Mana-Yood-Sushai
Encyclopedia
MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI is a fictional deity
in the works of Lord Dunsany, mainly The Gods of Pegana
, but also mentioned in a later work, Time and the Gods
. In these books, he is the first god and creator of all the other gods.
The first description of him is as follows:
He first appears at the beginning of The Gods of Pegana,
In other words, the creator god obeys either Fate or Chance, though it is not disclosed which.
In the mythology of the books, he created the gods and then was made to sleep, kept that way by the continual drumming of Skarl the Drummer, since when he awakes he will destroy the world and all the other gods and create them anew. No-one may pray to MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI, as any prayer would awaken him from his slumber - even his own priests are forbidden from praying to him. However, despite this one day he will awaken and the world will end:
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the works of Lord Dunsany, mainly The Gods of Pegana
The Gods of Pegana
The Gods of Pegāna is the first book by Anglo-Irish fantasy writer Lord Dunsany, published on a commission basis in 1905. It is considered a major influence on the work of J. R. R. Tolkien, H. P. Lovecraft, Ursula K. Le Guin...
, but also mentioned in a later work, Time and the Gods
Time and the Gods
Time and the Gods is the second book by Irish fantasy writer Lord Dunsany, considered a major influence on the work of J. R. R. Tolkien, H. P. Lovecraft, Ursula K. Le Guin and others....
. In these books, he is the first god and creator of all the other gods.
The first description of him is as follows:
- "Before there stood gods upon Olympus, or ever AllahAllahAllah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
was Allah, had wrought and rested MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI."
He first appears at the beginning of The Gods of Pegana,
- "In the mists before the Beginning, Fate and Chance cast lots to decide whose the Game should be; and he that won strode through the mists to MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI and said: "Now make gods for Me, for I have won the cast and the Game is to be Mine." "
In other words, the creator god obeys either Fate or Chance, though it is not disclosed which.
In the mythology of the books, he created the gods and then was made to sleep, kept that way by the continual drumming of Skarl the Drummer, since when he awakes he will destroy the world and all the other gods and create them anew. No-one may pray to MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI, as any prayer would awaken him from his slumber - even his own priests are forbidden from praying to him. However, despite this one day he will awaken and the world will end:
- "But, when at the last the arm of Skarl shall cease to beat his drum, silence shall startle Pegana like thunder in a cave, and MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI shall cease to rest.."