Eagle of the Forest Path Posted January 25, 2019 Report Share Posted January 25, 2019 (edited) Looking at the list of the Unmade's names (thank you, Coppermind), it struck me (not for the first time) that both Moelach and Nergaoul are similar to other names I knew: Moloch and Nergal, both deities from the Ancient Near East (it appears they're mentioned in the Bible, but I only recognized Nergal because he's also a god in DnD's Forgotten Realms). I thought I'd do some web-searching to see if this held up for the other Unmade as well. Turns out, in a lot of cases it does. Here is a list of where I believe the Unmade names came from (I noted which ones I'm not sure about), with links to Wikipedia: Ashertmarn (Heart of the Revel) Asherah (speculative), a Semitic/Akkadian/Ugaritic goddess of motherhood and fertility. Ashtaroth (spelling varies), the Great Duke of Hell in the first hierarchy with Beelzebub and Lucifer; he is part of the evil trinity. (suggested by @Ripheus23) The (male) devil Ashtaroth was based on the Phoenician goddess Astarte (she is mentioned in the bible as Ashtoreth), which fits with the near-east theme of the other unmade (aka Ishtar and Inanna) Ba-Ado-Mishram (no epithet) Abaddon (this is just barely a hunch, really, and it's probably combined with something else), both a place of destruction and an angel of the abyss. In the Hebrew Bible, abaddon is used with reference to a bottomless pit. Baal, or Ba'al (suggested by @Honorless) is a possible source for the first element "Ba" in this Unmade's name. It means "lord", or "owner", and according to Wikipedia was a title particularly associated with the Canaanite storm and fertility god Hadad, which could reasonably be morphed into the second element "Ado", given enough imagination. By Word of Brandon, this name is Lovecraft-inspired (see quote below, thanks to "Doombrigade", via @KandraAllomancer) Chemoarish (Dustmother) Chemosh, the god of the Moabites (and possibly the Ammonites). possibly in combination with Ares Dai-Gonarthis (Black Fisher) Dagon (speculative), Mesopotamian/Canaanite deity with links to fertility. Interpreted as a "fish-god", maybe a link with "The Black Fisher". Most likely in combination with something else, though no idea what yet. Moelach (no epithet) Moloch, a Canaanite god associated with child sacrifice. Nergaoul (no epithet) Nergal, Mesopotamian (solar) god of war and pestilence. Re-Shephir (Midnight Mother) Resheph, Canaanite deity associated with plague (adopted by the ancient Egyptians as a god of horses and chariots). Sja-anat (Taker of Secrets) Anat, a major northwest Semitic goddess. ‘Anat is a violent war-goddess, a maiden ..." Yelig-nar (Blightwind) Possibly straight-up Lovecraftian name or a connection to Yggdrasil (suggested by @Ripheus23) (I don't buy the Yggdrasil idea, by the way, it's just too dissimilar in sound) By Word of Brandon, this name is Lovecraft-inspired (see quote below, thanks to "Doombrigade", via @KandraAllomancer) Quote Doombrigade (paraphrased) I noticed most of the Unmade have a Middle Eastern mythology inspiration, and could pair them with deities, but I couldn't find a fit for two: Yelig-nar and Ba-Ado-Mishram. Could you tell us their names' origin? Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) Those two are actually not Middle Eastern but actually inspired by Lovecraft. ICon 2019 (Oct. 17, 2019) If anyone has ideas for the remaining names and name-parts - or disagrees with my speculations - please tell me and I'll edit this list (giving the suggester full credit for the discovery). Edited December 13, 2019 by Eagle of the Forest Path Added suggestions 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripheus23 Posted January 25, 2019 Report Share Posted January 25, 2019 Kudos for recognizing this. I've either thought of the Moelach one before, and Ashertmarn called to mind "Ashtaroth" (from religion/SOUL CALIBER), or I'm remembering another post, but I've not seen a comprehensive list like this before. For what it's worth, I think Yelig-nar might be a straight Lovecraftian-inspired name (or maybe it pertains to Yggdrasil, the great tree of the Norse mythos?