#Talisman of the True People Tribe

[bringbackwendellvaughn]

[whencyclopedia]

The Sioux who Married the Crow Chief's Daughter

The Sioux who Married the Crow Chief's Daughter is a legend of the Lakota Sioux about Chief Big Eagle who left his people to marry a woman of the enemy Crow nation but never forgot the duties owed to his own people. The story highlights the values of personal honor and integrity.

It is also cited as an example of the practice of 'counting coup' and its importance in Native American warfare, of the value of horses in the tradition of the Plains Indians Culture, the challenges of inter-tribal marriages, and how members of different tribes who spoke different languages communicated with each other through signs.

The story is among the most popular of the Lakota Sioux and frequently anthologized as it is, at once, a love story, an adventure tale, and provides insight into the Plains Indians Culture.

Counting Coup

Historically, counting coup was a highly respected tradition of establishing one's reputation as a warrior for bravery and skill in battle. The warrior sought to touch an enemy, without killing him, either with the hand, a spear or lance, one's bow, a knife, or the object known as a coup stick – a wooden rod sometimes curved at the end. It was considered more honorable to disgrace an enemy warrior by counting coup on him than by killing him although the first 'coup' might then lead to his death in a second engagement.

The practice would be similar to tagging someone in a game. A warrior had to get close enough to the opponent to touch him and then get away before retaliation. A true 'coup' was struck when the warrior returned from its delivery unscathed. If one were successful, one could then place a notch in one's coup stick and/or place an eagle feather in one's headdress. One's opponent was understood to have been shamed and defeated by the coup and might leave the field of battle. If he refused to and was then killed by the same warrior who had counted coup on him, that was understood as a second coup, and if the dead man were then scalped, that constituted a third coup, just as then taking the man's horse became a fourth.

The greatest warriors – of the Sioux as well as other Plains Indians nations – were recognized by the number of notches on their coup sticks, feathers in a headdress, or other talismans indicating the number of opponents one had counted coup against successfully. Scholar Adele Nozedar comments:

The greatest honor was that initial touch, that contact with the living enemy. This was considered to be even more important than the killing. Considering this logically, it takes more nerve to have physical contact with a foe than it does to kill him from a distance, say, with a bow and arrow, or with a bullet from a gun. (117)

In the story, Big Eagle is respected by both his own people and the Crow nation he marries into for going into battle armed only with a coup stick. Although he participates in the war parties of the Crow against the Sioux, he refuses to kill his own people. In striking them with the coup stick, they become 'fallen' but have not been killed.

Continue reading...

[bellepeppergirl]

My Descent into Madness (Elden Ring)

Important Points:

There are Frenzy related beings capable of taking over bodies.

Irina and Yura have their bodies taken over by Hyetta and Shabriri respectively.

Irina is found not far from the Ailing Village in the Weeping Peninsula before she is killed and has her body stolen. The Ailing Village is afflicted with Frenzy and contains the Flame Crest Wooden Shield, which explains that "the yellow flame is a symbol of affliction and serves as a warning," and the incantation called Flame of Frenzy, a direct namedrop of the entity of the same name.

The Ailing Village has a church called "Callu Baptismal Church," which is where we find the Flame of Frenzy incantation.

"Callu" could be in reference to the Kannada word "Callu" which can mean "to spread (oneself) here and there" or "to scatter." source, as well as other possible translations: https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/callu

Could Callu be the name of a Frenzy-associated "demon" or perhaps the name of the Body Snatchers, or simply a reference to how they work; spreading themselves in the air to locate new hosts to take over.

Hyetta interestingly seems unaware that she is eating the eyes of those afflicted with Frenzy, believing them to be grapes, and even retching after learning the true nature of her new snacks, but eventually getting over it and continuing on to become a maiden of the Three Fingers.

Yura has his body taken over by Shabriri. Shabriri seems to be more important than Hyetta, as they have items and spells that directly reference them, such as "Howl of Shabriri," "Shabriri's Woe," and "Shabriri Grape."

Shabriri's Woe is a talisman that increases enemy hostility and aggro range. It describes a man named Shabriri who had his eyes gouged out for "slander" and that the Flame of Frenzy coming to dwell in his hollowed sockets. The talisman itself depicts this man with a "flirtatious" smirk.

Shabriri Grapes are the eyes that Hyetta desires to eat, which guide her towards the Three Fingers in the tomb of an old god, where the merchant tribe was sealed away. The item description mentions it helps the blind maiden (Hyetta) see a distant light.

Howl of Shabriri is an incantation that causes the user to hold their head in agony while shrieking horribly, afflicting madness to themselves and those around them, while also giving a buff and triggering an aggression-drawing affect similar to that of Shabriri's Woe. The description then says that the Flame of Frenzy began with Shabriri, "the most reviled man in history."

So, what does this all mean?

I find it interesting that the Flame of Frenzy "began with Shabriri" yet Shabriri himself seems to worship it and the Three Fingers. Perhaps he was the first be granted a blessing by the Three Fingers? We also don't know when exactly Shabriri had all of this happen to him, as the things happening in Midra's Manse in the Shadow Lands seem to have happened very long ago.

Could the Flame of Frenzy be an airborne "infection" that infects people through the eyes? Hyetta is notably blind. We don't know if this is because she is missing eyes or her eyes just don't work though.

The Fingerprint Shield is said to be part of a tomb for an ancient and dead god, as well as imprinted with fingerprints that served as the first seeds for Frenzy. If Shabriri was where Frenzy began, and this shield or these imprints were the seed, then there is a connection between these two and the this tomb.

This shield can be found in the Cathedral of the Forsaken beneath Leyendell, as can the Nomadic Merchant set, which reads that the Nomadic Merchants once had a flourishing caravan before being accused of "heretical beliefs" and being sealed under ground, eventually invoking the Flame of Frenzy via cursed chant.

The Cathedral of the Forsaken is also where the Three Fingers can be found, sealed behind an ancient, heavy, and warped door. It is also where Hyetta's quest ends.

Who the fuck are the body snatchers? I've gotten so off track by now.

Is Shabriri a Nomadic Merchant? It says he was punished for "slander" and had his eyes gouged out. The Nomadic Merchants were punished for "heretical" beliefs. Was the "slander" that Shabriri mentioned what led to the Nomdaic Merchants being accused of heretical beliefs? Slander could imply he spoke ill of the Erdtree, and if one member of this clan is a heretic, they must have assumed them all to be.

After being locked away in the tomb, Shabriri, having lost his eyes, was the first of the Nomadic Merchants to contact the Flame of Frenzy. Those without eyes can see its light, as evident from Hyetta. He is also described as where it began and the tomb of an ancient god is the seed.

He spoke out against the Erdtree, was punished, and in his punishment, he came into contact with Frenzy in the tomb of a god, likely via the Fingerprint Shield, which mentions the Three Fingers having no Finger Readers.

Blind people read with their fingers via things like braille. The fingerprints of the Three Fingers could carry its words like braille does.

Shabriri taught the other nomads the ways of the Three Fingers. They began to pray to it and, eventually, the Flame of Frenzy arrived officially in the Lands Between.

The Flame of Frenzy seeks to create formlessness in which all beings meld into one, End of Evangelion style. Perhaps it is this formlessness which allows beings like Shabriri to take over bodies.

Initially, the Nomadic Merchants seemed to be a hive mind. This seems to have been scrapped, but can still feed into the themes of creating formless, perhaps soulless, followers.

Maybe Hyetta is Shabriri?

I'm losing my mind. Frenzy is real and it is in me.

May make a part two.

[queer-tech-seer]

Runic Divination: A Modern Invention

It is a popular belief (especially in certain Neo-Pagan and Heathen circles linked to Neo-Nazism and White Supremacy) that the runes of Elder Futhark:

Were the runes primarily used by the Vikings and represent a direct link to Viking ancestors

Have been used for divination for over a thousand years, representing a long and unbroken tradition, and that the way we use them now is the way the Norse used them in antiquity

Have ancient esoteric meanings that have remained unchanged through the passage of time

Unfortunately, none of these statements are true.

Around 98 AD, a Roman known as Publius Cornelius Tacitus wrote what was essentially an ethnological study of Germanic peoples entitled Germania. In Chapter X, he describes a system of divination used by one particular Germanic Tribe, an observation which later became the basis of what we consider today as runecasting and of the contemporary usage of Elder Futhark as an oracle:

"To divination and casting of lots, they pay attention beyond any other people. Their method of casting lots is a simple one: they cut a branch from a fruit-bearing tree and divide it into small pieces which they mark with certain distinctive signs and scatter at random onto a white cloth. Then, the priest of the community if the lots are consulted publicly, or the father of the family if it is done privately, after invoking the gods and with eyes raised to heaven, picks up three pieces, one at a time, and interprets them according to the signs previously marked upon them."

It is important to note that, at this time, the full inventory of the Elder Futhark alphabet was not yet finalized due to the fact that the sound inventory of Proto-Norse was not yet finalized. It wasn't until around 400 AD that all 24 runes can be solidly attested to within the archaelogical record. While it is probable that some letters of Elder Futhark were likely being used at the time Tacitus wrote his Germania, but it is extremely unlikely that the symbols carved upon the wooden tiles were Elder Futhark.

Additionally, there is simply no archaelogical or historical evidence beyond Tacitus' claims suggesting that the Proto-Norse or Norse used runes as a system of divination at all. Certainly the runes were used in magical contexts; there are many examples of runes and bindrunes being used as talismans and sigils inscribed on weapons, shields, jewelry etc. within the archaelogical record, but nothing suggests that these runes were ever used for divination as we know and use it today.

It is also important to note that Elder Futhark was not the alphabet used by the Vikings, as most proponents of runecasting claim; Elder Futhark was in use from the second century to the late 8th century (700s) in Scandinavia, when it was simplified to the Younger Futhark. The Younger Futhark WAS contemporaneous to the Vikings, and roughly corresponds to the Viking Age (793-1066 CE). This disproves the claim that the Elder Futhark is a direct link to Viking Ancestors -- the Vikings were using a different alphabet. It would be more accurate to say that the Elder Futhark runes linked the Vikings to THEIR Norse, Proto-Norse, and Germanic ancestors.

