Flood Myths Around the World

Its that time of year where the rain just doesn’t seem to stop. Whether its day-long downpours or a week worth of on-off showers, it feels like the world is slowly flooding. Flood: Our not-so-smooth segue into the topic for this week. My initial post about Gilgamesh hinted at this topic, and I feel like I can’t put it off for any longer. Thats right! In the spirit of observing long term commitments, we’ll be discussing the Flood myths that are prominent throughout many of the world’s religions, past and present.

The Facts

I would wager that a good portion of the western world can identify some form of a flood myth in their own upbringing. Heck, I got kicked out of Sunday School, and I can even name tell you about Noah’s ark. These myths, as their names imply, deal with floods that wipe out the vast majority of humanity. These flood waters are normally sent by the gods, and are a form of punishment for the humans they afflict. More often than not the floods are survived by either one or only a few members of humanity that go on to repopulate the world. As I’ve mentioned, countless cultures throughout the world have these similar myths in their religions, and we’ll be going over what a few of those myths are.

Examples Throughout Time and Space

The oldest example of the Flood myth exists within Mesopotamian lore. The greatest god of Sumerian mythology, Enlil, had conspired to flood the land and destroy humanity. He swore his fellow gods to secrecy, but one of these gods, Ea, chose to warn a mortal man, Utnapishtim. Ea instructed the man to construct a boat from his very home, and decry society to save himself. The gods flooded the world, destroying all of humanity, save for Utnapishtim and his wife. The gods were horrified at Enlil’s actions, and wept for the loss of humanity. However, when the waters grew calm, and Utnapishtim emerged from his boat, Enlil became enraged. However, the sorrow of the other gods and Ea’s reminder of compassion convinced Enlil to allow them to survive. Utnapishtim and his wife are granted immortality by Ea, who decrees “Let Utnapishtim reside far away, at the mouth of the rivers.” where Gilgamesh later finds the immortal couple.

the most well known in our western world, we have the Flood myth found within Christian mythology. The story of Noah’s ark is one that many Sunday School students find themselves familiar with. Noah, a righteous, God-fearing man, is instructed by God to build an ark in preparation for a flood. This flood is to be the work of God himself, as the deity has found humanity to be too violent and corrupt. Noah, heading God’s orders, builds an ark and boards it with his family and two of every animal on earth. God proceeds to flood the world with scolding hot water, performing over-kill of biblical proportions by both burning and drowning all of humanity. Eventually, God bids the waters to recede and Noah and his family are the sole remnants of humanity.

Similarly, the Greeks had, not one, but two myths consisting of gods destroying humanity via floods. Firstly, the Silver Age of man. In this time, men lived long lives under the dominion of their mothers, and grew old for short amounts of time that were full of strife. Zeus brought this age to an end via flood for humanity’s refusal to worship the gods. The second flood was at the ending of the Bronze Age, where the violence prevalent in the world incited another flood by the gods.

Another, lesser known, Flood myth belongs to Hinduism. Shraddhadeva, a king in the south of India, is visited by a magical carp that asks the king to save him. Shraddhadeva aids the carp, transporting it between increasing large containers until it fills the entirety of the ocean. This carp reveals itself as an avatar of the god Vishnu, and warns Shraddhadeva of the incoming flood. Shraddhadeva, as you may have guessed after reading a few of these, constructs a boat to save himself and his family. Vishnu appears once more as a massive horned fish that pulls the boat free of the waters.

Persisting Mystery

There are a lot of theories surrounding the prominence of these myths throughout the world. Ranging from meteor-created tidal waves to glacial fallout in the Mediterranean, scientists the world over have struggled to reconcile what may have prompted so many society’s to have a prevailing common myth. Maybe it actually happened. Maybe, like spiders, humanity has an innate fear of the water. Whatever the reason, the mere fact that so many of these cultures, disconnected throughout time and space, have stories that are so close to one another is something that baffles and intrigues countless comparative historians the world over.

Sympathetic Magic

   “Sympathy or empathy”: A question of just a few letters and a tweak in meaning that confuses, in my experience, the vast majority of people. Personally, I normally hesitate to use one without looking up the definition just to be sure I’m not going to make myself look stupid. After all, I’m the vocab-guy in a lot of my friend-groups. So, for those that are unaware of the difference themselves, sympathy is feeling a sense of compassion for another, and empathy is being able to put yourself in the shoes of another person to understand their situation. Now, with the grammar lesson out of the way, we can move on to what this post is actually going to be about. Empathy is the odd-man out here: It just gave me an easy way to bring up sympathy. Now, sympathy. More specifically, a brand of magic known as Sympathetic Magic.

