Water gods

Japanese: 水神 - すいじん（英語表記）water gods

A god of water. He lives in rivers, lakes, ponds, springs and wells, and is the guardian deity of irrigation water and dams. He is worshipped when preventing drowning and praying for rain. The power of water is perceived as a divine concept, and people have feared and been familiar with this god, as well as offered offerings and prayed to him. In Australia, it is said that the water god harms ponds and waterside areas, and if you enter a forbidden pond, you will be attacked by the water god and lose your life. In Greenland, there is a rule not to drink water from springs in order to drive away the water god that harms people. American Indians make offerings to the water god on the banks of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. They appease the water god because they believe that disease comes from water. On the other hand, among Hindus, rivers are living, personal entities, and they are familiar with them, make vows here, and bathe in them to purify themselves. Water gods also appear in mythology. Hercules' enemy was the water god Achelous, and people made offerings to him out of fear of his power. In Southeast Asia and China, water is essential for rice cultivation, so people welcome the water god and hold grand festivals to pray for a good harvest. In Japan, water gods are also deeply connected to paddy rice cultivation, and have been worshiped as well gods and river gods. Festivals for the water god are generally held in June or December, but there are also summer festivals with a warding off evil spirits that are linked to the Tenno Festival in Gion, Tsushima, etc. (→Tenno faith). They are also often worshiped as snakes or kappa.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

水の神。河川，湖，池，泉，井戸の中に住む神であり，灌漑用水や堰の守護神であり，水難防止，雨乞いに際して崇拝される神である。水の力を神観念のなかにとらえ，この神を畏怖し，親しみ，また供物を捧げて祈り，懇願してきた。オーストラリアでは，水神が池や水辺を荒すといい，立入り禁止の池に入ると水神に襲われ命を落すと伝えられている。グリーンランドには，人に害を与える水神を去らせるため，泉の水は飲まないという定めがある。アメリカインディアンは，五大湖やミシシッピ川などのほとりで水神に供物を捧げる。病は水からという観念から，水神の意をやわらげるのである。一方，ヒンドゥー教徒の間では，川は生ける人格的存在であって，彼らは川に親しみ，ここで誓約し，沐浴して清めている。水神は神話のなかにもみられ，ヘラクレスの敵は水神アケロスであり，アケロスの力を恐れて人々はこれに供物を捧げた。また東南アジア，中国などでは，水は稲作になくてはならず，豊穣を祈って水神を迎え，盛大な祭宴を催している。日本でも水神はやはり水田稲作農耕と深くかかわっており，井戸神・川神などとして祀られてきた。水神の祭りは一般に6月や 12月に行われるが，祇園，津島などの天王祭と結びついた厄祓い的性質をもつ夏の祭りもある (→天王信仰 ) 。またヘビや河童などとして祀られることも多い。

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