Finally, the meanings associated with the runes of Elder Futhark as we know them today were actually derived in modern times from the Norwegian, Icelandic, and Anglo-Saxon rune poems. None of these poems were written in Elder Futhark. The current theory proposed by modern linguists is that the Rune Poems were mnemonic devices used to help people remember the order, names, and, most importantly, the sounds of each letter of the alphabet. In other words, the Rune Poems were the equivalent to nursery rhymes. 

With this new context, the use of nursery rhymes to assign esoteric meanings or properties to each rune seems a bit odd. Consider how silly it would be if, a thousand years from now, a group of people got a hold of one of those long posters found in elementary school classrooms meant to help children remember the order of the alphabet and decided that not only did the letter A definitively meant 'apple' and B definitively meant 'book', but that we as a society used these letters in order to divine the unknown.

Additionally, if the runes were preserving supposedly ancient meanings, we would expect these meanings to remain consistent throughout time with no variations. However, if the Rune Poems were instead preserving the phonetics associated with each runic letter by linking them to words beginning with that particular sound, we would see variation in the poems due to the linguistic variation of meaning.

And variation in meaning is exactly what we can observe between the Rune Poems; for example, the specific word linked to the phoneme represented in the stanzas attributed to Uruz talk about dross, a by-product of iron smelting within The Norwegian Rune Poem, about rain within The Icelandic Rune Poem, and then finally an aurochs in The Anglo-Saxon poem. The same can be observed for the stanzas attributed to Kenaz: the Norwegian and Icelandic rune poems refer to ulcers (likely derived from the Proto-Germanic *kaunan), while the Anglo Saxon refers to a torch (likely derived from Proto-Germanic *kenaz).

As an aside -- from examining the Rune Poems and comparing them to the commonly used modern meanings attributed to each rune, it is exceedingly obvious that whoever did assign said meanings primarily used The Anglo-Saxon poem as a jumping-off point.

In summary, Elder Futhark runes as we know them do not represent esoteric, magical concepts; the modern day meanings assigned to them were derived from translations of nursery rhymes meant to help people learn the Elder Futhark alphabet and, in some cases, were not the magical meanings ascribed to them by those who originally used them. Elder Futhark was not used by the Vikings and is not a direct link to Viking ancestors as many authors claim. Finally, there is no archaeological or historical evidence to suggest the runes were used for divination, nor was there a long and unbroken tradition of runecasting. The use of Elder Futhark as a tool of divination is a purely modern invention that dates back, at most, to the 1970's. The runes as they are used today are not 'ancient' nor is there a 'tradition' of using the runes for divination spanning back centuries, representative of an 'authentic and 'sacred' and 'holy' practice linked to Vikings.

As far as I can tell, Ralph Blum was the first one to write about the runes as a system of divination. Eddred Thorsson (Otherwise known as Stephen Flowers, who studied Runology, Germanic Languages, and Medieval Studies in an academic context), a known racist and white supremacist strongly linked to 'folkish' beliefs, Odinism, Asatru, and the Neo-Nazi Asatru Folk Assembly (a hate group recognised by the Southern Poverty Law Centre), expanded upon Blum's work and incorporated many Neo-Nazi beliefs based upon volkisch & Nazi doctrine, and is responsible for the perpetuation of these three myths (and quite a few others) into the present day with the publication of his books regarding runes. The publishing rights to Flowers/Thorsson's books are held by the Asatru Folk Assembly. Much of Flowers/Thorrson's assertions regarding the usage of runes is ultimately just unverified personal gnosis unsupported by archaeological or ethnographic evidence.

The association between runes and Nazism is certainly not new. The idea that the Germanic race (and its descendants) was superior to all others was central to Nazi ideology, and German ultranationalists scoured the archaelogical record to find proof of a link to a mythic 'Aryan' Heritage. They particularly liked the Armanen pseudo-Runes (the meanings of which miraculously were revealed to a man named Guido von List in 1902 after suffering temporary blindness following cataract surgery), but ultimately they shifted their attention to the appropriation of the runes of the Elder Futhark. The most infamous rune used by the Nazis is Sowilo, the 's' rune representing the sun, which was renamed the 'Siegrune' (Victory rune) and was used as a symbol for Hitler's Schutzstaffel (ie. The SS). Other runes that were misappropriated include Othala (inheritance) which was used as a symbol for the mantra 'Blud und Boten' (Blood and Soul), and Tiwaz (Tyr), which became a symbol for war and struggle. To claim that the runes represent a long-standing tradition and link to 'the ancestors' is straight up Nazi rhetoric.

This doesn't make the runes any less useful as an oracle! Oracles and divination help us find meaning in our lives as well as help us explain the universe around us, especially when we're faced with the murky unknown or with things that cannot otherwise be explained by other models or paradigms of rationalization. Using the runes to seek out answers to otherwise 'unknowable' questions is actually a method of reframing and recontextualizing our experiences via the viewpoint of an objective outsider, providing new insight and promoting introspection. This is especially helpful if what we 'learn' might not be things we want to hear or think about, especially concerning ourselves. It also helps us elevate the subconscious into the conscious, and makes us aware of things we didn't otherwise give much thought to due to our tunnel-vision view and tendency to focus only on the things we think are important or relevant.

The lesson to be learned from this is that it is important to critically examine so called 'traditions', especially ones claiming to be ancient and representative of 'ancestral' practices -- oftentimes the people perpetuating such beliefs have done so for a reason. Unfortunately, because Flowers/Thorsson's work is so prevalent within the pagan community, and because so many sources regarding runic divination end up linking back to his work, the practice of runecasting and using runes for divination has become tainted with Nazi rhetoric. It is for this reason that I am highly critical of any source listing the 'meanings' of the runes.

So… what can you do about this? Don't buy Flowers/Thorrson's books, obviously. Be critical of all sources when researching runes. Evaluate whether or not this person did their own research, or simply took Flowers/Thorrson's work at face value. Laugh openly at anyone who practices Rune Yoga.

My recommendation to rune enthusiasts is to study the Rune Poems and research the etymology of each rune word and come up with your own meanings and extensions, just like you would when researching the meaning of tarot cards. By doing this, you'll probably also find that you feel even more connected to them than before.

And, above all else, make your space an unsafe space for Nazis.

ᚠᚢᚲ ᚾᚨᛉᛁᛊ

References:

Andersen, Harry. "Three Controversial Runes in the Older Futhark (2)". North-Western Language Evolution, vol. 4, no. 5, 1985, pp. 3-22.

Antonsen, Elmer H. "The Proto-Norse System and the Younger Futhark". Scandinavian Studies, vol. 35, No. 3, 1963, pp. 195-207.

Dickins, Bruce. Runic and Heroic Poems of the Old Teutonic Peoples. Cambridge University, 1915.

Hoppadietz, Ralf, and Reichenbach, Karin. "In Honor of the Forefathers: Archaelogical Reenactment between History Appropriation and an Ideological Mission. The Case of Ulfhednar." Reenactment Case Studies: Global Perspectives on Experiential History, edited by Vanessa Agnew, Sabine Stach, and Juliane Tomann. Routledge, 2023.

Imer, Lisbeth. "How the Nazis abused the history of runes." ScienceNordic. 13 October 2018. Translated by Frederik Appel Olsen. https://sciencenordic.com/denmark-forskerzonen-history/how-the-nazis-abused-the-history-of-runes/1459227. Accessed 28 January 2023.

Knirk, James E. "Runes: Origin, development of the furthark, functions, applications, and methodological considerations." The Nordic Languages, vol. 1, 2002, pp. 634-648.

Southern Poverty Law Center. "Asatru Folk Assembly." SPLC: Southern Poverty Law Center. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/asatru-folk-assembly. Accessed 28 January 2023.

Southern Poverty Law Center. "Neo-Völkisch." SPLC: Southern Poverty Law Center. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/neo-volkisch. Accessed 28 January 2023.

Tacitus, Cornelius Publius. Germania. AD 98. Translated by Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb, Macmillan & Co., 1869.

[artifactsbeyondtime]

🌟✨ The hidden inside of my TOWER OF BABYLON TALISMAN This talisman features a true West meets East Collection of Symbols as these are the first Tribes of man re-united before they were divided and all the different languages created! There is a powerful Kabbalistic meets Egyptian Gematria - a numerological code embedded! The system is today called "The Sacred Tarot" and it is the true Ancient Egyptian Ta-roh "Royal Path" and numerology that defines much of America's early Western influence. (Continued) 🔥⚡👽🌟🦋👑🌷💜🦌🔭🌠💜👽✨ I hand-make talismans, paintings/sculptures for you or your loved ones!🌷All of my creations are made of 100s of ancient, powerful symbols! I've tested and taught Spiritual practices via my classes at NYCs Edgar Cayce Center for 10 years. I am likely LIVE right now on http://www.skydin.com & will sense and gift you what you need! 💜💜💜😇🌟 🔭🌠💜👽✨🔭🌠💜👽✨ I am still trying to rebuild all my jewelry & art that was stolen when I was assaulted & robbed. I am looking for a quality SPIRITUAL STORE or ART GALLERY to TRULY help with sales/marketing their work & mine! I am a rare, tireless entertainer, salesperson and psychic. I have huge internet reach and can work day and night continuously! I don't even need to eat. I have got by on hard work & skill alone, not cheating & it shows! If you would like to make a connection happen contact me. If it works out I will pay you! 🌟 🔭🌠💜👽✨🔭🌠💜👽✨ I began teaching (Psychic Techniques) at the Edgar Cayce Center & Meta Centers in Manhattan back in 2011. During all this time I have Documented & PROVEN which designs, which symbols consistently improve reality! People have reported magical experiences from owning my paintings too! A painting of your loved one will bless them. 😇🎨🌟☺️💜 🔭🌠💜👽✨🔭🌠💜👽✨ . . . . #spiritual #newage #astralprojection #psychic #Spiritualart #magick #runes #clairvoyance #sacredgeometry #metaphysical #crystalenergy #magical #ascendedmasters #chakra #metaphysics #spiritualsymbols #starseed #ascension #psychicattack #spells #newageart #healing #energyhealing #occult #spiritualgift #magicalsymbols #shamanism #celtic #reincarnation #spiritualstore — view on Instagram https://ift.tt/EH0xdVC

[skydinzeal]

