts off her fingers. Her fingers
become the first seals, and she becomes a mighty sea goddess.
When she is angered, the shaman travels to wash and
comb her hair for her, after which she is placated
and releases the animals to the hunters. In other versions,
(21:28):
she's unable to comb her hair because she lacks fingers,
so a shaman must brush it for her. So many
of these stories while of her losing her arm, her limbs,
or body parts because arms are involved, which lead to
them being left in the sea or ingested by sea creatures.
That eventually allows her to gain control of the sea
creatures and become the Mother of the Sea. I find
(21:48):
a fascinating one. They really have to cut things off,
but okay, you do.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
A lot of these goddess stories are really intense, and
I enjoy it. Said that intense origins stories we're getting
and because.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
There's summarizing, it just goes straight to the point and
you're like, what what did you just say? Oh?
Speaker 1 (22:06):
Okay, yeah. I also like we talked about this, but
we talked about Lilith. I like, how many of them
are like the mother of monsters, but it's not necessarily
a bad thing, right.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Like she just is but apparently like she may be
mother of monsters, but she allows for the people to
hunt them, which I'm like, don't don't hut sALS, don't
do that, don't hunt seals.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
Gosh.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
Well, all right, that brings us to Central and South
American goddesses. And yes, a quick note here. As we said,
when doing this research, we noticed a lot of overlapping
in terms of Central and South America, which is not great.
But when we were trying to find these goddesses, and
with that, many of the names and legends also overlapped.
(22:51):
So we're going to put them here together. So let
us start with Azuli, Lady of Love or Beauty. Air
Zuo is depicted as the spirit of love beauty, a
and luxury. According to U Cities dot org a quote,
this Vudan goddess is worshiped by Haitians as matron of love, beauty, health,
(23:13):
and the moon. She is personified as a water snake.
Vudan was originally unique to Haiti, a combination of Catholicism
and Urubin cosmology developed by slaves as a tool of
survival and rebellion. And on the Wikipedia page, it says
that Herzuli is a family of loa that are often
(23:33):
associated with water, fluidity, femininity, and feminine bodies. They are
one of the only group of spirits directly tied to
these characteristics, and those who become possessed through spirit possession
often are women are masisi a feminine and or homosexual men.
Then there's Ishelle or Lady Rainbow as Shell is known
as a female jaguar goddess that is associated with the
(23:55):
Mayan moon goddess. Here's a quote from mythlock dot com quote.
The magnificent Goddess of Maya mythology wielded powerful divine abilities
that resonated across various aspects of life. Revered as the
matron of childbirth, guardian of midwifery and mother of crops.
Her influence spanned the realms of rain, fertility, and agriculture.
(24:16):
As the goddess of fertility, Eschell was believed to govern
the reproductive cycles of humans, animals, and plants, and it
continues quote. It is believed that Eschell was a part
of the god Izamna. She was regarded as the goddess
of the moon, water, childbirth, and weaving in the Maya
of the Peninsula of Mexico. She is also the mother
(24:37):
of all the Mayan deities and has rules about the
cycles of life and death. As the keeper of souls,
Eschell constantly changes from being a young beauty into a
wise old crone who shares her people's wisdom. And then
there's Mama Kilia or Mama Kilia, the moon goddess. She
is considered a defender of women as well as the
(24:58):
goddess of both marriage and ja. Here's some information from Wikipedia.
Mama Chilia was known as Mother Moon and was goddess
of the moon. According to Father Bernabay Cobo, writing in
the mid sixteenth century, the moon was worshiped because of
her quote admirable beauty and the quote benefit she bestows
upon the world. She was important for calculating the passage
(25:21):
of time and the calendar, because many rituals were based
upon the lunar calendar and adjusted to match the solar year.
She also oversaw marriage women's menstrul cycles and was deemed
the protector of women in general. And here's a bit
more information about her from mythlock quote. Mythical tales about
Mamma Chilia includes stories of her shedding tears of silver
(25:42):
and the belief that lunar eclipses occurred when she was
under attack by a celestial creature. And it goes on
to say the Incas had a deep fear of lunar eclipses,
convinced that during these events, a menacing animal, possibly a mountain,
lion or serpent, was assaulting Mama Chilia. Consequently, people sought
to ward off this creature by hurling weapons, making frantic gestures,
(26:05):
and creating loud noises. Their belief is rooted in the
notion that if the animals succeeded in its attack, it
would plunge the world into darkness.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
We don't need that. Get those animals away from her.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
That does I mean, it does seem a consistent fear
throughout history too, which I get. If you didn't know
what an eclipse was, it's just suddenly dark all the time.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
I would be very scared. I'm still a little nervous.
So when it comes back out, you were like, yeah,
he's excited. We protected. Yeah, that's good. We need to
do that a win. Oh, we need to win. Yes.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
And this brings us to Asho Mama Potato Mother, because
who doesn't love potatoes obviously hm. According to the collector
dot Com, Ashue Mama was responsible in helping the Inca
people cultivate potatoes, and this was huge because the Incas
were the first to domesticate potatoes and they helped essentially
develop over three thousand different varieties. Here are some quotes
(27:09):
from the site about Ashu Mama. Ashu Mama literally Potato Mother,
was a daughter of Pacha Mama and it was her
responsibility to help the Inca people cultivate potatoes. Potatoes became
a staple crop for the empire, so it was essential
to ensure they're continued good harvest by honoring the goddess responsible.
Unusually shaped potatoes were used as idols for worshiping Ashu
(27:32):
Mama and there's evidence potatoes were buried with the dead.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
Like that is unusually shaped potato. So why that is?
I wonder when you're like, yeah, I got one, we
got one for her.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
I mean that's again, that's nice. Yeah, like that instead
of throwing away a quote unusually shaped potatoes, I would
eat them. Yeah. Now, let's talk about siawa Quattle, or
(28:03):
the serpent woman, who is a goddess of fertility and motherhood.
She was associated with midwives, and specifically the sweat lodges
that the midwives would practice. In a little bit from
Wikipedia quote, she helped her people create the current race
of humanity by grinding up bones from the previous ages
and mixing it with his blood. She is also the
(28:24):
mother of Meeks Quatto, whom she abandoned at a crossroads.
Tradition says that she often returns there to weep for
her lost son, only to find a sacrificial knife. And
here's some more information from mythlock dot com. Siwacadal, a
prominent deity in Mesoamerican mythology, occupies a significant position within
(28:46):
the cultural narratives of both the Aztecs and the Mayans.
Revered for her connections to fertility and motherhood. She played
a crucial role in guiding and safeguarding these ancient civilizations.
As a key goddess in the Aztec pantheon, Sea Aquadal
held a pivotal role in shaping the religious and cultural
beliefs of the Mesoamerican societies of antiquity, and they continue.
(29:09):
Sea Aquatdal's powers mirrored the diversity of her manifestations. Her
abilities encompassed the granting and taking of life, bestowing fertility
upon women and guiding the spirits of those who passed
away during childbirth. With command over storms and mastery over
natural forces, she embodied the formidable influence that women wielded
in the act of creation. According to legends, she possessed
(29:33):
shape shifting prowess, seamlessly transforming into serpents or owls to
vigilantly watch over her progeny and shield them from harm.
As a potent deity, Sea Aquadal held a particular association
with motherhood and fertility. Her influence extended significantly to midwives,
finding a special connection with the sweat baths where these
(29:54):
practitioners honed their skills. Notably, she collaborated with Kate Sicatle
in the creation of the current human race, grinding bones
from previous ages and blending them with his blood. This
act underscored her pivol role in the genesis of humanity.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
All right, So again, there's so many goddesses, specifically too
Central and South America. So if y'all have any additional
because you know, it is so rich with so much history,
and I'm glad it still exists for the main part,
even with colonization that happens.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
So if you have information, give it to us. If
you have more.
Speaker 2 (30:29):
Apparently this has something to do with a game as well,
or a game has included her as well, as ay
just told me that she wouldn't include that fact.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
I like how I was like, I shall not, And
I'm like, do you merch the talk about goddesses by
talking about my video games?
