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List Of Legendary Creatures (I)
* Iannic-ann-ôd (Brittany, Breton) – Ghost of a drowned person * Iara (mythology), Iara (Brazilian mythology, Brazilian) – Female water spirit * Ibong Adarna (Philippine mythology, Philippine) – Bird that changes color when it finishes a song * Ichchhadhari Nag (Hindu mythology, Hindu) – Shapeshifting venomous snakes * List of legendary creatures from Japan#I, Ichimoku-nyūdō (Japanese mythology, Japanese) – One-eyed Kappa (folklore), kappa from Sado, Niigata, Sado Island * Tsukumogami#Types of tsukumogami, Ichiren-Bozu (Japanese mythology, Japanese) – Animated prayer beads * Ichneumon (In medieval zoology), Ichneumon (Bestiary, Medieval Bestiaries) – Dragon-killing animal * Triton (mythology)#Tritons, Ichthyocentaur (Greek mythology, Greek) – Human-fish-horse hybrid * Iele (Romanian folklore, Romanian) – Female nature spirits * Ifrit (Arabian mythology, Arabian) – Fire genie * Ijiraq (mythology), Ijiraq (Inuit mythology, Inuit) – Spirit that kidnaps childre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Incubus
An incubus is a demon in male form in folklore that seeks to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. In medieval Europe, union with an incubus was supposed by some to result in the birth of witches, demons, and deformed human offspring. Legendary magician Merlin was said to have been fathered by an incubus. Parallels exist in many cultures. Walter Stephens alleges in "Demon Lovers", some traditions hold that repeated sexual activity with an incubus or succubus may result in the deterioration of health, an impaired mental state, or even death. Etymological, ancient, and religious descriptions The Late Latin word ''incubus'' ("a nightmare induced by a demon") is derived from Latin ''incubō'' ("nightmare, what lies down on one whilst one sleeps") and further from ''incubāre'' ("to lie upon, to hatch"). One of the earliest evident mentions of a demon sharing qualities to an incubus comes from Mesopotamia on the Sume ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greek Mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of deities, heroes, and mythological creatures, and the origins and significance of the ancient Greeks' own cult and ritual practices. Modern scholars study the myths to shed light on the religious and political institutions of ancient Greece, and to better understand the nature of myth-making itself. The Greek myths were initially propagated in an oral-poetic tradition most likely by Minoan and Mycenaean singers starting in the 18th century BC; eventually the myths of the heroes of the Trojan War and its aftermath became part of the oral tradition of Homer's epic poems, the '' Iliad'' and the '' Odyssey''. Two poems by Homer's near contemporary Hesiod, the ''Theogony'' and the '' Works and Days'', contain accounts of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Impundulu
The lightning bird or impundulu or thekwane (or izulu, inyoni yezulu) is a creature in the folklore of the Zulu tribe. The impundulu (which translates as "lightning bird") takes the form of a black and white bird, the size of a person, which is said to summon thunder and lightning with its wings and talons. It is a vampiric creature associated with witchcraft, often the servant or familiar of a witch or witch doctor, which attacks the witch's enemies. It is said to have an insatiable appetite for blood. Sometimes it takes the form of a beautiful young man who seduces women. The bird Among certain African tribes the hammerkop is believed to be the lightning bird. Among others the lightning bird is believed to manifest itself only through lightning, except to women, to whom it reveals itself as a bird. In these instances the bird is of imaginary nature and may take several forms. In one instance a village girl described a black rooster-like bird that ran up her hoe and left claw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medieval Folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging from traditional building styles common to the group. Folklore also includes customary lore, taking actions for folk beliefs, the forms and rituals of celebrations such as Christmas and weddings, folk dances and initiation rites. Each one of these, either singly or in combination, is considered a folklore artifact or traditional cultural expression. Just as essential as the form, folklore also encompasses the transmission of these artifacts from one region to another or from one generation to the next. Folklore is not something one can typically gain in a formal school curriculum or study in the fine arts. Instead, these traditions are passed along informally from one individual to another either through verbal instruction or demonstration ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Culture Of Malta
The culture of Malta reflects various societies that have come into contact with the Maltese Islands throughout the centuries, including neighbouring Mediterranean cultures, and the cultures of the nations that ruled Malta for long periods of time prior to its History of Malta#Independence, independence in 1964. History The culture of prehistoric Malta The earliest inhabitants of the Maltese Islands are believed to have been Sicani from nearby Sicily who arrived on the island sometime before 5000 BC. They grew cereals and raised domestic livestock and, in keeping with many other ancient Mediterranean cultures, formed a mother goddess, fertility cult represented in Malta by statuettes of unusually large proportions. Pottery from the earliest period of Maltese civilization (known as the Għar Dalam phase) is similar to examples found in Agrigento, Sicily. These people were either supplanted by, or gave rise to a culture of megalithic temple builders, whose surviving Megalithic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Il-Belliegħa
Maltese folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in Malta over the centuries, and expresses the cultural identity of the Maltese people. Maltese folklore, traditions and legends still live in the minds of the older-generations, and these are slowly being studied and categorized, like any other European tradition. A number of national and international folklore festivals are undertaken on an annual basis, some of which are under the patronage of the National Folklore Commission and the Ministry for Culture and the Arts. Notably, every December the Malta International Folk Festival is staged in Valletta, with delegates from countries around the World. Weddings Traditional Maltese weddings featured the bridal party walking in procession beneath an ornate canopy, from the home of the bride's family to the parish church, with singers trailing behind serenading the bride and groom. The Maltese word for this custom is ''il-ġilwa''. This custom along with many others has lon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Finnish Mythology
