Here we will dive into the aspects of the different Gods amongst the Aztecs and other Indian tribes. I have already provided evidence of the God Shiva and his different epithets throughout the world, and as well the Goddess Kali in other forms. Then there is the God of fire who was depicted as a Bird God, to which connects to Him being one of the Gods of the Mayans connecting to the Japanese, Chinese and Brahmin people. Now, let's start by learning about the God called "Xipe Totec". Based from the Wiki states this:
"In Aztec mythology and religion, Xipe Totec (/ˈʃiːpə ˈtoʊtɛk/; Classical Nahuatl: Xīpe Totēc [ˈʃiːpe ˈtoteːk(ʷ)]) or Xipetotec ("Our Lord the Flayed One") was a life-death-rebirth deity, god of agriculture, vegetation, the east, spring, goldsmiths, silversmiths, liberation, and the seasons. Xipe Totec was also known by various other names, including Tlatlauhca (Nahuatl pronunciation: [t͡ɬaˈt͡ɬawka]), Tlatlauhqui Tezcatlipoca (Nahuatl pronunciation: [t͡ɬaˈt͡ɬawki teskat͡ɬiˈpoːka]) ("Red Smoking Mirror") and Yohuallahuan (Nahuatl pronunciation: [jowallawan]) ("the Night Drinker"), and Yaotzin ("revered enemy"). The Tlaxcaltecs and the Huexotzincas worshipped a version of the deity under the name of Camaxtli, and the god has been identified with Yopi, a Zapotec god represented on Classic Period urns."
"The female equivalent of Xipe Totec was the goddess Xilonen-Chicomecoatl. Xipe Totec connected agricultural renewal with warfare. He flayed himself to give food to humanity, symbolic of the way maize seeds lose their outer layer before germination and of snakes shedding their skin. Without his skin, he was depicted as a golden god. Xipe Totec was believed by the Aztecs to be the god that invented war. His insignia included the pointed cap and rattle staff, which was the war attire for the Mexica emperor. He had a temple called Yopico within the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan."
"Xipe Totec is associated with pimples, inflammation and eye diseases, and possibly plague. Xipe Totec has a strong relation to diseases such as smallpox, blisters and eye sickness and if someone suffered from these diseases offerings were made to him. This deity is of uncertain origin. Xipe Totec was widely worshipped in central Mexico at the time of the Spanish Conquest, and was known throughout most of Mesoamerica. Representations of the god have been found as far away as Tazumal in El Salvador. The worship of Xipe Totec was common along the Gulf Coast during the Early Postclassic. The deity probably became an important Aztec god as a result of the Aztec conquest of the Gulf Coast in the middle of the fifteenth century."
"In January 2019, Mexican archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History confirmed that they had discovered the first known surviving temple dedicated to Xipe Totec in the Puebla state of Mexico. The temple was found while examining ruins of the Popoluca peoples indigenous to Mexico. The Popolucas built the temple in an area called Ndachjian-Tehuacan between AD 1000 and 1260 prior to Aztec invasion of the area."
"Originally the name of the first son of the creative couple is Tlatlauhca or Tlatlauhaqui Tezcatlipoca, "Smoking red mirror." Of obscure origin, this god is honored by the Tlaxcalans and Huejocinas with the name of Camaxtli, and apparently a deity of Zapotlan, Xalisco, is widely known in almost all of Mesoamerica with the name of Xipetotec, 'Our Lord Flayed'. His body is dyed yellow on one side and lined on the other, his face is carved, superficially divided into two parts by a narrow strip that runs from the forehead to the jawbone. His head wears a kind of hood of different colors with tassels that hang down his back."
"The Tlaxcala myth that refers to Camaxtle, a god identified as Xipe-Totec himself Camaxtle begins a war against the Shires and defeats them. The war lasts until 1 acatl, when Camaxtle is defeated, after this failure he meets one of the women created by Yayauhqui Tezcatlipoca, called Chimalma, and with her he conceives five children, one of whom is Ce Acatl Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl, who governs Tula (Another myth says that it is Yayauhqui Tezcatlipoca, the enemy who in his invocation of Mixcoatl impregnates Chimalma) It's difficult to discern if Camaxtle is the same Tlatlauhqui Tezcatlipoca-Xipetotec or Yayauhqui Tezcatlipoca who changes his name to Mixcoatl; or Huitzilopochtli himself as identified by some informants and authors. The truth is that he is related to fire and hunting."
"After the destruction of the earth by water, came chaos. Everything was desolation. Humanity had died and the heavens were over the earth. When the gods saw that the heavens had fallen, they resolved to reach the center of the earth, opening four subterranean paths for this, and to enter these paths to lift them up. To reward such a great action, Tonacacihuatl and Tonacatecuhtli made their children the lords of the heavens and the stars, and the path that Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl traveled was marked by the Milky Way. And this great nebula was also called Mixcoatl or Iztac-Mixcoatl, 'white cloud snake."
"Xipe Totec appears in codices with his right hand upraised and his left hand extending towards the front. Xipe Totec is represented wearing flayed human skin, usually with the flayed skin of the hands falling loose from the wrists. His hands are bent in a position that appears to possibly hold a ceremonial object. His body is often painted yellow on one side and tan on the other. His mouth, lips, neck, hands and legs are sometimes painted red. In some cases, some parts of the human skin covering is painted yellowish-gray. The eyes are not visible, the mouth is open and the ears are perforated. He frequently had vertical stripes running down from his forehead to his chin, running across the eyes."
"He was sometimes depicted with a yellow shield and carrying a container filled with seeds. One Xipe Totec sculpture was carved from volcanic rock, and portrays a man standing on a small pedestal. The chest has an incision, made in order to extract the heart of the victim before flaying. It is likely that sculptures of Xipe Totec were ritually dressed in the flayed skin of sacrificial victims and wore sandals. In most of Xipe Totec sculptures, artists always make emphasis in his sacrificial and renewal nature by portraying the different layers of skin."
"Xipe Totec emerging from rotting, flayed skin after twenty days symbolised rebirth and the renewal of the seasons, the casting off of the old and the growth of new vegetation. New vegetation was represented by putting on the new skin of a flayed captive because it symbolized the vegetation the earth puts on when the rain comes. The living god lay concealed underneath the superficial veneer of death, ready to burst forth like a germinating seed."