🌟✨ The hidden inside of my TOWER OF BABYLON TALISMAN (P2): This talisman features a true West meets East Collection of Symbols as this is the first Tribes of man re-united before they were divided and all the different languages created! There is a powerful Kabbalistic meets Egyptian Gematria - a numerological code embedded! The system is today called "The Sacred Tarot" and it is the true Ancient Egyptian Ta-roh "Royal Path" and numerology that defines much of America's early Western influence. (Continued) 🔥⚡👽🌟🦋👑🌷💜🦌🔭🌠💜👽✨ I hand-make talismans, paintings/sculptures for you or your loved ones!🌷All of my creations are made of 100s of ancient, powerful symbols! I've tested and taught Spiritual practices via my classes at NYCs Edgar Cayce Center for 10 years. I am likely LIVE right now on http://www.skydin.com & will sense and gift you what you need! 💜💜💜😇🌟I began teaching (Psychic Techniques) at the Edgar Cayce Center & Meta Centers in Manhattan back in 2011. During all this time I have Documented & PROVEN which designs, which symbols consistently improve reality! People have reported magical experiences from owning my paintings too! A painting of your loved one will bless them. Visit my site, http://www.skydin.com I am likely LIVE to answer your questions! 😇🎨🌟☺️💜 🔭🌠💜👽✨ I am looking for a quality SPIRITUAL STORE or ART GALLERY to TRULY help with sales/marketing their work & mine! I am a rare, tireless entertainer, salesperson and psychic. I have huge internet reach and can work day and night continuously! I don't even need to eat. I have got by on hard work & skill alone, not cheating & it shows! If you would like to make a connection happen contact me. If it works out I will pay you!🌟 . . . . . #spiritual #newage #astralprojection #psychic #Spiritualart #magick #runes #clairvoyance #sacredgeometry #metaphysical #crystalenergy #magical #ascendedmasters #chakra #metaphysics #spiritualsymbols #starseed #ascension #psychicattack #spells #newageart #healing #energyhealing #occult #spiritualgift #magicalsymbols #shamanism #celtic #reincarnation #spiritualstore (at Brooklyn, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cok8g6bvOUz/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[bestiarium]

The Mmoatia [Ashanti mythology; Ghanaian mythology]

The Ashanti people – who live in Ghana – have a rich mythology full of wondrous beings and dangerous monsters. Among them are the Mmoatia, small human-like creatures that are often compared with fairies. This was a very widespread belief among the Ashanti, many of whom were convinced that they saw the Mmoatia at least once. These stories were so believable that some of the British officers wrote that there must be a hidden pigmy folk in the region. Rattray, the author of the book sourced below, once offered money for the capture of such a being.

They resemble tiny humans, about 30 cm (1 foot) in height, but with backwards feet (interestingly, backwards feet are a common trait associated with supernatural human-like creatures in mythology of several civilizations, such as several Brazilian native tribes. But I digress). They do not grow old, being creatures of magic. Mmoatia can move at high speeds. Modern illustrations often depict them with wings, but this was not mentioned in any sources I could find so I believe this to be a modern addition, probably owing to their association with European fairies.

They are incapable of normal speech, but can communicate with each other by way of a language that consists entirely of whistling. Despite this, the Mmoatia are the messengers of the gods (the Abosom). They come in three variants: white, red and black versions. The black Mmoatia are kind and innocent in general. The white and red ones, however, are pranksters who take pleasure from messing with people. Typical Mmoatia pranks include stealing food and palm-wine. Some of these beings also dabble in black magic, like witches and sorcerers. These two variants are also said to be capable of making powerful talismans which they might occasionally trade with humans. If you leave the right currency on a rock and return later, the money would be gone and a talisman would be put in its place. In addition, red Mmoatia are in league with witches (Abayifo), which were feared by the Ashanti. 

A suman, which is a magical talisman, its granted its power by the Mmoatia, ghosts of deceased hunters and the Sunsum (plant spirits). Though some Ashanti people believe that true suman talismans are only made by Mmoatia.

These creatures live in remote settlements, and sometimes take on human apprentices to live with them for 40 days and 40 nights. The human guest is then taught healing arts, and when he finishes this apprenticeship he has become a Sumankwafo, a type of shaman or medicine man. You cannot claim this title without having learned from the Mmoatia. Living with these beings can be strange and difficult: according to one account from a medicine man, each day the initiate’s tongue is touched once with an egg. This is the only food he received during his time with the Mmoatia.

I do not know whether this is actually related, but there are accounts of tribes in the northern areas along the Ghanaian Gold Coast who communicate with a language that heavily incorporates whistling.

Source: Rattray, R. S., Religion and Art in Ashanti, 1929. (image source 1: Lokelani on Deviantart) (image 2: a statuette of a Mmoatia. Image source: spurlock.illinois.edu. The figure is currently part of the Lynn and Michael Noel Collection.)

[steambend]

steambend’s end of year fic rec list [2020]

so i thought i’d just collate a list of my favourite fics i read this year. i’ll split it from completed to ongoing, and it will go from general to mature rated fics (each category is also in alphabetical order, because i’m that bitch). i’m sure most of these fics you will have seen or read before, but i wanted to get them all in one place and maybe start an annual tradition on my page!

these are all zutara fics

completed fics, rated: general

beautiful by dyce

zuko cannot stop noticing that katara is beautiful. 

brightest in the dark by soopersara

a less-than-friendly interruption in the crystal catacombs pushes zuko and katara together, and they have to work together to find a new path.

canon divergent from crossroads of destiny

completed fics, rated: teen and up

mending wounds by fictionissocialinquiry

'the fire prince is older. you can see it in the calmness of his expression, the relaxed carriage of his shoulders. he is smiling at her. she's never seen the fire lord's son smile.' while lost in the foggy swamp, searching for her brother and her avatar, katara is haunted by visions of the fire nation's disgraced prince. visions of peace after war, visions of honour and secrets...

stealing from pirates by dyce

without zuko to rescue her from the pirates, katara is captured... and finds that they already have a prisoner in desperate need of her help.

such selfish prayers by andromeda3116

katara's ambition, so long set aside for the good of others, breaks free and sets fire to her soul. or, katara has a vision of her canon future, casts it aside, and becomes a world-changing politician instead.

the color of the stars by bluenebulae

“roads were made for journeys, not destinations.” ― confucius

one moment changes the course of history. katara and zuko are imprisoned by the fire nation army during the day of black sun, and when they escape, they find themselves adrift in the fire nation with no one to rely on but each other. with only six weeks before sozin’s comet arrives and four nations to cross, the pair must track down katara’s allies, save the world—and learn to trust each other.

canon divergent from part 2 of 'day of black sun.'

there are worse things i could do by orosea

she thinks of how this must be so easy for sokka, to be married at home, to someone of his culture. she has nothing against princess yue, the sickly girl is kind, and frankly, far too good for sokka. which is the problem. sokka is in love with her.

and what does katara get? a marriage to a firebender. thrown into a country she doesn’t know, like fish carcass, to the nephew of the fire lord.

for her tribe, she tells herself.

rounding the edges by sadladybug

it can take some grit and hard work to grind out the sharp edges, but the effort can produce something that shines. a zutara oneshot in which katara learns a few new things about zuko, including the fact that he may be very difficult to live without. featuring unexpected teamwork, tense training moments, and more than a few awkward conversations. canon compliant(ish), book three beginning sometime between tsr and eip.

what fortune lent by lewilder

au; the southern raiders' mission aims true and katara is taken to the fire nation as a prisoner of war. as her circumstances and the political climate change, she forms unexpected alliances and makes it her mission to restore her people and find the avatar.

completed fics, rated: not rated

and you feel your heart (taking root in your body) by raisindeatre

"no one is now what they were before the war." - catherynne valente

after everything - the comet, the war, the coronation - katara tries to find the road back to herself. somewhere along the way, she also finds the road to zuko.

ongoing fics, rated: teen and up

in the kingdom of heaven by nautica_dawn

in her later years, katara will look back on the agni kai against azula fondly. in her younger, more immediate years, she wishes she'd turned down zuko's offer.

polar nights by crystalline talisman

in order to arrange a treaty for the long standing war between the water tribe and fire nation, prince zuko is sent to the south pole to arrange a truce by fire lord lu ten, where he is greeted by subzero temperatures, sea prunes, and quirky customs. this of course, is a cake walk compared to the revelation he'll be marrying the stubborn spiritual leader, katara. au. zutara.

the chief and i by jassmarie19

when the fire nation decides to take over the world, it is the temples that go down first (peacefully, and no one suspects a thing). then their eyes turn towards the mainland and all is lost for the earth kingdoms. at this onset of war, the southern water tribe shuts itself off from the rest of the world. it is a challenge at first, but the fire nation decides they have loftier goals than the tribal people of ice and water. they are forgotten.

a century has passed. the fire empire runs the world, emperor azulon at the head with his grandson, the herald of light, prince zuko of the southern isles by his side. fresh off winning the last vestige in the earth kingdom, prince zuko travels to the south to gain the last of the free world. but they come to the southern water tribe knowing nothing but snippets saved before the conquering. the herald of light has a lot of work ahead of him if he is to convince their vexing chieftain to surrender. the fate of the great imperial empire counts on this.

this might as well happen by owedbetter

stranded in a foreign country during a pandemic, zuko has a crazy idea.

ongoing fics, rated: mature

southern lights by colourwhirled

a world where the avatar has disappeared from memory. where sozin’s conquest was successful. where the unsteady order of the empire is threatened as members of the royal family are picked off one by one and lines are slowly drawn in the sand.

one last chance for peace forces an unlikely alliance between a homesick waterbender, a carefree air nomad, a runaway earth kingdom heiress, and the fire lord's inscrutable son. together they must learn to shed old enmities and become the balance they seek to restore to the world.

or:

the avatar has four heads.

x

[[chapter 4: "and always, his eyes, cautiously watching her. even when he thinks she isn’t looking. it drives her mad"]]

waste no more time by owedbetter

'waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. be one.’ - marcus aurelius

no one knew where the painted lady of republic city came from. they only know that one day, she did. healing the sick, fighting injustice where she could, and ruining profiteering capitalist organisations when she could.

and ozai corporations will stop at nothing to put an end to this brand of vigilante justice, even hiring the elusive powers behind blue spirit investigations to seize and desist her from further damaging the chaos her revolutionary care is inspiring among the people... by any means necessary.

a tale of justice, love, and revolution.

and that is it! happy reading guys, and feel free to reblog and add your favourite zk reads of 2020

[thebestbookrecommendations]

Doctor Sleep - Stephen King

(The Shining #2)

On highways across America, a tribe of people called The True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless - mostly old, lots of polyester, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and spunky 12-year-old Abra Stone learns, The True Knot are quasi-immortal, living off the "steam" that children with the "shining" produce when they are slowly tortured to death. Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father's legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him, and a job at a nursing home where his remnant "shining" power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes "Doctor Sleep." Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan's own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra's soul and survival.