Finnish mythology is a commonly applied description of the folklore of Finnish paganism, of which a modern revival is practiced by a small percentage of the Finnish people. It has many features shared with Estonian and other Finnic mythologies, but also shares some similarities with neighbouring Baltic, Slavic and, to a lesser extent, Norse mythologies. Finnish mythology survived within an oral tradition of mythical poem-singing and folklore well into the 19th century. Of the animals, the most sacred was the bear, whose real name was never uttered out loud, lest his kind be unfavorable to the hunting. The bear ("karhu" in Finnish) was seen as the embodiment of the forefathers, and for this reason it was called by many circumlocutions: ''mesikämmen'' ("mead-paw"), ''otso'' ("browed one"), ''kontio'' ("dweller of the land"), ''metsän kultaomena'' ("the golden apple of the forest") but not a god. Study of Finnish mythological and religious history The first historical menti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iku-Turso
Iku-Turso (, "the eternal Turso"; also known as Iku-Tursas, Iki-Tursas, Meritursas, Tursas, Turisas among others) is a malevolent sea monster in Finnish mythology, best known for appearing in the ''Kalevala''. Nowadays ''Meritursas'' means octopus in Finnish, named after Iku-Turso, but originally ''tursas'' is an old name for walrus while the more common term is ''mursu''. However, it is more common to see the word ' (lit. "ink fish"), the name of its Subclass Coleoidea in Finnish, for the octopus. Etymology The name ''Turisas'' is probably an early loanword from the Proto-Germanic ''*Þurisaz'' ("giant"). Description His appearance remains unclear, but he is described with several epithets: ''partalainen'' (the one who lives on the brink, or alternatively, the bearded one), ''Tuonen härkä'' (the ox of Tuoni, Death), ''tuhatpää'' (thousand-headed), ''tuhatsarvi'' (thousand-horned). It was sometimes said that he lived in Pohjola, but that may be because Pohjola was often ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ikiryō
, also known as , , or , is a disembodied spirit or ghost in Japanese popular belief and fiction that leaves the body of a living person and subsequently haunts other people or places, sometimes across great distances. The term(s) are used in contrast to , which refers to the spirit of those who are already deceased. Summary The popular belief that the human spirit (or soul) can escape from the body has been around since early times, with eyewitness accounts and experiences (hauntings, possessions, out-of-body experience) reported in anecdotal and fictional writings. of the living are said to inflict upon the subject or subjects of their vengeance by means of transforming into their form. It is believed that if a sufficient grudge is held, all or part of the perpetrator's soul leaves the body, appearing in front of the victim to harm or curse them, a concept not so dissimilar from the evil eye. The has even made its way into Buddhist scriptures, where they are described as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inuit Mythology
Inuit religion is the shared spiritual beliefs and practices of the Inuit, an Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous people from Alaska, northern Canada, parts of Siberia and Greenland. Their religion shares many similarities with some Alaska Native religions. Traditional Inuit religious practices include animism and shamanism, in which spiritual healers mediate with spirits. Today many Inuit follow Christianity, but traditional Inuit spirituality continues as part of a living, oral tradition and part of contemporary Inuit society. Inuit who balance indigenous and Christian theology practice religious syncretism. Inuit cosmology provides a narrative about the world and the place of people within it. Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley writes: Traditional stories, rituals, and taboos of the Inuit are often precautions against dangers posed by their harsh Arctic environment. Knud Rasmussen asked his guide and friend Aua (angakkuq), Aua, an ''angakkuq'' (spiritual healer), about Inuit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ijiraq (mythology)
In the Inuit religion an ijiraq ( or ) is a shapeshifting creature that is said to kidnap children, hide them away and abandon them. The '' inuksugaq'' (or ''inukshuk'') of stone allow these children to find their way back if they can convince the ijiraq to let them go. Description In North Baffin dialects ''ijiraq'' means Shape Shifter. While '' Tariaksuq'' appear like a half-man-half-caribou monster, an ijiraq can appear in any form it chooses, making it particularly deceptive. Their eyes will always stay red, no matter what they shapeshift into. Their real form is just like a human, but their eyes and mouth are sideways. ''(The book of Dutch writer Floortje Zwigtman says only the shaman knows the real form of the Ijiraq).'' When you are hunting somewhere that Ijirait (plural) inhabit, you will see them in the corner of your eye for a fleeting moment (like tariaksuq, shadow people) ''(following another reference, you see a strange caribou in the corner of your eye instead o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arabian Mythology
Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia included indigenous Arabian polytheism, ancient Semitic religions, Christianity, Judaism, Mandaeism, and Iranian religions such as Zoroastrianism, and Manichaeism, and rarely Buddhism. Arabian polytheism, the dominant form of religion in pre-Islamic Arabia, was based on veneration of deities and spirits. Worship was directed to various gods and goddesses, including Hubal and the goddesses al-Lāt, al-‘Uzzā, and Manāt, at local shrines and temples such as the Kaaba in Mecca. Deities were venerated and invoked through a variety of rituals, including pilgrimages and divination, as well as ritual sacrifice. Different theories have been proposed regarding the role of Allah in Meccan religion. Many of the physical descriptions of the pre-Islamic gods are traced to idols, especially near the Kaaba, which is said to have contained up to 360 of them. Other religions were represented to varying, lesser degrees. The influence of the adjacent Rom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
