This page contains Familiars inspired by Native American mythology, both North and South.
History[]
American mythology contains both North American myths (Native Indians, etc.) and South American myths.
Gods & Deities[]
Ah Puch
Ah Puch (also called Hunhau, Cumhau, Yum Cimil, Kisim, or God A) ruled Mitnal, the lowest level of the Mayan underworld. Because he ruled death, he was closely allied with the gods of war, disease, and sacrifice. Like the Aztecs, the Mayans associated death with dogs and owls, so Ah Puch was generally accompanied by a dog or an owl. Ah Puch is also often described as working against the gods of fertility.
Mayan depictions of Ah Puch were either of a skeletal figure that had protruding ribs and a death's-head skull or of a bloated figure that suggested an advancing state of decomposition. Because of his association with owls, he might be portrayed as a skeletal figure with an owl's head. Like his Aztec equivalent, Mictlantecuhtli, Ah Puch frequently wears bells.
Mayan depictions of Ah Puch were either of a skeletal figure that had protruding ribs and a death's-head skull or of a bloated figure that suggested an advancing state of decomposition. Because of his association with owls, he might be portrayed as a skeletal figure with an owl's head. Like his Aztec equivalent, Mictlantecuhtli, Ah Puch frequently wears bells.
Aipaloovik
In Inuit mythology, Aipaloovik is an evil sea god associated with death and destruction.
Canhel
In the cosmogonic Mayan myths, of Yucatán, the plumed serpent appears as vital energy giving birth to the world and is called Canhel, "Serpent or Dragon", related to rain and primordial water (chaos or mother-space), the original material (prima materia) from which the world emerges.
Chalchiuhtotolin
In Aztec mythology, Chalchiuhtotolin /tʃɑːltʃjuːtoʊtoʊlin/ (Nahuatl for "Jade Turkey") was a god of disease and plague. He may be an aspect or alias of Tezcatlipoca.
In the Aztec calendar, Chalchiuhtotolin is the lord of the thirteen days from 1 Water to 13 Crocodile. The preceding thirteen days are ruled over by Xolotl, and the following thirteen by Chantico. He has a particularly an evil side to him. Even though he is shown with the customary green feathers, most codices show him bent over and with black/white eyes, which is a sign reserved for evil gods such as Tezcatlipoca, Mictlantecuhtli, and Xolotl. Another depiction of Chalchiuhtotolin's evil side includes the sharp silver of his talons. His nahual, of course, is a turkey in which he terrorizes villages, bringing disease and sickness.
In the Aztec calendar, Chalchiuhtotolin is the lord of the thirteen days from 1 Water to 13 Crocodile. The preceding thirteen days are ruled over by Xolotl, and the following thirteen by Chantico. He has a particularly an evil side to him. Even though he is shown with the customary green feathers, most codices show him bent over and with black/white eyes, which is a sign reserved for evil gods such as Tezcatlipoca, Mictlantecuhtli, and Xolotl. Another depiction of Chalchiuhtotolin's evil side includes the sharp silver of his talons. His nahual, of course, is a turkey in which he terrorizes villages, bringing disease and sickness.
Chicomecoatl
In Aztec mythology, Chicomecōātl "seven snakes", was the Aztec goddess of agriculture during the Middle Culture period. She is sometimes called "goddess of nourishment", a goddess of plenty and the female aspect of corn.
She is regarded as the female counterpart of the maize god Centeōtl, their symbol being an ear of corn. She is occasionally called Xilonen, (meaning doll made of corn), who was married also to Tezcatlipoca.
She often appeared with attributes of Chalchiuhtlicue, such as her headdress and the short lines rubbing down her cheeks. She is usually distinguished by being shown carrying ears of maize. She is shown in three different forms:
- As a young girl carrying flowers
- As a woman who brings death with her embraces
- As a mother who uses the sun as a shield
Ioskeha
Ioskeha is a sun-god of the Iroquois, son of Wind-Ruler and Breath-of-Wind and twin brother of Tawiscara. He is regarded as the creator of the universe and mankind. He fought with his twin brother while still in their mother's womb, and she died when they were born. From then on they fought for supremacy. It is said that he renews his youth when he grows old.
Huitzilopochtli
Huitzilopochtli is a Mesoamerican deity of war, sun, human sacrifice and the patron of the city of Tenochtitlan. He was also the national god of the Mexicas, also known as Aztecs, of Tenochtitlan. Many in the pantheon of deities of the Aztecs were inclined to have a fondness for a particular aspect of warfare. However, Huitzilopochtli was known as the primary god of war in ancient Mexico. Since he was the patron god of the Mexica, he was credited with both the victories and defeats that the Mexica people had on the battlefield.[1] It is important to remember that the defeat of their patron deity meant the defeat of his people. This is one of the many reasons why they were concerned with providing exquisite tribute and food for him. Not only was it important for him to survive his battles, but the fate of the Mexica people would have rested in the victory of Huitzilopochtli.