"The deity also had a malevolent side as Xipe Totec was said to cause rashes, pimples, inflammations and eye infections. The flayed skins were believed to have curative properties when touched and mothers took their children to touch such skins in order to relieve their ailments. People wishing to be cured made offerings to him at Yopico."
"The annual festival of Xipe Totec was celebrated on the spring equinox before the onset of the rainy season; it was known as Tlacaxipehualiztli ([t͡ɬakaʃipewaˈlist͡ɬi]; lit. "flaying of men"). This festival took place in March at the time of the Spanish Conquest. Forty days before the festival of Xipe Totec, a slave who was captured at war was dressed to represent the living god who was honored during this period. This occurred in every ward of the city, which resulted in multiple slaves being selected. The central ritual act of "Tlacaxipehualiztli" was the gladiatorial sacrifice of war prisoners, which both began and culminated the festival. On the next day of the festival, the game of canes was performed in the manner of two bands."
"The first band were those who took the part of Xipe Totec and went dressed in the skins of the war prisoners who were killed the previous day, so the fresh blood was still flowing. The opposing band was composed of daring soldiers who were brave and fearless, and who took part in the combat with the others. After the conclusion of this game, those who wore the human skins went around throughout the whole town, entering houses and demanding that those in the houses give them some alms or gifts for the love of Xipe Totec."
"While in the houses, they sat down on sheaves of tzapote leaves and put on necklaces which were made of ears of corn and flowers. They had them put on garlands and give them pulque to drink, which was their wine. Annually, slaves or captives were selected as sacrifices to Xipe Totec. After having the heart cut out, the body was carefully flayed to produce a nearly whole skin which was then worn by the priests for twenty days during the fertility rituals that followed the sacrifice. This act of putting on new skin was a ceremony called 'Neteotquiliztli' translating to "impersonation of a god".
"The skins were often adorned with bright feathers and gold jewellery when worn. During the festival, victorious warriors wearing flayed skins carried out mock skirmishes throughout Tenochtitlan, they passed through the city begging alms and blessed whoever gave them food or other offerings. When the twenty-day festival was over, the flayed skins were removed and stored in special containers with tight-fitting lids designed to stop the stench of putrefaction from escaping. These containers were then stored in a chamber beneath the temple."
"The goldsmiths also participated in Tlacaxipehualizti. They had a feast called Yopico every year in the temple during the month of Tlacaxipehualizti. A satrap was adorned in the skin taken from one of the captives in order to appear like Xipe Totec. On the dress, they put a crown made of rich feathers, which was also a wig of false hair. Gold ornaments were put in the nose and nasal septum. Rattles were put in the right hand and a gold shield was put in the left hand, while red sandals were put on their feet decorated with quail-feathers. They also wore skirts made of rich feathers and a wide gold necklace. They were seated and offered Xipe Totec an uncooked tart of ground maize, many ears of corn that had been broken apart in order to get to the seeds, along with fruits and flowers. The deity was honored with a dance and ended in a war exercise."
Human sacrifice: "Various methods of human sacrifice were used to honour this god. The flayed skins were often taken from sacrificial victims who had their hearts cut out, and some representations of Xipe Totec show a stitched-up wound in the chest. "Gladiator sacrifice" is the name given to the form of sacrifice in which an especially courageous war captive was given mock weapons, tied to a large circular stone and forced to fight against a fully armed Aztec warrior. As a weapon he was given a macuahuitl (a wooden sword with blades formed from obsidian) with the obsidian blades replaced with feathers."
"A white cord was tied either around his waist or his ankle, binding him to the sacred temalacatl stone. At the end of the Tlacaxipehualiztli festival, gladiator sacrifice (known as tlauauaniliztli) was carried out by five Aztec warriors; two jaguar warriors, two eagle warriors and a fifth, left-handed warrior. "Arrow sacrifice" was another method used by the worshippers of Xipe Totec."
"The sacrificial victim was bound spread-eagled to a wooden frame, he was then shot with many arrows so that his blood spilled onto the ground. The spilling of the victim's blood to the ground was symbolic of the desired abundant rainfall, with a hopeful result of plentiful crops. After the victim was shot with the arrows, the heart was removed with a stone knife. The flayer then made a laceration from the lower head to the heels and removed the skin in one piece. These ceremonies went on for twenty days, meanwhile the votaries of the god wore the skins."
"Another instance of sacrifice was done by a group of metalworkers who were located in the town of Azcapotzalco, who held Xipe Totec in special veneration. Xipe was a patron to all metalworkers (teocuitlapizque), but he was particularly associated with the goldsmiths."
"Among this group, those who stole gold or silver were sacrificed to Xipe Totec. Before this sacrifice, the victims were taken through the streets as a warning to others. Other forms of sacrifice were sometimes used; at times the victim was cast into a firepit and burned, others had their throats cut."
Now, did you get the references of "wearing the human skin" and going around people's houses asking for gifts and such? This is based on the holiday called "Halloween", to which the individuals would dress up and wear the monstrous attire and go house to house asking for gifts.
Now, based from the "flayed God" reference, this practice was shown in the movie "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", as they had shown the "flayed skin" that's towards the worship of the Goddess Kali. Just like I had stated earlier, the Hindu Gods were practiced and worshiped all over the world, whether East or West, there is a stark connection based from these Holidays. The reader can even look up the Tibetan Kali, as she holds the flayed skin of a man. Even skinning references are shown in the movie "Predator".
There are also subtle references of Anubis wearing the flayed Leopard skin (which represented the defeat of Set), in the same manner as Shiva wearing the flayed skin of a tiger (or leopard). Having to understand this concept reveals that Xipe Totec is the same God as Osiris, Shiva and even Dionysus, connects to the Green man mythology that is practiced everywhere.
Based from "Trick or Treat" states this from the Wiki: "Trick-or-treating is a traditional Halloween custom for children and adults in some countries. In the evening before All Saints' Day (1 November), children in costumes travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase "Trick or treat". The "treat" is usually some form of candy, although in some cultures money is given instead. The "trick" refers to a threat, usually idle, to perform mischief on the homeowner(s) or their property if no treat is given. Trick-or-treating usually occurs on the evening of October 31. Some homeowners signal that they are willing to hand out treats by putting up Halloween decorations outside their doors; others simply leave treats available on their porches for the children to take freely. Houses may also leave their porch light on as a universal indicator that they have candy."
