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SMNTY Classics: Goddesses Around the World · Stuff Mom Never Told You

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Hey, this is Annie.
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: And Samantha.
• 0:06
  Speaker 3: And welcome to Stuff I've Never Told You, a production
• 0:08
  Speaker 3: of iHeartRadio. And for this week's classic, I don't even
• 0:21
  Speaker 3: know the date. Annie, you told me the date of this.
• 0:23
  Speaker 3: I'm just going to pretend.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: November 1st.
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: Okay, there we go.
• 0:26
  Speaker 3: So right after Halloween, I hope you had already listened
• 0:30
  Speaker 3: to this episode and you're coming back to it because
• 0:33
  Speaker 3: This episode was about the goddesses around the world, which
• 0:36
  Speaker 3: gives a great opportunity for a good Halloween costume. Very, like,
• 0:41
  Speaker 3: probably low-key costumes, too, so you could be very creative
• 0:47
  Speaker 3: with your ideas. But, yes, this episode was one that
• 0:49
  Speaker 3: we worked really hard on that had a short list,
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: even though it was, like, 15 pages long in our outline,
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: but a short list of the goddesses around the world
• 0:58
  Speaker 3: because we try to pick different ones all over the world.
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: And the pronunciations, I remember, was fun.
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: It was a struggle. It was fun.
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: It was fun.
• 1:09
  Speaker 4: And with that, I felt like we needed a second
• 1:11
  Speaker 4: listen because we worked hard on those pronunciations. But it
• 1:14
  Speaker 4: was also fun because we love good, like, mystical, powerful women.
• 1:19
  Speaker 4: And this had a whole list of it. So we
• 1:21
  Speaker 4: wanted to bring it back for this classic. And we
• 1:23
  Speaker 4: hope you enjoy it.
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: Hey, this is Annie.
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: And Samantha.
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: And welcome to Stuff I Never Told You, a production
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio.
• 1:44
  Speaker 4: You know, it's been a minute since we've talked about
• 1:47
  Speaker 4: legendary female, feminine beings. So we wanted to take a
• 1:52
  Speaker 4: look at goddesses around the world and celebrate the power
• 1:57
  Speaker 4: they bring.
• 1:57
  Speaker 3: Okay.
• 1:58
  Speaker 4: And as a preface, I feel like we have to
• 2:00
  Speaker 4: do these, especially when we try to do international levels
• 2:03
  Speaker 4: of things. And we're talking about legendary people slash things
• 2:07
  Speaker 4: that may have disappeared from history and are now coming back,
• 2:10
  Speaker 4: stuff like that. But with that, We are bringing a
• 2:13
  Speaker 4: short list of goddesses, even though this is probably going
• 2:15
  Speaker 4: to be a full hour, if not longer. You know,
• 2:18
  Speaker 4: there's a lot of information. But they're all around the world.
• 2:22
  Speaker 4: They're from all around the world. As I said, it's international.
• 2:24
  Speaker 4: And we're categorizing them by regions. Of course, that means
• 2:28
  Speaker 4: we haven't even scratched the surface of the amount of
• 2:32
  Speaker 4: deities that exists. So if you have one that you
• 2:36
  Speaker 4: would love to talk about or you wish we had
• 2:38
  Speaker 4: talked about, or we didn't give enough detail about the
• 2:40
  Speaker 4: ones that you love, please let us know, and we'll
• 2:43
  Speaker 4: add that as another addition. We'll do this as a
• 2:45
  Speaker 4: listener mail favorite goddesses.
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: You know, we'll do that. Look, I've already titled it
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: for you.
• 2:50
  Speaker 4: Because, you know, we love a series, and like I said...
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: This is a pretty large outline, not the largest that
• 2:56
  Speaker 4: I've done. And obviously, as you know, we love a series.
• 3:00
  Speaker 4: I try to condense this to one, but picking them
• 3:03
  Speaker 4: out was difficult. Also, when it comes to doing international episodes,
• 3:09
  Speaker 4: we try our best to be accurate in our pronunciations.
• 3:15
  Speaker 4: But sometimes and oftentimes, not sometimes, we have a hard
• 3:18
  Speaker 4: time getting those actual pronunciations. Y'all, it took two hours
• 3:23
  Speaker 4: alone just to find pronunciations. So we tried our damnedest.
• 3:28
  Speaker 4: I still have a Southern accent, as you can tell.
• 3:31
  Speaker 4: So with that Southern accent, we're going to try our best.
• 3:33
  Speaker 4: Some of these don't exist. Some of the pronunciations do
• 3:37
  Speaker 4: not exist. And as we've talked about previously with guests
• 3:39
  Speaker 4: on our show, especially when it comes to indigenous first
• 3:41
  Speaker 4: native peoples, colonizers really try to eradicate those languages. So
• 3:45
  Speaker 4: for even them, they're having to relearn. So just bear
• 3:49
  Speaker 4: with us. And I do say that because in our
• 3:50
  Speaker 4: North American goddesses, we're lacking. We're lacking a lot of information.
• 3:56
  Speaker 4: And when it comes to ancient deities around the world,
• 3:58
  Speaker 4: the history is long and deep, and some of them
• 4:00
  Speaker 4: are very much still believed in and still practiced. So
• 4:04
  Speaker 4: as they provide comfort and a backstory and sometimes just
• 4:07
  Speaker 4: answers that people are searching for beyond what they can see.
• 4:10
  Speaker 4: So when we're talking about this, we're talking about it
• 4:12
  Speaker 4: historically and as legends, essentially. And We want to respect
• 4:18
  Speaker 4: the beliefs as well as take time to learn about them.
• 4:20
  Speaker 4: So if you have personal history, personal beliefs in this,
• 4:24
  Speaker 4: please let us know. We would love to hear about it. Also,
• 4:27
  Speaker 4: I feel like I'm putting a lot of caveats. As always,
• 4:31
  Speaker 4: we recognize the heavy influences of colonization, as well as
• 4:34
  Speaker 4: colonization trying to eradicate some of these beliefs.
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: Hello, missionaries, blah, blah, blah.
• 4:40
  Speaker 4: And how that has affected the beautiful legends and traditions
• 4:43
  Speaker 4: of different cultures. And yes, as we said earlier, some
• 4:46
  Speaker 4: of them are coming back. And I love this.
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: Some of them are being rediscovered.
• 4:49
  Speaker 4: And through the many who keep these legends alive through
• 4:52
  Speaker 4: their storytelling, we are still able to learn about them
• 4:54
  Speaker 4: and are very thankful that people have been able to
• 4:56
  Speaker 4: preserve the richness of these legacies. One of the resources
• 4:59
  Speaker 4: that you will hear us talk about often is mythlock.com.
• 5:03
  Speaker 4: So thank you, Mythlock, because they had a lot of information,
• 5:06
  Speaker 4: which I was able to, like, get more research through them.
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: So shout out to them.
• 5:09
  Speaker 4: Hey.
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 5:11
  Speaker 4: And as it goes, when it comes to religion or mysticism,
• 5:13
  Speaker 4: there's a lot of overlap. So some of these.
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: May sound familiar.
• 5:17
  Speaker 4: They just have different names because different regions call them
• 5:19
  Speaker 4: something different. But we still want to talk about them.
• 5:22
  Speaker 4: So forgive us if we're being a little bit repetitive.
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah. So let's begin.
• 5:27
  Speaker 4: Again, like we said, we were trying to keep it
• 5:29
  Speaker 4: a little more organized. So we're keeping it regionally. And
• 5:32
  Speaker 4: we're going to start off with Asia. Yeah, the entire
• 5:35
  Speaker 4: area of Asia.
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: I know, right?
• 5:39
  Speaker 4: And getting those just snippets of those because I didn't
• 5:42
  Speaker 4: even jump into like the bigger knowns.
