Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

Lesa 173LEBIEN-POGIL (owner of the earth)ORIGIN Yukaghir [southeastern Siberia]. Animistic“owner” spirit.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP prehistoric timesuntil early twentieth century.SYNONYMS none known.CENTER(S) OF CULT no fixed sanctuaries known.ART REFERENCES none known, but possibly thesubject of anonymous wood carvings.LITERARY SOURCES The Yukaghir (Jochelson).The chief protector of the earth. His subordinatesare YOBIN-POGIL, the owner of the forest;the owner of fire LO’CIN-PO’GIL; the variousprotectors and keepers of animals (mo’yepul)and individual or group protectors (PEJU’LPE).The Yukaghir, as a hunting people, maintained adelicate and sensitive relationship with theseowners.LegbaGod of fate. Fon [Benin, West Africa]. Theyoungest son of the supreme god LISA and hisconsort, the moon goddess MAWU. He is alsoregarded as a messenger god, moving betweenLisa and mankind on earth.Lei KungGod of thunder. Taoist (Chinese). He heads thedeities of the pantheon who are responsible forstorm, wind and rain and is usually accompaniedby YU SHIH, the god of rain. He appears inanthropomorphic form from about the beginningof the Christian era, depicted as a strong, youthfulfigure holding hammer and chisel. In dramahis movements are punctuated by rumblings onstrings and drums. Circa AD 1000 he becomesdepicted as a bird-like being with a monkey face.The transition was probably influenced by thepopularity of the Hindu god GARUDA.LelwaniChthonic underworld goddess. Hittite and Hurrian.Associated with charnel houses and probablymodeled on the Sumerian EREŠKIGAL.Lendix-TcuxTutelary god. Chilcotin Indian [British Columbia,Canada]. The so-called transformer known bydifferent names among many Indian tribes. He isa wanderer who can change shape from human toanimal and who educates the human race. Heoften appears in the guise of a raven, or as a dog,and has three sons.LENUSORGIN Celtic (Continental European). God ofhealing.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP prehistoric timesuntil Christianization circa AD 400.SYNONYMS Iovantucarus; Lenus Mars (Romano-Celtic).CENTER(S) OF CULTleft bank of the Moselleopposite Trier; also at Chedworth (England)and Caerwent (Wales).ART REFERENCES sculptures, stone reliefs, votiveplaques.LITERARY SOURCES Romano-Celtic inscriptions.A god of healing worshiped by the Celtic tribe ofTreveri but later adopted by the Romans. TheTrier sanctuary was a place of pilgrimage wherelarge numbers of offerings were deposited, andcarvings suggest that child patients were oftenpresent. Lenus’s sanctuaries were usually associatedwith springs and some, if not all, had an abatonor room for recuperation.LesaCreator god. southeastern African. The nameby which the supreme deity is known across a