"In Scotland and other parts of Britain and Ireland, the tradition of guising, going house to house at Halloween and putting on a small performance to be rewarded with food or treats, goes back at least as far as the 16th century, as does the tradition of people wearing costumes at Halloween. There are many accounts from 19th-century Scotland and Ireland of people going house to house in costume at Halloween, reciting verses in exchange for food, and sometimes warning of misfortune if they were not welcomed. While going house to house in costume has long been popular among the Scots and Irish, it is only in the 2000s that saying "Trick or treat" has become common in Scotland and Ireland. Prior to this, children in Ireland would commonly say "Help the Halloween Party" at the doors of homeowners."
'In North America, trick-or-treating has been a Halloween tradition since the 1920s. The earliest known occurrence there of the Irish and Scottish Halloween custom of "guising" – children going from house to house for food or money while disguised in costume – is from 1911, when children were recorded as having done this in Ontario, Canada. The activity is prevalent in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, Canada, and Australia. In northwestern and central Mexico, this practice is called calaverita (Spanish diminutive for calavera, "skull" in English), and instead of "Trick or treat", the children ask, "¿Me da mi calaverita?" ("Can you give me my little skull?"), where a calaverita is a small skull made of sugar or chocolate."
Ancient precursors: "Traditions similar to the modern custom of trick-or-treating extend all the way back to classical antiquity, although it is extremely unlikely that any of them are directly related to the modern custom. The ancient Greek writer Athenaeus of Naucratis records in his book The Deipnosophists that, in ancient times, the Greek island of Rhodes had a custom in which children would go from door-to-door dressed as swallows, singing a song, which demanded the owners of the house to give them food and threatened to cause mischief if the owners of the house refused. This tradition was claimed to have been started by the Rhodian lawgiver Cleobulus."
Origins: "Since the Middle Ages, a tradition of mumming on a certain holiday has existed in parts of Britain and Ireland. It involved going door-to-door in costume, performing short scenes or parts of plays in exchange for food or drink. The custom of trick-or-treating on Halloween may come from the belief that supernatural beings, or the souls of the dead, roamed the earth at this time and needed to be appeased. It may otherwise have originated in a Celtic festival, Samhain, held on 31 October–1 November, to mark the beginning of winter, in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man, and Calan Gaeaf in Wales, Cornwall, and Brittany. The festival is believed to have pre-Christian roots. In the 9th century, the Catholic Church made 1 November All Saints' Day. Among Celtic-speaking peoples, it was seen as a liminal time, when the spirits or fairies (the Aos Sí), and the souls of the dead, came into our world and were appeased with offerings of food and drink. Similar beliefs and customs were found in other parts of Europe. It is suggested that trick-or-treating evolved from a tradition whereby people impersonated the spirits, or the souls of the dead, and received offerings on their behalf. S. V. Peddle suggests they "personify the old spirits of the winter, who demanded reward in exchange for good fortune". Impersonating these spirits or souls was also believed to protect oneself from them."
"At least as far back as the 15th century, among Christians, there had been a custom of sharing soul-cakes at Allhallowtide (October 31 through November 2). People would visit houses and take soul-cakes, either as representatives of the dead, or in return for praying for their souls. Later, people went "from parish to parish at Halloween, begging soul-cakes by singing under the windows some such verse as this: 'Soul, souls, for a soul-cake; Pray you good mistress, a soul-cake!'" They typically asked for "mercy on all Christian souls for a soul-cake". It was known as 'Souling' and was recorded in parts of Britain, Flanders, southern Germany, and Austria. Shakespeare mentions the practice in his comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1593), when Speed accuses his master of "puling [whimpering or whining] like a beggar at Hallowmas".
"The wearing of costumes, or "guising", at Hallowmas, had been recorded in Scotland in the 16th century and was later recorded in other parts of Britain and Ireland. There are many references to mumming, guising or souling at Halloween in Britain and Ireland during the late 18th century and the 19th century. In parts of southern Ireland, a man dressed as a Láir Bhán (white mare) led youths house to house reciting verses—some of which had pagan overtones—in exchange for food. If the household donated food it could expect good fortune from the 'Muck Olla', but if they refused to do so, it would bring misfortune. In Scotland, youths went house to house in white with masked, painted or blackened faces, reciting rhymes and often threatening to do mischief if they were not welcomed."
"In parts of Wales, peasant men went house to house dressed as fearsome beings called gwrachod, or presenting themselves as the cenhadon y meirw (representatives of the dead). In western England, mostly in the counties bordering Wales, souling was common. According to one 19th century English writer "parties of children, dressed up in fantastic costume […] went round to the farm houses and cottages, singing a song, and begging for cakes (spoken of as "soal-cakes"), apples, money, or anything that the goodwives would give them".
"contemporary account of guising at Halloween in Scotland is recorded in 1895, where masqueraders in disguise carrying lanterns made out of scooped out turnips, visit homes to be rewarded with cakes, fruit, and money. The earliest known occurrence of the practice of guising at Halloween in North America is from 1911, when a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, Canada reported on children going "guising" around the neighborhood. American historian and author Ruth Edna Kelley of Massachusetts wrote the first book length history of the holiday in the US; The Book of Hallowe'en (1919), and references souling in the chapter "Hallowe'en in America"; "The taste in Hallowe'en festivities now is to study old traditions, and hold a Scotch party, using Burn's poem Hallowe'en as a guide; or to go a-souling as the English used."
"In short, no custom that was once honored at Hallowe'en is out of fashion now." Kelley lived in Lynn, Massachusetts, a town with 4,500 Irish immigrants, 1,900 English immigrants, and 700 Scottish immigrants in 1920. In her book, Kelley touches on customs that arrived from across the Atlantic; "Americans have fostered them, and are making this an occasion something like what it must have been in its best days overseas. All Hallowe'en customs in the United States are borrowed directly or adapted from those of other countries".
"While the first reference to "guising" in North America occurs in 1911, another reference to ritual begging on Halloween appears, place unknown, in 1915, with a third reference in Chicago in 1920. The earliest known use in print of the term "trick or treat" appears in 1927, from Blackie, Alberta: Hallowe’en provided an opportunity for real strenuous fun. No real damage was done except to the temper of some who had to hunt for wagon wheels, gates, wagons, barrels, etc., much of which decorated the front street."
