Deity Gallery

Umay the goddess of fertility, Kazakhstan

Umay is the Mother of Earth, also known as the goddess of fertility in the religion of Tengriism (Tengrism), Kazakhstan. She holds her arms around the yurt to protect the baby. There is a baculus (staff symbolic of authority) with a bird on her left, and a crescent moon behind her.

© AEO Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools / Mary Evans

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Mayan Monolith - Quirigua - Sky Xul in Jaws of a Monster

Guatemala - Mayan Monolith - Quirigua - 8th century AD. Quirigua is an ancient Maya archaeological site in the department of Izabal in south-eastern Guatemala. This piece is 'Zoomorph P' (which explorer Alfred Maudslay nicknamed The Great Turtle) was dedicated in 795 by "Sky Xul" and is a masterpiece of Mesoamerican art. It weighs around 20 tons. This side depicts a larger-than-life portrait of "Sky Xul" himself seated cross-legged in the open jaws of an enormous crocodile-mountain hybrid monster. Date: 8th century AD

© Mary Evans / Grenville Collins Postcard Collection

Shiva and Parvati sculpture. Orissa, India, 13th century AD

Shiva and Parvati sculpture. Orissa, India, 13th century AD. Stone sculpture shows the powerful Hindu deity Shiva, with his consort Parvati, the daugter of the mountain, seated on his knee. British Museum. London. England. United Kingdom.

© Thaliastock / Mary Evans

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