Read if You Like:

Horror

Thriller

Fantasy

Paranormal/Supernatural

Mystery

Suspense

Recommended if You Enjoy:

Stephen King (Bag of Bones)

Michael Koryta (The Cypress House)

Stephen King/Peter Straub (The Talisman)

5/5

Previous Book in the Series:

[pumpkinpaix]

Something with Wen Ning and pretty much anyone else, for “you’re not very intimidating.”

Lan Jingyi frowns, circling Wen Ning with the critical eye of a connoisseur. Wen Ning dutifully holds his position awkwardly, hands held out in claws, face twisted into what he thinks is (hopefully) a terrifying expression befitting his reputation.

“It’s just—” Lan Jingyi sighs, then shakes his head.

“What is it, Lan-gongzi?” Wen Ning asks politely before he can help it, and quickly schools his features back into their previous arrangement. Or at least, he tries. It’s hard when he can’t see himself.

“You’re just not very intimidating,” Jingyi explains, with all the gentleness of a schoolteacher afraid to disappoint an eager student.

“Oh,” Wen Ning says.

“Not that you aren’t making a stellar effort!” Jingyi hastens to add. “Really—a nice touch, the uh—the way you’re holding your hands—I mean, well, it would work better if you hadn’t trimmed your nails—”

“A-Yuan helped me,” Wen Ning supplies, glancing over at Sizhui, who nods encouragingly. Jin Ling snorts, leaning up against a tree.

“Sizhui!” Jingyi scolds. “How is he supposed to scare people with well-kept hands?”

“Maybe he could roll around in some mud beforehand?” Ouyang Zizhen pipes up from where he’s sitting cross-legged on the ground, head propped up on a fist.

“I tried that before,” Wen Ning admits, straightening his posture and dusting off his robes. “I also used some grass.”

“Grass??” Lan Jingyi demands. “What’s scary about grass?”

Wen Ning shrugs. “Wei-gongzi didn’t think it was very scary either.”

“Wei-qianbei doesn’t think anything is scary,” Lan Jingyi scoffs.

Jin Ling snorts, even louder this time.

Jingyi glares. “If you’re not going to help, then why did you even come?”

“Who wanted to come?” Jin Ling retorts automatically. “You’re the one who made such a fuss and dragged me out into the woods for this nonsense.”

“It’s not nonsense!” Jingyi exclaims. “Look, it’s important that Wen-xiansheng maintains his reputation! What are people going to do when they find out the Ghost General is actually a meek, stuttering man with good manners? Who would probably serve you tea if you asked nicely?? Look, we can’t stand for that! He’ll be bullied!”

“If I don’t speak, they won’t hear me stutter,” Wen Ning points out. “I can still make the standard fierce corpse noises. That’s scary, right?”

“Yes! Yes, that’s scary!” Jingyi says, seizing onto this kernel with enthusiasm. “Let’s hear it!”

Wen Ning looses one of the guttural growls of the undead, the kind that roll out from somewhere unknown and bestial. They always surprise him on the way out, the way they seem to cling to the air and linger where they’re not wanted.

Lan Jingyi is, somehow, not impressed. “Hm,” he says.

“Not loud enough?” Wen Ning asks.

“The sound was fine,” he concedes. “But your expression didn’t match. Can’t you like, exude some black smoke or something? Turn your eyes red?”

“I think you have me confused with Wei-gongzi,” Wen Ning says.

“Maybe Ning-shushu just isn’t meant to be very scary,” Sizhui says, taking pity on him.

“Yeah, Jingyi, why are you so hung up on this anyways?” Zizhen asks.

Lan Jingyi sighs dramatically. “What is the point!! Of having the Ghost General as an escort on nighthunts!! If people find out that he’s actually just a really nice guy??”

“Is it a problem so long as he can still protect us when things go wrong?” Sizhui wonders.

“Sizhui’s right,” Zizhen agrees. “It’s not like he has to be scary to be strong.”

“This is a waste of time,” Jin Ling declares. “I’m going home. I’ll see you all next week in Qishan.”

“Jin Ling!” Lan Jingyi whines. “Jin-xiaojie!”

“Piss off,” Jin Ling says rolling his eyes. He whistles for Fairy, leaping onto Suihua, and zips out of sight.

“For someone so dramatic, you sure don’t have any sense of flair!” Lan Jingyi calls after him.

“Why don’t we just go back and have some tea?” Sizhui suggests.

“I just received a brick as a gift from my friends up north,” Wen Ning says, lighting up. “I’ve been meaning to see if I can brew it properly at home. Did you all want to try some with me?”

“Oh, that sounds good,” Ouyang Zizhen says, getting to his feet. “I’ve always wanted to try foreign tea.”

“I’ll have to get milk first, but I’m not sure it will work,” Wen Ning says. “The taste might be different.”

“We can go to Caiyi to see what they have,” Sizhui says. “I need to get supplies for nighthunting anyways.”

“That’s true,” Zizhen says. “I have a few things I need to pick up as well. Jingyi, are you coming?”

Lan Jingyi gapes at them. “This is exactly what I’m talking about! The Ghost General is going to serve us all some tea? I mean, that’s—ugh, fine!” He throws his hands up in defeat. “Fine! I can’t believe not one of you has any conception of aesthetic! No good taste for presentation!” He flings an arm around Sizhui’s shoulders. “You’re all absolutely hopeless! What are you going to do without my advice, I swear—” 


—


NOTES: 


(did u think I wouldn’t have any bc this is just a tiny tumblr ficlet?? think AGAIN—)

* I have a very idiosyncratic headcanon that wen ning after he and sizhui went to inter their family’s remains at qishan, he went and travelled all the way north into mongolia, where he ran with some nomadic tribes for a hot minute, made friends, and picked up archery again. that’s where he got the tea.

* secondary related hc: fierce corpses can taste (mildly), but eating doesn’t really do anything for them. wwx has, in the intervening years, worked on some talismans to improve wen ning’s quality of living, such as increasing sensation, reducing stiffness, pausing bodily decay etc. so wen ning can taste more now, though the whole “has to manually vaporize any substance he takes into his body” thing I described in wind&rain still holds im making it up as i go y’all


* basically, this takes place somewhere in the spring dawn universe, but it’s extracanonical silliness don’t mind me

* ALSO re: milk! milk DID exist in tang dynasty cuisine according to my very brief dive into wikipedia before it was later abandoned, so THEORETICALLY, they could acquire milk in china. i guess. maybe. IDK look. i tried.

(prompt list || other ficlets || ko-fi)

[bringbackwendellvaughn]

[bean-na-farraige-agus-foraoise]

A Rebuttal of “Lesson 1: A Snapshot of the Early Insular Celts”

This is part 1 of my 20-part manifesto on why druids should do some research for once. You can find the master-post here.

This is a long post, so the actual rebuttal is under the cut! Each number in parenthesis (#) corresponds to a footnote formatted in the Chicago manual of style located in the block quote at the end of the post!

Lesson 1, “A Snapshot of the Early Insular Celts,” begins with a good and solid premise, that in my opinion, everyone approaching Celtic polytheism should begin with, and that is the question of “who were the Celts?” Unfortunately this lesson begins to unravel almost immediately after establishing this premise. Herne posits that the widely held and proven migration of the Celtic peoples across Europe and into the British Isles is in opposition to the theory that the peoples already living in the British Isles evolved more complex societies and engaged in peaceful cultural trade with continental Celts. There is no historical evidence to suggest that this process could not be completed both on a “friendly basis” and “as a mass invasion”- particularly as Herne states, that the first theory allows for the intermarriage of the continental Celts with the peoples already present in the British Isles. There is little evidence to suggest that the Bronze Age hill-forts were ever utilized as defenses, as the available archaeological evidence found at hillforts does not support the theory of a hillfort as a defensive structure but rather suggest that they were utilized, rather successfully, as deterrents. The archaeological record indicates that hill forts were structures that promoted peace within small-scale farming communities and that they are indicative of Ireland’s integration into the continental culture- suggesting a large migration of continental peoples to the British Isles rather than the slow transference of ideals and culture (1). 

Moving onto Herne’s assertion that “Julius Caesar, Pliny and a number of other Classical writers, suggested that Britain was the home of the Druids’ religion, and that Continental Celts sent their sprogs to Britain in order to learn to be Druids,” it is important to note that Herne does not cite their sources- I cannot ascertain in which texts these claims are being made, who translated them, the accuracy of the translations, or who these “other Classical writers” are. Furthermore, Roman narrators are notoriously unreliable, and should not be taken at face value- a fact which Herne notes just a few paragraphs later. Moving away from issues of narrator accuracy- Herne argues that druids were originally to be found in Britain, and here begins a complicated story of conscious misinformation campaigns and pseudo-history. As Ronald Hutton says in his book Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain, “[the druids] were portrayed as the timelessly ancient priests of the British, whom the Celts adopted when they reached Britain”. This description is in reference to the ways in which The Most Ancient Order of Druids/The Ancient Druid Order tried to rebrand themselves in the 1951 campaign largely formed out of pseudo-history that was built upon the teachings of Iolo Morganwg, who was ironically rejected as an ancestor by the Order. This description of a conscious misinformation campaign from the Order, lines up very neatly with Herne’s argument that druids originated in Britain. The actual historiography of the study of druids is much more complicated than Herne or the Order suggest- beginning in the fifteenth century Germans created a pseudo-history surrounding the existence of druids in the Rhineland as a way to lend credence to a newly forming German identity in opposition to the Italians. The French, followed by the Scots, and then the Welsh were next to create pseudo-histories of druidic influence and power in the formation of national identities and as precursors of Catholic clergy, it is into these pseudo-histories that Iolo Morganwg (the simultaneous rejected ancestor and source of inspiration for the Order) was born. These pseudo-histories contain the claim made by Herne that the main schools or colleges of druidic thought and learning were located in Britain (2).