"The youthful tormentors were at back door and front demanding edible plunder by the word “trick or treat” to which the inmates gladly responded and sent the robbers away rejoicing. The thousands of Halloween postcards produced between the start of the 20th century and the 1920s commonly show children but do not depict trick-or-treating. The editor of a collection of over 3,000 vintage Halloween postcards writes, "There are cards which mention the custom [of trick-or-treating] or show children in costumes at the doors, but as far as we can tell they were printed later than the 1920s and more than likely even the 1930s."
"Tricksters of various sorts are shown on the early postcards, but not the means of appeasing them". Trick-or-treating does not seem to have become a widespread practice until the 1930s, with the first U.S. appearance of the term in 1932, and the first use in a national publication occurring in 1939. Behavior similar to trick-or-treating was more commonly associated with Thanksgiving from 1870 (shortly after that holiday's formalization) until the 1930s. In New York City, a Thanksgiving ritual known as Ragamuffin Day involved children dressing up as beggars and asking for treats, which later evolved into dressing up in more diverse costumes. Increasing hostility toward the practice in the 1930s eventually led to the begging aspects being dropped, and by the 1950s, the tradition as a whole had ceased."
Guising: "In Scotland and Ireland, "guising" – children going from door to door in disguise – is traditional, and a gift in the form of food, coins or "apples or nuts for the Halloween party" (in more recent times chocolate) is given out to the children. The tradition is called "guising" because of the disguises or costumes worn by the children. In the West Mid Scots dialect, guising is known as "galoshans". Halloween masks are referred to as "false faces" in Ireland and Scotland. While guising has been recorded in Scotland in the 16th century, a more contemporary record of guising at Halloween in Scotland is in 1895, where masqueraders in disguise carrying lanterns made out of scooped out turnips, visit homes to be rewarded with cakes, fruit, and money."
"Guising also involved going to wealthy homes, and in the 1920s, boys went guising at Halloween up to the affluent Thorntonhall, South Lanarkshire. An account of guising in the 1950s in Ardrossan, North Ayrshire, records a child receiving 12 shillings and sixpence, having knocked on doors throughout the neighbourhood and performed. In Ireland, children in their masks and costumes would commonly say "Help the Halloween Party" at the doors of homeowners. Growing up in Derry, Northern Ireland in the 1960s, The Guardian journalist Michael Bradley recalls children asking, “Any nuts or apples?”.
"There is a significant difference from the way the practice has developed in North America with the jocular threat. In Scotland and Ireland, the children are only supposed to receive treats if they perform a party trick for the households they go to. This normally takes the form of singing a song or reciting a joke or a funny poem which the child has memorised before setting out. While going from door to door in disguise has remained popular among Scots and Irish at Halloween, the North American saying "trick-or-treat" has become common in the 2000s."
Let's see Halloween from the wiki: "Halloween or Hallowe'en (a contraction of "All Hallows' evening"), less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve, is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. It begins the observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the departed. One theory holds that many Halloween traditions were influenced by Celtic harvest festivals, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain, which are believed to have pagan roots."
"Some go further and suggest that Samhain may have been Christianized as All Hallow's Day, along with its eve, by the early Church. Other academics believe Halloween began solely as a Christian holiday, being the vigil of All Hallow's Day. Celebrated in Ireland and Scotland for centuries, Irish and Scottish migrants brought many Halloween customs to North America in the 19th century, and then through American influence, Halloween spread to other countries by the late 20th and early 21st century. Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (or the related guising and souling), attending Halloween costume parties, carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, divination games, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, telling scary stories, and watching horror or Halloween-themed films."
"For some people, the Christian religious observances of All Hallows' Eve, including attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead, remain popular, although it is a secular celebration for others. Some Christians historically abstained from meat on All Hallows' Eve, a tradition reflected in the eating of certain vegetarian foods on this vigil day, including apples, potato pancakes, and soul cakes."
"The word Halloween or Hallowe'en dates to about 1745 and is of Christian origin. The word Hallowe'en means "Saints' evening". It comes from a Scottish term for All Hallows' Eve (the evening before All Hallows' Day). In Scots, the word eve is even, and this is contracted to e'en or een. Over time, (All) Hallow(s) E(v)en evolved into Hallowe'en. Although the phrase "All Hallows'" is found in Old English, "All Hallows' Eve" is itself not seen until 1556."
Christian origins and historic customs: "Halloween is thought to have roots in Christian beliefs and practices. The name 'Halloween' comes from "All Hallows' Eve", being the evening before the Christian holy days of All Hallows' Day (All Saints' Day) on 1 November and All Souls' Day on 2 November. Since the time of the early Church, major feasts in Christianity (such as Christmas, Easter and Pentecost) had vigils that began the night before, as did the feast of All Hallows'."
"These three days are collectively called Allhallowtide and are a time for honoring the saints and praying for recently departed souls who have yet to reach Heaven. Commemorations of all saints and martyrs were held by several churches on various dates, mostly in springtime. In 4th-century Roman Edessa it was held on 13 May, and on 13 May 609, Pope Boniface IV re-dedicated the Pantheon in Rome to "St Mary and all martyrs". This was the date of Lemuria, an ancient Roman festival of the dead."
"Beginning in the 4th century, the feast of All Hallows' in the Western Christian Church commemorated Christian martyrs and in the 8th century, Pope Gregory III (731–741) founded of an oratory in St Peter's for the relics "of the holy apostles and of all saints, martyrs and confessors". Some sources say it was dedicated on 1 November, while others say it was on Palm Sunday."
"By 800, there is evidence that churches in Ireland and Northumbria were holding a feast commemorating all saints on 1 November. Alcuin of Northumbria, a member of Charlemagne's court, may then have introduced this 1 November date in the Frankish Empire."
"In 835, it became the official date in the Frankish Empire. Some suggest this was due to Celtic influence, while others suggest it was a Germanic idea, although it is claimed that both Germanic and Celtic-speaking peoples commemorated the dead at the beginning of winter. They may have seen it as the most fitting time to do so, as it is a time of 'dying' in nature. It is also suggested the change was made on the "practical grounds that Rome in summer could not accommodate the great number of pilgrims who flocked to it", and perhaps because of public health concerns over Roman Fever, which claimed a number of lives during Rome's sultry summers."