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: We're trying to find lesser knowns. I'll put that as
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: a caveat.
• 5:49
  Speaker 4: So when it comes to religions and deities of the
• 5:52
  Speaker 4: Asian region, the history is rich and diverse. Whether we're
• 5:55
  Speaker 4: talking about Buddhism, Hinduism, Shinto, or even folk, the depth
• 5:58
  Speaker 4: of mysticism and tradition surrounding these religions have given a
• 6:01
  Speaker 4: rich history of legends to talk about. But for now,
• 6:03
  Speaker 4: we're gonna talk about these four. And I'm going to
• 6:06
  Speaker 4: talk about Mul Halmoni, which she's known as the Korean
• 6:09
  Speaker 4: water goddess, like the actual translation, it's like the water grandmother,
• 6:12
  Speaker 4: I think, who has the power of healing, especially for
• 6:16
  Speaker 4: the physical and spiritual eye, literally called on for any
• 6:20
  Speaker 4: ailments having to do with the eyes.
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: It's also, you know, that's very, very specific.
• 6:25
  Speaker 4: According to legend, she is also the goddess of women
• 6:28
  Speaker 4: healers and shamans and controls visibility.
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: Of the third eye.
• 6:33
  Speaker 4: And can remove the veil from the third eye for
• 6:35
  Speaker 4: any priestess who requests to take it off. So, you know,
• 6:39
  Speaker 4: if you're trying to find that power, apparently she's a
• 6:42
  Speaker 4: good one to go to. And then we have Apani Bolinyan,
• 6:46
  Speaker 4: the Sun Bride. If any Filipino listeners are there, let
• 6:51
  Speaker 4: me know if I said, I'm pretty sure I butchered that.
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: So let me know.
• 6:54
  Speaker 4: So this Filipino story has been around for some time
• 6:57
  Speaker 4: and talks about a beautiful, magical woman who married the sun.
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: That's a, that's a theme.
• 7:02
  Speaker 4: Like people who marry like, giant gods or deities or sun,
• 7:09
  Speaker 4: the moon, the sun, stuff like that. The tale was
• 7:12
  Speaker 4: written down and compiled with other stories in 1916 by
• 7:15
  Speaker 4: anthropologist Mabel Cook Cole, who had traveled and listened to
• 7:19
  Speaker 4: the many lores from the Tinian people of the Philippines.
• 7:23
  Speaker 4: And a quick summary from the story, as told on StoryNor.com,
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  Speaker 4: Apani Bolinyan was taken into the sky by a vine
• 7:31
  Speaker 4: where she discovered the home of the sun. There she
• 7:34
  Speaker 4: cooked rice and fish for him, which began their love story.
• 7:38
  Speaker 4: Soon she and the sun returned to the earth where
• 7:41
  Speaker 4: they would reside together with their people. Of course, the
• 7:44
  Speaker 4: story is much longer. more laid out. So if you
• 7:47
  Speaker 4: want to go check it out at storynor.com, you should.
• 7:50
  Speaker 4: But it's very interesting because essentially she travels to him.
• 7:53
  Speaker 4: They get together. They have this misunderstanding. She melts because
• 7:56
  Speaker 4: he takes her to the sun and then she comes
• 7:59
  Speaker 4: back as a puddle, but then she gets remade as
• 8:01
  Speaker 4: human on Earth. It's a pretty fascinating story. But because
• 8:04
  Speaker 4: of them, they live happily ever after for the village.
• 8:07
  Speaker 4: But then there's like a variation where she cheats on
• 8:10
  Speaker 4: him or she gets like, or she gets cast out
• 8:13
  Speaker 4: by him and another character comes in. I'm not going there,
• 8:16
  Speaker 4: but just go check it out. I feel like all
• 8:18
  Speaker 4: these stories have so much more that you're like, what? What?
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 8:23
  Speaker 4: And so this one is a Cambodian Vietnamese goddess. And y'all,
• 8:26
  Speaker 4: I could not find the actual pronunciation.
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: I'm sorry.
• 8:30
  Speaker 4: If y'all know the correct one, again, let me know.
• 8:33
  Speaker 4: Po Ino Nogar is a Cambodian Vietnamese polyandrous goddess known
• 8:39
  Speaker 4: as the Great One. And according to the blog titled
• 8:41
  Speaker 4: Journeying to the Goddess, the agricultural goddess' name means simply
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  Speaker 4: Great One in Cambodia, likely to do to the fact
• 8:48
  Speaker 4: that she brings fertility to the earth and its people.
• 8:51
  Speaker 4: It is her duty to protect the fields and harvest.
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  Speaker 4: And again, that's kind of a big theme as well
• 8:56
  Speaker 4: about being the goddess of water, the land, and harvest.
• 9:12
  Speaker 4: So renewal is definitely a big thing, a thing that
• 9:15
  Speaker 4: you're going to hear throughout. I found that fascinating because
• 9:18
  Speaker 4: there's so many tales about like water creatures that were
• 9:20
  Speaker 4: created by goddesses or specific foods and specific crops for
• 9:27
  Speaker 4: different peoples. And it was all goddesses. So that's saying
• 9:31
  Speaker 4: a lot. It's both one of those like, yes, the nurturer,
• 9:35
  Speaker 4: but the provider as well.
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: I found fascinating.
• 9:38
  Speaker 4: So we have Tara, the star who leads the cross.
• 9:41
  Speaker 4: And she exists across Hinduism, Jainism, and Tantric Buddhism and
• 9:45
  Speaker 4: is known as the Savior Goddess or Savioress. She is
• 9:48
  Speaker 4: beloved and looked to for protection spiritually and physically. According
• 9:52
  Speaker 4: to some legends, just whispering her name can bring peace
• 9:55
  Speaker 4: and dispel any danger. She is the embodiment of perfect peace.
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: Wisdom.
• 10:01
  Speaker 4: And here's a bit more about her from sacredwind.com. Tara,
• 10:04
  Speaker 4: Dolma in Tibetan means she who saves, she who leads
• 10:08
  Speaker 4: a cross or star. She's also called Holy Mother, Tara,
• 10:11
  Speaker 4: Green Tara, and White Goddess Tara. As a manifestation of
• 10:14
  Speaker 4: the Divine Mother, Tara symbolizes the white flames of purity.
• 10:18
  Speaker 4: Many see her as a component of enlightenment, helping to transcend,
• 10:22
  Speaker 4: to see truth, and to purify the heart, enabling a
• 10:25
  Speaker 4: person to speak from the heart in a kind, gentle,
• 10:27
  Speaker 4: and loving way.
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: And that brings us to Africa, which again is a
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: huge place. So this is just a sampling. And we're
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: going to start with Dia Africa, who is believed to
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: have been the creator of Africa and that the different
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: tribes weren't African because they were from Africa, but that
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: they were African because they were born by Africa, a.k.a.
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: Dia Africa. The legend states that the supreme god sent
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: the goddess to watch over Africa. Here's a quote from blog.swallyafrica.com.
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: This popular goddess performed different functions in different parts of Africa.
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: In some parts, she was a goddess of fertility and abundance, i.e.
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: she is the one prayed to when the land is
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: barren or when a woman is unable to conceive. In Gerber,
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: Ifri or Ifru, Dia Africa is a goddess of war.
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: She was a god who listened to her people and
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: helped them whenever they were in need. Which could also
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: lead us to the similar goddess Nana Baruku. According to
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: the same website, Nana Baruku is a female deity worshipped
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: in several West African traditional religions as the supreme being.
