Monthly Archives: July 2014
Amaguq
This is another one where when I went to look it up, there really isn’t a whole lot of information to be found or had.
In Inuit mythology, Amaguq is the name of a trickster and wolf god. There is another wolf entity, Amarok, a spirit and one who isn’t so nice. Amaguq is described as being sly and cunning.
Wolves In Folklore
There are whole books, websites and articles dedicated to the significance and prominence of wolves in folklore. Their presence is common throughout a lot of European and North American cultures and mythologies.
The most notable trait of wolves is that they’re predators and depending on the culture, they are seen as either symbols of warriors or evil incarnate, representing danger and destruction.
It can vary too by culture and even religion with how wolves are viewed. Those who relied on hunting, tended to see wolves in a positive light. They saw in them traits worthy of a warrior or hunter to have in order to survive in the wilds. Those who relied more on agriculture and raising livestock, tended to see them more negatively,
While there are many Native American tribes who saw wolves as guides, guardians and protectors, there are those tribes such as the Netsilik Inuit and Takanaluk-arnaluk who didn’t always view wolves so favorably. This is understandable as wolves were some of their main competitors for feeding their families and tribes.
Aguara
Aguara is a South American Fox god who is responsible for giving the carob tree as a source of food for people. Effectively, he is a god of chocolate. Can’t go wrong there!
Or can it?
I do have to wonder about whoever did the initial writing down and researching for Aguara. A lot appears to be continued repetition and the result of bad research with a no one who knows enough about the subject to say “Hey! That’s incorrect!”
Most of the websites that give anything about Aguara, place him among Native American Deity lists. And that works when those sites in question include gods from North America down to South America. Other sites seem to be repeating bad information citing Aguara as a North American god.
Carob Tree Vs Cacao Tree
First off, Carob Trees are found in the Mediterranean, over there in Europe. They do have an edible seed pod that is used as a vegan alternative to cacao or chocolate. It is not as flavorful as chocolate, but given how much refined sugars are found in chocolate today or if you’re allergic to chocolate, it’s a good choice.
Second, Cacao Trees are found in South America and it is from the cacao beans that we get our chocolate.
Now, it is highly possible, that when European Explorers landed in the area, that they called the Cacao Trees by what they were most familiar with back home, Carob.
Maned Wolf
Properly, the animal referred to as Aguara isn’t a fox, though it does looks like a large red fox with long legs suited for and adapted to the grasslands it calls home in South America, especially its major habitat areas found in Brazil. They represent the tallest of the canine family and are in a genus of their own distinct from dogs, wolves, foxes and even jackals.
Tunpa Tribe?
This is the tribe often listed as whose pantheon of gods that Aguara would belong to.
Curious, I went to look this up. I didn’t find much on who the Tunpa were supposed to be. Just what seems to be more listings of various Native American tribes.
I did come up with a book called “Magic: A Sociological Study” by Hutton Webster from the Standford University Press, 1948. In it, the word tunpa refers to “superhuman” power. With a capital T, Tunpa can also refer to certain dead people who possess superhuman powers.
One site did mention the Chiriguano tribe found in South America from the Andes, Argentina and Boliva. Incidentally, the Chiriguano along with the Chané are those South American tribes mentioned in “Magic: A Sociological Study” that use the word tunpa.
My list of information for Tunpa also included mention of a warrior who took up the name when leading others into battle.
In Conclusion?
So we seem to be getting closer to a connection for Aguara’s South American origins. By the time I got done with looking up everything, I have to wonder about Aguara’s authenticity given the amount of poor research and repetitive re-listing the same information found among numerous websites.
Yehasuri
Alternate Spellings: Yenosu’riye, Yehasu’rie
Also known as: Wild Indians, Little Wild Indians, Wild People, Not Human Ones, Little People
Etymology – “wild little people”
Pronunciation: yay-hah-soo-ree
The Yehasuri are a race of small (roughly two feet tall), hairy humanoids from the Catawba legends of South Carolina in the United States.
It is said that the Yehasuri live in tree stumps and eat a variety of different things like acorns, roots, frogs, fungi, turtles, and insects to name a few.
While the Yehasuri are not known for being dangerous, they are known for pulling a lot of mischievous pranks and tricks. Some of these pranks include: stealing children’s footprints and shadows, outright kidnapping children, tying people by the hair to trees, and undoing people’s work if they aren’t properly respected or avoided. Sometimes these pranks can get rather destructive.
It seems to be that Catawba parents use stories of Yehasuri, portraying them as a type of bogeyman, to keep children in line and from misbehaving themselves.
Protection from Yehasuri
The only way to stop the Yehasuri is to rub tobacco on your hands and to say an ancient Catawba prayer:
“dugare ini para’ti na yehasuri deme hana te we stere yanamusi sere.”
Other precautions against Yehasuri were to make sure that nothing is left out where they can’t mess with things, bring in clothing at night, sweep away the tracks and footprints of children before night, and avoid potential places in the forest where they might be encountered.
Brickthology 