Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

202 ModimoModimoUniversal god. Tswana [Botswana, South Africa]. Amonotheistic deity possibly, though not with certainty,influenced by Christianity. Not specificallya creator god, since the universe and MODIMO have“always been.” Perceived as the river of existencewhich flows endlessly through space and time. Herules the light and dark opposites in the universe,as well as the proper order of life on earth.Modron (another)Mother goddess. Celtic (Welsh). The mother ofMABON, whom she subsequently loses. Her cult isclosely linked with that of Mabon and she mayoriginally have been one of the aspects of the goddess(es)MORRIGAN. In Christian times someauthors believe that she became St. Madrun.MogounosLocal tribal deity. Romano-Celtic (Gallic). Assimilatedwith APOLLO.MokosGoddess of fertility. Pre-Christian SlavonicEuropean. Identified in the Nestor Chronicle as agoddess of midwifery. Her cult was taken over bythat of the Virgin Mary.MolekGod. Western Semitic (Ammonite). Synonymouswith the god Moloch (Hebrew) of the VetusTestamentum to whom Israelite children weresacrificed by burning (1 Kings 11.7 and 2 Kings23.10)MolochSee MOLEK.MomaCreator god. Uitoto Indian [South America].Originally the creator of mankind. When he wasslain he entered and ruled the underworld. Alsothe apotheosis of the moon.Mohini (illusion)Minor incarnation of VIŠNU. Hindu (Epic andPuranic). Mohini is an avatara who appears in theform of an enchantress whose form Višnu adoptedbriefly to deceive demons attempting to removethe ambrosia created by churning the primevalocean of milk (see also GARUDA). Višnu used thesame guise to dupe and seduce the god ŠIVA.MoiraiCollective name for a group of goddesses. Greek.The Fates of human life: KLOTHO, the spinner,LACHESIS, the caster of lots, and ATROPOS, theunturnable inevitability of death. The daughtersof ZEUS and THEMIS, depicted with spindle, scrolland scales respectively. Also Moires.Mombo Wa Ndhlopfu (elephant face)Tutelary god. Ronga [Mozambique, southernAfrica]. An ancestral deity who lives in and controlsthe forests, also appearing in the guise of ahuge snake. He is propitiated by the sacrifice of acockerel.MON (great god).ORIGIN Kafir [Afghanistan—Hindukush]. Warriorgod and hero.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP from prehistoricorigins and persisting in certain localized partstoday.SYNONYMS Mandi.CENTER(S) OF CULTchiefly at the village ofPashki and at Dewa (Prasun region), but also at