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: She is well known among the Fon people, Benin, Dahomey,
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: the Akan people, Ghana, and the Ewe people, Togo, and
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: is popularly seen as the most influential deity in West
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: African theology. The goddess is the mother supreme creator who
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: gave birth to the moon spirit, sun spirit, and all
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: of the universe itself, and soon after gave Maulisa, the
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: secondary creator, the responsibility for the world. And all of
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: this is a part of modern voodoo. Here's a bit
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: from thecollector.com about voodoo. Quote, the African elements of the
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: religious practice are derived mainly from the Dahomey region of
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: West Africa, modern Benin, and from the Yaruba, Fon, and
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: Ewe peoples of West Africa and the Congo people from
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: Central Africa. Many elements of African spirituality continue to exist
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: in modern voodoo, in the practices of transcendental drumming and dancing,
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: worship of the ancestral dead, and worship of the spirits
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: called Lowa. And that brings us to Oya. Oya is
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: considered one of the most powerful goddesses. She is known
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: as the weather goddess or a river goddess who has
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: the power to create storms and much more. It is
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: said she escorts souls to the underworld and is associated
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: with the afterlife. Many say that she symbolizes the need
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: to treasure life and to live for the moment. And
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: along with Oya, we have Oshun. She is one of
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: the most popular goddesses and is a goddess of fertility, love,
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: and freedom. She is also a river goddess and represents
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: divine feminine energy and power. She is a part of
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: the Yoruba religion and many different myths exist around her.
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: According to Britannica.com, quote, in most Yoruba stories, Oshun is
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: generally depicted as as the protector, savior, or nurturer of humanity.
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: Oshun has also been described as the maintainer of spiritual
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: balance or mother of sweet things. One myth highlights Oshun
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: as the central figure in the creation of human beings.
• 13:50
  Speaker 4: And next we're going to jump into the Middle Eastern goddesses.
• 13:52
  Speaker 4: I do want to put a little asterisk here because
• 13:56
  Speaker 4: there's been a lot of controversy, especially with the Trinity
• 14:00
  Speaker 4: of Goddesses we're about to talk about, in which, as
• 14:03
  Speaker 4: I was reading it, the Prophet Muhammad, did kind of
• 14:06
  Speaker 4: include them and then was like trying to cast them
• 14:10
  Speaker 4: and saying that they're evil. And then they tried to
• 14:12
  Speaker 4: exclude them and tried to erase them from existence. They were,
• 14:17
  Speaker 4: according to historians, pre-Islamic goddesses, so they existed beforehand. There's
• 14:23
  Speaker 4: a lot of questions, of course, like people are trying
• 14:25
  Speaker 4: to bring them back. And if you're seeing like extremist
• 14:28
  Speaker 4: Muslim ideology, they do not want to bring this back, obviously.
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: So there's this back and forth.
• 14:33
  Speaker 4: I think this happens with any and honestly, all religious
• 14:37
  Speaker 4: beliefs that's not centered around the most religious.
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: Dominating religion in that area, because I would say that
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: about Christianity here in the U.S. as well.
• 14:45
  Speaker 4: So just put that as a caveat. So we're going
• 14:48
  Speaker 4: to talk about, as I said, the trinity of goddesses.
• 14:50
  Speaker 4: While we were researching specifically for the goddesses of Middle East,
• 14:54
  Speaker 4: it was immediate that these three goddesses held a lot
• 14:57
  Speaker 4: of importance to Arabic mythology. So, of course, we wanted
• 15:00
  Speaker 4: to share all three of them. They are Manat, the
• 15:03
  Speaker 4: goddess of death and fate, Alat, the goddess of agriculture, prosperity,
• 15:06
  Speaker 4: and springtime, and Alusa, the goddess of justice, honor, and passion.
• 15:11
  Speaker 4: And in fact, in 2021, archaeologists were able to discover
• 15:14
  Speaker 4: some of the artifacts that were evidence of the goddesses' worship,
• 15:18
  Speaker 4: as they say, quote, long before the rise of Islam.
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: And this was in an article.
• 15:22
  Speaker 4: During their discovery, they were able to discover remains of
• 15:25
  Speaker 4: the temple and, quote, grand structures dedicated to the goddesses,
• 15:28
  Speaker 4: specifically to the goddess Al-Ussa, So there's this conversation about
• 15:32
  Speaker 4: what they were and who they were and just like
• 15:34
  Speaker 4: the amazing temple that was raised for her specifically. And
• 15:38
  Speaker 4: the fact that they were able to find it about
• 15:40
  Speaker 4: four years ago, three years ago intact, including the sanctuary
• 15:44
  Speaker 4: and the temple that that was in.
• 15:47
  Speaker 2: If y'all want to go look it up, it's pretty cool.
• 15:48
  Speaker 2: They have pictures.
• 15:49
  Speaker 4: And then we have Isharah, also known as the Scorpion Goddess.
• 15:53
  Speaker 4: Not to be confused with the Scorpion King, y'all. Not
• 15:55
  Speaker 4: to be confused. I know we just did an episode
• 15:57
  Speaker 4: of The Mummy, but, you know, just saying. She was
• 15:59
  Speaker 4: a goddess of creativity, passion, and even sexual prowess. She
• 16:03
  Speaker 4: was the goddess of fire and of the scorpion. And
• 16:05
  Speaker 4: according to mythlock.com, in Syria, she was worshipped in the
• 16:08
  Speaker 4: form of a stinging and hot object in order to
• 16:11
  Speaker 4: improve one's passion or sexual prowess. In other traditions, she
• 16:15
  Speaker 4: is also known to judge people's affairs fairly firmly. In
• 16:18
  Speaker 4: addition to being a goddess, she was also known to
• 16:21
  Speaker 4: inflict severe punishments on oathbreakers. She was regarded as a
• 16:25
  Speaker 4: deity who acted as a healer, and she was even
• 16:28
  Speaker 4: referred to as a goddess of medicine. She's just well-rounded, y'all. Yeah.
• 16:33
  Speaker 4: And then we have Tiamat, or also known as the
• 16:36
  Speaker 4: primordial goddess. And again, according to a myth log, she
• 16:39
  Speaker 4: personifies the primordial sea and is integral to the universe's
• 16:43
  Speaker 4: creation narrative. As a primordial goddess, Tiamat embodies the untamed
• 16:47
  Speaker 4: power of the ocean and the raw chaos of creation.
• 16:51
  Speaker 4: Feared and revered, she symbolizes both the source of life
• 16:54
  Speaker 4: and the destructive potential of nature. Of course, with all
• 16:57
  Speaker 4: her power and chaos, she also is the mother of
• 17:00
  Speaker 4: the first generation of gods and is able to create
• 17:03
  Speaker 4: monsters to start wars against them as well. And all
• 17:06
  Speaker 4: of this leads to the shaping and creation of the universe.
• 17:09
  Speaker 4: So essentially, it's the creation story with monsters. Yay!
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: I love it.
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: So I guess it could be dinosaurs.
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't know.
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: Just kidding.
• 17:18
  Speaker 4: And then we're going to jump into North American goddesses.
• 17:22
  Speaker 4: So we are talking native or indigenous people, goddesses that
• 17:26
  Speaker 4: have existed throughout Europe. Again, as we said earlier, this
• 17:31
  Speaker 4: is one of those that colonization really tried to eradicate.
• 17:35
  Speaker 4: And those in the First Nations community have done an
• 17:39
  Speaker 4: amazing job in bringing back the storytelling because we know
• 17:42
  Speaker 4: that's existed for a long time.
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: Again, with that, the pronunciations I could not find for
• 17:49
  Speaker 2: most of them.
• 17:50
  Speaker 4: So I'm so sorry if anybody is listening that knows
• 17:54
  Speaker 4: these legends and you can send me a.
• 17:56
  Speaker 2: Better pronunciation, A, B, a better retelling. Please do.
