Daily Deity #184 Mamaragan

With the majority of the gods from Australia easily equating to some of the oddest on the planet, Mamaragan is actually a relatively average type of god.

At least average in the sense that his role is one that is seen throughout the world.

One of the most common types of gods is one that controls thunder or lightening or both. When these abilities are connected to a god, there are usually just two gods that appear in someone's mind: Zeus and Thor. This is understandable since Zeus and Thor are in the most well known pantheons worldwide. Which is unfortunate, because they're not that unique based on powers alone.

So let's get to the subject of today's Daily Deity. To get down to it, Mamaragan is the Australian Aboriginal god of thunder and lightening, and like the majority of thunder gods, Mamaragan has a bit of a... aggressive streak to him.

Maybe it's because lightening is so volatile or maybe it's because thunder is such a powerful force, but gods that can control these elements always seem to be a bit more on edge then the other gods of their pantheon. The only way that they can seem to get rid of this pent up anger is to go about and strike things with their lightening.

For Mamaragan his personal targets of choice were trees and humans. I don't really know why he preferred trees and humans. Maybe it's because trees are a big target and catch on fire when you hit them with lightening and for humans... well, I'm sure we run around a lot when lightening is coming directly at us. We probably become good moving targets. Or Mamaragan might just hate trees and people.

At least you'll be able to tell if Mamaragan is coming for you. He likes to ride in on massive, dark thunderclouds. Especially be careful if you hear thunder. Thunder is meant to be Mamaragan's voice, and any god that can make that big of a sound just when speaking indicates that he's pretty powerful.

Though, his dwelling doesn't really translate the image of a tough thunder god. Unlike the gods Zeus and Thor who live in the immortal lands of the gods, Mamaragan makes his home on Earth. In puddles. Like, regular old puddles that are left behind after it rains. Though, this does make sense, considering that rain often accompanies big thunder and lightening storms. (Though if you remember Abeguwo this concept suddenly becomes really gross.)

While this puddle home aspect of Mamaragan may seem a little bit funny, it reveals something very important about this god. Mamaragan is widely typecast as an aggressive and dangerous god, and there's legitimacy in this, but a greater aspect of Mamaragan is overlooked. He is a weather god, and there is great significance in this for us humans.

Weather determines and has determined a great part in the development of nearly every culture on the planet. To have a god like Mamaragan as a weather god shows how harsh the world was around the people who worshiped him. This is a god who readily attacks them with deadly bolts of lightening and at the same time willingly resides within the same landscape. Despite how threatening and seemingly cruel Mamaragan, he has enough respect and humility to live beside us humans.