A wind god is a god who controls the wind(s). Air deities may also be considered here as

wind Wind is the natural movement of atmosphere of Earth, air or other gases relative to a planetary surface, planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heatin ...

is nothing more than moving

air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

. Many polytheistic religions have one or more wind gods. They may also have a separate air god or a wind god may double as an air god. Many wind gods are also linked with one of the four seasons.

Africa

Egyptian

Amun Amun was a major ancient Egyptian deity who appears as a member of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad. Amun was attested from the Old Kingdom together with his wife Amunet. His oracle in Siwa Oasis, located in Western Egypt near the Libyan Desert, r ...

, god of creation and the wind. *Henkhisesui, god of the east wind. In art, Henkhisesui appears as a winged man with a ram head, or a winged, ram headed Scarab. *Ḥutchai, god of the west wind. In art, Hutchai appears as a winged man with a

snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

head. * Qebui, god of the north wind who appears as a man with four ram heads or a winged ram with four heads. *Shehbui, god of the south wind. In art, Shehbui appears as a winged man with a

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

head. * Shu, god of the air. Henkhisesui.svg, Henkhisesui Hutchai.svg, Ḥutchai Qebui.svg, Qebui Shehbui.svg, Shehbui Qebui as ram.svg, Qebui alternative form Henkhisesui as ram headed-Scarab.svg, Henkhisesui alternative form

Pokot

*Yomöt, god of the wind.

Europe

Albanian

* Shurdhi, weather god who causes hailstorms and throws thunder and lightning. * Verbti, weather god who causes hailstorms and controls the water and the northern wind.

Balto-Slavic

Lithuanian

* Vejopatis, god of the wind according to at least one tradition.

Slavic

* Dogoda is the goddess of the west wind, and of love and gentleness. * Stribog is the name of the Slavic god of winds, sky and air. He is said to be the ancestor (grandfather) of the winds of the eight directions. * Moryana is the personification of the cold and harsh wind blowing from the sea to the land, as well as the

water spirit A water spirit is a kind of supernatural being found in the folklore of many cultures: African Some water spirits in traditional African religion include: * Mami Wata is a transcultural pantheon of water spirits and deities of the African ...

. * Varpulis is the companion of the thunder god Perun who was known in Central Europe and Lithuania.

Basque

* Egoi, god of the south wind.

Celtic

* Sídhe or Aos Sí were the pantheon of pre-Christian

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. ''Sídhe'' is usually taken as "fairy folk", but it is also Old Irish for wind or gust. * Borrum, Celtic god of the winds.

Germanic

*Kári, son of

Fornjót Fornjót (Old Norse language, Old Norse: ''Fornjótr'') is a jötunn in Norse mythology, and the father of Ægir, Hlér ('sea'), Logi (mythology), Logi ('fire') and Kári ('wind'). It is also the name of a legendary king of "Finland and Kvenland ...

and brother to

Ægir Ægir (anglicised as Aegir; Old Norse 'sea'), Hlér (Old Norse 'sea'), or Gymir (Old Norse less clearly 'sea, engulfer'), is a jötunn and a anthropomorphism, personification of the sea in Norse mythology. In the Old Norse record, Ægir hosts the ...

and Logi, god of wind, apparently as its personification, much like his brothers personify sea and fire. * Njörð, god of the wind, especially as it concerns sailors. *

Odin Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Em ...

, thought by some scholars to be a god of the air/breath.

Greco-Roman

Aeolus In Greek mythology, Aiolos, transcribed as Aeolus (; ; ) refers to three characters. These three are often difficult to tell apart, and even the ancient mythographers appear to have been perplexed about which Aeolus was which. Diodorus Siculus m ...

, keeper of the winds; later writers made him a full-fledged god. *

Anemoi In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, the Anemoi () were wind gods who were each ascribed a cardinal direction from which their respective winds came (see Classical compass winds), and were each associated with various nature, ...

, (in

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, Ἄνεμοι—"winds") were the Greek wind gods. ** Boreas (Βορέας), god of the north wind and of winter. ** Eurus (Εὖρος), god of the east or southeast wind. ** Notus (Νότος), god of the south wind. **

Zephyrus In Greek mythology and religion, Zephyrus () (), also spelled in English as Zephyr (), is the god and personification of the West wind, one of the several wind gods, the Anemoi. The son of Eos (the goddess of the dawn) and Astraeus, Zephyrus is t ...