• 18:01
  Speaker 4: We would love to hear it. These are some of
• 18:02
  Speaker 4: the most fascinating things. This is why we're doing it.
• 18:06
  Speaker 4: So we're jumping into Vashi, a Choctaw Nation goddess who,
• 18:10
  Speaker 4: according to GoddessSchool.com, is the Choctaw people's moon mother goddess,
• 18:15
  Speaker 4: appearing from nowhere and without a mother or sister to
• 18:17
  Speaker 4: trace her through matrilineal lines as the people did. She
• 18:21
  Speaker 4: came to the people as a miracle and shared her
• 18:23
  Speaker 4: wisdom teachings with them. She became the first wife and
• 18:26
  Speaker 4: offered the art.
• 18:27
  Speaker 2: Of marriage to the people.
• 18:29
  Speaker 4: She is married to father's son and gave birth to
• 18:32
  Speaker 4: the corn goddess or the unknown woman who provided the
• 18:35
  Speaker 4: Choctaw people with the first corn seed, which soon became
• 18:38
  Speaker 4: a staple to them. She is seen riding through the
• 18:40
  Speaker 4: night with her beloved giant owl. And according to the legend,
• 18:44
  Speaker 4: she even brought song and dance to the nation.
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: So that was very cool. The pictures are really beautiful.
• 18:50
  Speaker 4: And then we have Azbekashi or spider grandmother, which surprisingly
• 18:54
  Speaker 4: is In a lot of religions, the spider woman or
• 18:58
  Speaker 4: spider mother, I was like, huh, maybe. And it's not
• 19:02
  Speaker 4: like widow related.
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: I like it.
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: Which I thought maybe. I was like, okay, cool.
• 19:06
  Speaker 4: So the spider grandmother, known throughout different indigenous groups and
• 19:10
  Speaker 4: has specific ties to those nations of the American Northwest,
• 19:13
  Speaker 4: and is known there as the Gokingsawati and takes on
• 19:17
  Speaker 4: the shape of an old woman and even sometimes a spider.
• 19:20
  Speaker 4: She is seen as a leader and gives wisdom and
• 19:22
  Speaker 4: good things to the people. In some of the tales,
• 19:25
  Speaker 4: it is said that she is an assistant to the
• 19:27
  Speaker 4: god Tawa, the sun god, and she is sent out
• 19:31
  Speaker 4: to guide different creatures throughout the world. And throughout most
• 19:35
  Speaker 4: of the legends, she is a constant guide, helper, and
• 19:37
  Speaker 4: protector of different creatures, including humans. She aids others in
• 19:42
  Speaker 4: order to help protect the endangered and give wisdom and
• 19:44
  Speaker 4: knowledge for many to complete their journeys.
• 19:47
  Speaker 2: You know what? I'm starting to think Charlotte's Web may
• 19:49
  Speaker 2: be based on native tales.
• 19:51
  Speaker 3: Ooh.
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: Think about that.
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: Think about that. We should look into it. I haven't
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: read Charlotte's Web since it Messed me up as a kid,
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: to be honest.
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: It is horrifying.
• 20:02
  Speaker 4: Why did they write these books? But all that to say,
• 20:08
  Speaker 4: I wonder if there's a link to that because Charlotte
• 20:12
  Speaker 4: guides the pig.
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: Yes. And for listeners who don't know, Charlotte is a spider.
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: I hope the title would tell you that, but you
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: never know.
• 20:21
  Speaker 4: Man, are there people who don't know that book?
• 20:25
  Speaker 2: Because that makes me super sad.
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: Samantha, I'm telling you right now.
• 20:29
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 20:32
  Speaker 2: Wow. OK, well, I'll go back to that. I'm going
• 20:34
  Speaker 2: to be traumatized just by that. Sorry. OK, moving on.
• 20:39
  Speaker 4: Next, we have, again, don't have the pronunciation, but I'm
• 20:41
  Speaker 4: trying my best, who is, by the way, another spider mother, Nastéistan.
• 20:46
  Speaker 4: She is sometimes known as the mother of monsters, as
• 20:49
  Speaker 4: well as being the spirit of the underworld. And here's
• 20:52
  Speaker 4: a bit from Mythologist.com. According to the Hopi, at the
• 20:55
  Speaker 4: beginning of time, Nasestan ruled the underworld, residence of the gods,
• 20:59
  Speaker 4: while Tawa ruled in the sky. One day, she molded
• 21:03
  Speaker 4: animals with clay, but they remained lifeless. Then Tawa spread
• 21:06
  Speaker 4: a soft white blanket over them and they began to
• 21:09
  Speaker 4: come to life. Then she wanted to create humanity. She
• 21:12
  Speaker 4: made beasts from the clay and held them close to
• 21:14
  Speaker 4: her heart while Tawa sang a mysterious melody with her.
• 21:18
  Speaker 4: Then she distributed the animals and men on earth and
• 21:21
  Speaker 4: gave the humans very specific roles. The women were to
• 21:24
  Speaker 4: watch over the house and the men were to take
• 21:25
  Speaker 4: care of the offerings. Not sure how old that one is,
• 21:29
  Speaker 4: but it does have like very similar linkage to Rossi Bukashi.
• 21:33
  Speaker 4: So it's obviously maybe that's from a different region. She
• 21:36
  Speaker 4: has a little more hands in on creating the creatures
• 21:40
  Speaker 4: instead of just leading them.
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: So I wonder.
• 21:43
  Speaker 4: And then lastly, we have Sedna, an Inuit goddess known
• 21:48
  Speaker 4: as the Mother of the Sea or Mistress of the Sea.
• 21:51
  Speaker 4: Her story is fantastic, and of course, like any other legends,
• 21:55
  Speaker 4: there are a couple of variations to the story. And honestly,
• 21:58
  Speaker 4: Wikipedia has some great interpretations, so we wanted to include
• 22:01
  Speaker 4: a couple of them. It quote, in one legend, Sedna
• 22:04
  Speaker 4: is a giant, the daughter of the creator god Anguta,
• 22:08
  Speaker 4: with a great hunger that causes her to attack her parents. Anger,
• 22:11
  Speaker 4: Anguta takes her out to sea and throws her over
• 22:14
  Speaker 4: the side of his kayak. As she clings to the side,
• 22:16
  Speaker 4: he chops off her fingers and she sinks to the underworld,
• 22:19
  Speaker 4: becoming the ruler of the monsters of the deep. Her
• 22:22
  Speaker 4: huge fingers become the seals, walruses, and whales hunted by
• 22:26
  Speaker 4: the Inuit. In another version of the legend, she is
• 22:29
  Speaker 4: dissatisfied with men found for her by her father and
• 22:32
  Speaker 4: so marries a dog. Her father is so angry at
• 22:35
  Speaker 4: this time that he throws her into the sea and
• 22:38
  Speaker 4: when she tries to climb back into the boat, he
• 22:39
  Speaker 4: cuts off her fingers. Her fingers become the first seals
• 22:42
  Speaker 4: and she becomes a mighty sea goddess. When she is angered,
• 22:46
  Speaker 4: the shaman travels to wash and comb her hair for her,
• 22:49
  Speaker 4: after which she is placated and releases the animals to
• 22:51
  Speaker 4: the hunters. In other versions, she is unable to comb
• 22:54
  Speaker 4: her hair because she lacks fingers, so a shaman must
• 22:57
  Speaker 4: brush it for her. So many of these stories involve
• 23:00
  Speaker 4: her losing her limbs or body parts because arms are involved,
• 23:04
  Speaker 4: which lead to them being left in the sea or
• 23:07
  Speaker 4: ingested by sea creatures that eventually allows her to gain
• 23:10
  Speaker 4: control of the sea creatures and become the mother of
• 23:12
  Speaker 4: the sea. I find it fascinating why they really have
• 23:15
  Speaker 4: to cut things off.