Herne’s next claims that the Celts never referred to themselves as such, and that he word comes from the Greek Keltoi are correct, as are their claims that the “tribes were independent entities, with their own languages, styles of dress, types of food etc.” and their statement “that each tribe was different in subtle ways, it is hard to make broad descriptions that would have been true of all the British tribes”- what is not correct however, is their claim that these tribes were united by a shared religion. Among the most famous books on the Celtic tribes is The Celts: The People Who Came Out of Darkness by Gerhard Herm, though a bit old, as it was published in 1977, is thoroughly research and the text clearly outlines the ways that the various tribes that would be called “Celts” were separated linguistically, culturally, and religiously (3). One can clearly see the religious differences present in the area that was inhabited by the Celts by simply looking at the different myths and folklore that arose from the different regions - Irish myth and folklore is different from Scottish, which is different from Brythonic, which is different from Gaulish, which is different from Germanic, etc. I’m not citing sources here because I’m hopeful that we all know that there are differences between Welsh, Irish, and Germanic folklore, all of which are countries/regions that were inhabited by the ancient Celts. 

Herne’s claims that the Picts’ woad tattoos “[were] like talismans and [could] impart protection in battle, courage, aid from a particular spirit etc.” is baseless- there is no scholarship to support this argument. Once again, I cannot comment on the veracity of these unnamed “classical writers”- and as Herne has already pointed out just one paragraph prior, classical writers are notoriously unreliable narrators, the fact that Herne is taking their words at face value is troubling . This being said, we do know that the British and Gallic Celts were known to bleach their hair and dye their eyebrows (4). 

I’m waiting to comment on Herne’s claims that “they were also very honourable and, once giving their word, would stick to it,” etc. as “lesson” 7 focuses on values, morals, and ideals and I’d rather not repeat the same information over and over again. 

Herne has a distressing habit of not citing any of their goddamn sources, which means that as I have no idea which commentators they’re referencing as speaking on the ‘three subsets of the British religious caste’ I have no way of verifying if these are legitimate sources, or even what the sources are. I’ve mentioned this before, and will very likely mention it in each rebuttal- an appeal to an unnamed authority, particularly when that authority is known to be an unreliable narrator, is not viable. What I do know is that the structure and function of the druids described by Herne is the same as what is referenced in the pseudo-histories discussed by Ronald Hutton in his book on the history of druids in Britain (5). Herne’s assessment of the duties performed by Irish and Welsh bards is correct, if a bit oversimplified- but this is a “snapshot” introductory lesson, so I’m willing to forgive the simplification. The information regarding the ranks of the filidh from the Book of Ballymote is accurate although I find its placement in the text odd and disjointed.

I do, however, take issue with Herne’s claim that the ovates might have used ogham as a form of divination- or that ogham is “full of.... poetic imagery.” Ogham is simply an alphabet, and unless one considers the plants often associated with the letters to be “symbolism and poetic imagery” I personally don’t see it. Once again, Herne makes a broad claim without naming or citing what they’re referring to in their claim that “a number of myths refer to ogam being used in a magical context.” This is problematic in that there are often several versions of different myths and that Herne does not not define what they consider to be a magical context. I’ll go further into depth with my issues surrounding Herne’s understanding of ogham in my rebuttal to Lesson 16, which focuses on the alphabet. This is not to say that one could not create a divination system utilizing the ogham alphabet (which many have done), but that there is no real historical precedent of ogham being used as divination tool by the ancient Celts as nearly all of the extant ogham stones are name markers (6). 

Herne says that most of the “five great tribes of supernatural beings who held sway before the coming of mortal kind” remain shadowy- this is blatantly false, there were more than five and we know the names of these tribes (Partholanians, Nemedians, Fomóire, Firbolgs, Milesians, etc.) from the Book of Invasions, an albeit pseudo-historical record of the kings of Ireland that tracks the invasions of these tribes and the ways in which the tribes are interconnected. Herne’s further assertion that the Tuatha dé are the only ones referred to as gods is laughable at best, as some figures from the other tribes are considered gods alongside the Tuatha dé and feature prominently in myths and stories (7). I’ll go more into detail on Herne’s interpretation of the Tuatha dé in my rebuttal to Lesson 3, including looking further into the “people of the goddess Danu.”

Herne makes a decisive statement about the way the ancient Celtic peoples viewed their gods, and while inferences can be made from the archaeological record of rituals, the surviving stories, and observances made by the classical authors (who I hope by now you will remember are notoriously unreliable), but the simple fact remains that there are almost no contemporary sources on Gaelic polytheism, and many of the sources we do have were written long after the peaceful conversion to and successful syncretism with the early Catholic Church. In essence we don’t know how the ancient Celts viewed their gods, we think we have an understanding of the faith, concepts of divinity, animism, and ancestor veneration- but these are simply theories and interpretations, the primary source material simply isn’t there for us to make definite comments on how they viewed their gods (and some would even argue that the ancient Celts weren’t polytheists at all, but I’m not having that conversation today). These interpretations of how the Celts viewed their gods have been debated for centuries and much of our interpretation comes from writings of those from other religions and cultures rather than from the writings of the ancient Celts themselves. What Herne gets right, is the locations in which the ancient Celts worshiped, overwhelmingly the archaeological record suggests outdoor worship at natural landmarks (8), and while Herne’s “lessons” cover a swath of topics there is little on the subject of ritual- if you’re interested in reading more I’d be happy to provide my sources on ritual in Ancient Ireland to anyone interested. 

That’s all for today! Sources are listed below. If you want more reading on any of the topics mentioned in this post feel free to shoot me an ask or a message and I’ll provide you with a reading list!

1. James O’Driscoll. “A multi-layered model for Bronze Age hillforts in Ireland and Europe.” The Journal of Irish Archaeology, Vol. 26 (2017): 77-100.

2. Ronald Hutton. Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain (New Haven,CT: Yale University Press, 2011). 

3. Gerhard Herm. The Celts: The People Who Came Out of Darkness (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1977). 

4.  Patrick Weston Joyce. A Smaller Social History of Ancient Ireland: Treating of the Government, Military System, and Law; Religion, Learning, and Art; Trades, Industries, and Commerce; Manners, Customs, and Domestic Life, of the Ancient Irish People (Longmans, Green, & Company, 1908); Peter Wilcox and Angus McBride. Romes Enemies: British and Gallic Celts. (London: Osprey, 1985).

5.  Ronald Hutton. Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain (New Haven,CT: Yale University Press, 2011).

6.  Charles Graves. "On the Ogham Character and Alphabet. Part II." Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy (1836-1869) 4 (1847): 356-68.

7. R.A.S. Macalister and D. P. Curtin. Lebor Gabala Erenn. (Philadelphia: Dalcassian Publishing, 2018); Mark Williams. Ireland’s Immortals: A History of the Gods of Irish Myth. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2016). 

8. Katherine Leonard. Ritual in Late Bronze Age Ireland: Material Culture, Practices, Landscape Setting, and Social Context. (Oxford: Archaeopress, 2015). 

[indepthpokemonheadcanons]

Pokémon Religion Headcanons

(For anonymous. Sorry this has taken so long - it’s such an interesting request, but one I’ve really struggled to put into words!)

Owing to the documented existence of certain legendaries, true atheism is rare in the pokémon world. To believe in the gods is not a marker of faith by itself. Only those who shape their attitudes and actions around those gods are seen as religious. 

Throughout the Japenese regions, Arceus is a symbol of cycles, motion, and reincarnation. Followers put great emphasis on preservation of nature and family, ensuring that the world continues as it always has - in some communities, this can lead to a rigid intolerance of individualism. 

At traditional funerals, followers of Arceus are buried without coffins, so that they may return to and nourish the earth as soon as possible. This practice is less common nowadays, but cremation is still frowned upon, as it does not ‘give back’ to nature in the same way. 

In Johto, Ho-oh is worshipped more actively than Arceus. While tales of its origin vary (many incorporate Lugia in some fashion), the most common belief is that Ho-oh used to perch atop the Brass Tower, offering luck and wisdom to the people who stood before it. Yet many humans abused its gifts; wisdom was used not for its own sake, but to gain an advantage over others. Eventually, a war broke out to win the deity’s affections, culminating into years of discord and violence before Ho-oh razed the tower and disappeared, leaving the resurrected Beasts to watch over the land in its absence. Many say that Ho-oh will not return until humanity has found harmony once more.

In Alola, the people of Ula’ula Island are the most fervent in their worship, as Tapu Bulu is historically the most destructive of the Guardian Deities. Tapu Koko’s tantrums are frequent but short-lived, Tapu Lele punishes people only on an individual basis, and Tapu Fini is never prone to outbursts. As such, the people of Ula’ula take extra pains to appease their deity - the island is home to umpteen festivals, most of which focus on agriculture and food, and there is a huge resistance against new technology. There was outcry when Kukui announced his plans to build a Pokémon League on Mt Lanakila. Those old enough to remember what happened to Po Town and the Thrify Megamart are convinced it will bring disaster. 

Historically, Kalosians viewed mandibuzz and murkrow - as well as many other dark types - as servants of yveltal, who would act as its eyes while it slumbered, spreading death where it couldn’t reach. This belief may be archaic, but the effects still linger; dark specialists are scarcer in Kalos than in any other region. 

While Arceus is the most major deity in contemporary Hoenn, Rayquaza is still revered in coastal and mountainous communities, the Draconid tribe among them. While Kyogre and Groudon are commonly viewed as destructive forces, which short-sighted communities would call upon whenever the weather failed them, Rayquaza is a god of balance, said to curb the worst of nature’s extremes. In sailing communities, the markings on its body are often replicated on boats, tattoos, and jewellery, as talismans to ensure calm skies while out at sea. Legend states that Rayquaza entrusted humans with the Red and Blue Orbs, and with them the burden of ensuring that Kyogre and Groudon never awoke again. Sootopolis is the heart of this legacy.       

In Kalos, ash trees are said to grow where Xerneas has walked, so they are common sites for prayers and offerings. A sprig of ash is a traditional gift for a pregnant person, so as to encourage the baby’s health and long life.  

