FEATURE | WHENUA | TOUCHING GRASS
Written by Stu Paul (he/him) | Contributing Writer
Edited & illustrated by Tashi Donnelly (she/her) | @tashi_rd | Feature Editor
Since the earliest days of religion in antiquity, sacred deities and spiritual personifications of the natural world have held profound significance for many human cultures. Whether manifesting as a reverence for the spirits believed to inhabit the rocks, trees, and waterways of local areas, or large-scale organised traditions based around the worship of gods and goddesses of nature - the importance of this association of the natural world with the divine, and its impact on history, should not be overlooked. Here I have highlighted four different historical nature deities from around the globe, their stories and attributes, and brief outlines of their significance to the cultures from which they originated.
Pan:
Originating in the rustic provinces of mainland Greece, Pan was the god of the wild, fields, and groves in ancient Greek religion. He was the patron deity of shepherds and flocks and was revered for his connections to fertility, spring, and sex. Depicted as a half-man, half-goat (a creature called “satyr” in Greek) and playing his pan flute with accompanying nymph attendants. Pan was not worshipped in official temples but within natural caves and grottoes due to his rural associations. With the spread of Christianity, the Church co-opted his imagery to represent the Devil. His horns, goat legs, and hooves became associated with demonic evil.
Freyja:
The goddess of fertility, love, sex, war, and abundance in Norse mythology, Freyja was one of the most important deities of the old Scandinavian pantheon. She was believed to rule over a heavenly pastoral realm that received half of those who died in battle, with the other half going to Odin’s hall Valhalla. She was believed to possess the ability to see and influence the future. Even after the Christianisation of Scandinavia she was referenced and revered in rural areas well into the 19th century. Freyja remains a significant figure in modern neo-pagan revival movements today.
Tláloc:
The Aztec god of rain and water, Tláloc was worshipped as the giver of life and sustenance in ancient Mexico. He was one of the most ancient deities in Mesoamerica, revered by the Aztecs as well as both the Maya and Olmec cultures. Tláloc was the god of various weather phenomena, including lightning and thunder. Jaguars were associated with him because their growl was thought to resemble the rumbling of thunder. There were many different rituals and offerings made to Tláloc by both ordinary commoners and the political elite of Aztec culture, with one of the two shrines on top of the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan (modern-day Mexico City) being dedicated to him.
Ranginui and Papatūānuku:
Aotearoa’s own homegrown god and goddess of the sky and earth, Rangi and Papa are two of the most significant deities in Māori mythology. In the Māori creation myth, Rangi and Papa are the sky father and earth mother, from whom were born many important nature deities including Tāne (the god of forests and birds), Tangaroa (the god of the sea, lakes, and rivers), and Tūmatauenga (the god of war and human activities like hunting and cooking - as well as the progenitor of the human race). The children of Rangi and Papa worked to separate their tightly bound parents, creating the world as it exists today, with the sky above and the earth below. This act led to a great war among the gods, as Tāwhirimātea, the god of storms and winds, grieved over his parents' separation and waged battle against his brothers. Ranginui and Papatūānuku are still revered and respected by many Māori today.
These nature deities have held great importance for the people who revered and worshipped them throughout history. Do we still believe that nature is sacred as a species? A brief look at the state of human-driven climate change and the centuries of industrial pollution and degradation of the natural landscape that has led us to our current dire predicament would suggest that - No, we no longer consider nature to be spiritually divine. However, despite this admittedly pessimistic and apocalyptic outlook, there is still some positivity that is worth noting. Although the destructive freight train of industrial capitalism has wreaked untold damage to the natural world and its ecosystems, modern ideologies and social movements are working hard to rectify the mistakes of earlier generations and work towards a future that respects and reveres the natural world in more of a similar way to how our ancestors did. If we manage to do this, collectively, as a species - and soon - perhaps the trees and rivers just might stand a chance.
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