• 23:16
  Speaker 2: But okay, you do you.
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: A lot of these goddess stories are really intense and
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: I enjoy it. I like the way you said that.
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: They're like really intense origin stories we're getting.
• 23:26
  Speaker 2: And because they're summarized, it just gets straight to the
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: point and you're like, what? What did you just say? Oh, okay.
• 23:32
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: I also like, we talked about this when we talked
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: about Lilith. I like how many of them are like
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: the mother of monsters, but it's not... necessarily a bad thing.
• 23:41
  Speaker 4: Right like she just is but apparently like she may
• 23:44
  Speaker 4: be mother of monsters but she allows for the people
• 23:48
  Speaker 4: to get hunt them which i'm like don't don't hunt
• 23:50
  Speaker 4: seals don't do that don't hunt seals.
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: Gosh well all right That brings us to Central and
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: South American goddesses. And yes, a quick note here. As
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: we said, when doing this research, we noticed a lot
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: of overlapping in terms of Central and South America, which
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: is not great, but when we were trying to find
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: these goddesses. And with that, many of the names and
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: legends also overlapped. So we're going to put them here together.
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: So let us start with Erzuli. A lady of love
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: or beauty, Erzuli is depicted as the spirit of love, beauty,
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: and luxury. According to oocities.org, a quote, this Voodan goddess
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: is worshipped by Haitians as matron of love, beauty, health,
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: and the moon. She is personified as a water snake.
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: Voudan was originally unique to Haiti, a combination of Catholicism
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: and Yoruban cosmology developed by slaves as a tool of
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: survival and rebellion. And on the Wikipedia page, it says
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: that Erzuli is a family of Loa that are often
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: associated with water, fluidity, femininity, and feminine bodies. They are
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: one of the only group of spirits directly tied to
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: these characteristics, and those who become possessed through spirit possession
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: often are women or masisi, effeminate and or homosexual men.
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: Then there's Ixchel, or Lady Rainbow. Ixchel is known as
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: a female jaguar goddess that is associated with the Mayan
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: moon goddess. Here's a quote from mythlock.com, quote, The magnificent
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: goddess of Mayan mythology wielded powerful divine abilities that resonated
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: across various aspects of life, Revered as the matron of childbirth,
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: guardian of midwifery, and mother of crops, her influence spanned
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: the realms of rain, fertility, and agriculture. As the goddess
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: of fertility, Ixchel was believed to govern the reproductive cycles
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: of humans, animals, and plants. And it continues, quote, She
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: was regarded as the goddess of the moon, water, childbirth,
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: and weaving in the Maya of the peninsula of Mexico.
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: She is also the mother of all the Mayan deities
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: and has rules about the cycles of life and death.
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: As the keeper of souls, Ixchel constantly changes from being
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: a young beauty into a wise old crone who shares
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: her people's wisdom. And then there's Mama Kilia, or Mama
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: Kilia the moon goddess. She is considered a defender of
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: women as well as the goddess of both marriage and menstruation.
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: Here's some information from Wikipedia. Mama Kilia was known as
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: Mother Moon and was goddess of the moon. According to
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: Father Bernabé Kobo, writing in the mid-16th century, the moon
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: was worshipped because of her, quote, admirable beauty and the, quote,
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: benefit she bestows upon the world. She was important for
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: calculating the passage of time and the calendar because many rituals...
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: were based upon the lunar calendar and adjusted to match
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: the solar year. She also oversaw marriage, women's menstrual cycles,
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: and was deemed the protector of women in general. And
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: here's a bit more information about her from Mythlock. Quote,
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: And it goes on to say, The Incas had a
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: deep fear of lunar eclipses, convinced that during these events,
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: a menacing animal, possibly a mountain lion or serpent, was
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: assaulting Mama Kiliab. Consequently, people sought to ward off this
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: creature by hurling weapons, making frantic gestures, and creating loud noises.
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: Their belief was rooted in the notion that if the
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: animal succeeded in its attack, it would plunge the world
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: into darkness.
• 27:39
  Speaker 2: We don't need that. Get those animals away from her.
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: That does, I mean, that does seem like a consistent
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: fear throughout history, too, which I get. If you didn't
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: know what an eclipse was, it's just suddenly dark all
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: the time. I would be very scared. I'm still a
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: little nervous, to be honest.
• 27:58
  Speaker 2: But you know, when it comes back out, you're like, yeah,
• 28:00
  Speaker 2: we succeeded. We protected Mama Kilia. Yeah, that's nice. We
• 28:05
  Speaker 2: need to do that.
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: We need a win.
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: A win's a win.
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: We need a win, yes. And this brings us to Ashumama,
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: potato mother, because who doesn't love potatoes? According to thecollector.com,
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: Ashumama was responsible in helping the Inca people cultivate potatoes.
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: And this was huge because the Incas were the first
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: to domesticate potatoes and they helped essentially develop over 3,000
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: different varieties. Here are some quotes from the site about Ashumama. Ashumama,
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: literally potato mother, was the daughter of Pachamama, and it
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: was her responsibility to help the Inca people cultivate potatoes.
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: Potatoes became a staple crop for the empire, so it
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: was essential to ensure their continued good harvest by honoring
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: the goddess responsible. Unusually shaped potatoes were used as idols
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: for worshiping Ashumama. And there's evidence potatoes were buried with
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: the dead.
• 29:01
  Speaker 2: I like that it's unusually shaped potatoes.
• 29:04
  Speaker 4: I wonder when you're like, yeah, I got one.
• 29:06
  Speaker 2: We got one for her.
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: I mean, again, that's nice. I like that. Instead of
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: throwing away a quote, unusually shaped potato.
• 29:14
  Speaker 2: I would eat them.
• 29:15
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: Now let's talk about Siwakwatul, or the serpent woman, who
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: is a goddess of fertility and motherhood. She was associated
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: with midwives and specifically the sweat lodges that the midwives
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: would practice in. A little bit from Wikipedia, quote, she
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: helped her people create the current race of humanity by
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: grinding up bones from the previous ages and mixing it
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: with his blood. She is also the mother of Mieksquatl,
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: whom she abandoned at a crossroads. Tradition says that she
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: often returns there to weep for her lost son, only
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: to find a sacrificial knife. And here's some more information
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: from mythlock.com. Siwacatl, a prominent deity in Mesoamerican mythology, occupies
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: a significant position within the cultural narratives of both the
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: Aztecs and the Mayans. Revered for her connections to fertility
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: and motherhood, she played a crucial role in guiding and
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: safeguarding these ancient civilizations. As a key goddess in the
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: Aztec pantheon, Siwa Quattle held a pivotal role in shaping
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: the religious and cultural beliefs of the Mesoamerican societies of antiquity.
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: And they continue, Siwa Quattle's powers mirrored the diversity of
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: her manifestations. Her abilities encompassed the granting and taking of life,
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: bestowing fertility upon women, and guiding the spirits of those
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: who passed away during childbirth. With command over storms and
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: mastery over natural forces, she embodied the formidable influence that
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: women wielded in the act of creation. According to legends,
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: she possessed shapeshifting prowess, seamlessly transforming into serpents or owls
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: to vigilantly watch over her progeny and shield them from harm.
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: As a potent deity, Ciaquatl held a particular association with
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: motherhood and fertility. Her influence extended significantly to midwives, finding
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: a special connection with the sweatbaths where these practitioners honed
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: their skills. Notably, she collaborated with Kate Zuccottel in the
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: creation of the current human race, grinding bones from previous
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: ages and blending them with his blood. This act underscored
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: her pivotal role in the genesis of humanity.