(Ζέφυρος), god of the west wind. * Aura, the breeze personified. * Aurai, nymphs of the breeze. * Cardea, Roman goddess of health, thresholds, door hinges, and handles; associated with the wind. * Tritopatores, gods of wind and marriage * Thraskias (Θρασκίας), god of the north-northwest wind * Venti, (Latin, "winds") deities equivalent to the Greek Anemoi.

Western Asia

Persian Zoroastarian

Vayu-Vata Vāyu-Vāta or ''Vāta-Vāyu'' (International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) is the Avestan language name of a dual-natured Zoroastrianism, Zoroastrian divinity of the wind (Vayu) and of the atmosphere (Vata). The names are also used independently of ...

, two gods often paired together; the former was the god of wind and the latter was the god of the atmosphere/air.

Mesopotamian Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary o ...

Enlil Enlil, later known as Elil and Ellil, is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by t ...

, the Sumerian god of air, wind, breath, loft. *

Ninlil Ninlil ( D NIN.LÍL; meaning uncertain) was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the wife of Enlil. She shared many of his functions, especially the responsibility for declaring destinies, and like him was regarded as a senior deity and head of th ...

, goddess of the wind and consort of Enlil. *

Pazuzu In ancient Mesopotamian religion, Pazuzu () is a demonic deity who was well known to the Babylonians and Assyrians throughout the first millennium BCE. He is shown with "a rather canine face with abnormally bulging eyes, a scaly body, a snake-h ...

, king of the wind demons, demon of the southwest wind, and son of the god

Hanbi In Sumerian and Akkadian mythology (and Mesopotamian mythology in general) Hanbi or Hanpa (more commonly known in western text) was the lord of evil, lord of all evil forces ( Udug) and the father of Pazuzu. Aside from his relationship with P ...

Uralic

Finnish

* Ilmarinen, blacksmith and god of the wind, weather and air. * Tuuletar, goddess or spirit of the wind.

Hungarian

* Szélatya, the Hungarian god of wind. * Szélanya, the Hungarian goddess of wind and daughter of the primordial god Kayra. *Zada, keeper of the precious Yada Tashy stone.

Sami

* Bieggolmai, unpredictable shovel-wielding god of the summer winds. * Biegkegaellies, god of the winter winds.

Asia-Pacific / Oceania

South and East Asia

India

Vayu Vayu (; ), also known as Vata () and Pavana (), is the Hindu deities, Hindu god of the winds as well as the divine messenger of the gods. In the ''Vedic scriptures'', Vayu is an important deity and is closely associated with Indra, the king o ...

, god of the winds and air. *

Rudra Rudra (/ ɾud̪ɾə/; ) is a Rigvedic deity associated with Shiva, the wind or storms, Vayu, medicine, and the hunt. One translation of the name is 'the roarer'. In the ''Rigveda'', Rudra is praised as the "mightiest of the mighty". Rudra ...

, Vedic god of storms, winds, and the hunt. * Swasti, consort of

and

shakti Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; 'energy, ability, strength, effort, power, might, capability') in Hinduism, is the "Universal Power" that underlies and sustains all existence. Conceived as feminine in essence, Shakti refer ...

or power that of

Hindu-Vedic

* Maruts, attendants of Indra, sometimes the same as the below group of gods. *

, wind or storm god. * Rudras, followers of Rudra. *

, god of wind.

Chinese

* Fei Lian, the Chinese wind god; Feng Bo is the human form of Fei Lian. * Feng Po Po, the Chinese wind goddess. * Feng Hao, general of the wind. * Han Zixian, assistant goddess of the wind.

Japanese

* Fūjin, the wind god. * Shinatsuhiko, god of the winds. * Susanoo, the god of storms.

Korean

* Yondung Halmoni, goddess revered by farmers and sailors.

Vietnamese

* Thần Gió, the wind god.

Austronesia

Philippine

* Amihan, the Tagalog and Visayan goddess of the northeast winds. She is also known as Alunsina. * Anitun Tabu, the fickle-minded ancient Tagalog goddess of wind and rain. *

Apo Angin Apo or APO may refer to: People, figures, characters * Acting Pilot Officer, the lowest commissioned grade in the Royal Air Force * Apo, along with Datu, one of the traditional Philippine titles of nobility; meaning "elder" * Apo, a god of mount ...