Unova is less actively religious than the other regions, but the Tao trio encompasses a philosophy that still exists in many of the northern communities. Reshiram represents truth, Zekrom represents ideals, while Kyurem represents an absence of belief. While most know the story of how they were formed - one dragon splitting into three fearsome beings - fewer people are familiar with the earlier legends, detailing the time before the division. Contrary to widespread belief, the dragon was at its strongest and wisest when those differing viewpoints were contained within one mind. As such, the philosophy of the Tao trio is concerned with identifying the contradictory beliefs within yourself, accepting that they may coexist, and drawing strength from the ability to view things in different ways.

[galderthefuzzy]

Warchief's Echo by Galder The story of The Warchief’s Echo is one of loyalty, love, and loss. When Vendelia Artamir began her service under Warchief Garrosh Hellscream she felt no honest loyalty for her faction, no love for her leader, and no pride for her place in the eternal fight. It was on the shores of Pandaria that she first teamed up with Vol’jin and, in her opinion, it was then that she was first guided by a true leader. Her people’s opinions and sordid history with trolls be damned, this blood elf quickly came to admire the chief of the Darkspear tribe. She was elated, though not surprised, when the mantle of Warchief was passed to him. She was his right-hand man and his first pick for General on Draenor and she proudly championed the Horde and her Warchief for the first time in her military career. Over time she even began to notice herself genuinely falling for Vol’jin. He was smart, noble, strong, kind -- he was everything she admired in both a leader and a man. Unfortunately, she never got the chance to express this to him. The seemingly never ending war against anything and everything did eventually cost Vol’jin his life. Vendelia’s heart shattered but she had to carry on her service, hardly finding inner peace again until her assignments took her to Zandalar. On the island she replaced his urn, spoke with his spirit, and afterwards found herself with a small portion of his ashes as an act of gratitude from Princess Talanji. Pondering what to do with them the answer came to her quickly. The heir apparent to the widely-renowned Artamir jewelcrafting service and a master jewelcrafter in her own right she got to work the second she arrived back in Silvermoon.  The Warchief’s Echo is Vendelia’s love letter to Vol’jin. With his ashes pressed into a colored gem she created a talisman reminiscent of her beloved Warchief, as a way to both honor his memory and keep him close to her heart.   And in her quiet moments, when she clears her mind, she swears up and down that the gems glow. And she can almost hear his voice.  I had the absolute pleasure to design and paint this wonderful piece for the amazing FavGallery.  The story behind the piece(supplied by the commissioner) and the concept were quite exciting and I had a lot of fun working on it.  Thank you for commissioning me!

[trolldomblog]

Amulet / Charm / Talisman

An amulet is any object (usually small in size) intended to bring good luck and/or protection to its owner, or any object believed to hold magical properties that can protect against bad luck, illness and evil. It may be used for specific purposes, or just for general good luck. Potential amulets include gems, crystals, simple stones, statues, coins, drawings, diagrams, pendants, rings, plants, animals, even words. They are often worn as a necklace or pendant, although they can be worn anywhere (the closer to the body they are worn, the more powerful their magic is believed to be).

A talisman is also an object that possesses magical or supernatural power, and there is much debate on the exact difference between an amulet and a talisman. Some argue that the power of a talisman is of a greater magnitude, or that a talisman is able to be magically charged and to transmit its power to its owner or wielder, or that a talisman is used for specific, rather than general, purposes. They are usually more complicated affairs than amulets, often involving carved or engraved figures, or bearing magical symbols or inscriptions in gold, etc. Generally, talismans are not worn, but may be carried in a pocket or purse, or kept near the object they are intended to benefit (e.g. tacked over a child's bed). When linked with an appropriate spell, they greatly increase its strength, although they can also be used alone, for their intrinsic magic is considered powerful.

Charms are generally items of folk magic and superstitions, such as a lucky horseshoe, a four-leaf clover, a rabbit’s foot, a baby’s caul or a bracelet of personal charms signifying important things in the wearer's life. A charm can also be used to refer to a simple verbal spell.

Charms, amulets and talismans have been used in folklore in all parts of the world and throughout history, from the hamsa (or “Hand of Fatima”) and nazar (or “blue eye stone”) used to protect against the evil eye in Arab countries, to the “gris-gris” used in Vodou as charms for good luck or protection, to the “cold-stones” (small rounded beach pebbles, painted with dots, wavy lines and geometric shapes) that were held to cure sickness in animals and humans by the Pictish tribes of northern Scotland. “Touch pieces” (coins and medals, especially those with holes in them or those with particular designs) were believed to cure disease, bring good luck and influence people’s behavior since Roman times; pendants in the magically potent shape of a pyramid pointing to the gods (often colored black and white to express the opposition of good and evil) were worn in Asia Minor; an exaggerated apotropaic eye was painted on Greek drinking vessels as early as the 6th Century B.C. to ward off evil spirits while drinking; an amulet formed from the natural knot-hole of a tree branch was used in magic-making in medieval rural England. Possibly the most powerful talisman in modern witchcraft and Wicca is the pentacle.

In many societies, religious objects serve (or have served) as amulets, such as the figure of a certain god or some symbol representing the deity (e.g. the cross for Christians, the Buddha pendant, the "eye of Horus", the “eye of Ra” or the "ankh" symbol for the ancient Egyptians). In demonology and Satanism, an inverted cross or a pentagram in downward position are amulets used when communicating with demons.

Precious and semi-precious stones and crystals are commonly used in amulets and talismans, each stone having its specific significance and power (e.g. amber wards off evil spirits and protects against rheumatism; aquamarine brings love, hope to the oppressed and protects travelers; diamond repels wild beasts and evil men, and ensures fidelity in a lover; emerald strengthens the memory and prevents possession by evil spirits; garnet brings good health and protects against nightmares; lapis lazuli, like all blue stones, protects against black magic and wards off melancholy and insomnia; onyx protects a marriage from intruders; pearl improves the skin, cures fevers and brings tranquility; sapphire brings peace and happiness and protects the eyes; topaz helps to locate buried treasure; turquoise brings peace to married life; etc.).

Different symbols and shapes are also considered to have different magical properties. For example, the shape of a bee brings success in business; a black cat is one of the best all-around good luck charms known to witchcraft (contrary to popular superstition); anything egg-shaped brings good luck and is a powerful fertility charm; a fish brings a large family, especially if cast in gold or mother of pearl; a stone arrowhead is a powerful force against evil spirits; the shape of a hand is another powerful charm against evil spirits; anything in the shape of a sacred oak tree, or a piece of oak itself, is lucky; the shape of a pig is a potent bearer of fertility; the form of a serpent brings long life and wisdom; etc.

Many amulets and talismans are made from letters or numbers that may appear meaningless, but are believed give off excellent vibrations, and they can be powerful magical aids.

Thor’s Hammer - Mjolnir

Mjolnir means lightning, and Thor’s hammer indicates the god’s power over thunder and lightning. Thor, ancient god of war is one of the most prominent figures in Norse mythology. Thor who was the storm-weather god of sky and thunder and also a fertility god, was the son of Odin and Fyorgyn, the earth goddess.

Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir is depicted in Norse mythology as one of the most fearsome weapons, capable of leveling mountains. One Norse story tells what happened when he lost his precious hammer.

Mjolnir was a magical weapon that always came back to Thor when he threw it. Wearing Thor’s hammer as an amulet of protection was quite common as this was probably the most popular of all the pagan Viking symbols. Even during Christian times, from A.D. 1000 on, Vikings wore Thor’s Mjolnir as well as a cross on a chain or thong around their necks.

Yggdrasil - Norse Tree Of Life

In Norse mythology, the Yggdrasil is a giant mythological tree that holds together the Nine Worlds or realms of existence.

At the very top of Yggdrasil, an eagle lived and at the bottom of the tree lived a dragon named Nidhug. Both hated each other and were bitter enemies. The Nine Worlds are guarded by the serpent Jormungandr. Yggdrasil is one of many variations of the Cosmic Axis or Universal World Tree known to all human cultures and home to many fascinating creatures.

The image of Yggdrasil appears on the famous Överhogdal Tapestry, which dates to the year 1066 and depicts the events of Ragnarök, the doom of the Gods and apocalyptic record of the coming comet. Read more

Valknut – Viking Symbol For Death In A Battle

The Valknut, also known as Hrungnir’s heart, heart of the slain, Heart of Vala, and borromean triangles is a mysterious Norse symbol. its true meaning is still debated, but it is often associated with a warrior’s death in a battle.

The symbol has been found on old Norse stone carvings and funerary steles. It is sometimes called “Hrungnir’s heart,” after the legendary giant of the Eddas. It's also possible to find a depiction of the Valknut on stone carvings as a funerary motif, where it probably signified the afterlife. In art, the Valknut is a representation of God Odin, and it demonstrates gods’ power over death. A Valknut is also believed to offer protection against spirits which is the reason why it is often carried as a talisman.

A Valknut is made of three parts, and the number three is a very common magic symbol in many cultures. In this case, the symbolism in Norse mythology showing three multiplied by three might designate the nine worlds, which are united by the Yggdrasil tree. In modern times Valknut, like Triquetra and Horn Triskelion, is often interpreted as a symbol pointing to heathen convictions.

Helm of Awe

The Helm of Awe is one of the most powerful protective symbols used not only for the purpose of protection from disease, but even to encourage all people who might suffer from depression or anxiety.

In Norse myths it is said that the Helm of Awe symbol was worn between the eyes to cause fear in your enemies, and to protect against the abuse of power. The Norse word for this very important symbol (Ægishjálmr or Aegishjalmur) is translated in English "helm of awe" or "helm of terror." The meaning of the name awe is to strike with fear and reverence; to influence by fear, terror or respect; as, his majesty awed them into silence.

Huginn And Muninn – The Twin Ravens In Norse Mythology

Among the Aesir gods in Norse mythology, the supreme god Odin, is frequently depicted sitting on his high seat, Hlidskjalf, in Asgard, the home of the gods.

Odin always has his two raven companions, Hugin (Huginn) and Munin (Munnin) on his shoulders.

Hugin is believed to represent ‘memory’, while Munin personifies ‘thought’. Every day, Odin sends them out and they fly across the worlds to seek for important news and events. Odin surveys the worlds from Hlidskjalf and must know reports of what is going on in all Nine Worlds. In the evening, Hugin and Munin return to Odin’s shoulders and during dinner in Valhalla, they whisper all they have heard in his ears.