"By the end of the 12th century they had become holy days of obligation in Western Christianity and involved such traditions as ringing church bells for souls in purgatory. It was also "customary for criers dressed in black to parade the streets, ringing a bell of mournful sound and calling on all good Christians to remember the poor souls". The Allhallowtide custom of baking and sharing soul cakes for all christened souls, has been suggested as the origin of trick-or-treating. The custom dates back at least as far as the 15th century and was found in parts of England, Wales, Flanders, Bavaria and Austria. Groups of poor people, often children, would go door-to-door during Allhallowtide, collecting soul cakes, in exchange for praying for the dead, especially the souls of the givers' friends and relatives."
"This was called "souling". Soul cakes were also offered for the souls themselves to eat, or the 'soulers' would act as their representatives. As with the Lenten tradition of hot cross buns, soul cakes were often marked with a cross, indicating they were baked as alms. Shakespeare mentions souling in his comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1593). While souling, Christians would carry "lanterns made of hollowed-out turnips", which could have originally represented souls of the dead; jack-o'-lanterns were used to ward off evil spirits.
"On All Saints' and All Souls' Day during the 19th century, candles were lit in homes in Ireland, Flanders, Bavaria, and in Tyrol, where they were called "soul lights", that served "to guide the souls back to visit their earthly homes". In many of these places, candles were also lit at graves on All Souls' Day. In Brittany, libations of milk were poured on the graves of kinfolk, or food would be left overnight on the dinner table for the returning souls; a custom also found in Tyrol and parts of Italy. Christian minister Prince Sorie Conteh linked the wearing of costumes to the belief in vengeful ghosts:
"It was traditionally believed that the souls of the departed wandered the earth until All Saints' Day, and All Hallows' Eve provided one last chance for the dead to gain vengeance on their enemies before moving to the next world. In order to avoid being recognized by any soul that might be seeking such vengeance, people would don masks or costumes". It is claimed that in the Middle Ages, churches that were too poor to display relics of martyred saints at Allhallowtide let parishioners dress up as saints instead."
"Some Christians observe this custom at Halloween today. Lesley Bannatyne believes this could have been a Christianization of an earlier pagan custom. Many Christians in mainland Europe, especially in France, believed "that once a year, on Hallowe'en, the dead of the churchyards rose for one wild, hideous carnival" known as the danse macabre, which was often depicted in church decoration. Christopher Allmand and Rosamond McKitterick write in The New Cambridge Medieval History that the danse macabre urged Christians "not to forget the end of all earthly things".
"The danse macabre was sometimes enacted at village pageants and court masques, with people "dressing up as corpses from various strata of society", and this may be the origin of Halloween costume parties. In Britain, these customs came under attack during the Reformation, as Protestants berated purgatory as a "popish" doctrine incompatible with the Calvinist doctrine of predestination. State-sanctioned ceremonies associated with the intercession of saints and prayer for souls in purgatory were abolished during the Elizabethan reform, though All Hallow's Day remained in the English liturgical calendar to "commemorate saints as godly human beings".
"For some Nonconformist Protestants, the theology of All Hallows' Eve was redefined; "souls cannot be journeying from Purgatory on their way to Heaven, as Catholics frequently believe and assert. Instead, the so-called ghosts are thought to be in actuality evil spirits". Other Protestants believed in an intermediate state known as Hades (Bosom of Abraham). In some localities, Catholics and Protestants continued souling, candlelit processions, or ringing church bells for the dead; the Anglican church eventually suppressed this bell-ringing. Mark Donnelly, a professor of medieval archaeology, and historian Daniel Diehl write that "barns and homes were blessed to protect people and livestock from the effect of witches, who were believed to accompany the malignant spirits as they traveled the earth".
"After 1605, Hallowtide was eclipsed in England by Guy Fawkes Night (5 November), which appropriated some of its customs. In England, the ending of official ceremonies related to the intercession of saints led to the development of new, unofficial Hallowtide customs. In 18th–19th century rural Lancashire, Catholic families gathered on hills on the night of All Hallows' Eve. One held a bunch of burning straw on a pitchfork while the rest knelt around him, praying for the souls of relatives and friends until the flames went out. This was known as teen'lay. There was a similar custom in Hertfordshire, and the lighting of 'tindle' fires in Derbyshire. Some suggested these 'tindles' were originally lit to "guide the poor souls back to earth". In Scotland and Ireland, old Allhallowtide customs that were at odds with Reformed teaching were not suppressed as they "were important to the life cycle and rites of passage of local communities" and curbing them would have been difficult. In parts of Italy until the 15th century, families left a meal out for the ghosts of relatives, before leaving for church services. In 19th-century Italy, churches staged "theatrical re-enactments of scenes from the lives of the saints" on All Hallow's Day, with "participants represented by realistic wax figures".
"In 1823, the graveyard of Holy Spirit Hospital in Rome presented a scene in which bodies of those who recently died were arrayed around a wax statue of an angel who pointed upward towards heaven. In the same country, "parish priests went house-to-house, asking for small gifts of food which they shared among themselves throughout that night". In Spain, they continue to bake special pastries called "bones of the holy" (Spanish: Huesos de Santo) and set them on graves. At cemeteries in Spain and France, as well as in Latin America, priests lead Christian processions and services during Allhallowtide, after which people keep an all night vigil. In 19th-century San Sebastián, there was a procession to the city cemetery at Allhallowtide, an event that drew beggars who "appeal[ed] to the tender recollectons of one's deceased relations and friends" for sympathy."
Then based from "Samhain" states this excerpt from the Wiki: "Samhain (/ˈsɑːwɪn, ˈsaʊɪn/, Irish: [ˈsˠəunʲ], Scottish Gaelic: [ˈs̪ãũ.ɪɲ]; Manx: Sauin [ˈsoːɪnʲ]) is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or "darker-half" of the year. It is held on 1 November but with celebrations beginning on the evening of 31 October, since the Celtic day began and ended at sunset. This is about halfway between the autumn equinox and winter solstice. It is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals along with Imbolc, Beltaine and Lughnasa. Historically it was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man (where it is spelled Sauin)."
"A similar festival was held by the Brittonic Celtic people, called Calan Gaeaf in Wales, Kalan Gwav in Cornwall and Kalan Goañv in Brittany. Samhain is believed to have Celtic pagan origins and some Neolithic passage tombs in Ireland are aligned with the sunrise at the time of Samhain. It is first mentioned in the earliest Irish literature, from the 9th century, and is associated with many important events in Irish mythology."