, the Ilocano god of wind. *Buhawi, the Tagalog god of whirlwinds and hurricanes' arcs. He is the enemy of Habagat. *Habagat, the Tagalog god of winds and also referred to as the god of rain, and is often associated with the rainy season. He rules the kingdom of silver and gold in the sky, or the whole Himpapawirin (atmosphere). * Lihangin, the Visayan god of the wind. * Linamin at Barat, the goddess of monsoon winds in Palawan.

Polynesian

Hawaiian

* Hine-Tu-Whenua, Hawaiian goddess of wind and safe journeys. * La'a Maomao, Hawaiian god of the wind and forgiveness. * Pakaa, Hawaiian god of the wind and inventor of the sail.

= Winds of Māui

= The Polynesian trickster hero

Māui Māui or Maui is the great culture hero and trickster in Polynesian mythology. Very rarely was Māui actually worshipped, being less of a deity ( demigod) and more of a folk hero. His origins vary from culture to culture, but many of his main expl ...

captured or attempted to capture many winds during his travels. * Fisaga, the gentle breeze, the only wind that Māui failed to capture * Mata Upola, the

east wind An east wind is a wind that originates in the east and blows in a westward direction. This wind is referenced as symbolism in culture, mythology, poetry, and literature. In culture and mythology In Islam, the east wind Saba holds religious signi ...

. * Matuu, the

north wind A north wind originates in the north and blows in a southward direction. The wind has had historical and literary significance, since it often signals cold weather and seasonal change in the Northern hemisphere. Mythology *In Greek mythology, ...

Māori

* Hanui-o-Rangi. * Tāwhirimātea, Māori god of weather, including thunder and lightning, wind, clouds, and storms.

Native American

North America

Anishinaabe

* Epigishmog, god of the west wind and spiritual being of ultimate destiny.

Cherokee

* Oonawieh Unggi, the ancient spirit of the wind.

Iroquois

* Da-jo-jo, mighty panther spirit of the west wind. * Gǎ-oh, spirit of the wind. * Ne-o-gah, gentle fawn spirit of the south wind. * O-yan-do-ne, moose spirit of the east wind. * Ya-o-gah, destructive bear spirit of the north wind who is stopped by Gǎ-oh.

Inuit

* Silap Inua, the weather god who represents the breath of life and lures children to be lost in the tundra.

Lakota

* Okaga, fertility goddess of the south winds. * Taku Skanskan, capricious master of the four winds. *

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

, a wind god or spirit in Lakota mythology. * Waziya, giant of the north winds who brings icy weather, famine, and diseases. * Wiyohipeyata, god of the west winds who oversees endings and events of the night. * Wiyohiyanpa, god of the east winds who oversees beginnings and events of the day. * Yum, the whirlwind son of Anog Ite.

Navajo

* Niltsi, ally of the Heroic Twins and one of the guardians of the sun gods.

Pawnee

* Hotoru, the giver of breath invoked in religious ceremonies.

Central American and the Caribbean

Aztec

* Cihuatecayotl, god of the west wind. * Ehecatotontli, gods of the breezes. * Ehecatl, god of wind. * Mictlanpachecatl, god of the north wind. *

Tezcatlipoca Tezcatlipoca ( ) or Tezcatl Ipoca was a central deity in Aztec religion. He is associated with a variety of concepts, including the night sky, hurricanes, obsidian, and conflict. He was considered one of the four sons of Ometecuhtli and Omec ...

, god of the night wind and hurricanes. * Tlalocayotl, god of the east wind. * Vitztlampaehecatl, god of the south wind.

Mayan

* Hurácan, K'iche'

Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

creator god of the winds, storms and fire. * Pauahtuns, wind deities associated with the Bacab and

Chaac Chaac (also spelled Chac or, in Classic Maya language, Classic Mayan, Chaahk ) is the name of the Maya civilization, Maya god of rain, thunder, and lightning. With his lightning axe, Chaac strikes the clouds, causing them to produce thunder and r ...

Taino

* Guabancex, goddess of the wind and hurricanes.

South America

Quechua

* Huayra-tata, god of the winds.

Brazil

* Iansã / Oyá, goddess of the winds.

References

{{List of mythological figures by region Wind deities