Preta is the name for a type of supernatural being described in Buddhist, Hindu and Jain texts that undergoes more than human suffering, particularly an extreme degree of hunger and thirst. They are often translated into English as "hungry ghosts", from the Chinese, which in turn is derived from later Indian sources generally followed in Mahayana Buddhism. In early sources such as the Petavatthu, they are much more varied. The descriptions below apply mainly in this narrower context. Pretas are believed to have been jealous or greedy people in a previous life. As a result of their karma, they are afflicted ...

The Water Monkey is a mythical creature in Chinese folklore. In stories, it is an animal that lives underwater in one of the many lakes of China. The Water Monkey reportedly likes to drag people under the water, sometimes resulting in a drowning death. The tale of the Water Monkey is used by adults to keep children from playing in the water.

In Hinduism, the Astomi is an ancient legendary race of people who had no need to eat or drink anything at all. They survived by smelling apples and flowers. Megasthenes mentioned these people in his Indica. He located them at the mouth of the river Ganges. He described them as having rough and hairy bodies and no mouths. When travelling they used to carry roots, flowers and apples to smell. They could die by smelling an unpleasant smell.

Duwende are goblins, hobgoblins, elves or dwarfs. They are little creatures who can provide good fortune or bad fate to humans. In the Philippines, duwendes frequently live in houses, in trees, underground, termite like mound or hill, and in rural areas. They are known to be either good or mischievous, depending on how homeowners treat them. They usually come out at 12 noon for an hour and during the night. Filipinos always mutter words asking them to excuse themselves for bothering the Duwendes. Filipinos usually leave food on the floor, so that the duwende residingthe house would not be angry ...

In Chinese mythology, a Nian is a beast that lives under the sea or in the mountains. Once each spring, on or around Chinese New Year, it comes out of hiding to attack people, especially children. The Nian is sensitive to loud noises and afraid of the color red. The Chinese New Year traditions of decorating in red, exploding firecrackers, and performing a lion dance were originally used to scare the beast away. Some people display Chinese couplets on red banners to prevent the Nian from returning. Numerous other traditions such as wearing red clothing or handing out red envelopes ...

Shishi , also called Lion of Fo, Lion of Buddha, or Dog of Fo, is, in Chinese art, a stylized figure of a snarling lion. Its original significance was as a guardian presence in a Buddhist temple. Shishi are often created in pairs, with the male playing with a ball and the female with a cub. They occur in many types of Chinese pottery and in Western imitations. Shishi were imported into Japanese mythology; the boddhisatva Monju-bosatsu is commonly depicted riding one. Japanese legend portrays shishi as playful in temperament but protective in nature, and they are invoked as protectors ...

In Chinese mythology, Tianlong are the celestial dragons who pull the chariots of the gods and guard their palaces. There is also a Chinese system of Martial Arts known as Tianlong Dao (T'ien Lung Tao) which has schools throughout North America and Asia.

A luduan was a beast which could detect truth, in the Chinese mythology. Thus in the Qing dynasty, rulers such as the Emperor Qianlong would surround his throne with luduan in order to properly subdue his subjects. In the adjacent image, the luduan were incense burners. The enamelled charcoal braziers next to the Dragon Throne may not actually have been so close, but since Forbidden City in Beijing is at the latitude of Chicago, the Emperor may have required the braziers for comfort. (These artifacts from the Forbidden City are currently visiting the U.S. on loan from Beijing.) Above the ...

The Feathered Serpent refers to prominent serpent deities throughout Mesoamerica. Thought to have originated during the times of the Olmec(1150-500 BC), as some of the earliest known depictions of the serpent god have appeared in their sculptures. There is no surviving account of Olmec religious belief, unlike the later Maya and Aztec. It is apparent however that the Olmec had significantly influenced later mesoamerican cultures as many of the later religions and mythologies are similar to apparent Olmec beliefs, based on archeological findings of various sculptures and jade carvings of the Olmec culture and later pre-Columbian accounts. The Olmecs however ...

In Hindu mythology, a Garuda is a lesser Hindu divinity, usually the mount of Vishnu. Garuda is depicted as having a golden body, white face, red wings, and an eagle's beak, but with a man's body. He wears a crown on his head. He is ancient and has size enough to block out the sun. His stature in Hindu religion can be gauged by the fact that an independent Upanishad, the Garudopanidad, and a Purana, the Garuda Purana, is devoted to him. Various names have been attributed to Garuda - Chirada, Gaganeshvara, Kamayusha, Kashyapi, Khageshvara, Nagantaka, Sitanana, Sudhahara, Suparna, Tarkshya, Vainateya, ...