• 31:34
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 31:35
  Speaker 4: So again, there are so many goddesses specifically to Central
• 31:40
  Speaker 4: and South America. So if y'all have any additional, because,
• 31:43
  Speaker 4: you know, it is so rich with so much history,
• 31:47
  Speaker 4: and I'm glad it still exists for the main part,
• 31:50
  Speaker 4: even with colonization that happens.
• 31:51
  Speaker 2: So if you have information, give it to us.
• 31:53
  Speaker 4: If you have more, apparently this has something to do
• 31:55
  Speaker 4: with a game as well, or a game has included
• 31:57
  Speaker 4: her as well, as Amy just told me that she
• 31:59
  Speaker 4: wouldn't include that.
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: I like how I was like, I shall not besmirch
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: the talk about goddesses by talking about my video games.
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: And you're like, actually... I want.
• 32:10
  Speaker 4: To do it because, you know, it's good to know
• 32:12
  Speaker 4: that like, these are familiar. Oh, without any understanding. I'm
• 32:16
  Speaker 4: sure you did, but a lot of people don't know
• 32:17
  Speaker 4: that this is fairly historical and what it really relates to.
• 32:21
  Speaker 2: So we love that they're a part of it, but
• 32:23
  Speaker 2: here you go. Just mistreated with it.
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, it is really interesting to think about
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: in terms of our current... pop culture how how prevalent
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: a lot of these ideas are even though a lot
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: of people don't know where they come from but it's
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: a lot of these i do recognize for better or
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: worse right from video games and from like current things
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: like uh american gods right like neil gaiman so it's
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: like it resonates with people.
• 32:53
  Speaker 4: Right Actually, there's several that was from, like, a lot
• 32:57
  Speaker 4: of MCU Marvel that comes from the Norse.
• 33:00
  Speaker 2: Obviously, the Norse gods. And I was like, we're not
• 33:01
  Speaker 2: including these people. Yes.
• 33:03
  Speaker 1: There are some, like, Greek gods and Roman gods that
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: people just know and we don't need to.
• 33:08
  Speaker 2: We don't need that. We're good.
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: We're good.
• 33:11
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: They are super cool and, you know.
• 33:13
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 33:13
  Speaker 2: They have interesting stories. I went through a big.
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: Phase where I was so into them. But, yeah, we
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: were trying to not... Do those.
• 33:20
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 33:20
  Speaker 4: Although you're probably like, there's going to be things that
• 33:22
  Speaker 4: I'm like, I didn't know they were a part of it.
• 33:23
  Speaker 4: And you're like, yeah, obviously it's a part of this game.
• 33:27
  Speaker 4: So if I pick those out, I'm a bad. But also,
• 33:31
  Speaker 4: if you all want to talk about them, go ahead.
• 33:33
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 33:34
  Speaker 4: So we're going to jump into Pacific goddesses. So once again, pronunciations.
• 33:41
  Speaker 2: I'm so sorry. Please don't make me.
• 33:43
  Speaker 4: So we're going to start with Heweko Leko. Heweko Leko,
• 33:47
  Speaker 4: the Tongan goddess of the world. According to our research,
• 33:50
  Speaker 4: this goddess has had a resurgence as of late. In fact,
• 33:54
  Speaker 4: after the discovery of the ancient goddess, there are some
• 33:56
  Speaker 4: who tried to write Heweko Leko as a male figure,
• 33:59
  Speaker 4: but they were able to discover several figurines that proved
• 34:03
  Speaker 4: her to be a female goddess.
• 34:05
  Speaker 2: I love it.
• 34:05
  Speaker 4: Even when they try, the truth is going to come out.
• 34:08
  Speaker 4: So here's a quote from PacificPN.com. That a god, and
• 34:29
  Speaker 4: the most powerful god at that, be a goddess, and
• 34:31
  Speaker 4: even worse, be depicted bare-breasted was not something that the
• 34:35
  Speaker 4: church was going to accommodate. As time went by, they
• 34:37
  Speaker 4: continued to try to wipe out the collective memory of
• 34:40
  Speaker 4: Huey Coleco, or to change it, including efforts to rewrite
• 34:44
  Speaker 4: her as a male figure. Luckily, however, six original figurines
• 34:48
  Speaker 4: managed to avoid destruction and helped set the record straight.
• 34:51
  Speaker 4: And again, some more information from thecollector.com. Huay Coaleke recently
• 34:56
  Speaker 4: has become an important goddess for Tonga as she represents
• 34:59
  Speaker 4: not just the significance of their cultural past, but also
• 35:02
  Speaker 4: a means to secure their future. There is a take
• 35:05
  Speaker 4: back of culture in the form of decolonization in Tonga
• 35:08
  Speaker 4: and all around the world. Traditionally, Tangans crafted wooden figures
• 35:12
  Speaker 4: of Hueco Leco to bring the goddess into the physical
• 35:14
  Speaker 4: realm for various reasons. As a result, she appears tough
• 35:18
  Speaker 4: and powerful, ready to aid those in the realm outside
• 35:20
  Speaker 4: of it, particularly those in the founding chief line of
• 35:24
  Speaker 4: Toei Tangu, who is her earthly representation.
• 35:27
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 35:27
  Speaker 4: So, of course, we didn't really get into what she
• 35:30
  Speaker 4: was representing because there's so much excitement about the fact
• 35:33
  Speaker 4: that they were able to discover her and really take
• 35:35
  Speaker 4: her on as one of their goddesses and figures. And
• 35:38
  Speaker 4: the fact that they not only tried to eradicate her,
• 35:40
  Speaker 4: then they tried to rewrite her and then they got
• 35:42
  Speaker 4: to be able to see her as she is. So
• 35:44
  Speaker 4: there's a lot of excitement with this conversation. And I'm
• 35:47
  Speaker 4: really excited to hear with the legends that come and
• 35:49
  Speaker 4: the stories that will come with it.
• 35:50
  Speaker 2: So keep us up to date. Y'all know about that.
• 35:53
  Speaker 4: Then we have Papa Tuanuku, the Maori goddess of the earth.
• 35:57
  Speaker 4: So this goddess is also referred to as Papa and
• 35:59
  Speaker 4: is seen as mother of all. And here's a bit
• 36:02
  Speaker 4: of information from thecollector.com.
• 36:04
  Speaker 2: We arrive on the.
• 36:05
  Speaker 4: Mainland North Island of Aotearoa and a regal goddess stands
• 36:09
  Speaker 4: on the headland, looking down at us in greeting. She
• 36:11
  Speaker 4: is Papa, the goddess of the earth, the land that
• 36:14
  Speaker 4: gave birth to all things, and looks over these children
• 36:16
  Speaker 4: of trees, birds, animals, and people. She is often sleeping
• 36:20
  Speaker 4: with her back set up towards the sky, but she
• 36:22
  Speaker 4: is here as a spirit to welcome us. Being the
• 36:25
  Speaker 4: mother of all, she has many children who have kept
• 36:27
  Speaker 4: her occupied, but she has been eternally sad since giving birth.
• 36:31
  Speaker 4: Her first children split her up from her partner, Rangi,
• 36:33
  Speaker 4: the god of the sky. The children might have brought
• 36:35
  Speaker 4: light to the world, but they made their parents sad,
• 36:38
  Speaker 4: creating the rivers and oceans as a reminder of their
• 36:41
  Speaker 4: shared tears. Yeah, there's a lot of like legends about
• 36:44
  Speaker 4: her waiting and mourning her husband. And I was like, oh,
• 36:48
  Speaker 4: that's kind of sad.
• 36:49
  Speaker 2: Well, damn.
• 36:50
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 36:52
  Speaker 1: I love the children. They bought the light to the world,
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: but they bummed out their parents.
• 36:57
  Speaker 2: I'm sure a lot of parents are like, yeah, I
• 36:59
  Speaker 2: feel that. You're welcome. And then we come to Laka.
