Moni or Mone ( Kamkata-vari: ''Mone''/''Mune''), also known as Mandi (from Prasun) was, after

Imra Imra () was the chief creator deity of the Nuristanis before their conversion to Islam. Imra was believed to be the creator of the earth. With his breath, it was believed, he created the three other main deities of the pantheon: Mon, Gish and Ba ...

, the second-most important god in the pre-

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic pantheon of the

Nuristani people The Nuristanis are an Indo-Iranian ethnic group native to the Nuristan Province (formerly Kafiristan) of northeastern Afghanistan and Chitral District of northwestern Pakistan. Their languages comprise the Nuristani branch of Indo-Iranian ...

. With his breath, Imra created Moni and

Gish ''Gish'' is the debut studio album by the American alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins, released on May 28, 1991, by Caroline Records. The album was produced by Butch Vig and frontman Billy Corgan, with the latter describing ''Gish'' as ...

. Moni was believed to be a divine prophet, whom Imra selected to fulfill his behests. Nearly every village had a temple devoted to Moni.

Etymology

The name of the deity is said to have been derived from a borrowing of

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

''Mahādeva'', a title ascribed to the god

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

, who is similar to Moni in most aspects, such as the bow, bull, and destroyer of the cattle of demons.Halfmann, Jakob. "Nuristani Theonyms in Light of Historical Phonology". In: ''6th Indo-European Research Colloquium'', 2022. OI: http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.31805.54244 www.researchgate.net/publication/359109254_Nuristani_Theonyms_in_Light_of_Historical_Phonology

References

Asian gods European deities Oracular gods {{Asia-myth-stub

Etymology

See also

References