Speaker 3 (30:43):
And you're like, actually, I want to do.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
It because you know it's good to know. They're like
these are familiar. Oh, without any understanding. I'm sure you did,
but a lot of people don't know that this is
fairly historical and what it really relates to. So we
love that they are a part of it. But here
you go, mystraated with it.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
Yeah, I mean it is really interesting to think about
in terms of our current pop culture, how how prevalence
a lot of these ideas are, even though a lot
of people don't know where they come from. But it's
a lot of these I do recognize, for better or worse,
from video games and from like current things like American
(31:23):
gods right by Neo game, and so it's like it
resonates with people.
Speaker 3 (31:28):
Right.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
Actually, there's several that was from like a lot of
MCU Marvel that comes to the north, obviously the Norse gods,
and I was like, we're not including these people.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
Yes, there are some like Greek gods and Roman guys
that people just know and we don't need to well,
we don't need we don't need that wor Yes, yes
they are super cool and you know, yes I went
through a phase we're so into them, but yeah, we
were trying to not do these.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
Yes, although you're probably be like, there's gonna be things
that I'm like, I didn't know that was a part
of it, and you're like, yeah, obviously it's a part
of this game.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
So if I picked those out, my bad.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
Also, if you all want to talk about him, go ahead,
all right, So we're gonna jump into Pacific goddesses.
Speaker 3 (32:12):
So once again.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
Pronunciations, I am so sorry, Oh please, don't get made me.
Uh So, We're gonna start with Heway Coleco Hallway Coleco,
the Tongan goddess of the world. According to our research,
this goddess has had a resurgence as of late. In fact,
after the discovery of the ancient goddess, there are some
who tried to write Heway Coleku as a male figure,
but they were able to discover several figurines that proved
(32:37):
her to be a female goddess.
Speaker 3 (32:39):
I love it. Even when they try, the truth is
gonna come out.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
Uh So. Here's a quote from pacificpn dot com. When
the missionaries arrived in Tonga, they came across statues and
figurines of Heyway Coleco, bare breasted and naked. The worship
of Hiway Coleco was promptly made illegal. Her fail out
Wutua temples burned in all or so they thought statues
and figurines depicting her destroyed. That a god, and the
(33:04):
most powerful god at that be a goddess, and even worse,
be depicted bare breasted was not something that the church
was going to accommodate. As time went by, they continue
to try to wipe out the collective memory of Huaykoleko
or to change it, including efforts to rewrite her as
a male figure. Luckily, however, six original figurines managed to
avoid destruction and helped set the record straight and again
(33:27):
some more information from the collector dot com. Huwaiko Alek
recently has become an important goddess for Tonga, as she
represents not just the significance of their cultural past, but
also a means to secure their future. There is a
take back of culture in the form of decolonization in
Tonga and all around the world. Traditionally, Tongan's crafted wooden
figures of Huwaiko Leko to bring the goddess into the
(33:49):
physical realm for various reasons. As a result, she appears
tough and powerful, ready to aid those in the realm
outside of it, particularly those in the founding chief line
of Towai Tongu, who is her earthly representation. Okay, so,
of course we didn't really get into what she was
representing because there's so much excitement about the fact that
they were able to discover her and really take her
(34:10):
on as one of their goddesses and figures, and the
fact that they not only try to eradicate her, then
they try to rewrite her, and then they had got
to be able to see her as she is. So
there's a lot of excitement with this conversation and I'm
really excited to hear with the legends that come in
the stories that will come with it, So keep us
up to date.
Speaker 3 (34:26):
They'll know about that.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
Then we have Papa Tuanuku, the Maori goddess of the Earth.
So this goddess is also referred to as Papa and
is seen as mother of all. And here's a bit
of information from the collector dot com. We arrive on
the mainland north Island of Auta and a regal goddess
stands on the headland looking down at us in greeting.
She is Papa, the goddess of the Earth, the land
(34:48):
that gave birth to all things, and looks over these
children of trees, birds, animals and people. She's often sleeping
with her back set up towards the sky, but she
is here as a spirit to welcome us. Being the
mother of all, she has many children who have kept
her occupied, but she has been eternally sad since giving birth.
Her first children split her up from her partner Rongi,
the god of the sky. The children might have brought
(35:10):
light to the world, but they made their parents sad,
creating the rivers and oceans as a reminder of their
shared tears. Yeah, there's a lot of legends about her
waiting and mourning her husband. And I was like, oh, well,
that's kind of sad.
Speaker 1 (35:24):
Well they all yeah, I love the children. They bought
the light to the world, but they bummed out their parents.
Speaker 3 (35:32):
I'm sure a lot of parents was like you, I
feel that you're welcome.
Speaker 2 (35:39):
And then we come to Laca. Laca is the goddess
that is honored with hula, and she is associated with
light and love. Here's a quote from Historycooperative dot org. Laka,
the goddess of dance, beauty, love, and fertility, is associated
with all things of light. She is also the goddess
of the forest and would enrich the plants with her light.
Her name is often translated to mean gentle and again
(36:01):
some more information from mythlock dot com. Laka, a central
figure in Hawaiian mythology, holds a significant place in the
cultural fabric, particularly in the realm of Hula, the revered
traditional dance. According to ancient Hawaiian folklore, she emerges as
the daughter of Coppo, another prominent deity intricately tied to
Hula's origins. Lacha's influence extends beyond dance. She's also revered
(36:26):
as the goddess of the forest, embodying reproductive energy vital
for the flourishing of lush greenery. And yes, she again
is an inspiration for hula dancers. And here's a bit
more information from the same myth Lux site. Laca's essence
resonates with the very spirit of Hula, encapsulating its grace
and loure. Her name meaning gentle and to attract epitomizes
(36:47):
the qualities inherited in this art form, and it goes on.
Laca's enduring significance in Hawaiian culture, particularly within the realm
of Hula, underscores her profound influence beyond mere deity status.
Practitioners hold a deep devotion to Laka, seeking her blessings
and guidance as they navigate the intricacies of this revered
dance form. Her presence infuses the Hula tradition with spiritual depth,
(37:10):
emphasizing reverence for the natural world and embodying the essence
of Hawaiians spirituality. Despite periods of colonial suppression, the practice
of hula has experienced and resurgence, driven by a renewed
appreciation for indigenous traditions and a yearning to reconnect with
the land. Laca's legacy lives on through the dedication of
dancers and artists committed to honoring her through their craft,
(37:30):
preserving sacred rituals and teachings passed down through generations. And
I'm not really sure if I would say it has
gotten a resurgence, because I feel like when it comes
to hula and when it comes to Hawaii and the
Native people of Hawaii, it has always been sacred and
it has always been a telling and I think they
are very excited to share it. That's the one thing.
(37:51):
I feel like they are all about spreading that joy.
And I say this as just like from the outsider,
not knowing much about it, but just watching knowing that
this is a sacred ritual and they are glad to
share it with other people, like that is something that
they think is joyful and beautiful and worthy of sharing,
which is really kind because so many people try to
ruin it, as we know when it comes to colonization.
Speaker 3 (38:13):
So I think that's a little off because yes.
Speaker 2 (38:16):
The colonial suppression, yes, but the fact that it's resurgence,
I think it's always existed. Like as I was looking
at the YouTube videos and the different women who were
practicing hula and talking about hula, you could tell the
deep respect they have for the practice and for Laca.
Did I know that the goddess was Laca? No?
Speaker 3 (38:32):
But did I know this was sacred ritual? Yes?
Speaker 2 (38:34):
So I feel like we have to absolutely give props
to that that it's not a resurgence.
Speaker 3 (38:40):
It's always existed. It's just that we're taking notice.
Speaker 1 (38:43):
Right right, And this brings us to European goddesses again,
we're looking at lesser known ones, starting with Makash, also
known as mother Goddess, a lady of waters or goddess
of moisture. She is known as a protector of quote,
women's work and women's destiny. Here's more information from ThoughtCo
(39:04):
dot com.
