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Harvest Gods from Around the World

Harvest deities are recurring figures in world mythologies—which makes sense. Food is kind of important for a civilization’s survival, for one thing. As a mediocre gardener, I can also understand why ancient people would have assumed the success and failure of crops happened at the whim of some capricious spirit, because the whole thing really does seem inexplicable sometimes. 

I’ve been going back through my mythology research for a couple of projects. I always find it interesting to track the ways different cultures viewed similar figures in their pantheon—the relative importance given to one area compared to others, or what other areas of responsibility were under that same deity’s domain. With that in mind, here’s a round-up of some of the harvest gods I’ve taken notes on in my research.

Europe & the Middle East

Harvest deities often also have domain over fertility in general, and that’s especially the case in Europe and surrounding areas. The majority of the gods in this section were seen as all-purpose fertility deities, and some had dominion over other areas, too, like law, order, protection, and strength.

Beri-Bera

The cult of Beri-Bera was especially popular among the Kartvelian peoples who lived in the mountains of eastern Georgia in antiquity, where a festival was held in his honor on New Year’s Eve.

Ceres

The Roman equivalent to Demeter, Ceres was seen as the inventor of agricultural practices like yoking oxen, sowing, and plowing. She also invented spelt wheat and had the power to fertilize and multiple plants. In addition to agriculture, she was the patron and protector of laws and land rights, and her law was seen as determining the proper course of settled, civilized life.

Crom Cruach

Also known as the Lord of the Mound, Crom Cruach was shown as a wizened old man, often hidden in mists. A large megalithic stone once stood in his honor at Magh Slaecht, which St. Patrick was said to have destroyed with a wave of his crosier, releasing a demon. On a darker note, it was believed children were sacrificed to him to ensure a good harvest. 

Demeter

Demeter was an Olympian, sister to Zeus and mother of Persephone. She also presided over sacred laws and had a connection to the underworld, both through her daughter’s marriage to Hades and because of the harvest’s cycle of death and rebirth. It’s likely she was a pre-existing earth deity who was absorbed into Greek myths.

Freyr

This widely attested god was the son of Njord and the husband of the giant Gerdr. Shown as handsome and virile—often represented by a phallic statue—Freyr was seen as the ancestor of the Swedish royal house. Like most Norse gods he had fun toys and pets, incluidng the ship Skidbladnir that could be folded and carried in a pouch, and his mount, the boar Gullinbursti. He also once had a sword that fought on its own but had to give it away to marry Gerdr, which ultimately leads to his death in Ragnarok.

Hamoa

Juice from the hamoa plant was consumed ritually to “achieve an elevated state of consciousness.” The god also featured in Zoroastrianism, and may have hailed from an even older religion. People would particularly pray to Hamoa for strong sons. 

Jumis

Jumis was the force who kept fields fertile, believed to live in the fields, where the last of every crop would be left for him. 

Mithra

There are many Mithras in different pantheons. In Zoroastrianism, Mithra is an all-seeing protector of truth, with 1,000 eyes and 1,000 ears, who serves as one of three judges at Chinvat Bridge that souls have to cross after death. The harvest is one of many areas where he’s said to have charge, likely due to his association with the sun.

Pellervo

Also called Sampsa Pellervoinen, this god is shown as a slender young man carrying a bag around his neck. He has to be ritually awakened each spring. In many versions of this myth, there are three girls who try to wake him—winter girl, spring girl, and summer girl—but only the last succeeds. 

Semargl

Semargl is often shown as a winged dog. It may have been derived from Iranian myth, which has a griffin-like creature with a dog’s body known as Simurgh. Some researchers also think it could have been two gods, Sem and Rgel. Whatever form it took, it was connected to good harvests.

Tusholi

Tusholi was a dominant deity in antiquity, initially seen as a protector of the people, though her role shifted over the years, and in later years her cult grew in popularity with childless older women. She was said to live in Lake Galain-Am and her bird is the hoopoe. 

