Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

I’lena 135TAWHIRIMATEA, the god of winds, mythologyrecords that Tu-Te-Wanawana went inland toescape the devastation while Ikatere took to thesafety of the sea. The incident became known asthe schism of Tawhirimatea and has resulted in aneternal conflict between TANE(MAHUTA) the forestgod and Tangaroa, the sea god.Ikenga (right forearm)God of fortune. Ibo [Nigeria, West Africa]. Abenevolent deity who guides the hands ofmankind. He is depicted wearing a horned headdress,and carrying a sword and a severed head.He is invoked as a household guardian.IksvakuCreator god. Hindu (Vedic). One of the ancestraldynasty of sun gods or ADITI.Iku-Ikasuchi-No-KamiGod of thunder. Shinto [Japan]. The most significantof the eight thunder deities which emergedfrom the corpse of IZANAMI after she was burnedto death.ILORIGIN Canaanite [northern Israel, Lebanon andSyrian coastal regions]. Creator god.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 2000 BC, andprobably earlier, until circa 200 BC or later.SYNONYMS EL (Hebrew); LATIPAN; Tor-’Il.CENTER(S) OF CULT Ugarit (Ras Šamra), but alsogenerally throughout areas of Canaanite influence.ART REFERENCES possibly a limited number ofseals and stone reliefs.LITERARY SOURCES Ugaritic texts from RasŠamra.Il is the model on which the northern Israelitegod, El, may have been based. The supremeauthority, morally and creatively, overseeing theassembly of gods. The god to whom BAAL is ultimatelyanswerable. According to legend he livesin royal surroundings in a remote place lying atthe confluence of two rivers. A stele found at RasŠamra has a seated god with bull horns whichmay depict Il or Baal.IlaMinor god(dess) of sacrifices. Hindu (Vedic). Sheis invoked to appear on the sacrificial field beforea ritual. Usually associated with the goddess SARAS-VATI, Ila is linked with the sacred cow and her epithetsinclude “butter-handed” and “butter-footed.”IlaalgeLocal god. Western Semitic (Nabataean). Worshipedat Al-Ge [el-Gi in Wadi Musa, in the Arabiandesert].IlabratMinor god. Mesopotamian (Babylonian-Akkadian).The attendant and minister of state of thechief sky god ANU.IlatRain god. Pokot and Suk [Uganda and westernKenya, East Africa]. The son of the creator godTORORUT. According to legend, when his fathercalls on him to fetch water Ilat always spills some,which descends to earth as rain.I’lena (rain woman)Animistic spirit. Koryak [Siberia]. The consort ofthe creator spirit “universe” or TENANTO’MWAN.