Web Of Wyrd (Skuld’s Net) – Viking Matrix Of Fate

In Norse mythology the concept of fate is reflected by the Web of Wyrd that is created by the Norns who were known as ‘Shapers of Destiny. The Norns were goddesses who ruled the fates of people, determined the destinies and lifespans of individuals.

With its nine stave, the Web of Wyrd is a matrix of fate that represents past, present and future events in a person’s life. Norse people believed that everything we do in life affects future events and thus, all timelines, the past, present and future are connected with each other.

Troll Cross – Norse Symbol Protecing Against Trolls And Elves

The troll cross is an amulet made of a circle of iron crossed at the bottom in a shape of an odal rune. It was worn by Scandinavian people as a protection against trolls and elves.

The Triple Horn Of Odin

The Triple Horn of Odin is yet another symbol of the great Norse God Odin. The symbol consists of three interlocked drinking horns and is commonly worn or displayed as a sign of commitment to the modern Asatru faith. The horns figure in the mythological stories of Odin and are recalled in traditional Norse toasting rituals. In Norse mythology there are some tales describing God’s quest for the Odhroerir, a magical mead brewed from the blood of the wise god Kvasir. There are several account of the tale, but typically, Odin uses his wits and magic to procure the brew over three days’ time; the three horns reflect the three draughts of the magical mead.

Gungnir – The Spear Of Odin

Gungnir was a magical weapon created by the dwarves and given to Odin by Loki. The Gungnir never missed its mark and like Mjölnir, the hammer of Thor, it always returned to Odin.

Vegvisir – Runic Compass

Vegvisir is among the oldest and sacred Norse symbols and it initially originated from Iceland, where ‘Vegur' means - road or path and ‘Vísir’ means – Guide. The symbol was frequently inscribed on seagoing vessels to insure their safe return home.

The device was believed to show the way back home and protect seamen and their ships from storms. The Vegvisir was like a guide helping its bearer to find his way home. Norse people believed that the Vegvisir had special powers and it was treated like talisman for luck, protection and blessings. This powerful symbol could help a person to find the right way in storms or bad weather whatever unfamiliar surroundings he or she may encounter.

It has also long played an important role among people who believe in magic powers, such as Norse Shamans. As a spiritual compass, this magical device guides your heart and steps to make the right choices in life. If you have lost yourself and your faith, this sacred symbol helps you find confidence again.

[anitoanum]

Bikol Animism & Spiritwork Notes

[Image Description: Photo taken by Anito Anum of the Mayon Volcano with lush jungle in the foreground, water marked with rainbow colours, stars, and spirals. The title, on a semi-transparent black rectangle, reads: “BIKOL ANIMISM & SPIRITWORK NOTES”. The bottom caption of the photo in white font reads: “A reconstructionist diasporic anglophone perspective. Compiled by anitoanum.tumblr.com.”]

Note: My sources are listed at the end. I welcome any and all feedback from other Bicol/Bikol people, especially folks from the homeland, regarding their spiritual and healing practices.

People and Powers

asog: ritualist, priest/ess (what Westernized society would now consider a feminine male assigned at birth person)

balyan: ritualist, priest/ess (what Westernized society would now consider a female assigned at birth person)

parabawi: an exorcist, referring to anyone who drives evil spirits out of the body so that good spirits may return

parabulong: anyone who administers medicine

himara/maghimara: to predict the future by observing external movements, such as that of a wheel moving slowly, fast, etc.

hula: prediction; maghula / hulaan to augur, forecast, foresee, foretell, predict

hukloban/hokloban/hodoban: witch doctor, malicious sorcerer who killed men and animals, and demolished houses

matanda: a wise old ruler

nuom: clairvoyant; seeing in mind’s eye/imagining something that comes true

parapalad: fortuneteller

pintakasi: defender, patron, patron saint

sabong: pasabong: an omen, pagpasabong: clairvoyance, ESP, ipasabong: to be clairvoyant

sarawat: masarawat: describing someone who loves plants

sunat: a high priest/ess (gender unknown) responsible for ordaining the asog and the balyan

tagohalim/tagohalin/taguhalin: shapeshifting sorcerer

tagolainan: a sorcerer.

tuyaw: magtuyaw/tuyawon: to prophesy, paratuyaw: a prophet

Spiritual Concepts

gagamban: hell

kamburagan: paradise/heaven

liwat na pagkamundag: reincarnation, rebirth

pagkamundag uli: reincarnation, rebirth

Ritual/Palihon

Palihon/paliyon/polion is the general term for rituals, beliefs, and taboos, and their preservation.

To Whom: 

Rituals are done for the anito and/or gugurang, and sometimes for the tawong-lipod. 

Anito/diwata are generally ancestor spirits out in nature. 

Gugurang are generally ancestor spirits of the household that come along with a person, but in later folklore began to be seen as a single deity inside Mount Mayon.

Batala/bathala are a set of special gods/spirits that watch over a village or clan. 

The tawong-lipod are general invisible spirit beings, like giants, elves, dwarves, etc.

To hold a festival or ritual for the anito is called a maganito or anitoan. The anito/diwata are represented by carved wooden statues called ladawan or lagdong. The lagdongan is also the name of the basket that carries the ladawan/lagdong. 

By Whom:

Most ritual is presided by a balyan and/or an asog. 

The sunat is the head spiritualist who initiates the asog and balyan. 

There are also other ritualists, called the parabawi/santiguar, that deal specifically in exorcisms.

Where:

The anito have houses/temples called muog/moog that are built in open fields or in the branches of trees. 

The gugurang have a temple of bamboo, reeds, and coconut fronds called gulang-gulang or golanggolang. 

How:

An altar called a salagnat/salangat is created out of bamboo in which food is offered to the anito/diwata/gugurang. 

The food/banquet of the maganito is called the gamit. 

If you are sacrificing a chicken, it is called a hanggot. 

If you are sacrificing a pig it is called socob/sokob. 

Songs called suragi/sorague are done for the anito/diwata/gugurang. 

Prayers called adyi and pamibi are done for the anito/diwata/gugurang . 

After the balyan/asog says prayers, it is customary to say ahom, in agreement. 

A ceremonial dance called a dumago was also performed. 

The balyan/asog usually wears a a circlet with a golden nugget or wreath of leaves/flowers called tubaw/tabao. There may also be worn golden balls as ornamentation, called matambacao/matambakaw. 

The balyan/asog also use banay, the topmost fronds of the anahaw palm, during ceremony.

General Rituals: 

The tubas is a washing/bathing ritual. 

Gabas is to ask numbers from the spirits.

Thanksgiving: 

The atang is a specific ritual where a sacrifice of one-tenth of the harvest is offered as a sign of thanksgiving to the gugurang. This is later eaten by the participants in the ritual.

Blessings and Coming-of-Age: 

The yocod/yukod is in honour of the anito to bless a favoured child and protect them from the aswang. Children process around the inside of a dwelling. 

The baguet is a coming-of-age ritual where a pig that was raised since the birth of a child is sacrificed and eaten by the child-now-adult as a community, with special alcoholic drinks. 

Tagay is a wedding ceremony in which the drinking of liquor forms part of the celebrations. When pronounced differently, tagay is also a ritual in which food is offered to the tawong-lipod to ask for a rich harvest, a full catch, a successful hunt, or the removal of spells placed on an individual by the tawong-lipod itself.

Prevention: 

The duol is a ritual where the whole tribe fasts in prayer and sacrifice to the anito to ward off evil or stop a disaster. 

The halya is a ritual done during the eclipse to ward off the bakunawa by using balalong, bamboo or hollowed tree trunks, that are beaten with sticks. Halya is also done during the full moon in honour of the gugurang to continue to ward off the bakunawa. There is also chanting during this ritual. At the climax of the halya, roasted water buffalo or boar is eaten, which is called the sumsom. In later folklore, Halya/Haliya became the name of a masked goddess of the moon.

The hidhid is a ritual that can be done to have the aswang stop a storm or a plague using a chewed up betel nut mixture. It was also known as a form of exorcism when there was a public calamity.

Rituals for the Sick: 

The hidhid is in honour of the aswang to counter its influence over a sick person. The balyan chews up a betel nut mixture and touches the person on the head with it. 

Olad is a spirit feast/ritual performed for the sick. 

Ole is a ritual to heal the sick. 

Paypay is to use the banay to fan the sick as part of curing them. 

Posao/pusaw is a ritual where lemon/citrus leaves wet with water are squeezed in the eyes of the sick. 

Tigay are chants and songs of the balyan to help cure the sick. 

Sacom/sakom is when you call the soul of the sick person back to their body and use banay to do it. 

Lagaylay is a dance that the parabawi, an exorcist, gets the afflicted to perform to get an evil spirit to leave someone’s body.

Rituals for the Dead: 

Statues and figures that are carved in honour of the dead are called parangpan/paraparangpan or tatawo. 

Basbas is when you wash the body of the dead with the water-softened leaves of lukban/pomelo/citrus/lemon. 

Katumba is the loud prayers and songs sung during the purification rites of the dead. 

The ayay is when you cover the graves of the dead with cooked rice or rice mixed with dirt.

Duol is also done after the death of a relative, where you abstain from certain foods.

The taroc/tarok is a ritual in which a banay is carried into a battle of vengeance and if the enemy is defeated placed on the grave of the relative who has been avenged. 

Hugot is when a slave is sacrificed and the entrails are offered to the aswang to prevent it from eating a newly dead chief or other important person. 

The kataposan is the ceremony held nine days after someone’s death. 

The actual funeral ceremony is called pasaka, and when you partake of the funeral feast on the day of the burial in honour of the dead, that is called lalala. 

Lalawan is when you mourn the dead by dressing in mourning clothes, cutting the hair, or holding a special ceremony. 

Binangonan/Binagnonan is when you speak to the dead in ceremony. 

Uraw is the ceremony to resurrect the dead with incantations. 

Makatagi is to be influenced by the positions of the dead.

