# Are there any accounts of deities pooping? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 22, 2009, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-accounts-of-deities-pooping/482504 "2009-01-22T19:37:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-accounts-of-deities-pooping/482504/1 "2009-01-22T19:37:24Z")
I can’t think of any but classical myth from various cultures has divine events occur after deities cry or bleed or ejaculate or lose body parts or otherwise lose some godly mass. Many mythologies have their gods eating and drinking as well. I doubt anyone would say “we sprang up from godly crap” but maybe someone has an account of the land being made fertile that way or something. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-accounts-of-deities-pooping/482504/2 "2009-01-22T19:49:12Z")
Well, Norse mythology has Loki accusing Freya of farting when caught in bed with Freyr. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-accounts-of-deities-pooping/482504/3 "2009-01-22T19:55:57Z")
Where do you think the mana from heaven came from? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-accounts-of-deities-pooping/482504/4 "2009-01-22T20:06:36Z")
As long as “everyone” includes deities, then [yes](http://www.amazon.com/Everyone-Poops-My-Body-Science/dp/192913214X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232654722&sr=8-1). ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-accounts-of-deities-pooping/482504/5 "2009-01-22T20:06:44Z")
I’d be amazingly surprised if there isn’t _lots_ of cases of gods pooping. Probably most particularly harvest gods (fertilizer.) That said, I don’t know of any. India might be a good bet since they burn a lot of poop for cooking. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-accounts-of-deities-pooping/482504/6 "2009-01-22T20:14:56Z")
Apparently there’s a [Japanese myth](http://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/afs/pdf/a166.pdf) that the primeval mother goddess, Izanami, grew ill after being burned by the Fire God when she was giving birth to him. Her vomit, excrement and urine became other deities. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-accounts-of-deities-pooping/482504/7 "2009-01-22T20:20:13Z")
**1 Kings 18:27** New International Version > [@](#): > > [The prophet Elijah is taking part in a contest with the priests of the pagan god Baal to see which god responds to pleas to make himself known. Baal is not responding.] At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” I’ve heard speculation that in the original Hebrew, the phrase that’s translated “deep in though” actually means “sitting on the commode.” Sorry, no cite to back it up. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-accounts-of-deities-pooping/482504/8 "2009-01-22T20:30:21Z")
From Watership Down, by Richard Adams: “Long ago, Frith made the world. He made all the stars, too, and the world is one of the stars. He made them by scattering his droppings over the sky and this is why the grass and the trees grow so thick on the world.” You do believe in Frith, don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-accounts-of-deities-pooping/482504/9 "2009-01-22T20:33:10Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > You do believe in Frith, don’t you? Of course. But we’re of a group who believes that while El-ahrairah was a good rabbit, he was not divine. 😛 Thanks for the answers so far. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-accounts-of-deities-pooping/482504/10 "2009-01-22T20:33:13Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > You do believe in Frith, don’t you? What, and give in to the Devilbunny hordes? The Evil that Fluffs shall not gain a foothold in my house! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-accounts-of-deities-pooping/482504/11 "2009-01-22T20:34:04Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > I’ve heard speculation that in the original Hebrew, the phrase that’s translated “deep in though” actually means “sitting on the commode.” Sorry, no cite to back it up. AFAIK, they used night pots or holes rather than commodes back then. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-accounts-of-deities-pooping/482504/12 "2009-01-22T20:35:39Z")
The Aztecs had something of an obsession with shit and had no taboo about their gods producing it. Gold was even “the excrement of the gods”, sometimes specifically the Sun. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-accounts-of-deities-pooping/482504/13 "2009-01-22T20:54:04Z")
Didn’t Aristophanes say that rain was Zeus pissing through a seive? ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-accounts-of-deities-pooping/482504/14 "2009-01-22T20:59:24Z")
And let’s not forget how Danaë was impregnated by Zeus disguised as a golden shower. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-accounts-of-deities-pooping/482504/15 "2009-01-22T21:02:30Z")
Never heard of “Holy Shit”? ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-accounts-of-deities-pooping/482504/16 "2009-01-22T22:41:01Z")
> **[Levittown, New York](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levittown,_New_York)** > > Levittown is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York. It is located halfway between the villages of Hempstead and Farmingdale. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a total population of 51,881, making it the most populous CDP in Nassau County and the second most populous CDP on Long Island, behind only Brentwood. > Levittown gets its name from its builder, the firm of Levitt & Sons, Inc. founded by Abraham Levitt on August 2... ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-accounts-of-deities-pooping/482504/17 "2009-01-22T23:02:17Z")
> [@](#): > > [Levittown, New York - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levittown,_New_York) Was that meant to go in a different thread? ---
**Author:** ![Gulo\_gulo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bcef8e/32.png) [@Gulo\_gulo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gulo_gulo)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-accounts-of-deities-pooping/482504/18 "2009-01-22T23:58:42Z")
Native Indian tales can be very scatalogical. “Wolverine Creates the World: Labrador Indian Tales” by Lawrence Millman contains many examples of gods & their fecal matter. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-accounts-of-deities-pooping/482504/19 "2009-01-23T01:40:38Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Was that meant to go in a different thread? I think he’s suggesting that God took a dump in Long Island and created Levittown. My fiancee is from there. Better not let her see this thread or she might ban me from the Dope. ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-accounts-of-deities-pooping/482504/20 "2009-01-23T06:41:48Z")
I found this: [Scatalogic Rites of All Nations](http://books.google.com/books?id=KXcrwh4gvyYC&pg=PA127&lpg=PA127&dq=excrement+gods&source=bl&ots=TC8lDe6q5F&sig=Ximad3QW_sZMVucdxpK1rZrQBPs&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result) on Google Books. I wouldn’t be surprised if [The Golden Bough](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Bough) had a section on scatology and the gods, but I don’t have a copy available to check. > [@](#): > > Apparently there’s a Japanese myth that the primeval mother goddess, Izanami, grew ill after being burned by the Fire God when she was giving birth to him. Her vomit, excrement and urine became other deities. In the main creation myth, Izanagi (male) and Izanami (female) together dipped the jeweled spear of heaven into the primordial ocean. Drops from the end of the spear became the first island of Japan; the others were born from their later mating. There are obvious sexual overtones in this story. On an interesting note, this story and many others from the earliest myths of Japanese history [show signs](http://www.dai3gen.net/epage21.htm) that they were originally from the Jomon people, who were either a splinter group, or cousin to the people who became the modern Ainu. Judging from the archeological records, the Jomon culture was probably absorbed by more numerous and technologically advanced Yayoi people from one of the Korean kingdoms of antiquity, while the related Ainu were driven north by the expanding Yayoi culture. I, uh, wouldn’t bring this up with any Japanese, though, since the Ainu are not particularly well regarded, being viewed as a conquered race of savages, and \ they don’t like Koreans very much either. Japanese aren’t quite as rabid about defending the mainstream myth of their descent as fundamentalist Christians are about defending the historical accuracy of the Old Testament stories, but they usually aren’t willing to discuss it rationally either. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-accounts-of-deities-pooping/482504.md?page=2)