The Facts

   Sympathetic Magic is one of the oldest types of mysticism in the world. “Sympathy”, as we’ll call it, operates heavily on two major principles. The first, imitation, is an idea that is likely familiar to many people. Here’s the clue as to where the inspiration for this post came from: Voodoo dolls are an example of imitation-based Sympathy that have pervaded popular culture in recent years. The idea that physical representations of people or places are able to, through their shared connection (a lock of hair, a piece of clothing, etc.) Exert some degree of influence over a target is the core belief behind imitation. Second, we have correspondence, the slightly vaguer, more nebulous cousin of imitation. Correspondence deals more strongly with relationships between objects, and how those can be magically exploited. A famous example of correspondence exists within the universe of Patrick Rothfuss’ King Killer Chronicles series, where, by convincing oneself that two separate things are innately connected, someone is able to lift a coin on the opposite side of a table by lifting another, individual coin. Granted, that sounds fairly underwhelming, but its a tame example.

Now, lets move on to something more interesting. We’ve heard the lengthy mental acrobatics to allow me justifying this post, and the brief historical lesson is finished. We can move on to something a bit 

more interesting, finally: Some examples.

Examples: Historic and Modern

Imitation

   As I’ve stated, the most famous type of imitation is the image of a Voodoo doll. A movie may depict some stereotyped Creole individual stabbing needles into an effigy, but that is far from the case. The concept of a “Voodoo” doll originates more accurately within Europe. Should an individual fear that they had caught the attention of a witch, they would create a doll out of rags. The classic image of needles is accurate however, as the needles were meant to cause physical harm to the witch and keep the individual safe.

   Once again, Europe brings us the concept of another form of imitation Sympathy: The Clay-body. A creation of Scottish origins, the Clay-body, or clay corpse, was an effigy of a target that a witch would make with killing intent. The Clay-body would be placed under a slow flowing stream or another body of warm and slowly erode. The erosion of the effigy was thought to cause the body of the target to waste away.

Correspondence

   Something of a boring example of correspondence Sympathy is prominent within eastern medicine. For the sake of an amusing example, I’ll use a rhino horn. Once upon a time, it was believed that, based solely on the somewhat phallic shape, grinding a rhino horn to dust and consuming it would fix male impotence. If its shaped like a genital, it must be good for your genitals! Right? Yeah, the committee is still out on whether or not that tracks. But, various other examples of consuming vaguely body shaped objects exist: walnuts increasing brain strength and the ability of yellow sap being just the right cure for jaundice are two others I find especially silly.

   Another form of correspondence Sympathy is something that just about everyone has heard of in some form or another. For the nerds out there, we have a lich, undead creatures common in the game D&D. They house their souls within objects known as phylacteries, making them effectively immortal. This has gotten a more modern spin in a small indie series from Britain: Harry Potter. Yes, horcruxes are a form of correspondence Sympathy. The connection between the item and the practitioner allow their souls to be transplanted into an item, making it their only true weakness in life.

   Finally, taking it back a couple thousand years, we have our oldest known form of Sympathy magic. There are historians that believe that many ancient cave paintings are in fact not depictions of great hunts, but rather a form of shamanistic Sympathy. The paintings are thought to have been made with the intent of influencing events in favor of the hunters.

This attempt to exert influence on the world outside the control of humankind is one of the hallmarks of magic throughout the entirety of time the world over. In times when people had less of a grasp on the mechanics of the world, it was the belief in magic’s abilities that gave people a sense of control they felt the lacked. 

Jiangshi, the Chinese Hopping Vampire

October is upon us! A very special special month for this blog, October and, more importantly, Halloween are treasure troves of inspiration for post topics. With everything that goes bump in the night being low-hanging fruit for material, its hard to choose a topic for the week. In the end, I’ve chosen to go with a classic creature of the night, with a cultural twist. From Bram Stroker’s iconic Dracula to Stephenie Meyer’s upsettingly popular Twilight series, vampires are a pervasive symbol throughout western culture. But, its that last detail that some people often draw the line at. Many depictions of vampires throughout pop culture represent them as these uniquely European creatures. This post should enlighten readers to the existence of one of the most well known eastern interpretations of the classic vampire: The Jiangshi.