• 37:06
  Speaker 4: Laka is a goddess that is honored with hula, and
• 37:09
  Speaker 4: she is associated with light and love. Here's a quote
• 37:12
  Speaker 4: from HistoryCooperative.org. Laka, the goddess of dance, beauty, love, and fertility,
• 37:17
  Speaker 4: is associated with all things of light. She is also
• 37:20
  Speaker 4: the goddess of the forest, and would enrich the plants
• 37:22
  Speaker 4: with her light. Her name is often translated to mean gentle.
• 37:26
  Speaker 4: And again, some more information from mythlock.com. Laka, a central
• 37:31
  Speaker 4: figure in Hawaiian mythology, holds a significant place in the
• 37:35
  Speaker 4: cultural fabric, particularly in the realm of hula, the revered
• 37:38
  Speaker 4: traditional dance. According to ancient Hawaiian folklore, she emerges as
• 37:43
  Speaker 4: the daughter of Kapo, another prominent deity intricately tied to
• 37:46
  Speaker 4: Hula's origins. Laka's influence extends beyond dance. She is also
• 37:51
  Speaker 4: revered as the goddess of the forest, embodying reproductive energy
• 37:54
  Speaker 4: vital for the flourishing of lush greenery. And yes, she, again,
• 37:59
  Speaker 4: is an inspiration for hula dancers. And here's a bit
• 38:02
  Speaker 4: more information from the same Myth.
• 38:04
  Speaker 2: Of Luck site. And it goes on.
• 38:16
  Speaker 4: Laka's enduring significance in Hawaiian culture, particularly within the realm
• 38:20
  Speaker 4: of hula, underscores her profound influence beyond mere deity status.
• 38:25
  Speaker 4: Hula practitioners hold a deep devotion to Laka, seeking her
• 38:27
  Speaker 4: blessings and guidance as they navigate the intricacies of this
• 38:31
  Speaker 4: revered dance form. Her presence infuses the hula tradition with
• 38:34
  Speaker 4: spiritual depth, emphasizing reverence for the natural world and embodying
• 38:38
  Speaker 4: the essence of Hawaiian spirituality. Despite periods of colonial suppression,
• 38:43
  Speaker 4: the practice of hula has experienced a resurgence driven by
• 38:45
  Speaker 4: a renewed appreciation for indigenous traditions and a yearning to
• 38:49
  Speaker 4: reconnect with the land. Laka's legacy lives on through the
• 38:52
  Speaker 4: dedication of dancers and artists committed to honoring her through
• 38:55
  Speaker 4: their craft, preserving sacred rituals and teachings passed down through generations.
• 39:00
  Speaker 4: An I'm not really sure if I would say it
• 39:03
  Speaker 4: has gotten a resurgence because I feel like when it
• 39:06
  Speaker 4: comes to hula and when it comes to Hawaii and
• 39:08
  Speaker 4: the native people of Hawaii, it has always been sacred
• 39:11
  Speaker 4: and has always been a telling. And I think they
• 39:13
  Speaker 4: are very excited to share it.
• 39:15
  Speaker 2: That's the one thing.
• 39:16
  Speaker 4: I feel like they are all about spreading that joy.
• 39:18
  Speaker 4: And I say this as just like from the outsider,
• 39:21
  Speaker 4: not knowing much about it, but just watching, knowing that
• 39:24
  Speaker 4: this is a sacred ritual and they are glad to
• 39:27
  Speaker 4: share it with other people. That is something that they
• 39:29
  Speaker 4: think is joyful and beautiful and worthy of sharing, which
• 39:33
  Speaker 4: is really kind because so many people try to ruin it.
• 39:36
  Speaker 4: as we know, when it comes to colonization. So I
• 39:38
  Speaker 4: think that's a little off because, yes, the colonial suppression, yes.
• 39:42
  Speaker 4: But the fact that it's resurgence, I think it's always existed.
• 39:45
  Speaker 4: As I was looking at the YouTube videos and the
• 39:47
  Speaker 4: different women who were practicing hula and talking about hula,
• 39:51
  Speaker 4: you could tell the deep respect they have for the
• 39:53
  Speaker 4: practice and for laka.
• 39:55
  Speaker 2: Did I know that the goddess was laka?
• 39:57
  Speaker 4: No.
• 39:58
  Speaker 2: But did I know this was sacred ritual?
• 39:59
  Speaker 4: Yes. So I feel like we have to absolutely give
• 40:03
  Speaker 4: props to that. It's not a resurgence. It's always existed.
• 40:06
  Speaker 4: It's just that we're taking notice.
• 40:08
  Speaker 1: Right. Right. And this brings us to European goddesses again.
• 40:13
  Speaker 1: We're looking at lesser known ones, starting with Makash, also
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: known as Mother Goddess, Lady of Waters, or Goddess of Moisture.
• 40:23
  Speaker 1: She is known as a protector of, quote, women's work
• 40:26
  Speaker 1: and women's destiny. Here's some more information from thoughtcode.com. Quote,
• 40:31
  Speaker 1: in Slavic mythology, Makash, sometimes transliterated as Makash, meaning Friday,
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: is Moist Mother Earth and thus the most important or
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: sometimes only goddess in the religion. As a creator, she
• 40:45
  Speaker 1: is said to have been discovered sleeping in a cave
• 40:48
  Speaker 1: by a flowering spring by the spring god Jerilo, with
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: whom she created the fruits of the earth. She is
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: also the protector of spinning, tending sheep and wool, patron
• 40:59
  Speaker 1: of merchants and fishermen, who protects cattle from plagues and
• 41:02
  Speaker 1: people from drought, disease, drowning, and unclean spirits. And here's
• 41:09
  Speaker 1: additional information from feminismandreligion.com. Mahakash brings the water of life
• 41:14
  Speaker 1: and protects the life-giving waters on which human and animal
• 41:18
  Speaker 1: existence depend. In this way, Mahakash gives life to plants
• 41:22
  Speaker 1: and animals. and is often portrayed with them. She is
• 41:26
  Speaker 1: an important Slavic mother goddess embodying fertility, femininity, prosperity, protection, health,
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: good luck, abundance, and a successful future. Makash is also
• 41:37
  Speaker 1: a warrior goddess in her fierce aspect as a goddess
• 41:41
  Speaker 1: of protection. One of her epithets is, quote, she who
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: strikes with her wings. The fact that she is a
• 41:48
  Speaker 1: winged goddess indicates her power and that which she grants
• 41:52
  Speaker 1: to her priestesses and devotees to travel between the worlds
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: in trance, dream, and vision for blessing and for healing
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: on behalf of the community and all who are in need.
• 42:02
  Speaker 1: Makash is also connected to butterflies, symbols of transformation, and bees,
• 42:07
  Speaker 1: symbols of priestesses in antiquity.
• 42:10
  Speaker 2: Bees, getting us due. Look at that.
• 42:14
  Speaker 1: I do love bees. That is the truth. Um, this
• 42:19
  Speaker 1: brings us to Haltia, lady of the home. Haltia is
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: the goddess of the home. She is a Baltic Finns
• 42:27
  Speaker 1: goddess who protects the home. Um, here's some information from botanica.com. Quote,
• 42:32
  Speaker 1: in Finland, the Haltia was usually the spirit of the
• 42:35
  Speaker 1: first person to lay claim to a site, either by
• 42:39
  Speaker 1: lighting a fire on it or by building a house
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: on it, or in some cases, the first person to
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: die there. the Haltios believed to resemble such a person
• 42:47
  Speaker 1: in every way, including sex, age, dress, and mannerisms. The
• 42:51
  Speaker 1: dominant idea was that a person, once laying claim to
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: a piece of land, would always remain in charge of it. And,
• 42:58
  Speaker 1: apparently with this, she is a cautionary tale for those
• 43:01
  Speaker 1: who want to move to a new home.
