| Name ▲▼ | Origin ▲▼ | Description ▲▼ |
|---|---|---|
| Goddess name "NA CHA (here is a loud cry)" | Taoist / Chinese | Guardian god. A somewhat ambiguous god who is generally regarded as benevolent, but whose traditions hint at a more destructive aspect. He was born a god of human parents, the reincarnation of an older deity, Ling Chu-Tzu, the intelligent pearl. According to tradition, his father was Li Ching, who threatened to kill his mother because she claimed she was made pregnant by the mystical actions of a Taoist priest who told her she was to bear the child of a unicorn. Na Cha is said to have fought in the Shang-Chou war on the side of the Chou dynasty circa 1027 BC. His chief adversary was the sea dragon king. Ultimately he became involved with the goddess Shih-Chi Niang Niang, accidentally killed her attendant and, in remorse, committed suicide.... |
| Goddess name "NAMMU" | Mesopotamian / Sumerian / Babylonian - Akkadian / Iraq | Chthonic creator and birth goddess. Nammu is identified in various texts as the goddess of the watery deeps. As a consort of AN she is the mother of ENKI and the power of the riverbed to produce water. Alternatively Nammu is the progenitrix of An and KI, the archetypal deities of heaven and earth. She also engendered other early gods and in one poem is the mother of all mortal life. She molded clay collected by creatures called sig-en-sig-du and brought it to life, thus creating mankind. She is attended by seven minor goddesses and may ultimately have become syncretized with NINHURSAG A.... |
| Goddess name "NINURTA (lord plough)" | Mesopotamian / Sumerian / Babylonian - Akkadian / Iraq | God of thunderstorms and the plough. Ninurta is the Sumerian god of farmers and is identified with the plough. He is also the god of thunder and the hero of the Sumerian pantheon, closely linked with the confrontation battles between forces of good and evil that characterize much of Mesopotamian literature. He is one of several challengers of the malignant dragon or serpent Kur said to inhabit the empty space between the earth's crust and the primeval sea beneath. Ninurta is the son of Enlil and Ninhursaga a, alternatively Ninlil, and is the consort of Gula, goddess of healing. He is attributed with the creation of the mountains which he is said to have built from giant stones with which he had fought against the demon Asag. He wears the horned helmet and tiered skirt and carries a weapon Sarur which becomes personified in the texts, having its own intelligence and being the chief adversary, in the hands of Ninurta, of Kur. He carries the double-edged scimitar-mace embellished with lions' heads and, according to some authors, is depicted in nonhuman form as the thunderbird lmdugud (sling stone), which bears the head of a lion and may represent the hailstones of the god. His sanctuary is the E-padun-tila. Ninurta is perceived as a youthful warrior and probably equates with the Babylonian heroic god Marduk. His cult involved a journey to Eridu from both Nippur and Girsu. He may be compared with Iskur, who was worshiped primarily by herdsmen as a storm god.... |
| God name "Nabu" | Mesopotamia | God of wisdom and writing, worshipped by Babylonians as the son of Marduk and his consort, Sarpanitum, and as the grandson of Ea. Nabu's consort was Tashmetum. Mesopotamia |
| God name "Nabu" | Mesopotamian / Babylonian - Akkadian | God of writing and wisdom. The son of MARDUX and ZARPANITU(M), his consort is TASMETU(M). He is symbolized by the inscribing stylus. A major deity in neo-Babylonian times from the eighth century BC onward, with an important sanctuary at Borsippa, near Babylon, known as the Ezida. He is considered a god of mountain regions, described as the firstborn son of Marduk and his image is closely involved in the New Year akitu festival. Also NEBO (Vetus Testamentum).... |
| Goddess name "Nana" | Pre - Christian Armenian | Mother goddess. Her cult became widespread and she may be equated with the Phrygian goddess KYBELE.... |
| Goddess name "Nanaja" | Mesopotamian / BabylonianAkkadian | Fertility goddess. She is also a war goddess who became syncretized with the Babylonian TAS METU.... |