Uacilla

This weather god took on the name Hora Uacilla (Uacilla of the wheat) when he was protecting the harvest. Fun fact: people struck by lightning were said to have been chosen by him, and a sheep would be sacrificed in their honor if they survived.

Zemepatis

This one’s an all-purpose farmer’s god, overseeing not just the harvest but also the livestock and the homestead itself. His consort is said to be Zemyna, goddess of the Earth, who is a more prominent deity. 

The Americas

There are a lot of gods and goddesses associated with specific crops in the pantheons of the Americas (which I didn’t include here, or else I would’ve been writing this blog post all week). There are also some all-purpose harvest gods, though they tend to be lower in importance than similar figures in other regions’ pantheons, and often oversee other things like general prosperity, abundance, or fertility.

Azaka Medeh

A kind, gentle spirit who loves to eat, Azaka (or just Zaka) is shown as a simple country bumpkin, barefoot wearing a straw hat with a pipe in his mouth. He likes to play, known for chasing women, but is also a hard worker and watchful over the fields he controls. Offerings of white rum, food, and sex will get him to protect a farm.

Bolon Tz’akab

This is one of the more fun-looking gods on the list. He has a snake for a leg, an upturned snout, and a mirror on his forehead with an ax blade sticking out of it. 

Hemis

Hemis dances to invite prosperity, hope, and abundance, and is among the best known of the dolls, often shown with vibrant colors and an elaborate headdress, with symbols representing friendship painted over his body. His dance is often performed to improve a tribe’s luck or inspire a positive state of mind.

Mama Allpa

Mama Allpa was a major player in the Inca pantheon, seen as responsible for fertilizing the soil and ensuring bountiful harvests. Her most distinctive physical attribute was multiple breasts, which she used to feed the earth’s life.

Manisar

Manisar was seen as the bringer of food. She is a prominent but not the primary deity, seen as one of the helpers of the creator Quaor.

Asia & the Pacific

In contrast to the Americas, harvest deities are often highly important in Eastern pantheons. In some cases, the main harvest deity is also the creator. Others also oversee major aspects of the culture, or also have control of other broad concepts like weather or the earth.

Amay Yay Yin

Also known as “mother of the stream of soft water underground”, Amay Yay Yin is prominent nature spirit, thought to give her followers productive harvests along with other kinds of success and good health. 

Dumangan

A prominent deity in several pantheons across the Philippines, Dumangan is both a weather and harvest god, seen as representing the harmony between nature and humanity. His abilities include controlling the weather and enhancing the fertility of fields, and rituals were also performed to him to restore or protect the overall health of the community, or for protection against natural disasters.

Laon

Also known as Lalahon and Alunsina, this creator figure is said to live in Mount Kanlaon, from which she both rules over both good harvests and the calamities that can befall them. Unlike some other creators, while she did create the first creature (usually a manaul, a kind of bird), she wasn’t directly responsible for the rest of existence—it’s the bird who finds the islands and causes other life to emerge, including humanity. 

Namtogan

Namtogan’s presence was said to make rice harvest and livestock bountiful. He’s also said to be the deity who showed humans how to make bulul, the carved figures that would be placed in granaries to guard rice crops. In one myth, he leaves people when they start to neglect the bulul, leading to a series of misfortunes until he could be enticed to return. 

Panulak Manobo

Pamulak Manobo created the first humans. He controls all things, including the rain he throws down from the sky and the crops he causes to grow.

Phou Ningthou and Phouoibi

Phou Ningthou (male) and Phouoibi (female) were consorts prayed to in order to double harvests. A black stone was seen to personify Phouoibi, and would be placed in a pot with grains of race inside the granary. Phou Ningthou, in contrast, was typically offered sareng fish with rice cooked in herbs.

Sedumunadoc

Followers would seek Sedumunadoc’s favor for a good harvest, and he’s seen as one of the four major gods of their pantheon (though not its highest-ranking deity).

Ugajin

Often shown with the body of a snake and the head of a human, ugajin can be depicted as either male or female. This figure was fused with the Buddhist goddess Benzaiten in Tendai Buddhism, into the entity Uga Benten.

 

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