Today I will introduce you to the God of Death and I will present to you how
this god was seen in the mythologies and folklore from around the world.
So let’s begin:
AH PUCH - Mayan Mythology
Ah Puch is associated with the god of death in the ancient Mayan religion. He was known
as a god of darkness, and disaster. But he was also a god of childbirth and beginnings.
The Quiche Maya believed that he ruled over Metnal,
the underworld and the Yucatec Maya believed that he was just one of the lords of Xibalba,
which translates to "place of fear" in the underworld.
GAMAB and Gaunab - African Mythology
Gamab and Gaunab are both deities to the San peoples throughout southern Africa.
They are deities in polar opposition to one another, with some people believing they’re
two aspects of the same being and others believing they’re two separate beings.
In both cases, they’re each regarded as a deity of death in their own way. Gamab is the benevolent
supreme sky god who rules and supports all living things via his life-giving rain.
However, as the supreme god, he is the one who decides when you will die. He does this
by shooting a celestial arrow into you which would cause you to become terminally ill.
According to legends, though, he didn’t use to be all bad.
In fact, he created the rainbow in an early attempt to produce something beautiful
so as to be loved by humans, but the other gods claimed to the people that the rain god
was technically more responsible for creating the rainbow, giving him all the credit instead.
Being overlooked for his act of redemption ultimately only made
Gaunab the embittered and hateful deity he is today.
HINE-NUI-TE-PO - Maori Mythology
Hine-nui-te-pō translated as: "The Great woman of night" in Maori legends,
is a goddess of night and she receives the spirits of humans when they die.
It is believed among Maori that the colour red in the sky comes from her. Hine nui te Po shepherds
the souls into the first level of death to ready them for the next stage of their journey.
KALMA - Finnish Mythology
Kalma is the Finnish goddess of death and decay, her name meaning "The Stench of Corpses".
Her favourite places to linger are graveyards and cemeteries;
in fact, one Finnish word for graveyard is kalmisto, derived from her name. Some
sources state that she moves on a vehicle of odours, much like a puff of smoke.
MICTECACIHUATL - Aztec Mythology
Mictēcacihuātl, in Aztec mythology, is a death deity and consort of Mictlāntēuctli,
god of the dead and ruler of Mictlān, the lowest level of the underworld.
Her role is to watch over the bones of the dead
and preside over the ancient festivals of the dead. These festivals evolved from Aztec
traditions into the modern Day of the Dead after synthesis with Spanish traditions.
She now presides over the contemporary festival as well. She is known as the "Lady of the Dead".
MORTA - Roman mythology
We don’t have many details about Morta, just that in Roman mythology she was considered a goddess
related to destiny and the goddess of death. She was believed to preside over infants who died.
MOT - Canaanite Mythology
Death doesn’t mean the end, at least in the eyes of the ancient Canaanites.
It was simply part of the cycle that played out before them in an arid land.
In Canaanite mythology, Mot, the god of death, battled and briefly won against Baal,
the god of fertility and life. He was soon after defeated and killed by Anath, Baal’s sister,
who would resurrect Baal in time to bring life to the land. In spite of Baal's survival,
Mot’s rebirth would inevitably take place, and this cyclical battle would continue.
Like many gods within the pantheon of Canaanite mythology, Mot was a god that symbolised a vital
part of the cycle of seasons. In this case, he represented the “death” of crops and the dry,
infertile seasons that afflicted the present-day Middle Eastern region.
NGA - Samoyed Religion
Among the Nenets people of Siberia,
Nga was the god of death, as well as one of two demiurges, or supreme gods who created the world.
The name of the other god is Num and it is said that they are collaborating and
also competing with each other — the myth is an example of dualistic cosmology: Num created all
the living things and NGA was the one who took their souls to his dark part of the universe.
SUPAY - Inca Mythology
In Inca mythology, Supay was both the god of death and ruler of the Ukhu Pacha,
the Incan underworld, as well as a race of demons.
With the Spanish colonisation of the Americas,
Christian priests used the name "Supay" to refer to the Christian Devil.
However, unlike Europeans in relation to the Christian Devil, the indigenous people did not
repudiate Supay but, being scared of him, they invoked him and begged him not to harm them.
THANATOS - Greek Mythology
There were many other Greek gods and goddesses associated with the afterlife,
and even Death itself was personified in the form of Thanatos, the Greek god of Death.
Thanatos had a role of Psychopomp in Greek mythology,
collecting the spirit of the deceased with his sisters, the Moirai. They had decided that the
life of the individual had come to an end. Thanatos would then ensure that the spirit
of the deceased mortal was safely transported to the Underworld and the bank of the Acheron.
There the spirit would be able to cross upon the skiff of Charon,
as long as the person had been buried with the correct burial rituals.
Whilst known as the Greek god of Death, Thanatos was particularly associated with peaceful death,
whilst those who suffered violent death were more likely to be found in the company of the Keres,
the Death Fates and the Hounds of Hades. In Ancient Greece, Thanatos was often portrayed
as an elderly man with wings, with a sword in his hand or in its sheaf. It is therefore
obvious why Thanatos is today often linked with the Grim Reaper of more modern mythology.
Hel - Norse Mythology
Hel, the goddess of death, was in fact a giantess, a child of Loki,
the giant trickster that lived among the Aesir gods, and Angrboda, a fearsome giantess.
The goddess of death is described in the sources as half black and half flesh-coloured,
which some scholars have interpreted as her being half living being
and half corpse. Hel is also said to have had a downcast and fearsome look.
Her name, which means “hidden” in Old Norse, is probably a reference
to the fact that the underworld was hidden from the realm of the living.
Hel ruled over the realm of Niflheim,
also often called Helheim in reference to the goddess of the underworld.
This was the place where the Norse dead that did not die on the battlefield
found themselves. Warriors that died in battle were taken either to Valhalla, the hall of Odin,
or Folkvangr, the hall of Frigg.
YAMA - Hindu Mythology
Yama is the Hindu god of Death and Justice,
and is responsible for the dispensation of law and punishment of sinners in his abode, Yamaloka.
Yama is also one of the oldest deities in the pantheon and some of his earliest appearances are
found in the Rigveda. From there, he has remained a significant deity, appearing in some of the
most important texts of Hinduism which include the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Puranas.
Anubis - Egyptian Mythology
Anubis is known as the god of death and is the oldest and most popular of ancient Egyptian
deities. The ancient Egyptians revered Anubis highly because they believed he had tremendous
power over both their physical and spiritual selves when they died.
References to Anubis are found in texts dating back to the Old Kingdom.
His fame lasted until the Middle Kingdom, when his role as God of death was taken over by Osiris.
YANLUO WANG - Chinese Mythology
Yan Wang or Yanluo is the god of death and the sovereign of the underworld, in Chinese Mythology.
Yanluo is not only the ruler but also the judge of the underworld and passes judgement on all
the dead. He always appears in a male form, and his minions include a judge who holds in his
hands a brush and a book listing every soul and the allotted death date for every life.
“Ox-Head” and “Horse-Face”, the fearsome guardians of hell,
bring the newly dead, one by one, before Yanluo for judgement.
Men or women of merit will be rewarded good future lives, or even revival in their previous
life. Men or women who committed misdeeds will be sentenced to have miserable future lives…
I hope you enjoyed the video, and if you know now a little more about
the gods of death from around the world, my job is complete.
Thank you, and don’t forget to like and subscribe to be notified when new videos arrive.
Yours truly,
Mythos, The Historian.