free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com Gara-Yak-Natuma 145 Gandarewa Variations: “Golden heeled,” Kundraw Gandarewa is a demonic dragon from Persian and Sumerian demonology that is described as being so incredibly large that his upper body could be in the clouds while his lower body was on the bottom of the sea An aquatic demon who eats humans, Gandarewa is titled as the Lord of the Abyss; he is answerable only to the god of dragons, Azhi Dahaki This demon constantly tries to devour all the good things of creation; however, he has had streaks of charity, such as when he gives the gift of Haoma plants to mankind The guardian of the other dragons, Gandarewa lives in Vourukasha, the cosmic sea His personal adversary is the hero Keresaspa Sources: Gray, Mythology of all Races, Vol 6, 58–9, 279; Lurker, Routledge Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, 65; Turner, Dictionary of Ancient Deities, 185 Ganga-Gramma Variations: Bhagirathi, Ganga, Ganges, Jahnavi (daughter of Jahnu) Collin de Plancy’s Dictionaire Infernale (1863) mentions this Vedic goddess, the second wife of Shiva Ganga-Gramma is the demon of waters and there are an assortment of tales explaining how she came into being In the first, the sacred water in Brahma’s water vessel transformed the maiden; another version has the water that Brahma saved after washing the feet of Vishnu transformed into Ganga; and the third version claims she was born the daughter of the King of the Mountains, Himavan, and his consort Mena Ganga-Gramma is a four-armed, beautiful and voluptuous woman In her left hand she holds a bowl, symbolic of abundant life and fertility, and in her right she carries a three-pronged fork She is depicted in art riding astride a makara, a crocodile with the tail of a fish This goddess, arrogant and vain as she may be, purifies souls so that they may pass on to Heaven Sacrifice of buffalos, goats, and the occasional human will prevent her from attacking mankind Sources: Anonymous, Missionary Magazine for 1802, 238; Bell, Bell’s New Pantheon, 348–9; Collin de Plancy, Dictionnaire Infernal, 295–6 Gara-Demons, plural: gara-yakku; singular: gara-yaka In the Singhalese Buddhist mythology, garayakku, as they are known collectively, are a group of twelve demons that are not innately hostile to humans During the GARA-YAK-NATUMA ceremony they are summoned and invited to remove the evils of the body while not harming the person in the process and accepting the sacrificial offerings of confections, drink, food, and money These demons have the ability to cast vas-dos (the evil eye) Sources: Gooneratne, On Demonology and Witchcraft in Ceylon, 35–6; Lurker, Routledge Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, 47; Obeyesekere, Cult of the Goddess Pattini, 175, 177 Garadiel In the Theurgia Goetia, the second book of the Lemegeton, Garadiel is ranked as a chief; he is also one of the eleven WANDERING PRINCES (see PRINCES OF HELL) This AERIAL DEVIL commands 18,150 servitors, none of which are dukes or princes Garadiel is both diurnal and nocturnal, and depending on the time of day that he is summoned, he will bring a different number of his servitors with him, all of which are good-natured and willing to obey Dawn is the start of the day and marks the beginning of the first hour, so if summoned in the two first hours of the day and the two second hours of the night, he will arrive with 470 servitors If summoned in the two second hours of the day and the two third hours of the night he will arrive with 590 servitors If summoned in the two third hours of the day and the two fourth hours of the night he will arrive with 930 servitors If summoned in the two fourth hours of the day and the two fifth hours of the night he will arrive with 1,560 servitors If summoned in the two fifth hours of the day and the two sixth hours of the night he will arrive with 13,710 servitors In the last two hours of the day and the first two hours of the night, if summoned, he will arrive with 1,560 servitors Sources: Guiley, Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology, 94; Peterson, Lesser Key of Solomon, 92–3; Shumaker, Natural Magic and Modern Science, 66 Gara-Yak-Natuma In the Singhalese Buddhist mythology the gara-yak-natuma (“dance of the gara-yakku”) is a ceremonial religious dance performed at the end of annual ceremonies, such as the peraheras and the tovil It wards off the vas-dos (the evil eye) that is cast by the GARA-DEMONS The participants of the ceremony wear highly decorated and expensive masks representing each of the twelve different GARA-DEMONS Because the masks that are necessary to perform the dance are so expensive, the ritual is performed only once or twice a year During the ceremonial dance, the demons are summoned and invited to remove the evils of the body while not harming the person