Speaker 3 (39:06):
Quote.
Speaker 1 (39:06):
In Slavic mythology, Makash, sometimes transliterated as Makash meaning Friday,
is moist mother Earth and thus the most important or
sometimes only goddess in their religion. As a creator, she
is said to have been discovered sleeping in a cave
by a flowering spring by the spring god je Rillo,
(39:27):
with whom she created the fruits of the earth. She
is also the protector of spinning, tending, sheep and wool,
patron of merchants and fishermen, who protects cattle from plagues
and people from drought, disease, drowning, and unclean spirits. And
here's additional information from feminismand Religion dot com. Makash brings
(39:48):
the water of life and protects the life giving waters
on which human and animal existence depend. And this way,
Makash gives life to plants and animals and is often
portrayed with them. She is an important Slavic mother goddess,
embodying fertility, femininity, prosperity, protection, health, good luck, abundance, and
(40:08):
a successful future. Macash is also a warrior goddess in
her fierce aspect as a goddess of protection. One of
her epithets is quote she who strikes with her wings.
The fact that she is a winged goddess indicates her
power and that which she grants to her priestesses. And
devotees to travel between the world's in trance, dream and
(40:31):
vision for blessing and for healing on behalf of the
community and all who are in need. Makash is also
connected to butterflies symbols of transformation and bees symbols of priestesses.
Speaker 3 (40:43):
In antiquity, bees getting as getting as do look at
bet I do love bees. That is the truth.
Speaker 1 (40:53):
This brings us to Haltia, Lady of the Home. Haltia
is the goddess of the home. She is a Baltic
Finn's goddess who protects home. Here's some information from botanica
dot com quote. In Finland, the Haltia was usually the
spirit of the first person to lay claim to a site,
either by lighting a fire on it or by building
(41:15):
a house on it, or in some cases, the first
person to die there. The Haltio is believed to resemble
such a person in every way, including sex, age, dress,
and mannerisms. The dominant idea was that a person once
lane claim to a piece of land would always remain
in charge of it, and apparently with this she us
a cautionary tale for those who want to move to
(41:37):
a new home.
Speaker 2 (41:38):
Yeah, so there's a lot to this, Like there's not
much in conversation of like, this is a cool thing,
but I'm like, man, that's a lot of like underlying
thought process on this.
Speaker 3 (41:50):
Hm.
Speaker 1 (41:52):
Yes, yes, there is. As someone who's going through a
lot of changes and moves in my life, right though,
I got a lot to think about. This springs us
to Beg, who comes from Irish mythology and is known
as the Mistress of the Well. Here's a bit of
information from Goddesses and Goods blogspot dot com. Beg is
(42:15):
the Irish goddess of the Well of Wisdom. She is
one of the Tua de danyin the people of the
goddess Danum. She and her three daughters guarded a magical well,
and anyone who drank from the well would gain in wisdom.
When the hero Finn Mikula came and asked for a drink,
Beg's daughters threw water at him, hoping to frighten him away,
(42:38):
but some of the water fell in his mouth, granting
him the wisdom he had sought. When Finn died, he
was buried in a fairy hill called Sea Beg, which
means small fairy hill. And finally, this springs us to Brigid,
the goddess of poetry, healing, and smithing. According to lor
Brigid was known as a triple goddess. Year's a bit
(43:00):
from Celtic native dot com. Brigid, also known as Brigitte
or Brigid, was one of the most important goddesses in
Celtic mythology. She was a triple goddess, representing the three
aspects of fire, poetry, healing and smithcraft. Brigid was associated
with the arrival of spring and the return of light
after the dark winter months and some more from herstory
(43:23):
dot ie quote Brigid is a triple goddess, the goddess
of healing symbolized by the element of water, goddess of
the alchemical force of fire, and goddess of poetry. In
this respect she represents every woman and our unique talents,
skills and qualities. And it continues Brigid and bodies mastery
represented in the perfect balance of fire and water, symbols
(43:44):
of the masculine and feminine.
Speaker 2 (43:47):
Right. I believe they said that it also like similar
to yin and yang, So it's very like that balance
in conversation, and that is who she is. And y'all
all of these are really really fascinating, especially when you
look at the pictures and artwork in statues, because there's
a lot of historical context for them and beautiful artwork
with people who truly, truly love what these represent. Again,
(44:09):
we didn't go into like the depth of each region
because when it comes to all the historical facts, there
were small communities throughout, so you have so many layers
upon layers and influences upon influences and originations upon originations
that we didn't really get into. If you have something
that you want to specifically talk about, you would request
that we because this is fascinating.
Speaker 3 (44:30):
This is probably one of my favorite things.
Speaker 2 (44:32):
One of our favorite things to look into is like
the historical legends that center around feminine power. We would
love for you to, you know, let us know what
you think, what you think would be the next steps
for this conversation. The depth of these, the bigger pictures
maybe or the smaller pictures, well, who knows. Because there's
also this thought. As I was thinking about all of
(44:54):
these different goddesses and what they represent and how they
often are linked to like births and rebirth and creation
and power and wisdom. Wisdom was all throughout, I'm like, yeah,
I feel like that's what we've been.
Speaker 3 (45:06):
Talking about for years.
Speaker 2 (45:07):
And then like the trivial misogyny that comes in with
like women are too emotional, and like but are they?
Speaker 3 (45:13):
But are they?
Speaker 2 (45:14):
So with all of that, there's so much fascinations in
different areas. And then again as we were researching, as
we see them as partnered with a bigger god, obviously
the masculine god, and I think that's interesting as well.
So finding these lone standing goddesses, we're a little harder
than I expected to be honest, if you have ideas
(45:38):
based on this episode, please let us know again. If
you have someone that you're like, you know you should
have talked about this person, please send us that information
because we want more information. I thought this was gonna
be a longer episode because like so many things that
I had to write into, I think it became a
longer episode because of the pronunciations.
Speaker 3 (45:55):
Christina is the best. We love you. She's probably taking
it down to half of what it was.
Speaker 1 (45:59):
Yeah, yes, well yeah, if you have any ideas about this,
if there's somebody in here you have more information about,
or like us to focus on more. If you have
someone else if you have like resources. I know people
have suggested books about certain goddesses before in the past,
so if you have any of that, we would love
to hear from you. You can contact us. You can
(46:21):
email us at Stuff Media, mom Stuff at iHeartMedia dot com.
You can find us on Twitter at mom Stuff podcast,
or on Instagram and TikTok at stuff I Never Told You.
We're also on YouTube and we're on Tea Public where
there's some merchandise, and we have a book you can
get ready to get your books or audio books. Thanks
as always too, our super producer Ristina, our executive producer,
and our contributor Joey. Thank you and thanks to you
(46:43):
for listening. Stuff I Never Told You is production of iHeartRadio.
For more podcasts from my heart Radio, you can check
out the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or revul listen to
your favorite shows.
Speaker 3 (47:00):
H
Hey, this is Anny and Samantha. Welcome to Steffon Never
Told You production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
You know, it's been a minute since we've talked about
legendary female feminine beings. So we wanted to take a
look at goddesses around the world and celebrate the power
they bring. Okay, and as a preface, I feel like
we have to do these, especially when we try to
do international levels of things and we're talking about legendary people,
(00:41):
slash things that may have disappeared from history and are
now coming back, stuff like that. But with that, we
are bringing a short list of goddesses, even though this
is probably going to be a full hour, if not longer.
You know, there's a lot of information, but they're all
around the world, but from all around the world. As
I said, it's international, and we're categorizing them by regions.
