History Main / EthnicGod

* Creator/FeliksKoneczny classified religions into tribal (this trope), local (bound to a place, like greek cults of e.g. Arthemis in Ephesus) and universal (anyone can join, right now on Earth these are: UsefulNotes/Buddhism, UsefulNotes/Christianity, and UsefulNotes/Islam).

* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''

** The most widespread religion in Tamriel is that of the Nine (originally Eight) Divines. Very much depicted so far in the series' as a SaintlyChurch, it was originally a political construction by St. Alessia, [[FounderOfTheKingdom founder]] of the First Cyrodiilic Empire after overthrowing the [[AbusivePrecursors Ayleids]]. The original Eight Divines were the eight Aedra who [[BargainWithHeaven answered Alessia's prayers]] and [[DivineIntervention lent their aid]] to her forces against the (mostly) [[JerkassGods Daedra]]-worshiping Ayleids. In exchange, Alessia made their worship the official religion of her new Empire. In order to do so, she blended the traditional Aldmeri pantheon her Nedic people and the [[TokenHeroicOrc rebel Ayleid lords]] were used to with the Old Nordic pantheon of her powerful Nord allies to the north. This stitching together of the pantheons caused several of the Divines have oddly conflicting personality traits or govern over unusual combinations of spheres. (Such as the aforementioned Stendarr/Stuhn.) Additionally, it only partly acknowledge Lorkhan/Shor as the "missing" god, mostly appeasing both sides.

* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' many of the races worship many of the same gods, but they manifest as different aspects. For instance, Stendarr is known as the god of mercy in the Imperial and Aldmeri pantheons, but his Old Nordic aspect Stuhn can be better understood as the god of ransom.
** Talos is the god of humanity in general, the deified first Emperor of Tamriel once known as Tiber Septim. As of ''Skyrim'', he's officially been removed from the Nine Divines on the orders of the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Thalmor]]-controlled Aldmeri Dominion and a civil war has begun in the province of Skyrim because of this--Talos is particularly important to the local Nords because Talos himself was a Nord.

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* Creator/FeliksKoneczny classified religions into tribal (this trope), local (bound to a place, like greek cults of e.g. Arthemis in Ephesus) and universal (anyone can join, right now on Earth these are: buddhism, christianity and islam).

* Creator/FeliksKoneczny classified religions into tribal (this trope, only for entire pantheon), territorial (bound to place, he doesn't give concrete examples) and universal (anyone can join, right now on Earth these are buddhism, christianity and islam).

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' states that Din, the Goddess of Power, was the one who created the physical earth of Hyrule; this is the reason that the rocky [[SiliconBasedLife Gorons]] are associated with her, as evidenced by their tribal emblem being the same as her's and by their home region in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' being called "Eldin province." Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom, is explicitly stated to have created the laws of physics and metaphysics and is also implied to have specifically created water; the aquatic [[FishPeople Zora]], with their more hierarchical social structures compared to most other races, have a similar association with her as the Gorons do with Din, and their home region is called "Lanayru province" (on a more subtle level, the fact that Princess Zelda and to an extent the rest of the Royal Family of Hyrule are associated with Nayru's Triforce of Wisdom parallels how the Zora are portrayed as being much friendlier with the Royal Family and Hylians in general than other races). Lastly, Farore, the Goddess of Courage, created all the lifeforms of Hyrule and is most closely associated with the plant-like Kokiri/Koroks who live in the lush forested regions of "Faron province."

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' states that Din, the Goddess of Power, was the one who created the physical earth of Hyrule; this is the reason that the rocky [[SiliconBasedLife Gorons]] are associated with her, as evidenced by their tribal emblem being the same as her's and by their home region in ''''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' being called "Eldin province." Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom, is explicitly stated to have created the laws of physics and metaphysics and is also implied to have specifically created water; the aquatic [[FishPeople Zora]], with their more hierarchical social structures compared to most other races, have a similar association with her as the Gorons do with Din, and their home region is called "Lanayru province" (on a more subtle level, the fact that Princess Zelda and to an extent the rest of the Royal Family of Hyrule are associated with Nayru's Triforce of Wisdom parallels how the Zora are portrayed as being much friendlier with the Royal Family and Hylians in general than other races). Lastly, Farore, the Goddess of Courage, created all the lifeforms of Hyrule and is most closely associated with the plant-like Kokiri/Koroks who live in the lush forested regions of "Faron province."

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' introduces Hylia, the protective goddess of the Hylian people (known in this game as Skyloftians). The actions of Hylia in the lore of this game explain why various princess Zeldas throughout the franchise have access to great divine power: they're the descendants of the original Zelda, who was actually the physical incarnation of Hylia.

-> ''"The Ethiops say that their gods are flat-nosed and black, while the Thracians say that theirs have blue eyes and red hair. Yet if cattle or horses or lions had hands and could draw, and could sculpt like men, then the horses would draw their gods like horses, and cattle like cattle; and each they would shape bodies of gods in the likeness, each kind, of their own."
-->-- '''Xenophanes''', commenting on this trope.''

-> "The Ethiops say that their gods are flat-nosed and black, while the Thracians say that theirs have blue eyes and red hair. Yet if cattle or horses or lions had hands and could draw, and could sculpt like men, then the horses would draw their gods like horses, and cattle like cattle; and each they would shape bodies of gods in the likeness, each kind, of their own."
-->-- '''Xenophanes''', commenting on this trope.