Ixtab
Ixtab (Rope Woman) was the Yucatec Mayan goddess of suicide. In Mayan culture suicide was accepted and found hanging oneself especially honorable. Ixtab was in charge of protecting those who killed themselves by hanging, as well as warriors who died in battle and women who died during childbirth. Some stories would account of Ixtab luring young men into the forest and seduce them; many of which not to return. Of those that did return, they would go insane wishing to return to Ixtab.
Source: http://atheism.about.com/od/mayangodsgoddesses/p/IxtabMayan.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ixtab
Itztlacoliuhqui
The creation of this god appeared in the Aztec myth of creation. Tonatiuh, the sun god, demanded obedience and sacrifice from the other gods before he will move. Enraged at his arrogance, the god of dawn and the planet Venus, Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, shoots an arrow at the sun. However, the dart misses its mark, and the sun throws his own back at the morning star, piercing the Lord of Dawn through the head. At this moment, Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli is transformed into the god of obsidian stone and coldness,Itztlacoliuhqui.
Kokopelli
Kokopelli is a fertility deity, usually depicted as a humpbacked flute player (often with feathers or antenna-like protrusions on his head), who has been venerated by some Native American cultures in the Southwestern United States. Like most fertility deities,Kokopelli presides over both childbirth and agriculture. He is also a trickster god and represents the spirit of music.
Kokopelli himself is sometimes depicted with a consort, a woman called Kokopelmana by the Hopi. It is said that Kokopelli can be seen on the full and waning moon, much like the "rabbit on the moon".
Kokopelli himself is sometimes depicted with a consort, a woman called Kokopelmana by the Hopi. It is said that Kokopelli can be seen on the full and waning moon, much like the "rabbit on the moon".
Kokyangwuti
Spider Grandmother is an important creation figure in the mythology, oral traditions and folklore of many Native American cultures. Traditionally, the stories involving Spider Grandmother are narratives passed down orally from generation to generation.
Traditional Navajo/Diné limit the telling of stories involving Spider Grandmother to the winter months, known as "the season when Thunder sleeps", when it is safe to discuss certain dangerous spirits, such as Spider Woman and Northern Thunder (whence the season takes its name), and esoteric topics, such as the Emergence narrative. The Choctaw people of Tennessee and Mississippi tell the story of Grandmother Spider stealing fire, then after animals refused it, bringing fire to humans.
Pele
In the Hawaiian religion, Pele, the Fire Goddess, is the goddess of volcanoes and the creator of the Hawaiian Islands. Often referred to as "Madame Pele" or "Tūtū Pele" as a sign of respect, she is a well-known deity within Hawaiian mythology, and is notable for her contemporary presence and cultural influence as an enduring figure from ancient Hawaii. Epithets of the goddess include Pele-honua-mea ("Pele of the sacred land") and Ka wahine ʻai honua ("The earth-eating woman")
Pele was considered to be a rival of the Hawaiian goddess of snow, Poliʻahu, and her sisters Lilinoe (a goddess of fine rain), Waiau (goddess of Lake Waiau), and Kahoupokane (a kapa maker whose kapa making activities create thunder, rain, and lightning). All except Kahoupokane reside Mauna Kea. The kapa maker lives on Hualalai.
Pele was considered to be a rival of the Hawaiian goddess of snow, Poliʻahu, and her sisters Lilinoe (a goddess of fine rain), Waiau (goddess of Lake Waiau), and Kahoupokane (a kapa maker whose kapa making activities create thunder, rain, and lightning). All except Kahoupokane reside Mauna Kea. The kapa maker lives on Hualalai.
Poliʻahu
In Hawaiian mythology, Poliʻahu is one of the four goddesses of snow, all enemies of Pele. She was thought to reside on Mauna Kea, which if measured from the seafloor is the world's tallest mountain
Sedna
Sedna is the goddess of the sea and marine animals in Inuit mythology, also known as the Mother of the Sea or Mistress of the Sea. The story of Sedna, which is a creation myth, describes how she came to rule over Adlivun, the Inuit underworld. Sedna is also known as Arnakuagsak or Arnaqquassaaq (Greenland) and Sassuma Arnaa ("Mother of the Deep", West Greenland) and Nerrivik ("Table", northern Greenland) or Nuliajuk (District of Keewatin, Northwest Territories, Canada). She is sometimes known by other names by different Inuit groups such as Arnapkapfaaluk ("Big Bad Woman") of the Copper Inuit from the Coronation Gulf area and Takánakapsâluk or Takannaaluk (Igloolik).
Tawiscara
Tawiscara is an evil spirit of the Iroquois, son of Wind-Ruler and Breath-of-Wind and twin brother of Ioskeha. He fought with his twin brother while still in their mother's womb, and she died when they were born. From then on they fought for supremacy and eventually Ioskeha prevailed, becoming the supreme god of the Iroquois while Tawiscara was banished to the underworld. At times, he is known as the Dark One.
Tlahuizcal
In Aztec religion, Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli (Nahuatl for "Lord of the Dawn"; [t͡ɬaːwisklɬpanteːkʍt͡ɬi]) is the god of the planet Venus, the morning star. Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli was considered a dangerous and malevolent god. Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli tried to shoot the Sun with arrows but missed and shot himself. After being shot he became transformed into Itztlacoliuhqui.