"The early literature says Samhain was marked by great gatherings and feasts and was when the ancient burial mounds were open, which were seen as portals to the Otherworld. Some of the literature also associates Samhain with bonfires and sacrifices. The festival was not recorded in detail until the early modern era. It was when cattle were brought down from the summer pastures and when livestock were slaughtered. As at Beltaine, special bonfires were lit. These were deemed to have protective and cleansing powers and there were rituals involving them."
"Like Beltaine, Samhain was a liminal or threshold festival, when the boundary between this world and the Otherworld thinned, meaning the Aos Sí (the 'spirits' or 'fairies') could more easily come into our world. Most scholars see the Aos Sí as remnants of pagan gods. At Samhain, they were appeased with offerings of food and drink, to ensure the people and their livestock survived the winter. The souls of dead kin were also thought to revisit their homes seeking hospitality, and a place was set at the table for them during a Samhain meal. Mumming and guising were part of the festival from at least the early modern era, whereby people went door-to-door in costume reciting verses in exchange for food. The costumes may have been a way of imitating, and disguising oneself from, the Aos Sí. Divination was also a big part of the festival and often involved nuts and apples. In the late 19th century John Rhys and James Frazer suggested it was the "Celtic New Year" but that is disputed."
"In the 9th century the Western Church endorsed 1 November as the date of All Saints' Day, possibly due to the influence of Alcuin, and 2 November later became All Souls' Day. It is believed that over time Samhain and All Saints'/All Souls' influenced each other and eventually syncretised into the modern Halloween. Folklorists have used the name 'Samhain' to refer to Gaelic 'Halloween' customs up until the 19th century. Since the later 20th century Celtic neopagans and Wiccans have observed Samhain, or something based on it, as a religious holiday."
Mumming and guising: "In some areas, mumming and guising was a part of Samhain. It was first recorded in 16th century Scotland and later in parts of Ireland, Mann and Wales. It involved people going from house to house in costume (or in disguise), usually reciting songs or verses in exchange for food. It may have evolved from a tradition whereby people impersonated the aos sí, or the souls of the dead, and received offerings on their behalf. Impersonating these spirits or souls was also believed to protect oneself from them. S. V. Peddle suggests the guisers "personify the old spirits of the winter, who demanded reward in exchange for good fortune".
"McNeill suggests that the ancient festival included people in masks or costumes representing these spirits and that the modern custom came from this. In Ireland, costumes were sometimes worn by those who went about before nightfall collecting for a Samhain feast. In Scotland, young men went house-to-house with masked, veiled, painted or blackened faces, often threatening to do mischief if they were not welcomed. This was common in the 16th century in the Scottish countryside and persisted into the 20th. It is suggested that the blackened faces comes from using the bonfire's ashes for protection. In Ireland in the late 18th century, peasants carrying sticks went house-to-house on Samhain collecting food for the feast. Charles Vallancey wrote that they demanded this in the name of St Colm Cille, asking people to "lay aside the fatted calf, and to bring forth the black sheep".
"In parts of southern Ireland during the 19th century, the guisers included a hobby horse known as the Láir Bhán (white mare). A man covered in a white sheet and carrying a decorated horse skull would lead a group of youths, blowing on cow horns, from farm to farm. At each they recited verses, some of which "savoured strongly of paganism", and the farmer was expected to donate food. If the farmer donated food he could expect good fortune from the 'Muck Olla'; not doing so would bring misfortune."
"This is akin to the Mari Lwyd (grey mare) procession in Wales, which takes place at Midwinter. In Wales the white horse is often seen as an omen of death. Elsewhere in Europe, costumes, mumming and hobby horses were part of other yearly festivals. However, in the Celtic-speaking regions they were "particularly appropriate to a night upon which supernatural beings were said to be abroad and could be imitated or warded off by human wanderers".
"Hutton writes: "When imitating malignant spirits it was a very short step from guising to playing pranks". Playing pranks at Samhain is recorded in the Scottish Highlands as far back as 1736 and was also common in Ireland, which led to Samhain being nicknamed "Mischief Night" in some parts. Wearing costumes at Halloween spread to England in the 20th century, as did the custom of playing pranks, though there had been mumming at other festivals. At the time of mass transatlantic Irish and Scottish immigration, which popularised Halloween in North America, Halloween in Ireland and Scotland had a strong tradition of guising and pranks."
"Trick-or-treating may have come from the custom of going door-to-door collecting food for Samhain feasts, fuel for Samhain bonfires and/or offerings for the aos sí. Alternatively, it may have come from the Allhallowtide custom of collecting soul cakes. The "traditional illumination for guisers or pranksters abroad on the night in some places was provided by turnips or mangel wurzels, hollowed out to act as lanterns and often carved with grotesque faces". They were also set on windowsills. By those who made them, the lanterns were variously said to represent the spirits or supernatural beings, or were used to ward off evil spirits. These were common in parts of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands in the 19th century. They were also found in Somerset (see Punkie Night). In the 20th century they spread to other parts of Britain and became generally known as jack-o'-lanterns."
"Livestock Traditionally, Samhain was a time to take stock of the herds and food supplies. Cattle were brought down to the winter pastures after six months in the higher summer pastures (see transhumance). It was also the time to choose which animals would be slaughtered. This custom is still observed by many who farm and raise livestock."
"It is thought that some of the rituals associated with the slaughter have been transferred to other winter holidays. On St. Martin's Day (11 November) in Ireland, an animal—usually a rooster, goose or sheep—would be slaughtered and some of its blood sprinkled on the threshold of the house. It was offered to Saint Martin, who may have taken the place of a god or gods, and it was then eaten as part of a feast. This custom was common in parts of Ireland until the 19th century, and was found in some other parts of Europe. At New Year in the Hebrides, a man dressed in a cowhide would circle the township sunwise. A bit of the hide would be burnt and everyone would breathe in the smoke. These customs were meant to keep away bad luck, and similar customs were found in other Celtic regions."
Now, I have stated this how the movie "The Wicker Man" connects to the God Shiva, Osiris, Dionysus, who would very much be Baal, Dagon and Moloch. And of course, they detailed the six pointed star symbolism in the movie, and how the human sacrifice in the fire is mentioned in the Bible (as they are doing the same thing).