The Facts

Jiangshi are a creation of Chinese folklore. Sometimes known as hopping vampires, depictions of appearance and behavior of these entities differ starkly from western vampires. The legend of the Jiangshi is thought to have originated during the time of the Qing dynasty. When workers would travel far from their home a specialized coroner would carry the bodies home, and terrain along their journey’s would make it appear as if the corpses were bouncing. As such, the most recognizable depiction of a Jiangshi is of a corpse dressed in the robes of a Qing official with stiff arms and pale green skin.

The Legends

Like most depictions of vampires, the Jiangshi is an undead creature. The means by which they become a Jiangshi can vary according to the legends, however. There are the common trends such as the use of magic to bring a body back and the possession by a spirit. However, a more uniquely Chinese mythology around the creation of a Jiangshi dates back to the Qing Dynasty as well. The Qing Scholar, Yuan Mei, posited that the body was controlled by evil and good forces, and that when the soul passes it removed the goodness from the body, allowing the evil to take over and bring the corpse back as a Jiangshi. These Jiangshi would be brought back to life, residing within tombs and coffins the same as European vampires. However, when they emerge they are more corpse than many western depictions of vampires. Still stiff with Rigor Mortis, a Jiangshi hops stiffly, keeping its arms outstretched to balance itself as it approaches its prey.

Pray brings about the question of what exactly Jiangshi feed upon. Yet another difference between the Jiangshi and western vampires come from this topic. Most people in the west know vampires as being that feed upon the blood of their victims. The Jiangshi, again, are a distinctly more eastern creature when it comes to feeding. Rather than blood, the Jiangshi feed upon the qi (life force) of their prey. Qi is an eastern concept that is meant to be the energy that holds the body together from within, the Jiangshi feed on it either for sustenance or to become stronger themselves.

But the biggest concern when it comes to vampires and creatures like them is how to survive them, right? Luckily, there are a few options to deter a vampire. One interesting weakness that further connects the Jianshi to western vampires is their weakness to mirrors. The Jiangshi, unlike Dracula, are capable of seeing their reflections in mirrors. However, they are terrified of their own image and are said to retreat from it. Another weakness that is general to all Chinese spirits according to Yuan Mei is an aversion to the wood of a peach tree. Specifically, peach tree wood is capable of subjugating and warding off Jiangshi and other such spirits. With other weaknesses such as the call of a rooster (signifying morning), traditional Taoist talisman, and fire, the Jiangshi seem to have a plethora of ways to be defeated. However, there is one final thing that relates them to western vampires once more. Whereas the eastern vampires are said to be incapable of entering a home without permission in some lore, the Jiangshi have a similar restriction. According to feng shui, a six-inch plank of wood placed width-wise in a doorway can prevent the Jiangshi from crossing.

Its interesting to see some of the distinctions that the Jiangshi have from eastern vampires. I would say, though, that it is more interesting finding the connections between the two and how their myths seem to have parallels that are shifted to better suit the culture that the story originates from. Does that signify some collective subconscious that causes these stories to show up in multiple places throughout the world, or is it a sign that maybe, just maybe, the stories hold some truth to them?  

The Ghede Loa, Voodou Spirits of Death and Parties

Last night, I found myself needing to take some medicine. I hate medicine. But, I enjoy a good alcohol, so I have an abundance of shot glasses handy at any given point. The clever reader can see where this is going; Yes, like a nervous college freshman drinking underage for the first time, I took a shot(of Dayquil!) and coughed like someone had punched me in the throat. Now, this may sound like a sudden and jarring veering of direction from my last blog post, but rest assured, this relates to the greater theme of this blog somehow. You see, the shot glass that I used last night had the Veve(Symbol) of Baron Samedi, one of the Loa of Vodou. Now, enough about my inability to take medicine like a normal human being; This week, we will be talking about some of the Loa associated with Baron Samedi, the Ghede.