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weltall Posted January 25, 2019 Report Share Posted January 25, 2019 (edited) Re-Shephir also has some similarities in role (if not really name) with Lovecraft's Shub-Niggurath, mentioned as having 'a thousand young'. The descriptions we've gotten of the Unmade so far definitely have a Cthulhu Mythos vibe to them. This is probably not coincidental. Edited January 25, 2019 by Weltall 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honorless Posted December 11, 2019 Report Share Posted December 11, 2019 For Ba-Ado-Mishram, there's Ba'al, literally meaning 'lord', was a Canaanite god of storms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KandraAllomancer Posted December 12, 2019 Report Share Posted December 12, 2019 @Eagle of the Forest Path Yelig-nar and Ba-Ado-Mishram have no direct mythology counterparts, they're based purely on Lovecraft: Quote Doombrigade (paraphrased) I noticed most of the Unmade have a Middle Eastern mythology inspiration, and could pair them with deities, but I couldn't find a fit for two: Yelig-nar and Ba-Ado-Mishram. Could you tell us their names' origin? Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) Those two are actully not Middle Eastern but actually inspired by Lovecraft. ICon 2019 (Oct. 17, 2019) As, for Baal Hadad, he seems to share many features with Stormfather/Honor. And I'm wondering if Cultivation's name will have some links to mythology... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+robardin Posted December 12, 2019 Report Share Posted December 12, 2019 3 minutes ago, KandraAllomancer said: @Eagle of the Forest Path Yelig-nar and Ba-Ado-Mishram have no direct mythology counterparts, they're based purely on Lovecraft: Yeah, when I first read the name Yelig-nar I thought of Lovecraft's Yog-Sothoth from The Dunwich Horror. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honorless Posted December 12, 2019 Report Share Posted December 12, 2019 (edited) On 12/12/2019 at 7:10 PM, robardin said: Yeah, when I first read the name Yelig-nar I thought of Lovecraft's Yog-Sothoth from The Dunwich Horror. That's a good one, I really shouldn't have forgotten Yog-Sothoth, he's used so often, right down to Elder Scrolls as everyone's second fav Daedric Prince. Especially with the Mother of a Thousand Young being mentioned right on this page... Ba-Ado-Mishram though, I don't see the connection with the mythos. Oh no... not Nyarlathotep! Edit: some other threads discussing the same: Edited January 2, 2020 by Honorless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle of the Forest Path Posted December 13, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2019 (edited) Thanks, @KandraAllomancer, those two have been bugging me for a while now. I updated my list. Guess I'll be researching some Lovecraft now. I just hope it doesn't get too squamous. Edited December 13, 2019 by Eagle of the Forest Path Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Invocation Posted December 13, 2019 Report Share Posted December 13, 2019 (edited) 5 minutes ago, Eagle of the Forest Path said: Thanks, @KandraAllomancer, those two have been bugging me for a while now. I updated my list. Guess I'll be researching some Lovecraft now. I just hope it doesn't get too squamous. I'm gonna advise this now: stick to his mythology and don't get involved with his homelife. Stuff's wack in ways you don't want to be involved with unless you want to get sucked down an unpleasant rabbit hole. Edited December 13, 2019 by Ookla the Quill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+asmodeus Posted December 13, 2019 Report Share Posted December 13, 2019 (edited) Also, potential connections to other names on Roshar I've been trying to find:- Ba-Ado-Mishram: Ado: Adonalsium, Adolin. Symmetrised as "Adoda" in Alethi, meaning "light" Mish-: Mishim. Name for the moon possibly borrowed from the original Dawnsingers/Dawnchant and later symmetrised to Mishim -ram: Amaram. Meaning or connection unknown and, for Chemoarish: -moa-: Moash. Meaning unknown, but was considered to be Singer-like by Lady Leshvi. Possible masculine/feminine noun form relationship between moash/moarish For Yelig-nar: Nar: Dalinar, Renarin. Evi says it means "like unto." For Re-Shephir: Re-: Renarin. Evi says it has no meaning, it simply means him. Dai-Gonarthis: Similar to Kai-Garnis, the name Odium calls a Thunderclast. Edited March 9, 2020 by asmodeus 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScavellTane Posted December 13, 2019 Report Share Posted December 13, 2019 Chemoarish = DustMother Moash = Father(?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts