expressing themselves through celestial elements such as the
stars and the rains, these associations are extended.
Primordiality. Another large number of names refer to
the antiquity of supreme beings, who often reveal, as part of
their own nature, the meaning of what is primordial, most
fundamental, a part of the nature of existence from its earliest
beginnings. Primordiality is thus part of a supreme being’s
nature. The Yahgan of Tierra del Fuego call their supreme
being Watauineiwa (“the primeval,” or “the ancient one”).
The Botocudo of eastern Brazil believe in a supreme being
who lives in heaven and is called Old Man or Father White-
head. During the great August sacrifices in Cuzco, Vira-
cocha, the supreme being of the Inca, was praised as the one
“who exists from the beginning of the world to its end.”
Omniscience. A large body of epithets refers to the om-
niscience and omnivoyance of supreme beings. Baiame, su-
preme being of the Kamilaroi, Wiradjuri, and Euahlayi of
New South Wales, sees and hears everything, especially at
night, with his many eyes and ears. Daramulun, according
to the Yuin, can observe all human action from his position
in heaven. In Assam, the Khasis of the Mon-Khmer nucleus
of Indochinese peoples believe in a female supreme being and
creator who dwells in heaven and who sees and hears all that
happens on earth. On Madagascar, the supreme being An-
driamanitra sees all those things that lie hidden. In the Aves-
ta, Ahura Mazda ̄ is described as vouru casani (“widely
seeing”).
The clarity of a supreme being’s knowledge may be
manifested in the light of the bright sky, which, by virtue of
its own luminosity, sees and knows all existence that lies
below. The Altai Tatars call upon their supreme being as the
Ak Ajas (“white light”). The Khanty refer to Ajas Kan (“the
bright leader”). Buriats speak of the dwelling of their celestial
god as “a house ablaze with silver and gold.” For the Mansi,
Ta ̄rem is a “good golden light on high.” In Sumerian, the
divinity is described as dingir (“shining, bright”), and in Ak-
kadian, ellu expresses the same meaning.
Cosmogonic power. Other names refer to supreme be-
ings as the source of all life and power. The Warao of the
Orinoco Delta refer to Kanobo (“great father”) as the author
of life. Also in Venezuela, the Yaruro people believe in a great
goddess who created the world. Everything sprang from her,
and everything living returns to the western paradise where
she now lives. The Caliña and Galibi peoples from the Suri-
nam coast maintain that the goddess Amana (“she without
a navel”) was not born but has lived forever. All life comes
from her, for she begets and contains everything that comes
to be. Her twin sons assist in creation. The supreme deity
of the Koghi (Cágaba) of Colombia is also a universal mother
who gives birth to all creation. She rules the cycles of life,
death, and rebirth for all creatures. The mother is omnipres-
ent. Life is an intrauterine existence. Among the Mbyá, a
Guaraní people of Paraguay, the supreme being gives life to
the world and continues to extend goods in the form of game
and health. The Tupinamba of the southern Brazilian coast
conducted a search for the land of Tamoi, the supreme being
whose name means “great father.” He created life and now
governs a distant paradise wherein there is no death. In Aus-
tralia, the supreme being’s role as life-giver is recognized in
the epithets extended to Baiame, who is addressed as Mah-
manmu-rok (“our father”) among the Kamilaroi and as Boy-
jerh (“father”) among the Euahlayi. Among the Yuin, Dara-
mulun is spoken to as Papang (“father”). The Kurnai use
Mungan-ngaua (“our father”) as the proper name of their su-
preme being.
Specific references to supreme beings as creators occur
in many cultures. By way of brief illustration one may men-
tion examples from North America, Oceania, Africa, Austra-
lia, and South America.
Native American creator gods include Awonawilona,
the Zuni supreme being whose solar associations are subli-
mated almost to the point of becoming a speculative philo-
sophical principle of life. He creates the clouds and the wa-
ters of the world from the breath of his own heart. Tirawa
Atius of the Pawnee lives above and beyond the highest heav-
en. The wind is his breath. Tcuwut Makai, supreme being
of the Pima, dwells in the west, governing rain and winds.
His first creation was crushed when he pulled the sky too
close to the earth. In his second attempt, he fixed the stars
and the Milky Way in the sky. Ahone is a sky-dwelling cre-
ator of sun, moon, and stars. The existence of belief in him
is documented among peoples of the Virginia Colony in- He had no cult to speak of; instead, sacrifices were
made to Oke, a god who punished people with hurricane
winds to make their crops suffer.
In Oceania, one may call attention to Tangaroa (Tan-
galoa, Ta’aroa, and many other variants), a widely known
Polynesian divinity of the sea; Agunua, the supreme spirit of
San Cristobal in the Solomon Islands; Yelafaz, the anthropo-
morphic sky-dwelling god of Yap; Djohu-ma-di-hutu (“lord
above”), believed in by the Alfuri of Molucca; Qat, lunar su-
preme being of the Banks Islands; Hintubuhet (“our bird-
woman”), supreme being in New Ireland; and Ndengei
(Degei), the great serpent-god of Fiji. Ndengei usually lies
immobile in his cave on Mount Kauvandra on the northeast
coast of Viti Levu, but occasionally, when he is stirred, he
causes earthquakes and heavy rains.
African supreme beings who are creators include Deng,
the omniscient “free-divinity” of the Dinka people, who is
identified as Nhialic Aciek (“god the creator”). The term
nhial (“up,” or “above”) is associated with multiple modes
of supernatural expression. Among the Western Dinka,
Deng has no shrines but is honored in sacrifice together with
Nhialic (“divinity itself,” an appellation applied to Deng)
and the ancestors. Also in Africa, one may point to Cagn,
the mantis-shaped creator of the San people; Kosane, the
vaguely defined supreme being of the Venda; O:lo:run, high
god of the Yoruba; Katonda, supreme being of the Ganda;
Lugaba, supreme creator divinity of the Hima; and Ngai, su-
preme being of the Maasai.
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