Spells & Charms

An anting is the name of a physical charm or talisman. Munay is a general ointment.

aguatiempo: a potion which replaces drinking water of sick people in the belief that it will hasten the effect of medicine which has been administered

barat: the wind from the west; bolt; a needle-like wooden or metal peg which is an accessory to a small idol in human shape possessing movable joints and having many holes; if the barat is inserted into a chosen spot on the idol; after an incantation mumbled by the mambabarat the victim is supposed to suffer at the spot pierced by the peg; mambabarat a sorcerer who uses a barat

hinaw: a charm created by the balyan capable of identifying a thief; maghinaw to divine by using such a charm; maghinaw/hinawon to suspect of thievery by such divination

huklob: root (used by witch doctors in their ceremonies); maghuklob / huklobon to enchant, bewitch; hukloban witch doctor

kabal: an amulet which has the power of making its possessor invulnerable to the bolo and the spear, rendering these weapons dull, or suspending them in air upon attack; generally a circular piece of copper with a hole in the center, or a bit of shell roughly carved into the shape of anito noted for particularly admired exploits

laaw: root used as a charm which if brought into contact with an enemy can cause sickness or inflammation maglaaw /laawan to charm or bewitch with this root

lumay: love potion, maglumay / lumayon to give someone a love potion so that he or she will fall in love with you; makalumay/malumay to be affected by a love potion

mutya: pearl, jewel, gem, precious stone, anything someone holds dear, something beloved

pamaghat: a medicinal mixture of tree roots and alcohol, given to nursing mothers

pato: a root or charm which causes someone to who steals from you to fall ill or die

tagalpo: a herb carried by hunters and used to charm wild game so that they will not flee; a magic formula which, if thought of mentally, can turn a hostile attitude into cordiality, or an enemy into a friend; a type of hypnotism

tagohalim/tagohalin/taguhalin: Someone who makes charms/spells through shapeshifting or saying words; a root that was used in spells to aid in flying or shapeshifting into animals (cats or dogs); a plant from which an extract is derived enabling a man to fly, or to change himself into a dog or cat or other animal

tagohopa/tagahupa/tagolmay/tagulmay: A species of grass from whose roots may be prepared a brew capable of depriving a man of his will-power.

tagulipod: a plant possessing roots which, when eaten, may render a man invisible at will

tambal: antidote, snake medicine, tambalan: one proficient in such treatment

tauac/tawak: A charm which can be protect someone from a poisonous insect or snake bite; the charm is affected by pricking the person with something serving as an antivenom

Omens/Pasabong

barubarita/baribarito: the name of the singing of a haya/sayasaya, a bird, in which hearing the sound was a bad omen.

didit: the cricket, if the cricket’s chirping awakens someone during the night, a relative or someone close to that person will die

kuro-kuro/korokoro: bird; also a messenger of the buggo whose cooing indicates that the aswang  is coming to devour the entrails of a baby or someone who is sick; cooing followed by a muffled sound, such as that of distant thunder, announces the impending death of someone in another tribe

patyanak: if the wailing of a tiny black bird is heard at night by a pregnant woman but not by others who are with her, this could indicate that she will have a miscarriage

yasaw/yassau: a creature which hides in the shadows of trees on moonlit nights, if it is seen at the same time a cry resembling that of an infant is heard or imagined, the aswang is on the prowl and someone is going to die

Taboos, Oaths/Vows, and Curses

Bawal/Palihon/Taboo

ngasa: a superstition/taboo that holds if one’s fields or crops are particularly successful in comparison with those of others, death or misfortune will soon be visited on someone in the town, or the crops themselves will be lost

puhon: an ancient belief which holds that if a slave or person of low birth were to drink from a glass or eat from a plate of someone of high rank in the community, the abdomen of the slave or person of low birth would swell with air

sibol/sido/siro: An ancient ritual and taboo to not go to the house where sick and wounded are healing. 

sibong: A ritual/taboo/curse where those who get tattooed without earning it through battles or other ways, become sick and die.

Panata/Vow

matay: may I die; an oath taken whereby one swears to take his own life if he is not telling the truth

Curse/Tukso

karaw: a sickness inflicted by sorcery; magkaraw / karawan to curse; to put a curse on

ratak: to put a spell on, to charm or enchant, maratakan: to fall sick or have one’s wounds infected due to the evil medicine of a sorcerer, pagratak: witchcraft, sorcery

All words to describe witchcraft/sorcery/bewitchment/enchantment

aswangon/maaswang: to be bewitched, enchanted, put under a spell; magaswang/aswangon: to betwitch, enchant

babalo: enchantment; magbabalo/babaloon: to bewitch, charm, enchant, put a spell on; sound of a rooster crowing

barang: similarity; magbarang/barangon to bewitch, to cast a spell on someone; makabarang/mabarang to be bewitched, fall under a spell

dagon: to go ask a witch or sorcerer to hurt a sick person and/or eat his entrails.

himalo/maghimalo/himaloon: to bewitch, enchant

maibanan/yba/iba: to be bewitched, damage/enchantment by a sorcerer or demon.

lagaylay: enchanted, bewitched; lagaylayon: to be enchanted or bewitched

rawraw: to cast a spell over; pagrawraw: witchcraft, sorcery

usog: mausog: to be bewitched

Spirits & Otherwordly Beings

Benevolent:

Katambay are personal guardian spirits that watch over an individual.

Anito/Diwata are generally ancestor spirits out in nature. 

Gugurang are generally ancestor spirits of the household that come along with a person, later thought to be a single spirit that is Chief Spirit of the Bikol people

Batala/bathala are a set of special gods/spirits that watch over a village or clan.

Dawani is the legendary first woman of the world believed to have designed and woven the rainbow; hablon nin dawani: rainbow

Magnindan: spirit that helps fisherpeople

Okot: A dwarf/elf good spirit that spoke through whistling

Arapayan, Nagini/Naguined/Naguinao, and Makbarubak/Macbarubac are the three spirits that, when invoked with crocodile teeth and coconut oil mixed together, has the power to kill another

Harmful:

aguahan: A witch that eats human flesh. A sorcerer that is cursed or gives curses.

anananggal: a two piece witch that is capable of detaching its upper portion from the waist; the upper portion then flies in search of saliva to drink and human flesh to feast on

anduduno: a vampire that finds delight and nourishment in inhaling the odour and sucking the blood for a woman in labour, the sick and the dying; it assumes the shape of a huge bat and sucks from the back of a victim by means of a long, thread-like tongue

aswang: a devil or witch said to eat human flesh, though in later folklore was seen as a single deity (Asuang) inside Mount Malinao

bakunawa: a grotesque dragon that swallows the moon during eclipses, an event which is believed to bring bad luck

Bongan: malicious demon dwarf

bunggo/bonggo: ferocious “priests” whose eyes flash fire, consuming whatever is within the range of their heat. They wandered the woods and were possible descendants of Asuang.

buri: a one-eyed, three-throated creature inhabiting the swamps of a particular section of Bikol called in old records Punong

cacac/cacag/kakak: A witch. The song of a hen when she wants to lay an egg. Also the song of a witch who is flying and/or moaning by a sick person’s house.

daguit: To snatch something; to have something snatched by witches. Mananaguit: A bird of prey, or an aswang/witch that snatches humans.

hingnasuan: A witch that eats human flesh.

irago: the daughter of aswang, a serpent which can appear or vanish at will taking any form pleasing to its victims, often that of an envious woman with a sexy voice; same as uryol

kapri: a legendary giant; an evil spirit

lakaw: a ground witch

laki: a monster with the hoofs and mane of a horse and the face of a repulsive man with the wide protruding lips which entirely cover its face when it laughs; brushing against the invisible laki or simply being near it, could produce rashes curable by whipping the affected part with the long strand of a woman’s hair; same as unglo

layog: a witch that flies upright with its arms outstretched and its eyes gazing at the full moon; it snatches its victims from behind, between the legs, then carries them aloft by the ankles; it eats the flesh and laps the saliva of the tuberculous and can be found clinging to the rafters under the house of the victim

mampak: monster

mumo: bogeyman

pupo/popo: a hot-tempered, vengeful spirit who, by touching the head of a child with its hand, causes the child to grow weaker and weaker until it dies, or keeping the child a child forever

rabot: a master liar; also an ugly half-man and half ferocious wild beast that can transform its enemies into rocks by magic

silag: A witch that tears into the body of anyone dressed in white, feeding on the entrails and liver, causing the victim to die

tambaluslos: a small forest creature said to lead people astray; when it laughs, its lips open to cover its whole face

yasaw/yassau: a creature which hides in the shadows of trees on moonlit nights, if it is seen at the same time a cry resembling that of an infant is heard or imagined, the aswang is on the prowl and someone is going to die; the yasaw may be transformed into a laki

Neutral:

daro-anak: an ancient beast, usually a serpent or a wild boar, that has grown enormously large and, weary of its big size and old age, has plunged into the sea to become a sea monster or a small island

duende: dwarf, elf, goblin

ikogan: a spirit creature resembling a hairy man with a tail

mapangilaw: a giant who wears a vine for a belt 

isaw/issau: apparition, phantom, elf, dwarf

Kalapitnan: god/spirit of bats

liktin: elf, dwarf

luwok: elf

mangindara: merperson; person of the waters

patyanak: the fusion of an untimely discharged human fetus and a tiny black bird whose mournful wailing resembles that of an infant

sarimaw: tiger; a tiger’s tooth; a brutally fierce monster with crossed bulging eyes which appears unexpectedly before the guilty, tearing them pitilessly apart with its sharp claws

tandayag: a large serpent which is said to have gone to the sea and changed into a whale; also applied to a large eel which has undergone the same transformation; referring to things that are very old or very large

tawong-lipod: a general term for invisible creatures including giants, elves, etc.

tupong-tupong: a human-like creature which can stretch or shrink to take the shape of whatever it is next to

apo: grandparents; ancestors; respectful title; imp; small human-like creature living in little earth mounds and possessing magical powers capable of turning people into animals such as toads, snakes; tabi apo means excuse me apo and said when spitting, throwing a stone in the dark, etc. in case by chance one hits the apo

Sources:

Bikol-English Dictionary / diksionariong bikol - ingles by Malcolm Warren Mintz and Jose Del Rosario Britanico

Vocabulario de la Lengua Bicol by Marcos de Lisboa

Diccionario Mitologico de Filipinas by Fernando Blumentritt

Relacion de las Yslas Filipinas by Miguel de Loarca