antelope-like creature was reportedly found near the Euphrates river in Mesopotamia. It could only be captured by being lured into a thicket where its horns became entangled. A magnificent statue of a beast answering this description was found during the excavations of the ancient Chaldean city of Ur.
ANAMAGQKIU
In Algonquian myths, the Anamagqkiu are the underworld spirits whose chieftains are bears. They dragged Moqwaoi, the wolf-brother of the Great Hare, Manabusch under a frozen lake to his death. Manabusch revenged his brother by killing the bear-chiefs, but the other Anamagqkiu caused a great inundation that flooded the world. Manabusch hid up a pine tree which extended itself to keep him from death.
ANAMTABOGA
A great dragon in the myths and legends of Java and Indonesia. It rules over the kingdom of the dead with its wife, Dewi Nagagini.
ANANSI
The spider god and trickster of West African folklore and mythology. Originally a creator god, Anansi has become most widely known as a crafty and cunning trickster who uses his wits to dupe other animals and humans. Early tales describe him stealing the sun and playing jokes on everyone. Stories are told of him along the Gold Coast, the Ivory Coast, in Sierra Leone, Togo, Youruba, Warri, the Cameroons, the Congo and Angola. He is also known everywhere in the West Indies and other parts of the New World and is probably one of the most popular folklore characters among the African-American population of America. He has many names: among the Hausa he is called Gizo, while the Alkan-speaking peoples call him Kwaku Anansa; in South Carolina in the Sea Island folktales he has become Miss Nancy and Gulla Aunt Nancy; in Haiti he is known as Ti Malice. But it is as Anansi that he is best known, from Trinidad to the Congo. It is unclear whether his original form is human or spider, but he is always represented as taking spider form when in trouble, enabling him to scuttle away and hide from the consequences of his japes. His character is similar to that of Hare and Tortoise in the stories of the Bantu peoples, and to Brer Rabbit in southern USA. Yet there is an ambiguity in the way he is perceived: ‘Woe to he who would put his faith in Anansi’ and ‘The wisdom of the spider is greater than that of all the world put together’ are two sayings heard widely among West African people. The Ashanti and Yoruba people tell how Anansi’s children discovered a pot always full of food and broke it, causing widespread famine.
A story from Ghana tells how, during a bush fire, an antelope allowed the spider to hide in her ear and guide her to safety. When the fire was behind them, the spider ran down to the ground and thanked the antelope for her kindness. Soon after, the antelope gave birth to a baby, which spent its first days hiding in the bushes where its mother was grazing. One unlucky day, hunters arrived and spotted the mother. The little one crouched under the shrubs and the mother leapt up to catch the hunters’ attention, staying just out of range. After an hour, the hunters gave up and went back to search for the young antelope. But they searched in vain and left the forest empty handed. Later, the mother came back but could not find her baby either. Then she heard a familiar voice. It was Anansi, who had surrounded the baby with a dense screen of spider webs as a way of thanking the antelope for her help.
ANANTA/ANANTA SESHA
The thousand-headed serpent of Hindu mythology, Ananta’s name means ‘Endless’ or ‘Infinity’, from which one may guess at its size. Its creation occurred when Balarama, the brother of the sun god, fell asleep by the seashore; out of his mouth crawled the great serpent, consuming his body as it came, until only the head remained. The movement of the vast creature caused the churning of the primal waters, from which the sacred drink of immortality was formed. Like many great mythological serpents, the Ananta will destroy creation at the end of each age. Its mouths spew forth fire and its bite is poisonous, bringing instant death. Yet, at times, it will coil itself in such a way that the sun god Vishnu may sleep in the shade of seven of its mighty heads.
ANASKELADES
A monstrous donkey occurring in the folklore of Crete. Originally, this creature was represented as a normal-sized donkey found wandering the countryside. Anyone foolish enough to attempt to ride Anaskelades found themselves in great trouble, as at once it grew to the size of a mountain and flung them off. In more recent times, it is said to present itself as a bobbin or cotton reel lying in the road. If this is picked up, it then assumes the form of a giant donkey.
ANAYE
The Anaye or Alien gods of the Navaho Indians of south-west North America were of a monstrous and titanic nature. They included the headless Thelgeth, the feather-backed Tsenahale and the Binaye Ahani – twins without legs and arms who killed with their eyes. All the Anaye were killed except for Old Age, Poverty, Cold and Famine who were allowed to continue living so that men would not grow complacent but continue to pray to the gods against the evils that the Anaye brought upon humanity.
ANCIENT SERPENT
An honorific given by the Piute Indians of North America to a huge creature that dwelt in Lake Pyramid, Nevada. Whenever the lake bubbled and formed whirlpools, the Piute believed the ancient serpent was seeking a victim.
ANDROSPHINX
The proper name for the Sphinx in Egyptian mythology. The endless Sphinx was a guardian of the cosmos and an important symbolic aspect of the astrological beliefs of the ancient Egyptians. Only referred to as the Androsphinx when depicted with a human head, it is also known as Hor-em-Asken, a name which may be translated as ‘Horus of the Horizon’, signifying the rising of the astrological planets. The statue of the Androsphinx which lies in the shadow of the Great Pyramid at Giza is the most famous representation of this creature, there represented with the body of a lion and the head of a woman wearing a Pharaonic headdress.
ANDURA
An alternative name for the Hoga, a lake monster from the folklore of the Indians of South America.
ANGONT
A giant and venomous serpent in the traditions of the Huron people of the United States. It lived in lonely and desolate places such as lakes, rivers, ancient forests and in great dark caverns beneath the earth. The Angont was said to stretch forth from within its hiding-place to overwhelm unwary travellers, inflicting disease and death upon all who came within its range. Native American shamans sometimes went in search of it, hoping to make use of its skin in their rituals; however, no luck ever came to anyone who encountered this creature.
Animal Mounts
Gods and goddesses in many mythologies are closely associated with the animal which becomes their mount, taking them across land and sea, and into otherworldly regions. The powers of the animals are frequently imparted to – or in the service of – the gods, thus emphasizing their nature or deeds.
The magical horse Aonbarr that bore Manannan mac Lír, the Irish god of the Otherworld and the sea, could gallop across land or sea. Aonbarr’s name means
