#ugallu

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MIKANMAMA'S BIKEEEEE FINALLY A REASON TO POST MY FAVORITE MIKAN FANART

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Original Artist: Minakata Sunao

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Megami Magazine September 2022 Issue (#268) - Machikado Mazoku: 2-choume

[chaotic-myth-boy]

Ugallu

Translation: Big Weather-Beast

Origin: Mesopotamia

Classification: Tiamatkin, elemental, demon

One of the eleven offspring created by Tiamat for her war against the younger gods. His name means " Big Weather-Beast" he is a lion headed storm demon with the feet of an eagle ( oops) he wields a dagger and a mace.

[s-lycopersicum]

[dwollsadventures]

The most common translation for Ugallu's name is usually "Big Weather Beast", which, I don't know about you, but that is kind of unintentionally hilarious to me. His association with weather is readily apparent in his representation: a man with a roaring lion's head and the feet of an eagle. A roaring lion is the most common symbol used to denote a being's connection to weather and thus storms in Sumerian art. A direct line is drawn between the roaring of a big cat and the thunder clap. Eagles are thrown into the mix for more obvious reasons; wind and air being the domain of birds and eagles being the strongest and most regal of them all. For this reason, ugallu shares his hybrid spot with a few other figures, the lion-dragon and Anzu bird. 

Ugallu also carries with him a knife and a mace, often raised in a threatening manner. This is representative of the fact he (or they, as ugallu rarely appears alone) strike people down like lightning. Not everything is thunder and lightning though. Ugallu is in the class of "day-demons", demons representing The Days, a really intricate concept in Mesopotamian religion that I can't really unpack here. Just know "Days" with an upper-case D doesn't just mean the period between nights. The Days are sent by the gods, acting as the direct agents of their willpower. And, just like there are Good Days and Evil Days*, Ugallu can be beneficent or malevolent depending on their godsent task. Evil Ugallu will be just as likely to hold you by your legs and beat you as Good Ugallu are to chase away bad demons and plagues from cities. Like morally-detached, monstrous angels. The donkey (or ass) ears are a bit of a throw-off though. Donkey ears are a common motif used to designate "bad" demons, as donkeys are associated with the desert which is evil. Other demons are given upright donkey ears as well. He may also have a curled lion's tail when naked. This trait is less consistent than the others. Ugallu has been associated with a lot of gods and goddesses, most notably the smiting god and the "god with scimitar" Nergal, lord of the underworld and bringer of disease. 

*this has nothing to do with any actual mythological analysis, but I noticed while reading that "Evil Day", a specific way that some authors refer to bad Ugallu, also happens to be the True Name of Set in the Kane Chronicles. Weird. 

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And he is an angry fellow! Wiggerman describes the gods releasing them, "released from the sky... howling and roaring". Just like weather, they are either a bringer of protection and the ability to live just another day or a bad day full of floods and violent winds. Less lightning and thunder than initially described. Don't worry though, I'm saving it. Instead of going straight-lion I wanted to keep up with the enigmatic portrayal of their animal parts. He certainly has a lion's head, but it's a lot... longer than any lion I've ever seen. The ears sell the weird uncanniness to, I feel like. Not wholly unnatural, but not something you've ever seen before. Add the roaring of gales and the screaming of squalls, it's bound to bring a bad atmosphere. Except for the red, all of the colors are taken from a photo of a yellow lightning storm. There's bound to be a lot of yellow in this series, so I've got to mix it up a little.

Next time, did someone mention lion dragons?

[laulink]

Yuko finally got her first real subordinate ! I’m so proud of her =‘)

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