Based from the Plot on "The Wicker Man" states this in the Wiki: "Plot Police Sergeant Neil Howie journeys by seaplane to the remote Hebridean island Summerisle to investigate the disappearance of a young girl, Rowan Morrison, about whom he has received an anonymous letter. Howie, a devout Christian, is disturbed to find the Islanders paying homage to the pagan Celtic gods of their ancestors. They copulate openly in the fields, include children as part of the May Day celebrations, teach children of the phallic association of the maypole, and place toads in their mouths to cure sore throats. The Islanders, including Rowan's own mother, appear to be trying to thwart his investigation by claiming that Rowan never existed. While staying at the Green Man Inn, Howie notices a series of photographs celebrating the annual harvest, each featuring a young girl as the May Queen."
"The photograph of the most recent celebration is missing; the landlord tells him it was broken. The landlord's beautiful daughter, Willow, tries to seduce Howie, but despite his inner turmoil, he refuses her advances. He enters the local school and asks about Rowan among the students, but all deny her existence. He checks the school register and finds Rowan's name in it. He questions the schoolteacher, and she tells him about her burial plot."
"After seeing Rowan's burial plot, Howie meets the island's leader, Lord Summerisle, grandson of a Victorian agronomist, to get permission for an exhumation. Summerisle explains that his grandfather developed strains of fruit trees that would prosper in Scotland's climate and encouraged the belief that old gods would use the new strains to bring prosperity to the island. Over the next several generations, the island's inhabitants embraced pagan religion."
"Howie finds the missing harvest photograph, showing Rowan standing amidst empty boxes; the harvest had failed. His research reveals that when there is a poor harvest, the islanders make a human sacrifice to ensure that the next harvest will be bountiful. He concludes that Rowan is alive and has been chosen for sacrifice."
"Realising he is out of his depth, Howie returns to his seaplane to discover it no longer functions, preventing him from leaving or calling for assistance. Later that day during the May Day celebration, Howie knocks out and ties up the innkeeper so he can steal his costume and mask (that of Punch, the fool) and infiltrate the parade. When it seems the villagers are about to sacrifice Rowan, he cuts her free and flees with her into a cave. Exiting it, they are intercepted by the islanders, to whom Rowan happily returns."
"Summerisle tells Howie that Rowan was never the intended sacrifice: Howie himself is. He fits their gods' four requirements: he came of his own free will, has "the power of a king" (by representing the Law), is a virgin, and is a fool. Howie warns Summerisle and the islanders that the fruit-tree strains are failing permanently and that the villagers will turn on Summerisle and sacrifice him next summer when the next harvest fails as well; Summerisle insists that the sacrifice of the "willing, king-like, virgin fool" will be accepted and that the next harvest will not fail. The villagers force Howie inside a giant wicker man statue along with various animals, set it ablaze and surround it, singing the Middle English folk song "Sumer Is Icumen In". Inside the wicker man, Howie recites Psalm 23, and prays to God before cursing the islanders as he and the animals burn to death. The head of the wicker man collapses in flames, revealing the setting sun."
So, remember the statement on the "Mayqueen" and the connections to the "Maypole", which is basically the symbol of the Phallus belonging to Shiva. Here is the full lyric from the band "Led Zeppelin" called "Stairway to Heaven" :
There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold
And she's buying a stairway to Heaven
When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for Ooh, ooh, and she's buying a stairway to Heaven
There's a sign on the wall, but she wants to be sure 'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings
In a tree by the brook, there's a songbird who sings
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven Ooh, makes me wonder Ooh, makes me wonder
There's a feeling I get when I look to the west And my spirit is crying for leaving
In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees
And the voices of those who stand looking Ooh, it makes me wonder Ooh, really makes me wonder
And it's whispered that soon if we all call the tune"
Then the piper will lead us to reason
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long And the forests will echo with laughter Oh-oh-oh-oh-whoa
If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed, now It's just a spring clean for the May queen
Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run"
"There's still time to change the road you're on And it makes me wonder
Oh, whoa Your head is humming and it won't go, in case you don't know
The piper's calling you to join him Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow?
And did you know Your stairway lies on the whispering wind?
And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll And she's buying a stairway to Heaven
Now, when I was listening to Sadhguru's statement on Shiva having friends called "Ganas", these beings are said to be "ghouls" that reside in Cemetaries to which seems quite fitting to the Halloween aspect. Here based from the website "templepurohit.com" on Shiva's companions.
Lord Shiva's Ganas and Bhutas: "The Ganas (categories) are the host of spooks, hobgoblins and spirits who accompany Shiva. Some are said to dwell with him on Mount Kailasa, whilst the more fearsome and terrifying Ganas are confined to the cremation grounds. It is told that Uma once asked Lord Shiva why he liked to reside in cremation grounds, which were the abode of demons, jackals, corpses and vultures, when he had so many more beautiful places."
"Maheshwara replied that he had roamed the world, looking for a pure place to meditate in. Unable to find one, he, out of anger and frustration, created the terrible pishachas, flesh-eating ghouls and terrible rakshasas, intent on killing people. Out of compassion however, he kept this terrible horde in the cremation ground. As he did not want to live without the bhutas and ganas, he chose to live in a cemetery. When the ghosts stayed with him, they caused no harm."
"The presence of the terrible Ganas also acted as an honor guard to Shiva and a bar to the impure. Those who feared the awful ghosts and goblins were destined to remain outsiders. Only heroes could be near him in the cremation ground, heroes who had defied death and liberated themselves from passions and fear. These were the true devotees – those who had nothing to fear, who had mastered the onslaught of the multiple categories of threatening powers that were fatal to those who were less than heroes and could not control the frightening phantoms because they had not controlled themselves."
"Lord Shiva is called the Bhuta-Nath, being assisted by various types of powerful ghosts and denizens of the inferno–Bhutas, Pretas, Pramathas, Guhyakas, Dakinis, Pisacas, Kushmanda, Vetalas, Vinayakas and Brahma-rakshasas. (Of all kinds of ghosts, the Brahma-rakshasas are very powerful. Brahmanas transferred to the role of ghosts become Brahma-rakshasas.) Ghosts and mischievous hobgoblins are also the creation of Brahma; they are not false. All of them are meant for putting the conditioned soul into various miseries."
"They are understood to be the creation of Brahma under the direction of the Supreme Lord. Lord Shiva is described here as caracara-guru, the spiritual master of all animate and inanimate objects. He is sometimes known as Bhuta Nath, which means “the worship able deity of the dull-headed.” Bhuta is also sometimes taken to indicate the ghosts. Lord Shiva takes charge of reforming persons who are ghosts and demons, not to speak of others, who are godly; therefore he is the spiritual master of everyone, both the dull and demoniac and the highly learned Vaisnavas. Lord Shiva is described here as bhuta-rat. The ghosts and those who are situated in the material mode of ignorance are called bhutas, so bhuta-rat refers to the leader of the creatures who are in the lowest standard of the material modes of nature."