The Facts

The Loa are to Voodou what saints and angels are to the Christian faiths. Intermediaries between the mortal realm and the supernatural, the Loa are the entities that practitioners pray to in order to achieve certain ends. Many Loa are evolutions of gods and spirits of animistic religions that originate from Africa, but, like much of the region Voodou originates from, a cultural mixing occurred over time, and Loa often have some connection to Catholic saints. This can be attributed to the fact that while many of the African slaves brought over to the America's brought their religions and faiths with them, they were unable to openly practice them. Those that wished to remain faithful to their roots practiced their religion under the guise of Christianity, using the images of these saints to represent their own deities.
The Loa can be grouped together, either by their origins on a geographic level (Loa carried over from certain African regional faiths) or by their behaviors within the Voodou faith. Examples of these divisions exist within the Rada, a peaceful sect of Loa; the Petro, who are more willfully antagonistic and associated with fire; and the Ghede, obscene figures associated most commonly with life and death. Other divisions of these figures exist, but these are three of the largest 'families' among the Loa of Voodou.

Similar to saints in Catholicism, Loa hold dominion over certain aspects of life-- love, death, gambling, illness-- and these domains are what a Loa are prayed to in hopes of having them influence worldly events. In order to pray to the Loa an appropriate ceremony of “serving the Loa” must be made. These ceremonies can range from simple prayers to elaborate offerings and group rituals, include sacrifices of things associated with the Loa, usage of the Loa's symbolic Veve to draw them to the material world, and use of appropriate colors that represent each Loa. The family of Loa that we will be looking at, the Guédé, or Ghede, are most associated with death and fertility, and their colors are black and purple. They are by far the most crude of the Loa, often dancing in sexually explicit ways, known for their dirty mouths, and love of a fiery, pepper-spiced rum. The rum and peppers are an important symbol of the Ghede, as the pain from either imbibing or rubbing the pepper on the body is meant to show a willingness to sacrifice in order to contact the Ghede. Someone more clever than I am could make a funny joke that connects me taking that shot of cold medicine and the drinking of pepper-spiced rum. But seeing as I'm not that person, I'll just mention that there could be a joke.
In short, there is one thing that you should be taking away from this introduction of the Ghede. They're the fun ones. 

The Ghede and Their Domains

Baron Samedi: One of the most recognizable of the Ghede Loa, Baron Samedi is the ‘father’ of the Ghede Loa and is the master of the dead. Just as crude and obscene as the other Ghede, Baron Samedi is often depicted in a top hat, tailed suit coat, and smoking a cigar. When a practitioner is possessed by Baron Samedi they stuff their ears and nose full of cotton to imitate the dead. Baron Samedi watches over graveyards, alongside his wife, Grandma Brigitte. 
        Note: Baron Samedi is the inspiration for the appearance of Disney villain, Doctor Facilier. 

Maman Brigitte: A Loa of fertility, Grandma Brigitte is the matriarch of the Ghede family of Loa. Do not be confused though. Baron Samedi’s wife is just as crass and obscene as her husband. Maman Brigitte is the only white Loa, with her origins being traced back to a Celtic goddess of healing and life. As such, Maman Brigitte is rather stereotypically Celtic, having long, fiery hair, and emerald green eyes. Alongside her husband, she guards over graveyards, ensuring that the spirits within remain safe and do not leave. 

Papa Ghede: Psychopomp of the Voodou faith, Papa Ghede is a frail old man responsible for crossroads. His most important crossroad is that between the realms of the living and the dead. Being a psychopomp, Papa Ghede guides the dead on their way to the afterlife. He is divinely gifted with the ability to read minds and know the happenings of both the worlds of the dead and the living at all times. Papa Ghede is also said to be the corpse of the first man to ever die. Papa Ghede is traditionally a Loa that is called upon at the beginning and end of all ceremonies, as it is only with his permission that humans may speak with the other side. 

Ghede Nibo: Where Papa Ghede is the first man to have died and a good-intentioned guardian between the worlds, Ghede Nibo is the first murder victim, and a somewhat evil Loa. He also guards the crossroads between the worlds but is said to allow evil spirits to cross over into the world. Ghede Nibo also functions as the patron of those to have died of unnatural causes or whose resting places are unknown.

Baron Kriminel: With a fairly straight forward cognate ofa name, Baron Kriminel’s background may not be surprising. The first murderer (he probably killed Nibo, but they seem to have gotten over it), Baron Kriminel is a Loa of justice and enforcer among the Ghede. Prayers to Baron Kriminel focus on revenge of those wrongly harmed, and those he possesses are said to have insatiable appetites, even eating themselves. While it may seem odd to have a criminal function as a Loa of justice, Baron Kriminel's position seems to be one of punishment. in Vooudou that Barons act as arbitrators and and judges of punishment. Kriminel seems to have gained his position as a form of repetence in that regard. 