In the Philippine mythology, a diwata or lambana is a mythological figure similar to fairies or nymphs. They are said to reside in large trees, such as acacia and balete and are the guardian sprits of nature, bringing blessing or curses upon those who bring benefits or harm to the forests and mountains. It is a Filipino spelling for the Sanskrit word devadha, but the name is ultimately derived from the Sanskrit word dev, meaning deity. A male diwata is also called encanto, and it resides primarily in the sea. It is customary for Filipino fishermen to offer meat and ...

Adarna bird is a legendary creature in the epic, Ibong Adarna, a literary masterpiece done by a Filipino author named Francisco Baltazar. This bird is said to be found in Mt. Tabor, where it perches on the shimmering Piedras Platas tree at night. During the daytime, the bird goes off somewhere but it comes back at night to roost, and it sings before it sleeps. The Adarna bird has a very long fancy tail, with numerous shiny metallic colors. It knows a total of seven songs that are believed to lull anyone to sleep as well as cure any type ...

N?ga is the Sanskrit and P?li word for a deity or class of entity or being, taking the form of a very large snake, found in Hinduism and Buddhism. The use of the term n?ga is often ambiguous, as the word may also refer, in similar contexts, to one of several human tribes known as or nicknamed "N?gas"; to elephants; and to ordinary snakes, particularly the King Cobra and the Indian Cobra, the latter of which is still called n?g in Hindi and other languages of India. A female n?ga is a n?g? or n?gin?. In the great epic Mahabharata, the ...

A vetala is a vampire like being from Hindu mythology. The vetala are defined as spirits inhabiting corpses. These corpses may be used as vehicles for movement (as they no longer decay while so inhabited), but a vetala may also leave the body at will. In Hindu folklore, the vetala is an evil spirit who haunts cemeteries and takes demonic possession of corpses. They make their displeasure known by troubling humans. They can drive people mad, kill children and cause miscarriages but they also guard their villages. They are hostile spirits of the dead trapped in the twilight zone between life and ...

The Qilin also spelled Kylin, or Kirin (Japanese and Korean) is a mythical hooved Chinese chimerical creature known throughout various East Asian cultures, and is said to appear in conjunction with the arrival of a sage. It is a good omen that brings rui. It is often depicted with what looks like fire all over its body. The Qilin is known in other languages as: Sabitun Sabintu (in Manchu), Hariharipo Hariharimo (in Tibetan), Girin (in Korean), Kirin (in Japanese) and Keilun (Cantonese).

Bashe is the name of a mythical giant reptile in the Chinese Mythology. It is believed to be similar to the South American version of 'boa constrictor' or African version of 'mamba'. It is an extra large reptile and are believed to kill it's prey by crushing and swallow them whole. It is believed to have the ability to eat elephants but however needed 3 years to digest the bones. Chinese folklore researchers link Bashe to monstrous serpent found in Lake Dongting. There were other names for it such as Xiushe or Ranshe. Some had indeed believe it is actually ...

Peng is the Romanization of the Chinese character for a mythological bird. In Chinese mythology, the Peng and Kun are different forms of the same creature. There lived a kind of giant mysterious fish in the northern sea. These fish are called Kun. Nobody knows how big these fish actually are. They can turn into giant birds. When they are in bird form, they are known as Peng. Nobody knows how big these birds actually are. When they fly, their wings are like the colorful clouds in the sky. When there is a storm in the northern sea, the Peng ...

The Vermilion Bird is believed to be one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. According to Wu Xing which is the Taoist five-elemental system, it represents the fire-element, the direction south, and the season summer correspondingly. Thus it is sometimes called the Vermilion Bird of the South (Nán F?ng Zh? Què). It is often mistaken for the Fenghuang due to similarities in appearance, but the two are different creatures. The Fenghuang is the king of birds, while the Vermilion Bird is a mythological spirit creature of the Chinese constellations.

Chaneque or Ohuican Chaneque, as they were called by the Aztecs are legendary creatures in Mexican folklore. They are conceived of as small, sprite-like beings, elemental forces and guardians of nature. By tradition, these beings would attack intruders, frightening them so that their soul would abandon their body, which the chaneques enclosed in the depth of the land. If the victim did not recover their soul through a specific ritual, he or she would become ill and die soon after. In some contemporary legends, chaneques are described as children with the face of old men or women, that make people stray during ...