Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

348 Weri Kumbambathe pine forest, Huwawa, the focus of one of theGilgameš epic sagas. Cult centers include Afis,south of Aleppo.WiSun god. Sioux [USA]. The father of the goddessWHOPE, his sacred animal is the bison.Weri KumbambaCreator god. Gishu [Uganda, East Africa]. A deityembodied in rocks and specifically invoked beforeand after circumcision to ensure the speedyrecovery of the patient.WhiroGod of death. Polynesian and Maori. Regarded asan errant son of the creator deities, RANGINUIand PAPATUANUKU, Whiro stands as the chiefantagonist of TANEMAHUTA, the creator god oflight. He is, therefore, the personification of darknessand evil. During the time of creation fromchaos, Whiro is said to have fought an epic battleagainst Tanemahuta in the newly formed heavens.He was vanquished and forced to descend into theunderworld where he became ruler over the deadand chief among the lesser underworld deitieswho are responsible for various forms of diseaseand sickness. In the temporal world the lizard, asymbol of death, embodies him, and various creaturesof the night, including the owl and the bat,are earthly representatives from his kingdom, asare such malignant insect pests as the mosquito.This deity is not to be confused with the legendaryhuman voyager and adventurer of thesame name whose traditions have, in the past,often been muddled with those of the god.WhopeGoddess. Sioux [USA]. The daughter of WI, thesun god, and consort of the south wind. She iscredited with giving the Sioux Indian the pipe ofpeace through which (narcotic) they communewith the great spirit WAKAN TANKA.WindigoIce god. Ojibwa [Canada]. A terrible beingformed of ice who symbolizes the starvation ofwinter. There are said to be many windigos, butthey are always referred to in the singular. Cannibalistic,the windigo appears as an ice skeletonand a human being can be turned into onethrough possession.WiuGod of war. Nuer [Sudan]. The word meansspear.WODANORIGIN Germanic. God of war.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP prehistoric timesuntil circa AD 500.SYNONYMS Wotan; Woden (Anglo-Saxon).CENTER(S) OF CULT scattered forest sanctuaries.ART REFERENCES stone carvings and engravingson metal.LITERARY SOURCES Germania (Tacitus); GothicWar (Procopius); History of the Goths (Jordanes);Geography (Strabo); History of the World(Orosius).Wodan may have possessed similar characteristicsto OTHIN, believed to have been a Norse descendantof Wodan. Germanic tribes including theHeruli, the Celtic Cimbri and the Goths all practicedsacrificial appeasement rites to Wodan,including stabbing and burning. The Cimbrihung their captives over bronze caldrons whilepriestesses cut their throats. Booty, includingmutilated weapons, gold and silver, animals and