(01:01):
Of course, that means we haven't even scratched the surface
of the amount of deities that exists. So if you
have one that you would love to talk about, or
you wish we had talked about, or we didn't give
enough detail about the ones that you love, please let
us know and we'll add that as another edition. We'll
do this as a listener, male favorite Goddesses, you know
(01:23):
we'll do that. Look, I've already titled it for you,
because you know, we love a series and I, like
I said, this is a pretty large outline, not the
largest that I've done, and obviously, as you know, we
love a series. I try to condence this to one,
but picking them out was difficult. Also when it comes
to doing international episodes, we try our best to be
(01:47):
accurate in our pronunciations, but sometimes and oftentimes not, Sometimes
we have a hard time getting those actual pronunciations.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Y'all.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
It took two hours alone just to find pronunciations, so
we tried our damnedest. I still have a Southern accent,
as you can tell. So with that Southern accent, we're
going to try our best. Some of these don't exist.
Some of the pronunciations do not exist, and as we've
talked about previously with guests on our show, especially when
it comes to indigenous first Native peoples, colonizers really try
(02:18):
to eradicate those languages, so for even them, they're having
to relearn.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
So just bear with us.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
And I do say that because in our North American Goddesses,
we're lacking we're lacking a lot of information. And when
it comes to ancient deities around the world, the history
is long and deep, and some of them are very
much still believed in and still practiced so as they
provide comfort and our backstory and sometimes just answers that
people are starting more beyond what they can see. So
(02:45):
when we're talking about this, we're talking about it historically
and as legends essentially, and we want to respect the
beliefs as well as take time to learn about them.
So if you have personal history personal beliefs in this,
please let us know. We would love to hear about it. Also,
I feel like I'm putting in a lot of caveats
as always, we recognize the heavy influences of colonization as
(03:08):
well as colonization is trying to eradicate some of these
beliefs a little missionaries blah blah blah blah, and how
that has affected the beautiful legends and traditions of different cultures.
And yes, as we said earlier, some of them are
coming back and I love this and some of them
being rediscovered, and through the many who keep these legends
alive through their storytelling, we are still able to learn
about them and are very thankful that people have been
(03:31):
able to preserve the richness of these legacies. One of
the resources that you will hear us talk about often
is mythlock dot com. So thank you mythlock because they
had a lot of information which I was able to
get more research through.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Them, So shout out to them.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Hey.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Oh, and as it goes when it comes to religion
or mysticism, there's a lot of overlap.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
So some of these.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
May sound familiar, they just have different names because different
regions call them something different. But we still want to
talk about them, So forgive us if we're being a
little bit repetitive.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
Yeah, so let's begin again.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Like we said, we were trying to keep it a
little more organized, so we're keeping it regionally and we're
going to start off with Asia. Yeah, the entire area
of Asia. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. No, right,
and getting those just snippets of those, because I didn't
even jump into like the bigger nomees. We're trying to
find lesser nones also, but that is a caveat. So
(04:25):
when it comes to religions and deities of the Asian region,
the history is rich and diverse or that we're talking
about Buddhism, Hinduism, Shinto, or even folk. The depth of
mysticism and tradition surrounding these religions have given a rich
history of legends to talk about. But for now, we're
going to talk about these four and I'm going to
talk about about Harmony, which she is known as the
Korean water Goddess, like the actual translation, it's like the
(04:46):
water grandmother, I think, who has the power of healing,
especially for the physical and spiritual eye literally called on
for any ailments having to do with the eyes.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
So I was like, oh, that's very very specific.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
According to legend, she is also the goddess of women,
healers and shamans, and controls visibility of the third eye
and can remove the veil from the third eye for
any priestess who requests to take it off. So you know,
if you're trying to find that power, apparently she's a
good one to go to. And then we have a
Pani Bolignian, the Sunbride. Filipino listeners are there, let me
(05:26):
know if I said, I'm pretty sure I butchered that,
so let me know. So this Filipino story has been
around for some time and talks about a beautiful, magical
woman who married the Sun.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
That's a theme like people who marry like.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Giant gods or deities or Sun the moon the Sun,
stuff like that. The tale was written down and compiled
with other stories in nineteen sixteen by anthropologists that Mabel
Cook Cole, who had traveled and listened to the many
lores from the Tingyan people of the Philippines. And a
quick summary from the story as told on storynore dot com.
(06:02):
Aponi Bolignan was taken into the sky by vine where
she discovered the home of the Sun. There she cooked
grice and fish for him, and which began their love story.
Soon she and the Sun return to the Earth, where
they would reside together with their people. Of course, the
story is much more laid out, so if you want
(06:22):
to go check it out at storynoor dot com, you should.
But it's very interesting because essentially she travels to him,
they get together, they have this misunderstanding. She melts because
he takes her to the Sun and then she comes
back as a puddle, but then she gets remade as
human on Earth. It's a pretty fascinating story. But because
of them, they.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
Live happily, yeah, ever after for the village.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
But then there's like a variation where she cheats on
him or she gets like or she gets cast out
by him and another character comes in. I'm not going there,
but just go check it out. I feel like all
these stories have so much more that you're like, what what.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Okay?
Speaker 2 (06:57):
And so this one is a Cambodian vietname goddess, and
y'all I could not find the actual pronunciation. I'm sorry.
If y'all know the correct one again, let me know.
Poeeno Nogar is a Cambodian Vietnamese polyandrous goddess known as
a Great One, and according to the blog title Journeying
to the Goddess, the agricultural goddess name means simply great
(07:20):
one in Cambodia, likely to do to the fact that
she brings fertility to the earth and its people. It
is her duty to protect the fills and harvest. Epics
sometimes symbolize Poeto Nogar as a gentle rain because local
myths claim that she was born in the clouds and
still controls the water's generative gift to the land and.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
To our souls.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
And again this is kind of a big theme as
well about being the goddess of water, the land and harvest,
So renewal is definitely a big thing theme that you're
going to hear throughout. I found that fascinated because of
so many tales about like water creatures that are created
by goddesses, or specific foods and specific crops for different peoples,
(08:03):
and it was all goddesses, So that's saying a lot.
It's both one of those like yes, the nurturer, but
the provider as well.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Yeah, I found fascinating.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
So we have Tara, the Star who leads across, and
she exists across Hinduism, Jadism and Tantric Buddhism and is
known as the Savior Goddess or Savior Us. She is
beloved and looked to for protection spiritually and physically. According
to some legends, just whispering her name can bring peace
and dispel any danger. She is the embodiment of perfect
(08:34):
wisdom and hears a bit more about her from Sacred
Wind dot com. Tara Dolma in Tibetan means she who saves,
she who leads across, or star. She's also called Holy Mother, Tarah, green,
Tera and white goddess Tara as a manifestation of the
Divine Mother. Tara symbolizes the white flames of purity. Many
see her as a component of enlightenment, helping to transcend,
(08:56):
to see truth, and to purify the heart, enabling a
person to speak from the heart in a kind, gentle
and loving way.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
And that brings us to Africa, which again is a
huge place. So this is just a sampling, and we're
going to start with Dia Africa, who is believed to
have been the creator of Africa, and that the different
tribes weren't African because they were from Africa, but that
they were African because they were born by Africa aka
(09:34):
Dia Africa. The legend states that the Supreme God sent
the goddess to watch over Africa. Here's a quote from
blog dot swallyafrica dot com. This popular goddess performed different
functions in different parts of Africa. In some parts, she
was a goddess of fertility and abundance, i e. She
is the one preyed to when the land is barren
(09:55):
or when a woman is unable to conceive. In Gerber
ifree or Ifru, Dia Africa is a goddess of war.
She was a god who listened to her people and
helped them whenever they were in need, which could also
lead us to the similar goddess Nana Baruku. According to
the same website, Nana Baruku is a female deity worshiped
(10:18):
in several West African traditional religions as the supreme being.