| God name "Nebo" | Babylonian | The Babylonian god of wisdom and writing, worshipped by Babylonians as the son of Marduk and his consort, Sarpanitum, and as the grandson of Ea. Nabo's consort was Tashmetum. |
| God name "Nebo" | Babylonian | The god of science and literature, is said to have invented cuneiform writing. His temple was at Borsippa, but his worship was carried wherever Babylonian letters penetrated. Thus we had Mount Nebo in Moab, and the city of Nebo in Judea. |
| God name "Nebo" | Western Semitic | God of writing and wisdom. Known from Syrio-Palestinian inscriptions and equating to the Akkadian NABU. Mentioned in the Vetus Testamentum.... |
| God name "Nebo aka Nimrud" | Babylonian | The Assyrio-Babylonian god of letters. |
| Goddess name "Nergal" | Assyrian / Babylonian | One of the divinities who ruled the netherworld, a goddess of war & death |
| Goddess name "Neti" | Mesopotamian / Sumerian / Babylonian - Akkadian | Chthonic underworld god. Chief gatekeeper of the netherworld. The servant of the goddess ERES KIGAL. Neti features prominently in the epic legend of Inanas Descent into the underworld when he opens the seven gates of the realm and admits the goddess, removing one emblem of her power at the threshold of each gate.... |
| Goddess name "Niangniang" | China | One of the Sacred Goddess of the heavenly Sages. A legend says Emperor Kangxi dedicated a temple to these female immortals in honour of good deeds they performed on his behalf. China |
| God name "Nin-Ildu" | Mesopotamian / BabylonianAkkadian | God of carpenters. Minor tutelary deity.... |
| Goddess name "Nin-Imma" | Mesopotamian / Sumerian / Babylonian - Akkadian | Fertility goddess. Deification of the female sex organs, fathered by Enki with Ninkurra.... |
| God name "Ninegal (strong-armed lord)" | Mesopotamian / Babylonian Akkadian | God of smiths. A minor patron deity.... |
| Goddess name "Ningal (great queen)" | Mesopotamian / Sumerian / Babylonian - Akkadian | Reed goddess. Ningal is the daughter of ENKI and NINGIKUGA and the consort of the moon god NANNA by whom she bore UTU... |
Table of Gods
Your guide to the World gods, spirits,
demons and legendary monsters
The Legend of Nian Monster
Chinese people held the first New Year Festival more than 3,000 years ago. Farmers gave thanks for the harvest and prayed. They asked the gods for good crops in the coming year.
But there is a story behind all the celebration, below is the legend of how the Chinese New Year celebration began.
Legend has it that in ancient times, there was a monster called "Nian" ("year") that would come out to eat people and animals on the eve of every New Year. To avoid the monster's attack, people would flee to the depth of the mountains and call this day "Nian Guan" (meaning "the Pass of Nian"). On one New Year's Eve, there came an old beggar in Peach Blossom Village, where an old lady gave him some food and asked him to hide himself in the mountain to avoid the monster Nian. The old man promised that he could drive the monster away as long as he was put up for the night at the old lady's home. Being unable to persuade the old man into hiding in the mountain, the old lady went alone. In the middle of the night, the monster Nian dashed into the village. He trembled and cried when he saw the red paper on the door of the old lady's house, which was brightly lit. Just as the monster reached the entrance, there came blasting sounds that prevented him from moving any further. At that time, the old man, wearing a red robe, opened the door and the monster was scared away.
The following year, the villagers were ready for it. They set off firecrackers, lit all their lamps and decorated their houses in red, they paste red paper on the doors, wear red clothing, hang up red lanterns. They made loud music, play the gong and drums and they dance and burn the fireworks whenever Nian was about to arrive, to scared away the beast.This is how these customs came into being.
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