There are countless Ghede Loa within the Voodou faith, and it is said that only Samedi and Brigitte know their true numbers, and these are only some of the core members within the Ghede family. These Loa sound so very outlandish to most people that practice more conventional and widespread faiths in the modern Western world. It is important, however, to remember that just as much as these spirits may sound entertaining to the average reader, they are very much so a staple of a real religion, and their wild behavior does not make them any less legitimate as a form of faith than any other religious figure.

Gilgamesh, King of Uruk

Gilgamesh, depicted restraining a lion

For a blog that aims to focus on legends, the mysterious, and occult is there really a place more apt to start than the first legendary hero himself? Gilgamesh, a historical figure that story and song have carried to deification, was a Sumerian ruler whose larger than life existence could only reasonably be carried forward through supernatural exploits and a legendary quest. While mankind has always looked to the heavens for the answers to mysteries beyond their comprehension, Gilgamesh began as a man and became more than that through stories told long after his passing. The deeds of gods became the deeds of man, and perhaps those very stories ignited the kindling of humanity's search for inner divinity.

The Facts

Gilgamesh existed, this much of the story is certain. The mortal Gilgamesh ruled over the Sumerian city-state of Uruk, which rested east of the Euphrates River, sometime between 2800-2500 BC. Exactly what deeds Gilgamesh achieved throughout his life that prompted rulers after him to claim relation and friendship is uncertain, but what is known is that he is credited with building the walls of the city of Uruk and that, upon his death, the Euphrates was diverted for the sole purpose of his burial. But, those are the facts, the boring stuff. We want to know the deity born of the man. These legends are told in humanity’s oldest remaining great literary work.

The Legend, The Stories, The Epic of Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh(Right) and Enkidu(Left)

   The Epic of Gilgamesh paints Gilgamesh as a cruel king, so bad that the gods themselves deem to interfere and create a mighty creature, Enkidu, for the sole purpose of besting the son of the goddess Ninsun. Enkidu is a creature of such animalistic power and disposition that it takes weeks of ‘taming’ by a temple prostitute just to allow him within society. Enkidu, made for the express purpose of beating Gilgamesh intercepts him and the two fight. Thus Gilgamesh’s first mighty feat: The king readily beats the divinely created Enkidu, and the two become boon companions.

   These two mighty figures proceed to perform yet more legendary deeds, all to grow Gilgamesh’s fame and renown. They travel to the Cedar Forest, divine realm of the Sumerian gods, to kill the legendary, lion-faced giant, Humbaba. Gilgamesh and his companion defeat the giant, refuse his pleas for mercy, and kill not only Humbaba but his seven children. They chop trees from the Cedar Forest and fashion boats to return to Uruk with their prize of Humbaba’s head. Along this journey, Gilgamesh rebukes the advances of a goddess, the result of which is divine retribution in the form of The Bull of Heaven, which, as divine retributions tend to do, begins laying waste to Gilgamesh’s home of Uruk.

   As legendary figures tend to do, Gilgamesh and his trusted companion Enkidu make fast work of The Divine Bull and the city celebrates, praising Gilgamesh for his two-fold achievements. Now, having crossed the gods a number of times that seem to almost cross the “too many” line, Gilgamesh ha officially earned the ire of those above. As I said though, these transgressions do not seem to cross that “too many” line, and the gods decide that fitting punishment would be to kill Enkidu, and, after days of suffering sickness, the man that Ninsun had adopted as Gilgamesh’s brother dies.

   The death of Enkidu sends Gilgamesh on his greatest journey. Fearing for his own end, Gilgamesh sets out to search for eternal life, traveling where no man had before and comes upon Utnapishtim and his wife, sole survivors of The Great Flood (More on the prominence of Flood Myths in another post!). Utnapishtim tests Gilgamesh to see if he can “conquer sleep” before conquering death, challenging the king to stay awake for a straight week. When Gilgamesh fails Utnapishtim assures him that immortality is not to be lightly gained, convincing the Sumerian king of the futility of his quest. Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh of a plant that can restore his youth, however. Gilgamesh promptly loses the plant while bathing. The great Epic ends, thus making the oldest existing literary work the oldest existing example of an underwhelming conclusion. 

Hey, I guess writers of great Epics run out of steam eventually too: A strange decline in intensity, if you ask me. Anyway, would love to hear any and all thoughts on Gilgamesh, his stories, and any suggestions for future posts.