She is well known among the Faun people been in Dahome,
the a Khan people Ghana, and the Away people Togo,
and is popularly seen as the most influential deity in
West African theology. The goddess is the Mother's supreme Creator,
(10:39):
who gave birth to the Moon spirit, Sun spirit and
all of the universe itself, and soon after gave Ma Wulisa,
the secondary Creator, the responsibility for the world and all
of this is a part of modern voodoo. Here's a
bit from the collector dot com about voodoo quote. The
African elements of the religious prius are derived mainly from
(11:01):
the Dahome region of West Africa, modern Beanen and from
the Yaruba, Fawn and Away peoples of West Africa and
the Congo people from Central Africa. Many elements of African
spirituality continue to exist in modern voodoo in the practices
of transcendental drumming and dancing, worship of the ancestral dead,
and worship of the spirits called lobile and that brings
(11:25):
us to Oya. O Ya is considered one of the
most powerful goddesses. She is known as the weather goddess
or a river goddess who has the power to create
storms and much more. It is said she escorts souls
to the underworld and is associated with the afterlife. Many
say that she symbolizes the need to treasure life and
to live for the moment, and along with Oya, we
(11:48):
have Oshan. She is one of the most popular goddesses
and is a goddess of fertility, love and freedom. She
is also a river goddess and represents divine, feminine energy
and power. She is a part of the Yoruba religion
and many different myths exist around her. According to Britannica
dot Com quote, in most Yoruba's stories, Oshan is generally
(12:09):
depicted as the protector's savior or nurture of humanity. O'shan
has also been described as the maintainer of spiritual balance
or mother of sweet things. One myth highlights Oshan as
the central figure in the creation of human beings.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
And next we're going to jump into the Middle Eastern goddesses.
I do want to put a little asterisk here because
there's been a lot of controversy, especially with the Trinity
of Goddesses we're about to talk about, in which as
I was reading it, the prophet Mohammed did kind of
include them and then was like trying to cast them
and saying that they're evil, and then they try to
(12:47):
exclude them and try to erase them from existence. They were,
according to historians, pre Islamic goddesses, so they existed beforehand.
There's a lot of questions, of course, like people are
trying to bring them back, and if you're seeing like
extremist Muslim ideology, they do not want to bring this
back obviously, So there's this back and forth. I think
(13:08):
this happens with any and honestly all religious beliefs that's
not centered around the most dominating religion in that area,
because I would say that about Christianity here in the
US as well.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
So just put that as a capat.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
So we're going to talk about, as I said, the
Trinity of goddesses. While we were researching specifically for the
goddesses of Middle East. It was immediate that these three
goddesses held a lot of importance to Arabic mythology, so
of course we wanted to share all three of them.
They are Mono, the goddess of death and fate, Alat
the goddess of agriculture, of prosperity and springtime, and Alusa
(13:43):
the goddess of justice, honor, and passion. And in fact,
in twenty twenty one, archaeologists were able to discover some
of the artifacts that were evidence of the goddess's worship,
as they say, quote long before the rise of Islam.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
And this was in an article.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
During their discovery, they were able to discover remains of
the time end quote, grain structures dedicated to the goddesses,
specifically to the goddess al Usa. So there's this conversation
about what they were and who they were, and just
like at the amazing temple that was raised for her specifically,
and the fact that they were able to find it
about four years ago, three years ago intact, including the
(14:18):
sanctuary and the temple that was in so if y'all
want to go look it up, it's pretty cool.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
They have pictures.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
And then we have Ishara, also known as the Scorpion Goddess,
not to be confused with a scorpion king, y'all.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
Not to be confused. I know, we just did an episode.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
Of The Mummy, but you know, just saying she was
a goddess of creativity, passion, and even a sexual prowess.
She was the goddess of fire and of the scorpion,
and according to methluck dot com. In Syria, she was
worshiped in the form of a stinging and hot object
in order to improve one's passion or sexual prowess. In
other traditions, she was also known to judge people's affairs
(14:51):
fairly firmly. In addition to being a goddess, she was
also known to inflict severe punishments on oathbreakers. She was
regarded as a deity who acted as a healer, as
she was even referred to as a goddess of medicine.
She's just well rounded, y'all. And then we have Tiamat Or,
also known as the Primordial Goddess, and again according to mythlock,
(15:13):
she personifies the primordial see and is integral to the
universe's creation narrative. As a primordial goddess, Tiamat embodies the
untamed power of the ocean and the raw chaos of creation.
Feared and revered, she symbolizes both the source of life
and the destructive potential of nature. Of course, with all
her power and chaos, she also is the mother of
(15:35):
the first generation of gods and is able to create
monsters to start wars against them as well, and all
of this leads to the shaping and creation of the universe.
So essentially it is the creation story with monsters day.
I love it, So I guess it could be dinosaurs.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
I don't know, just kidding.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
And then we're going to jump into a North American goddesses,
so we are talking native or indigenous peace well, goddesses
that have existed throughout Again, as we said earlier, this
is one of those that colonization really tried to eradicate,
and those in the First Nations community have done an
(16:14):
amazing job in bringing back the storytelling because we know
that's existed for a long time. Again, with that, the
pronunciations I could not find for most of them, So
I'm so sorry if anybody is listening that knows these legends,
and you can send me a better pronunciation. A b
a better retelling, please do. We would love to hear it.
(16:36):
These are some of the most fascinating things. This is
why we're doing it. So we're jumping into Vashi, a
Choctaw nation goddess who, according to goddesschool dot com, is
the Chocktail People's moon mother goddess, appearing from nowhere and
without a mother or sister to trace her through matrilineal
lines as the people did. She came to the people
as a miracle and shared her wisdom teachings with them.
(16:59):
She became the first wife and offered the art of
marriage to the people. She is married to father son
and gave birth to the corn Goddess or the unknown woman,
who provided the chalked up people with the first corn seed,
which soon became a stable to them.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
She is seen riding through.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
The night with her beloved giant owl, and according to
the legend, she even brought song and danced to the nation.
Speaker 3 (17:22):
That was very cool.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
The pictures are really beautiful. And then we have oz
Pakashi or spider grandmother, which surprisingly is in a lot
of religions the spider woman or spider mother. I was like, huh, maybe,
and it's not like widow related, which I thought maybe
I was like, okay, cool. So the spider grandmother known
(17:43):
throughout different indigenous groups and has specific ties to those
nations of the American Southwest and is known there as
the Gogin Sawati and takes on the shape of an
old woman and even sometimes a spider. She is seen
as a leader and gives wisdom and good things to
the people. In some of the tales, it is said
that she is an assistant to the god Tawa, the
(18:03):
son God, and she is sent out to guide different
creatures throughout the world and throughout most of the legends,
she is a constant guide, helper, and protector of different creatures,
including humans. She aids others in order to help protect
the endangered and give wisdom and knowledge for many to
complete their journeys. You know what, I'm sorry to think
(18:23):
Charlotte's Web may be based on Native tales.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
Ooh, think about that.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
We should think about that, we should look into I
haven't read Charlotte's Web since it messed me up as
a kid.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
To be honest, it is horrified. Why did they write
these books?
Speaker 2 (18:38):
But all have to say, I wonder if there's a
link to that because Charlotte guides the pig.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
And for listeners who don't know, Charlotte is a spider. Oh,
I hope the title would tell you that, but you
never know.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
Man, are there people who don't know that book? If
that makes me super.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Sad, Samantha, I'm telling you right now, yes, wow.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
Okay, well I have to go back to that that
I'm going to be traumatized just by that. Sorry, Okay,
moving on next we have again don't have the pronunciation,
but I'm trying my best. Who is, by the way,
another spider mother, Nastayistan. She is sometimes known as the
mother of monsters, as well as being the spirit of
the underworld. And here's a bit from mythologists dot com.