"Another meaning of bhuta is anyone who has taken birth or anything which is produced, so in that sense Lord Shiva may be accepted as the father of this material world. In Calcutta there are many butcher shops which keep a deity of the goddess Kali, and animal-eaters think it proper to purchase animal flesh from such shops in hope that they are eating the remnants of food offered to goddess Kali. They do not know that goddess Kali never accepts non vegetarian food because she is the chaste wife of Lord Siva. Lord Siva is also a great Vaishnava and never eats non vegetarian food, and the goddess Kali accepts the remnants of food left by Lord Siva. Therefore there is no possibility of her eating flesh or fish."
"Such offerings are accepted by the associates of goddess Kali known as bhutas, Pishachas and Rakshasas, and those who take the prasada of goddess Kali in the shape of flesh or fish are not actually taking the prasada left by goddess Kali, but the food left by the bhutas and Pishachas. Shiva has numerous forms that encompass every possible quality that the human mind can and cannot imagine! Some are wild and fierce. Some are enigmatic. Others are endearing and charming. From the naïve Bhole Nath to the fearsome Kala Bhairava, from the beautiful Somasundara to the terrible Aghora – Shiva embraces every possibility, remaining untouched by it all. But among all these, there are five fundamental forms."
Bhuteshwara: "The physical creation – all that we can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch – the very body, the planet, the universe, the cosmos – everything is just a play of five elements. Only with five ingredients, what a magnificent mischief called “creation”! With only five things, which you can count on one hand, how many things are being created! Creation could not be more compassionate."
"If there were five million ingredients, you would be lost. Read about the Panchabhoota Sthalams. Gaining mastery over these five elements, which are known as the Pancha bhutas, is everything – your health, your wellbeing, your power in the world and your ability to create what you want. Knowingly or unknowingly, consciously or unconsciously, individual people attain to some level of control or mastery over these different elements."
"How much control or mastery they have determines the nature of their body, the nature of their mind, and the nature of what they do, how successfully they do it, how far they can see – everything. Bhuta Bhuta Bhuteshwaraya means that one who has mastery over the Pancha bhutas determines the destiny of his life, at least in the physical realm."
Hindu Myths in Which the Ganas Appear Story of Lord Ganesha: "One version of the birth of Ganesha tells of how Ganesha was created by Parvati to act as a dvarlapala – a guardian of her threshold. When Shiva came to his wife’s apartments, not only did Ganesha refuse to admit him, he had the audacity to strike Shiva."
"Shiva ordered his bhuta ganas to kill Ganesha. Not only did Ganesha successfully oppose the ganas, he also defeated all the gods who came to their help. With the help of Vishnu’s power to create a dazzling illusion, the gods managed to take Ganesha unawares, and struck off his head. Parvati, furious at this, began to fight Shiva herself."
"Eventually, Parvati agreed to make peace, on the condition that her son would be restored to life. Shiva agreed and ordered the devatas to travel north and bring back the head of the first animal they come across – which happened to be the head of an elephant. Thus Ganesha was restored to life and Shiva, impressed at his fighting prowess, made him chief of his troops, the Ganas."
Story of Jalandhara: "In the myth of the Daitya king Jalandhara, Jalandhara sends Rahu with a message to Shiva, demanding that he surrender Parvati to Jalandhara. Shiva was angry at this message, and this anger took the form of a terrible creature which sprang from his brow. It had the face of a lion, flaming eyes, and a body which was dry and rough to the touch, long arms and a tongue which lolled with anger."
"The creature rushed at Rahu, ready to devour him. Shiva apparently said something along the lines of “we don’t shoot the messenger” whereon the gana pleaded to Shiva that it was tortured by hunger. Shiva told the gana that if it was so hungry, it should eat its own flesh. This the gana did, until only its head was left. Shiva, pleased with such devotion, appointed the gana as his door-keeper, ordering that it create terror for all wicked people. Shiva also ordained that the gana be worshiped along with his worship, and gave it the name Kirtimukha. Jalandhara was furious when he heard what had transpired and commanded his army of Daityas to besiege Mt. Kailash."
"A fierce battle broke out between the Daityas and the ganas. But each time that a Daitya was killed, it was revived immediately by their preceptor, Shukra. The ganas told Shiva about this and he was furious. A terrible form called Kritya came forth from his mouth. Her calves were as stout as trees and her mouth was huge and deep like a mountain cavern. She rushed upon the battlefield and began to devour the enemy. She was so big and strong that a push from her breasts uprooted trees and the earth split beneath her feet. She picked up Shukra, stuffed him into her vagina, and vanished. When Shukra was seized, the Daityas were frightened and were scattered from the battlefield."
It's quite fitting to understand the ghoul and goblin beings always being around Shiva, as this shows that he is the Lord of the Ganas and of the Dead. Perhaps this brings more connections to Halloween and the Mexican "Day of the Dead" Holidays. This is why these entities would have to be what I had stated in the previous Chapters, as they can consist of Ghouls, Goblins (as they are the Greys), to Werewolves, fishmen, Goatmen, Giants, Cyclops, Centaurs, to Fairies and Gnomes.
Even understanding the God of fire's description of having "fangs", red hair and sometimes three heads, is not something that is shown amongst to mankind today. If the Mayan description of the God Kinich Ahau connects to the bird God of the Japanese, then of course they would not be of this world. But as far as learning about "Enoch", this pertains to the one who lived with the Gods, thus the one called Hermes, Thoth, Iblis. So, to say that Adam is the progenitor of the human race wouldn't be the case, but are based on an Extraterrestrial race........
Anyway, this shows the different entities or what people call "Extraterrestrials" or "Aliens" are based on, as they are described to be Shiva's "friends". It seems that the different beings living in the Earth, around seems to be subjected to the "King of the World", as Shiva is Bacchus Lord of the Dead. Perhaps this can make some connections to some of Tim Burton's movies like "Nightmare before Christmas" and "Beetlejuice". Shiva having Goblins, Ghouls, Ghost and other strange looking entities, are pretty much based on the Horror genre of today. Even the character "Beetlejuice" is basically a trickster deity of the underworld, thus relating to Masau'u the Skeleton Lord............