Urcaguary
In Incan mythology, Urcaguary was the god of metals, jewels and other underground items of great value. A chimera with the head of a dear and body of a serpent, his tail was adorned with chains of gold.
Source: http://papalagi333.cgsociety.org/art/urcaguary-photoshop-god-metal-underground-2d-914953
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inca_mythology
Creatures, Spirits & Others[]
Baron Samedi
Baron Samedi (French: Baron Saturday, also written Baron Samdi, Bawon Samedi, or Bawon Sanmdi) is one of the Loa of Haitian Vodou. Samedi is a Loa of the dead, along with Baron's numerous other incarnations Baron Cimetière, Baron La Croix, and Baron Kriminel. He is syncretized with Saint Martin de Porres.
He is the head of the Guédé family of Loa. His wife is the Loa Maman Brigitte.
Bigfoot
Bigfoot, also known as sasquatch, is the name given to an ape- or hominid-like creature that some people believe inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid. The term sasquatch is an anglicized derivative of the Halkomelem word sásq’ets.
Most scientists discount the existence of Bigfoot and consider it to be a combination of folklore, misidentification, and hoax, rather than a living animal, because of the lack of physical evidence and the large numbers of creatures that would be necessary to maintain a breeding population. A few scientists, such as Jane Goodall, Grover Krantz, and Jeffrey Meldrum, have expressed interest and some measure of belief in the creature. Does Bigfoot really exist?
Heyoka
A Heyoka (in Lakota, Heyókȟa, also spelled "Haokah," "Heyokha") is a trickster spirit, a contrarian, jester, satirist or sacred clown. The Heyoka spirit speaks, moves and reacts in an opposite fashion to the people around it. It is not a spirit that people wish to meet at any time; it usually appears to people when it wishes to take something from you or cause some sort of mayhem. The Lakota people have learned to respect it enough to leave it be, avoiding it as much as possible.
Ijiraq
In Inuit mythology, the ijiraq is a sort of shape shifter who kidnaps children and hides them away and abandons them. The inuksugaq (or inukshuk) of stone allow these children to find their way back if they can convince the ijiraq to let them go. An Ijiraq can appear as any form it chooses, making it particularly deceptive.
Mono Grande
The Mono Grande (Spanish for "Large Monkey"), a large monkey-like creature, has had occasional reported sightings in South America. Such a creature is reported as being much larger than the commonly accepted New World monkeys. These accounts have received rather little publicity and typically have generated little or no interest from mainstream experts, but have received some notice in cryptozoology.
Negafook
In Inuit mythology, Negafook (or Negagfok) represents "the North Wind or, more eloquently, the spirit that likes cold and stormy weather."
Thunderbird
The Thunderbird is a legendary creature in certain North American indigenous peoples' history and culture. It is considered a supernatural bird of power and strength. It is especially important, and frequently depicted, in the art, songs, and oral histories of many Pacific Northwest Coast cultures, and is found in various forms among the peoples of the American Southwest, Great Lakes, and Great Plains. Thunderbirds were components of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex of American prehistory
Tuniq
Inuit legends recount them driving away people they called the Tuniit (singular Tuniq) or Sivullirmiut (First Inhabitants). According to legend, the First Inhabitants were "giants", people who were taller and stronger than the Inuit, but who were easily scared off. Scholars now believe the Dorset and the later Thule people were the peoples encountered by the Norse who visited the area. The Norse called these indigenous peoples skræling.
Vucub Caquix
Vucub-Caquix (possibly meaning 'Seven-Macaw') is the name of a bird demon defeated by the Hero Twins of a K'iche'-Mayan myth preserved in an 18th-century document, entitled 'Popol Vuh'. Vucub Caquix is described as a powerful bird pretending to be the sun and moon of the twilight world in between the former creation and the present one. The false sun-moon bird was shot out of his tree with a blowgun by Hun-Ahpu, one of the Maya Hero Twins, but still managed to sever the hero's arm. Finally, however, the demon was deprived of his teeth, his eyes, his riches, and his power. Together, the Twins were to become the true sun and moon of the present creation.
Wendigo
A Wendigo (also known as windigo, weendigo, windago, windiga, witiko, wihtikow, and numerous other variants including manaha) is a half-beast creature appearing in the legends of the Algonquian peoples along the Atlantic Coast and Great Lakes Region of both the United States and Canada. The creature or spirit could either possess characteristics of a human or a monster that had physically transformed from a person. It is particularly associated with cannibalism. The Algonquian believed those who indulged in eating human flesh were at particular risk;[2] the legend appears to have reinforced the taboo of the practice of cannibalism. It is often described in Algonquian mythology as a balance of nature.
The legend lends its name to the disputed modern medical term Wendigo psychosis. This is supposed to be a culture-bound disorder that features symptoms such as an intense craving for human flesh and a fear the sufferer is a cannibal. This condition was alleged to have occurred among Algonquian native cultures, but remains disputed.
The legend lends its name to the disputed modern medical term Wendigo psychosis. This is supposed to be a culture-bound disorder that features symptoms such as an intense craving for human flesh and a fear the sufferer is a cannibal. This condition was alleged to have occurred among Algonquian native cultures, but remains disputed.