(19:28):
According to the Hopee, at the beginning of time, Nasayistan
ruled the underworld residents of the gods, while Tawa ruled
in the sky. One day she molded animals with clay,
but they remained lifeless. Then Tawa spreadish soft white blanket
over them and they began to come to life. Then
she wanted to create humanity. She made beasts from the
clay and held them close to her heart while Tawah
(19:50):
sang a mysterious melody with her. Then she distributed the
animals and men on Earth and gave the humans very
specific roles. The women were to watch over the house
and the we're to take care of the offerings. I'm
not sure how old that one is, but it does
have a very similar linkage to Rossi Bukashi, so it
is obviously maybe that's from a different region. She has
(20:10):
little more hands in on creating the creatures instead of
just leading them, so I wonder. And then lastly we
have Sedna, an Inuit goddess known as the Mother of
the Sea or Mistress of the Sea. Her story is fantastic,
and of course, like any other legends, there are a
couple of variations to the story, and honestly, Wikipedia has
(20:33):
some great interpretations, so won't we wanted to include a
couple of them a quote. In one legend, Sedna is
a giant, the daughter of the creator god in Guta,
with a great hunger that causes her to.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
Attack her parents.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
Anger and Guta takes her out to sea and throws
her over the side of his kayak. As she clings
to the side, he chops off her fingers and she
sinks to the underworld, becoming the ruler of the monsters
of the deep. Her huge fingers become the seals wallruses,
and will hunted by the Inuit. In another version of
the legend, she is dissatisfied with men found for her
(21:06):
by her father and so marries a dog. Her father
is so angry at this time that he throws her
into the sea, and when she tries to climb back
into the boat, he cuts off her fingers. Her fingers
become the first seals, and she becomes a mighty sea goddess.
When she is angered, the shaman travels to wash and
comb her hair for her, after which she is placated
and releases the animals to the hunters. In other versions,
(21:28):
she's unable to comb her hair because she lacks fingers,
so a shaman must brush it for her. So many
of these stories while of her losing her arm, her limbs,
or body parts because arms are involved, which lead to
them being left in the sea or ingested by sea creatures.
That eventually allows her to gain control of the sea
creatures and become the Mother of the Sea. I find
(21:48):
a fascinating one. They really have to cut things off,
but okay, you do.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
A lot of these goddess stories are really intense, and
I enjoy it. Said that intense origins stories we're getting
and because.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
There's summarizing, it just goes straight to the point and
you're like, what what did you just say? Oh?
Speaker 1 (22:06):
Okay, yeah. I also like we talked about this, but
we talked about Lilith. I like, how many of them
are like the mother of monsters, but it's not necessarily
a bad thing, right.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Like she just is but apparently like she may be
mother of monsters, but she allows for the people to
hunt them, which I'm like, don't don't hut sALS, don't
do that, don't hunt seals.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
Gosh.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
Well, all right, that brings us to Central and South
American goddesses. And yes, a quick note here. As we said,
when doing this research, we noticed a lot of overlapping
in terms of Central and South America, which is not great.
But when we were trying to find these goddesses, and
with that, many of the names and legends also overlapped.
(22:51):
So we're going to put them here together. So let
us start with Azuli, Lady of Love or Beauty. Air
Zuo is depicted as the spirit of love beauty, a
and luxury. According to U Cities dot org a quote,
this Vudan goddess is worshiped by Haitians as matron of love, beauty, health,
(23:13):
and the moon. She is personified as a water snake.
Vudan was originally unique to Haiti, a combination of Catholicism
and Urubin cosmology developed by slaves as a tool of
survival and rebellion. And on the Wikipedia page, it says
that Herzuli is a family of loa that are often
(23:33):
associated with water, fluidity, femininity, and feminine bodies. They are
one of the only group of spirits directly tied to
these characteristics, and those who become possessed through spirit possession
often are women are masisi a feminine and or homosexual men.
Then there's Ishelle or Lady Rainbow as Shell is known
as a female jaguar goddess that is associated with the
(23:55):
Mayan moon goddess. Here's a quote from mythlock dot com quote.
The magnificent Goddess of Maya mythology wielded powerful divine abilities
that resonated across various aspects of life. Revered as the
matron of childbirth, guardian of midwifery and mother of crops.
Her influence spanned the realms of rain, fertility, and agriculture.
(24:16):
As the goddess of fertility, Eschell was believed to govern
the reproductive cycles of humans, animals, and plants, and it
continues quote. It is believed that Eschell was a part
of the god Izamna. She was regarded as the goddess
of the moon, water, childbirth, and weaving in the Maya
of the Peninsula of Mexico. She is also the mother
(24:37):
of all the Mayan deities and has rules about the
cycles of life and death. As the keeper of souls,
Eschell constantly changes from being a young beauty into a
wise old crone who shares her people's wisdom. And then
there's Mama Kilia or Mama Kilia, the moon goddess. She
is considered a defender of women as well as the
(24:58):
goddess of both marriage and ja. Here's some information from Wikipedia.
Mama Chilia was known as Mother Moon and was goddess
of the moon. According to Father Bernabay Cobo, writing in
the mid sixteenth century, the moon was worshiped because of
her quote admirable beauty and the quote benefit she bestows
upon the world. She was important for calculating the passage
(25:21):
of time and the calendar, because many rituals were based
upon the lunar calendar and adjusted to match the solar year.
She also oversaw marriage women's menstrul cycles and was deemed
the protector of women in general. And here's a bit
more information about her from mythlock quote. Mythical tales about
Mamma Chilia includes stories of her shedding tears of silver
(25:42):
and the belief that lunar eclipses occurred when she was
under attack by a celestial creature. And it goes on
to say the Incas had a deep fear of lunar eclipses,
convinced that during these events, a menacing animal, possibly a mountain,
lion or serpent, was assaulting Mama Chilia. Consequently, people sought
to ward off this creature by hurling weapons, making frantic gestures,
(26:05):
and creating loud noises. Their belief is rooted in the
notion that if the animals succeeded in its attack, it
would plunge the world into darkness.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
We don't need that. Get those animals away from her.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
That does I mean, it does seem a consistent fear
throughout history too, which I get. If you didn't know
what an eclipse was, it's just suddenly dark all the time.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
I would be very scared. I'm still a little nervous.
So when it comes back out, you were like, yeah,
he's excited. We protected. Yeah, that's good. We need to
do that a win. Oh, we need to win. Yes.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
And this brings us to Asho Mama Potato Mother, because
who doesn't love potatoes obviously hm. According to the collector
dot Com, Ashue Mama was responsible in helping the Inca
people cultivate potatoes, and this was huge because the Incas
were the first to domesticate potatoes and they helped essentially
develop over three thousand different varieties. Here are some quotes
(27:09):
from the site about Ashu Mama. Ashu Mama literally Potato Mother,
was a daughter of Pacha Mama and it was her
responsibility to help the Inca people cultivate potatoes. Potatoes became
a staple crop for the empire, so it was essential
to ensure they're continued good harvest by honoring the goddess responsible.
Unusually shaped potatoes were used as idols for worshiping Ashu
(27:32):
Mama and there's evidence potatoes were buried with the dead.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
Like that is unusually shaped potato. So why that is?
I wonder when you're like, yeah, I got one, we
got one for her.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
I mean that's again, that's nice. Yeah, like that instead
of throwing away a quote unusually shaped potatoes, I would
eat them. Yeah. Now, let's talk about siawa Quattle, or
(28:03):
the serpent woman, who is a goddess of fertility and motherhood.
She was associated with midwives, and specifically the sweat lodges
that the midwives would practice. In a little bit from
Wikipedia quote, she helped her people create the current race
of humanity by grinding up bones from the previous ages
and mixing it with his blood. She is also the
(28:24):
mother of Meeks Quatto, whom she abandoned at a crossroads.
Tradition says that she often returns there to weep for
her lost son, only to find a sacrificial knife. And
here's some more information from mythlock dot com. Siwacadal, a
prominent deity in Mesoamerican mythology, occupies a significant position within
(28:46):
the cultural narratives of both the Aztecs and the Mayans.
Revered for her connections to fertility and motherhood. She played
a crucial role in guiding and safeguarding these ancient civilizations.
As a key goddess in the Aztec pantheon, Sea Aquadal
held a pivotal role in shaping the religious and cultural
beliefs of the Mesoamerican societies of antiquity, and they continue.
(29:09):
Sea Aquatdal's powers mirrored the diversity of her manifestations. Her
abilities encompassed the granting and taking of life, bestowing fertility
upon women and guiding the spirits of those who passed
away during childbirth. With command over storms and mastery over
natural forces, she embodied the formidable influence that women wielded
in the act of creation. According to legends, she possessed
(29:33):
shape shifting prowess, seamlessly transforming into serpents or owls to
vigilantly watch over her progeny and shield them from harm.
