Bowynn Gods: Ohenn

Bowynn Gods: Hawynn

Hawynn  (Haw-winn)  Hawynn is the Bowynn God king of all the rivers in the world. But more-more-so the great river Muet, which flows under Alaway (Great Hall of the Gods) and ends up in Duannat (Home of those that have passed) He is also a god of fishing and protector of dams and bridges, and patron to those that depend on rivers for their lively-hoods. He is the son of Sumon and Phoenix.

     Prior to Hawynn's birth and taking of position, Alaway had Kii as water bearers bringing water from a well that was guarded by a serpent. Only the Kii could fetch waters. If any of the Kii drew near, the serpent would attack them into submission.  The fetching of water grew weary on the Kii, who would have to fetch water several times a day. Young Hawynn was fond of the servant Kii and hated to see them toil so. He took the great spear of his father, Tane, and the scrying bauble of his mother, Kalma, and went to subdue the serpent. Using the bauble Hawynn was able to predict the moves of the serpent as they battled. With the spear, Hawynn was able to finally say the beast. Then, using one of the ribs of the creature, Hawynn dug a massive trench to the well and released its waters. Thus, the great river was created and set to flow under Alaway. At the same time the servant Kii were released from their duties. In gratitude, Anhur gave Hawynn his blessing and made lord of all rivers and commander of the great river Muet. The Kii that were the water bearers before-hand were each given a river in the world to bless and sanctify, as all Rivers spiritually branch off of Muet.

     As for Hawynn himself, he took a bride, a Kii named Naea, whose status was raised to that of Goddess because she feasted on immortal foods and therefore, was given the blessing of Bia. When not feasting at night with the gods, Hawynn is busy marking the course of rivers and controlling their floods. Also making sure water is always clean and pure. He is a patron of those that depend on rivers for a livelihood, including mills, dams, power-plants, fishing and miners in some cases.  

     Despite his younger brash and reckless self, Hawynn is a most fun and pleasing god. He more often would hold banquets and riparian events on the banks of Muet than feast in the halls of Alaway and is a wonderful swimmer and fisherman. He is said to bear the face of a young thin man. Hawynn is often seen in a green cloak, with a goat-skin mantle and staff, which he uses to help control the waters. He also is said to always carry with him a drinking horn made from the serpent his slew. The horn is said to magickally hold enough water to drink from for a week. His totem is the otter which he often takes the form of, if not the otter, then he may take the form of a beaver.

Bowynn Gods: Abbennaea

Abbennaea  (Ab-bhen-nay-ah)  Goddess of all sorts of offerings and libation. She is the daughter of Phaenixx and Sumon. Abbennaea is a rather young goddess, mother-like in appearance, said to be graced with deep red hair. She is the goddess that receives the spiritual essence of the offerings sent to the gods by mortal men and in turn, turns them into “that which is good for all beings.” After the “Great Migration” of mankind, Abbennaea was said to have spent her “7 sacred nights” among the first tribes and taught them the arts of making incense and what offerings were allowed to be offered to the Akua. After the god Mano tricked mankind to sacrifice blood to the gods, it was Abbennaea that had to come back to mortal man, cleanse their altars and re-teach them all that what was acceptable.

    In Alaway, Abbennaea is not only a messenger of the gods but has the duty to purge and cleanse the halls with incense daily; burning Tsa'hekas of incense to dispense the energies from the night before. It was Abbennaea that cleansed the great hall after the battle between Mano and his cousins after one fight took place in the halls of Alaway.

    Abbennaea is said to be of a most loving face and of natural beauty, her garments often of reds and she is depicted always with either a single stick of incense in one hand (or a bundle of sticks). And in the other hand, a libation pitcher. She is often said to take the form of a bird or butterfly if she does mingle among men. The butterfly being her totem

Hello! I stumbled upon your blog and found it very interesting! Do you know of any good sources to learn more about the Bowynn tradition?

Actually, I am probably the only source at present. the Bowynn Tradition was formed by my pagan group back in the 1980's. Sadly between my moving, Covid and host of other events within the last 10 years, our congregation disbanded. Since then I have people like yourself asking about it. So, I am using Tumblr to host a general guide to the faith and lifestyle.

You are welcome to ask me anything you wish. The Bowynn faith is "an open book" for anyone to explore."

Bowynn Gods: Morrqua

Morrqua  (Mor-kwa)  The Morrqua are nocturnal Kii (spirits) that are rarely seen. They only come out where the moon is visible. They will do not emerge on the night of the dark moon nor the two surrounding days this moon phase. The Morrquaa and diminutive spirits that have a natural glow and can be liked to the Will-O-Wisps of other cultures. The difference being that the Morrquaa are helpful spirits, making sure those traveling by night are safe. It is claimed that if one catches a Morrquaa, they will grant their capture a wish. But in turn they cannot be kept. But to date it is very rare that one has ever caught one. And those granted a wish by the Morrqua often regret it. Not that the Morrqua are malicious, but they take what mortals ask for very literally. At the same extent, a Morrqua can only be held till the first rays of the sun or daylight beam over the horizon. After that the pact is broken and the Morrqua disappear.