• 43:04
  Speaker 4: Yeah, so, there's... A lot to this. Like, there's not
• 43:08
  Speaker 4: much in conversation of, like, this is a cool thing.
• 43:10
  Speaker 4: But I'm like, man, that's a lot of, like, underlying
• 43:13
  Speaker 4: thought process on this.
• 43:15
  Speaker 2: Hmm.
• 43:17
  Speaker 1: Yes. Yes, there is. As someone who's going through a
• 43:20
  Speaker 1: lot of changes and moves in my life right now,
• 43:24
  Speaker 1: I got a lot to think about. This brings us
• 43:29
  Speaker 1: to Begg. who comes from Irish mythology and is known
• 43:33
  Speaker 1: as the Mistress of the Well. Here's a bit of
• 43:36
  Speaker 1: information from goddessesandgodsblogspot.com. Beg is the Irish goddess of the
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: Well of Wisdom. She is one of the Tua de Danim,
• 43:46
  Speaker 1: the people of the goddess Danu. She and her three
• 43:50
  Speaker 1: daughters guarded a magical well, and anyone who drank from
• 43:53
  Speaker 1: the well would gain in wisdom. When the hero Finn
• 43:57
  Speaker 1: Macula came and asked for a drink, Begg's daughters threw
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: water at him, hoping to frighten him away, but some
• 44:04
  Speaker 1: of the water fell in his mouth, granting him the
• 44:06
  Speaker 1: wisdom he had sought. When Finn died, he was buried
• 44:10
  Speaker 1: in a fairy hill called Sea Begg, which means small
• 44:13
  Speaker 1: fairy hill. And finally, this brings us to Brigid, the
• 44:18
  Speaker 1: goddess of poetry, healing, and smithing. According to lore, Brigid
• 44:23
  Speaker 1: was known as a triple goddess. Here's a bit from CelticNative.com. Brigid,
• 44:28
  Speaker 1: also known as Bridget or Brigid, was one of the
• 44:32
  Speaker 1: most important goddesses in Celtic mythology. She was a triple
• 44:35
  Speaker 1: goddess representing the three aspects of fire, poetry, healing, and smithcraft.
• 44:41
  Speaker 1: Brigid was associated with the arrival of spring and the
• 44:44
  Speaker 1: return of light after the dark winter months. And some
• 44:47
  Speaker 1: more from Herstory.ie, quote, Brigid is a triple goddess, the
• 44:51
  Speaker 1: goddess of healing symbolized by the element of water, goddess
• 44:55
  Speaker 1: of the alchemical force of fire, and goddess of poetry.
• 44:58
  Speaker 1: In this respect, she represents every woman and our unique talents, skills,
• 45:03
  Speaker 1: and qualities. And it continues, Bridget embodies mastery represented in
• 45:07
  Speaker 1: the perfect balance of fire and water. Symbols of the
• 45:10
  Speaker 1: masculine and feminine.
• 45:12
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 45:13
  Speaker 4: I believe they said that it also is like similar
• 45:14
  Speaker 4: to yin and yang. So it's very like that balance
• 45:18
  Speaker 4: in conversation and that is who she is. And y'all,
• 45:20
  Speaker 4: all of these are really, really fascinating, especially when you
• 45:23
  Speaker 4: look at the pictures and artwork and statues, because there's
• 45:26
  Speaker 4: a lot of historical context for them and beautiful artwork
• 45:29
  Speaker 4: with people who truly, truly love what these represent. Again,
• 45:35
  Speaker 4: we didn't go into like the depth of each region
• 45:37
  Speaker 4: because when it comes to all the historical facts, there
• 45:40
  Speaker 4: were small communities throughout. So you have so many layers
• 45:44
  Speaker 4: upon layers and influences upon influences and originations upon originations
• 45:49
  Speaker 4: that we didn't really get into. If you have something
• 45:52
  Speaker 4: that you want us to specifically talk about, you would
• 45:54
  Speaker 4: request that we, because this is fascinating.
• 45:55
  Speaker 2: This is probably one of my favorite things.
• 45:57
  Speaker 4: One of our favorite things to look into is like
• 45:59
  Speaker 4: the historical legends that center around feminine power. We would
• 46:04
  Speaker 4: love for you to let us know what you think
• 46:07
  Speaker 4: would be the next steps for this conversation, the depth
• 46:10
  Speaker 4: of the bigger pictures, maybe, or.
• 46:13
  Speaker 2: The smaller pictures. Hell, who knows?
• 46:15
  Speaker 4: Because there's also this thought, as I was thinking about
• 46:19
  Speaker 4: All of these different goddesses and what they represent and
• 46:21
  Speaker 4: how they often are linked to like birth and rebirth
• 46:25
  Speaker 4: and creation and.
• 46:27
  Speaker 2: Power and wisdom. Wisdom was all throughout. I'm like, yeah,
• 46:30
  Speaker 2: I feel like that's what we've been talking about for years.
• 46:33
  Speaker 4: And then like the trivial misogyny that comes in with
• 46:35
  Speaker 4: like women are too emotional.
• 46:36
  Speaker 2: And like, but are they? But are they?
• 46:40
  Speaker 4: So with all of that, there's so much fascination in
• 46:43
  Speaker 4: different areas. And then, again, as we were researching, as
• 46:46
  Speaker 4: we see them as partnered with a bigger god, obviously
• 46:50
  Speaker 4: the masculine god. And I think that's interesting as well.
• 46:53
  Speaker 4: So finding these lone standing goddesses were a little harder
• 46:59
  Speaker 4: than I expected, to be honest. If you have ideas
• 47:04
  Speaker 4: based on this episode, please let us know. Again, if
• 47:06
  Speaker 4: you have someone that you know you should have talked
• 47:08
  Speaker 4: about this person, please send us that information because we
• 47:11
  Speaker 4: want more information. I thought this was going to be
• 47:13
  Speaker 4: a longer episode because like so many things that I
• 47:16
  Speaker 4: had to write into. I think it became a longer
• 47:18
  Speaker 4: episode because of the pronunciations. Christina is the best.
• 47:21
  Speaker 2: We love you.
• 47:22
  Speaker 4: She's probably taking it down to half of what it was.
• 47:25
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 47:26
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 47:26
  Speaker 1: Well, yeah, if you have any ideas about this, if
• 47:28
  Speaker 1: there's somebody in here you have more information about or
• 47:30
  Speaker 1: like us to focus on more, If you have someone else,
• 47:33
  Speaker 1: if you have like resources, I know people have suggested
• 47:36
  Speaker 1: books about certain goddesses before in the past. So if
• 47:40
  Speaker 1: you have any of that, we would love to hear
• 47:43
  Speaker 1: from you. You can contact us. You can email us
• 47:47
  Speaker 1: at stuffmediamomstuff at iheartmedia.com. You can find us on Twitter
• 47:51
  Speaker 1: at momstuffpodcast or on Instagram and TikTok at stuffmonevertoldyou. We're
• 47:55
  Speaker 1: also on YouTube. And we're on TeePublic, where there's some merchandise.
• 47:59
  Speaker 1: And we have a book you can get wherever you
• 48:01
  Speaker 1: get your books or audiobooks. Thanks, as always, to our
• 48:04
  Speaker 1: super producer, Christina, our executive producer, Maya, and our contributor, Joey.
• 48:07
  Speaker 2: Thank you.
• 48:08
  Speaker 1: And thanks to you for listening. Stefan Evertold is a
• 48:10
  Speaker 1: production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, you can
• 48:12
  Speaker 1: check out the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you listen
• 48:15
  Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.