As a potent deity, Sea Aquadal held a particular association
with motherhood and fertility. Her influence extended significantly to midwives,
finding a special connection with the sweat baths where these
(29:54):
practitioners honed their skills. Notably, she collaborated with Kate Sicatle
in the creation of the current human race, grinding bones
from previous ages and blending them with his blood. This
act underscored her pivol role in the genesis of humanity.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
All right, So again, there's so many goddesses, specifically too
Central and South America. So if y'all have any additional
because you know, it is so rich with so much history,
and I'm glad it still exists for the main part,
even with colonization that happens.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
So if you have information, give it to us. If
you have more.
Speaker 2 (30:29):
Apparently this has something to do with a game as well,
or a game has included her as well, as ay
just told me that she wouldn't include that fact.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
I like how I was like, I shall not, And
I'm like, do you merch the talk about goddesses by
talking about my video games?
Speaker 3 (30:43):
And you're like, actually, I want to do.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
It because you know it's good to know. They're like
these are familiar. Oh, without any understanding. I'm sure you did,
but a lot of people don't know that this is
fairly historical and what it really relates to. So we
love that they are a part of it. But here
you go, mystraated with it.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
Yeah, I mean it is really interesting to think about
in terms of our current pop culture, how how prevalence
a lot of these ideas are, even though a lot
of people don't know where they come from. But it's
a lot of these I do recognize, for better or worse,
from video games and from like current things like American
(31:23):
gods right by Neo game, and so it's like it
resonates with people.
Speaker 3 (31:28):
Right.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
Actually, there's several that was from like a lot of
MCU Marvel that comes to the north, obviously the Norse gods,
and I was like, we're not including these people.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
Yes, there are some like Greek gods and Roman guys
that people just know and we don't need to well,
we don't need we don't need that wor Yes, yes
they are super cool and you know, yes I went
through a phase we're so into them, but yeah, we
were trying to not do these.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
Yes, although you're probably be like, there's gonna be things
that I'm like, I didn't know that was a part
of it, and you're like, yeah, obviously it's a part
of this game.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
So if I picked those out, my bad.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
Also, if you all want to talk about him, go ahead,
all right, So we're gonna jump into Pacific goddesses.
Speaker 3 (32:12):
So once again.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
Pronunciations, I am so sorry, Oh please, don't get made me.
Uh So, We're gonna start with Heway Coleco Hallway Coleco,
the Tongan goddess of the world. According to our research,
this goddess has had a resurgence as of late. In fact,
after the discovery of the ancient goddess, there are some
who tried to write Heway Coleku as a male figure,
but they were able to discover several figurines that proved
(32:37):
her to be a female goddess.
Speaker 3 (32:39):
I love it. Even when they try, the truth is
gonna come out.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
Uh So. Here's a quote from pacificpn dot com. When
the missionaries arrived in Tonga, they came across statues and
figurines of Heyway Coleco, bare breasted and naked. The worship
of Hiway Coleco was promptly made illegal. Her fail out
Wutua temples burned in all or so they thought statues
and figurines depicting her destroyed. That a god, and the
(33:04):
most powerful god at that be a goddess, and even worse,
be depicted bare breasted was not something that the church
was going to accommodate. As time went by, they continue
to try to wipe out the collective memory of Huaykoleko
or to change it, including efforts to rewrite her as
a male figure. Luckily, however, six original figurines managed to
avoid destruction and helped set the record straight and again
(33:27):
some more information from the collector dot com. Huwaiko Alek
recently has become an important goddess for Tonga, as she
represents not just the significance of their cultural past, but
also a means to secure their future. There is a
take back of culture in the form of decolonization in
Tonga and all around the world. Traditionally, Tongan's crafted wooden
figures of Huwaiko Leko to bring the goddess into the
(33:49):
physical realm for various reasons. As a result, she appears
tough and powerful, ready to aid those in the realm
outside of it, particularly those in the founding chief line
of Towai Tongu, who is her earthly representation. Okay, so,
of course we didn't really get into what she was
representing because there's so much excitement about the fact that
they were able to discover her and really take her
(34:10):
on as one of their goddesses and figures, and the
fact that they not only try to eradicate her, then
they try to rewrite her, and then they had got
to be able to see her as she is. So
there's a lot of excitement with this conversation and I'm
really excited to hear with the legends that come in
the stories that will come with it, So keep us
up to date.
Speaker 3 (34:26):
They'll know about that.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
Then we have Papa Tuanuku, the Maori goddess of the Earth.
So this goddess is also referred to as Papa and
is seen as mother of all. And here's a bit
of information from the collector dot com. We arrive on
the mainland north Island of Auta and a regal goddess
stands on the headland looking down at us in greeting.
She is Papa, the goddess of the Earth, the land
(34:48):
that gave birth to all things, and looks over these
children of trees, birds, animals and people. She's often sleeping
with her back set up towards the sky, but she
is here as a spirit to welcome us. Being the
mother of all, she has many children who have kept
her occupied, but she has been eternally sad since giving birth.
Her first children split her up from her partner Rongi,
the god of the sky. The children might have brought
(35:10):
light to the world, but they made their parents sad,
creating the rivers and oceans as a reminder of their
shared tears. Yeah, there's a lot of legends about her
waiting and mourning her husband. And I was like, oh, well,
that's kind of sad.
Speaker 1 (35:24):
Well they all yeah, I love the children. They bought
the light to the world, but they bummed out their parents.
Speaker 3 (35:32):
I'm sure a lot of parents was like you, I
feel that you're welcome.
Speaker 2 (35:39):
And then we come to Laca. Laca is the goddess
that is honored with hula, and she is associated with
light and love. Here's a quote from Historycooperative dot org. Laka,
the goddess of dance, beauty, love, and fertility, is associated
with all things of light. She is also the goddess
of the forest and would enrich the plants with her light.
Her name is often translated to mean gentle and again
(36:01):
some more information from mythlock dot com. Laka, a central
figure in Hawaiian mythology, holds a significant place in the
cultural fabric, particularly in the realm of Hula, the revered
traditional dance. According to ancient Hawaiian folklore, she emerges as
the daughter of Coppo, another prominent deity intricately tied to
Hula's origins. Lacha's influence extends beyond dance. She's also revered
(36:26):
as the goddess of the forest, embodying reproductive energy vital
for the flourishing of lush greenery. And yes, she again
is an inspiration for hula dancers. And here's a bit
more information from the same myth Lux site. Laca's essence
resonates with the very spirit of Hula, encapsulating its grace
and loure. Her name meaning gentle and to attract epitomizes
(36:47):
the qualities inherited in this art form, and it goes on.
Laca's enduring significance in Hawaiian culture, particularly within the realm
of Hula, underscores her profound influence beyond mere deity status.
Practitioners hold a deep devotion to Laka, seeking her blessings
and guidance as they navigate the intricacies of this revered
dance form. Her presence infuses the Hula tradition with spiritual depth,
(37:10):
emphasizing reverence for the natural world and embodying the essence
of Hawaiians spirituality. Despite periods of colonial suppression, the practice
of hula has experienced and resurgence, driven by a renewed
appreciation for indigenous traditions and a yearning to reconnect with
the land. Laca's legacy lives on through the dedication of
dancers and artists committed to honoring her through their craft,
(37:30):
preserving sacred rituals and teachings passed down through generations. And
I'm not really sure if I would say it has
gotten a resurgence, because I feel like when it comes
to hula and when it comes to Hawaii and the
Native people of Hawaii, it has always been sacred and
it has always been a telling and I think they
are very excited to share it. That's the one thing.
(37:51):
I feel like they are all about spreading that joy.
And I say this as just like from the outsider,
not knowing much about it, but just watching knowing that
this is a sacred ritual and they are glad to
share it with other people, like that is something that
they think is joyful and beautiful and worthy of sharing,
which is really kind because so many people try to
ruin it, as we know when it comes to colonization.