Bowynn Gods: Naea

Naea  (Nay-ah)  Naea is the Bowynn goddess of springs, wells, lakes, rivers, streams and other small fresh bodies of water. She is the daughter of Tane and Kauldra and is one of the very few multi arm gods. As such she is a spider goddess. Her multi limbs represent the many rivers of the world.      Naea is a free spirited goddess, spending much of her time wandering the sides of wells and ponds and weaving away in her godly or animal form on the side of streams and rivers. Her prime domain is to make sure such bodies of water are protected from pollutants and destruction as much as possible. As such, Naea is one of the very few gods of the Bowynn pantheon to seek revenge on mortals that destroy her realm. One sacred story speaks of the fisherman that was so filled with joy when he caught a fish as soon as his hook hit the water. He became so happy that he kept fishing till the lake was depleted of fish. Naea found out about this and that night as he and his family gorged out on the fish the man caught, there was a knock on the door of a beggar woman. She asked for a fish to get her by. The man and woman gave her the smallest fish in the batch, so small it would not fill a cat. The old woman ended up being Naea and for the couple's lack of moderation and charity, Naea made all the other food in the house disappear till all that was left saw the fish. The couple quickly became sick of eating fish all the time and thus learned their lesson. There are many legends of mortals abusing wells and springs then suffering Naea’s wrath but never death.      Despite this and other such sacred tales Naea is not a vicious goddess. Infact she is a most gentle goddess. She only seeks out those that have done wrong with her gifts. So, she should not be feared. Other times she is most giving, as the sacred stories of her creating a well for a family that had nothing to drink for days. Because of her watery realm, Naea's temples are often nothing more than a well surrounded by a gazebo.      Naea is depicted in her godly immortal form as a delightful young woman with long flowing hair. Her garments are of blues, purples and greens and silver or glass baubles as jewelry. Sometimes she is seen with a pitcher of fresh water and other times with a loom. In her totem form Naea is seen as an elegant spider. Sacred gifts to Naea come in the form of glass pieces, fresh water, river and lake plants and flowers, spoons of white and blue yarn and votive images of a spider.

Bowynn Gods: The Kobattii

Kobattii  (Kho-bha-ty)  TheKobattii are a form of Kii (Spirit/Faery) that guard sacred spaces, most of the time being Temples and Shrines. Bowynn temples will have images of Kobbattii above the archway of temple doors and small votive images etched or places next to small shrines.

     The Kobbattii, like most of the world's Kii were created by the Gods Brand, Kord and Brenda to ward off the ills of the God Mano and his malicious spirits, the Tii. It was the Kobbattii that took up residence in temples and shrines to guard and protect them and the bodies there-in . Being numerous but having no sacred text about them (outside of their creation) names of the Kobbattii do not exist.

     The Kobbattii are one of the very few of the Kii that bear armor and weapons. They are depicted clad in armor and bearing shields with the image of a turtle on it. It is their shields that are said to be the apex for protecting sacred sanctuaries.  Their shields are often seen raised high. Sometimes they are helmed and or times not. The Kobbattii are seen as both young men and women without wings. When not depicted or seen in their immortal form they will take the images of turtles, which is their totem animal. Seeing a turtle or tortoise in a cemetery assures the place is well guarded. A temple will often have a small garden out front, housing a couple of turtles.  Sacred gifts offered to the Kobbattii are normally incense or small votive images. But during the holiday of Kykora, the offering level can encompass any of the 7 sacred forms of offerings including full meals or huge baskets of flowers.

BOWYNN GODS: TREYA

Treya  (Trae-ah)  Goddess of sunset and dusk. She is the daughter of Shayla and Saul and sister of Enya. Aside from the goddess of these two periods of time, she is also the goddess if the evening frost. In her roles, she is the messenger of the celestial gods and goddesses; waking them up so they can fulfill their roles and duties. She is the herald of the dusk, painting the skies vibrant colors during these time periods. As a goddess of the evening, she also coats the ground with evening frost, so to lull the earth to sleep for the night.

     There are no sacred stories of Treya, as her role is fixed and too important to stray from, for her to be partaking in the deeds and dealings of gods and men.

     Treya is seen as a glorious young woman, often winged and clad in a gown and hladd of hues the colors of a sunset - purples, yellows, red and gold. Her hair is said to be red and long and eyes of a sunset. In hand she is often depicted with a pitcher which her evening frost is stored. Her brow bears a circlet with a gem in it, representing the Evening Star, Venus. Her totem animal is the Firefly or Lightning Bug, which she will at times take the form of. Other times she is said to have a circlet of Fire-Flys about her brow, much like Moryghynn and Mystara. For Treya, there is a special offering prepared with is that of a holy meal “Matenerm.” These are plates of food offered at sunset hours. Other scared gifts to Treya are tea libations, small lanterns, honey, flowers, and votive images of fireflies.

Bowynn Gods: Allapae

Allapae (Al-lah-pay)  This is the name for the “Upper World” or better known as space, the universe and sky. Allapae is where the celestial bodies are located and where the god Unthar resides and where Morrighynn and Hern drive the moon and sun. Also where Naraea spins her web in the night sky. It is from Allapae where Bia and the first gods (Brea, Phoenix, Sumon and their siblings) came from.

Blessed Solstice

BOWYNN GODS: VADELL

Vadell  (Vah-del)  Sometimes "Vladell". The “Giants” that Brea made to protect the earth before Anhur and the Akua ruled. These giants were immortal and took on the shapes and forms of the territories they ruled over. Most of them were rather brutish and unruly. After Anhur contested with his brothers for the rule of the gods, the three released the Giants from their duties. Unfortunately, many refused to leave and the gods had to battle the Vadell into submission.  A handful begged for atonement and were allow to work for Anhur, stoking the furnaces, filling baths and vats and filling the hearths with fresh wood in Alaway. Some were destroyed and others just merged into the landscape for eternal sleep. But it is said that some hide and still walk the earth.