--> "The Ethiops say that their gods are flat-nosed and black, while the Thracians say that theirs have blue eyes and red hair. Yet if cattle or horses or lions had hands and could draw, and could sculpt like men, then the horses would draw their gods like horses, and cattle like cattle; and each they would shape bodies of gods in the likeness, each kind, of their own." - '''Xenophanes''', commenting on this trope.

*** "The Ethiops say that their gods are flat-nosed and black, while the Thracians say that theirs have blue eyes and red hair. Yet if cattle or horses or lions had hands and could draw, and could sculpt like men, then the horses would draw their gods like horses, and cattle like cattle; and each they would shape bodies of gods in the likeness, each kind, of their own." - Xenophanes, commenting on this trope.

*** “The Ethiops say that their gods are flat-nosed and black, while the Thracians say that theirs have blue eyes and red hair. Yet if cattle or horses or lions had hands and could draw, and could sculpt like men, then the horses would draw their gods like horses, and cattle like cattle; and each they would shape bodies of gods in the likeness, each kind, of their own.” - Xenophanes, commenting on this trope.

* These gods seem to have been quite common in the ancient middle east, with many of the region's groups following a specific god, sometimes out of a pantheon, and sometimes sharing a name with them. Most significant in the modern age is the god of [[UsefulNotes/{{Judaism}} the Jewish people]]; early parts of ''Literature/TheBible'' and contemporary texts mention other gods and their tribes, before the Jews decided that their god was the only real one and the rest were demonic illusions or pure fantasy. The same god has gone on to be adopted by Christians and Muslims as the universal God, but is still an ethnic god from a Jewish perspective.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': Just about every FantasyCounterpartCulture has its own god. The most infamous are the Chaos gods worshipped by the Norscans (HeavyMetal HornyVikings), [[HordesFromTheEast Kurgans, Hung]] and Beastmen; the Kislevites worship the bear god Ursun, as well as the fire god Dazh and the thunder god Tur; Sigmar is the god of the Empire's state religion as well as its founder, although the Imperials also worship other gods such as Ulric, Morr, and Myrmidia; the Bretonnians worship the Lady of the Lake (possibly a Wood Elf enchantress), etc.

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*** Historic perspectives on pantheons revealed that if two pantheons got ''too'' mixed up with one another (mostly as a matter of followers, although the survival -- and in one case emergence of a new one -- of the racial pantheons indicate divine action plays a part too) they would end up getting merged (and the local rules of divinity does ''not'' permit two gods -- above demigod level power, anyway -- in the same pantheon to share a portfolio, so important portfolios would have to be fought over, with one losing the portfolio or being demoted to a subset). This resulted in a plot throughout 3e of the Mulhorandi and the Faerûnic pantheon competing to gain the most influence over Unther while at the same time (especially on the Mulhorandi side) trying to stick to the spirit of this trope and not ending up forced to merge into a single larger Faerûnic pantheon -- which was not just a theoretical threat, the Faerûnic pantheon was so large partly because it was the result of multiple ethnic pantheons having gotten so involved with one another that they crossed the boundary.

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* [[AncientGreece Ancient Greek]] city-states tended to have their own patron god, part of the general Greek pantheon, who approximately exemplified whatever trait the city most valued. Probably the most famous of these are Ares and Athena, both war gods and patrons of Sparta and Athens respectively.

* RobertEHoward's ''Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian'' stories feature small pantheons composed of a mix of historical and fictional gods:

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': Just about every FantasyCounterpartCulture has its own god. The most infamous are the Chaos gods worshipped by the Norsca (HeavyMetal HornyVikings), the Kislevites worship the bear god Ulric, Sigmar is the god of the Empire's state religion as well as its founder, the Bretonnians worship the Lady of the Lake (possibly a Wood Elf enchantress), etc.
** The High Elves, Dark Elves and Wood Elves worship the same gods, but in different aspects: Khaine is a WarGod for the High Elves and a god of murder for the Dark Elves. Similarly, the Skaven worship the Horned Rat, but whether he's an aspect of Nurgle or a separate divinity is blurry.

* In ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' Narnians worship Aslan (a CrystalDragonJesus), while the Calormens worship Tash (treated in ''Literature/TheHorseAndHisBoy'' as a FantasyCounterpartCulture equivalent of the Islamic perspective of God, but in ''Literature/TheLastBattle'' as a SatanicArchetype. In said book, Aslan says that anyone doing something bad in his name is really doing it for Tash, and anyone who does good in Tash's name is really doing it for him.

* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novels, nearly all dwarfs share the belief that the world was created by the god Tak, although they don't worship him as a matter of principle: "Tak does not command that we think of Him, only that we think". Other races, such as trolls and humans, have considerably larger pantheons and commonly regard Tak as the god of dwarfs.

* RobertEHoward's ''Literature/{{Conan}}'' stories feature small pantheons composed of a mix of historical and fictional gods:

Most [[OurGodsAreGreater gods]] in your typical divine pantheon seem to be {{Anthropomorphic Personification}}s of natural forces or endeavors and rule over those aspects; thus you have a god of war, a god of thunder, a god of [[Creator/EddieIzzard running around and jumping and stuff]]. There might also be gods of specific places. Another common type of god is associated not with an abstract concept, but with a discrete ethnic group or tribe of people, who take a god (or small group of gods) as their patron.