Speaker 3 (38:13):
So I think that's a little off because yes.
Speaker 2 (38:16):
The colonial suppression, yes, but the fact that it's resurgence,
I think it's always existed. Like as I was looking
at the YouTube videos and the different women who were
practicing hula and talking about hula, you could tell the
deep respect they have for the practice and for Laca.
Did I know that the goddess was Laca? No?
Speaker 3 (38:32):
But did I know this was sacred ritual? Yes?
Speaker 2 (38:34):
So I feel like we have to absolutely give props
to that that it's not a resurgence.
Speaker 3 (38:40):
It's always existed. It's just that we're taking notice.
Speaker 1 (38:43):
Right right, And this brings us to European goddesses again,
we're looking at lesser known ones, starting with Makash, also
known as mother Goddess, a lady of waters or goddess
of moisture. She is known as a protector of quote,
women's work and women's destiny. Here's more information from ThoughtCo
(39:04):
dot com.
Speaker 3 (39:06):
Quote.
Speaker 1 (39:06):
In Slavic mythology, Makash, sometimes transliterated as Makash meaning Friday,
is moist mother Earth and thus the most important or
sometimes only goddess in their religion. As a creator, she
is said to have been discovered sleeping in a cave
by a flowering spring by the spring god je Rillo,
(39:27):
with whom she created the fruits of the earth. She
is also the protector of spinning, tending, sheep and wool,
patron of merchants and fishermen, who protects cattle from plagues
and people from drought, disease, drowning, and unclean spirits. And
here's additional information from feminismand Religion dot com. Makash brings
(39:48):
the water of life and protects the life giving waters
on which human and animal existence depend. And this way,
Makash gives life to plants and animals and is often
portrayed with them. She is an important Slavic mother goddess,
embodying fertility, femininity, prosperity, protection, health, good luck, abundance, and
(40:08):
a successful future. Macash is also a warrior goddess in
her fierce aspect as a goddess of protection. One of
her epithets is quote she who strikes with her wings.
The fact that she is a winged goddess indicates her
power and that which she grants to her priestesses. And
devotees to travel between the world's in trance, dream and
(40:31):
vision for blessing and for healing on behalf of the
community and all who are in need. Makash is also
connected to butterflies symbols of transformation and bees symbols of priestesses.
Speaker 3 (40:43):
In antiquity, bees getting as getting as do look at
bet I do love bees. That is the truth.
Speaker 1 (40:53):
This brings us to Haltia, Lady of the Home. Haltia
is the goddess of the home. She is a Baltic
Finn's goddess who protects home. Here's some information from botanica
dot com quote. In Finland, the Haltia was usually the
spirit of the first person to lay claim to a site,
either by lighting a fire on it or by building
(41:15):
a house on it, or in some cases, the first
person to die there. The Haltio is believed to resemble
such a person in every way, including sex, age, dress,
and mannerisms. The dominant idea was that a person once
lane claim to a piece of land would always remain
in charge of it, and apparently with this she us
a cautionary tale for those who want to move to
(41:37):
a new home.
Speaker 2 (41:38):
Yeah, so there's a lot to this, Like there's not
much in conversation of like, this is a cool thing,
but I'm like, man, that's a lot of like underlying
thought process on this.
Speaker 3 (41:50):
Hm.
Speaker 1 (41:52):
Yes, yes, there is. As someone who's going through a
lot of changes and moves in my life, right though,
I got a lot to think about. This springs us
to Beg, who comes from Irish mythology and is known
as the Mistress of the Well. Here's a bit of
information from Goddesses and Goods blogspot dot com. Beg is
(42:15):
the Irish goddess of the Well of Wisdom. She is
one of the Tua de danyin the people of the
goddess Danum. She and her three daughters guarded a magical well,
and anyone who drank from the well would gain in wisdom.
When the hero Finn Mikula came and asked for a drink,
Beg's daughters threw water at him, hoping to frighten him away,
(42:38):
but some of the water fell in his mouth, granting
him the wisdom he had sought. When Finn died, he
was buried in a fairy hill called Sea Beg, which
means small fairy hill. And finally, this springs us to Brigid,
the goddess of poetry, healing, and smithing. According to lor
Brigid was known as a triple goddess. Year's a bit
(43:00):
from Celtic native dot com. Brigid, also known as Brigitte
or Brigid, was one of the most important goddesses in
Celtic mythology. She was a triple goddess, representing the three
aspects of fire, poetry, healing and smithcraft. Brigid was associated
with the arrival of spring and the return of light
after the dark winter months and some more from herstory
(43:23):
dot ie quote Brigid is a triple goddess, the goddess
of healing symbolized by the element of water, goddess of
the alchemical force of fire, and goddess of poetry. In
this respect she represents every woman and our unique talents,
skills and qualities. And it continues Brigid and bodies mastery
represented in the perfect balance of fire and water, symbols
(43:44):
of the masculine and feminine.
Speaker 2 (43:47):
Right. I believe they said that it also like similar
to yin and yang, So it's very like that balance
in conversation, and that is who she is. And y'all
all of these are really really fascinating, especially when you
look at the pictures and artwork in statues, because there's
a lot of historical context for them and beautiful artwork
with people who truly, truly love what these represent. Again,
(44:09):
we didn't go into like the depth of each region
because when it comes to all the historical facts, there
were small communities throughout, so you have so many layers
upon layers and influences upon influences and originations upon originations
that we didn't really get into. If you have something
that you want to specifically talk about, you would request
that we because this is fascinating.
Speaker 3 (44:30):
This is probably one of my favorite things.
Speaker 2 (44:32):
One of our favorite things to look into is like
the historical legends that center around feminine power. We would
love for you to, you know, let us know what
you think, what you think would be the next steps
for this conversation. The depth of these, the bigger pictures
maybe or the smaller pictures, well, who knows. Because there's
also this thought. As I was thinking about all of
(44:54):
these different goddesses and what they represent and how they
often are linked to like births and rebirth and creation
and power and wisdom. Wisdom was all throughout, I'm like, yeah,
I feel like that's what we've been.
Speaker 3 (45:06):
Talking about for years.
Speaker 2 (45:07):
And then like the trivial misogyny that comes in with
like women are too emotional, and like but are they?
Speaker 3 (45:13):
But are they?
Speaker 2 (45:14):
So with all of that, there's so much fascinations in
different areas. And then again as we were researching, as
we see them as partnered with a bigger god, obviously
the masculine god, and I think that's interesting as well.
So finding these lone standing goddesses, we're a little harder
than I expected to be honest, if you have ideas
(45:38):
based on this episode, please let us know again. If
you have someone that you're like, you know you should
have talked about this person, please send us that information
because we want more information. I thought this was gonna
be a longer episode because like so many things that
I had to write into, I think it became a
longer episode because of the pronunciations.
Speaker 3 (45:55):
Christina is the best. We love you. She's probably taking
it down to half of what it was.
Speaker 1 (45:59):
Yeah, yes, well yeah, if you have any ideas about this,
if there's somebody in here you have more information about,
or like us to focus on more. If you have
someone else if you have like resources. I know people
have suggested books about certain goddesses before in the past,
so if you have any of that, we would love
to hear from you. You can contact us. You can
(46:21):
email us at Stuff Media, mom Stuff at iHeartMedia dot com.
You can find us on Twitter at mom Stuff podcast,
or on Instagram and TikTok at stuff I Never Told You.
We're also on YouTube and we're on Tea Public where
there's some merchandise, and we have a book you can
get ready to get your books or audio books. Thanks
as always too, our super producer Ristina, our executive producer,
and our contributor Joey. Thank you and thanks to you
(46:43):
for listening. Stuff I Never Told You is production of iHeartRadio.
For more podcasts from my heart Radio, you can check
out the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or revul listen to
your favorite shows.
Speaker 3 (47:00):
H
Stuff Mom Never Told You News
Hosts And Creators
Anney Reese
Samantha McVey
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.