Line #131 Main/EthnicGod


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7	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-- see GeniusLoci, though not all cultures consider their genii to be gods. Another common type of god is associated not with an abstract concept, [[TheChosenPeople but with a discrete ethnic group or tribe of people]], who take a god (or small group of gods) as their patron.
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9	A reciprocal relationship naturally enfolds: the god protects the tribe from supernatural threats and appoints leaders to deal with secular problems, while the people give up offerings or prayers. This might mean that GodsNeedPrayerBadly and this one has found a cozy niche, or else that there is an immutable, vital connection between the two parties, and if one is destroyed, the other will necessarily fall to ruin. In the latter case, it's assumed that one entity specifically created the other. In other cases, this relationship may simply be due to a more mundane pact or a matter of personal favor. Members of the tribe (all, or just a chosen few) may be able to direct the god's power to their own designs (see [[FunctionalMagic Theurgy]]). When groups come into conflict, their gods get involved, and things can escalate into a [[DivineConflict celestial war]] quickly. Some gods are even evangelical, and want everyone to be converted to their worship, while others are only concerned with the needs of their chosen race.
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11	Ethnic gods may be cobbled together into a single pantheon when their representative tribes form a civilization or empire. In that case, the TopGod is probably the original god of the ruling tribe, and a lot of OddJobGods emerge, taking up whatever traits their people ascribed them and representing those within the pantheon.
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13	[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with]] God being portrayed as a specific ethnic group; that's a DivineRaceLift.
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15	----
16	!!Examples:
17	[[foldercontrol]]
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19	[[folder:Fan Works]]
20	* ''Fanfic/RWBYScars'': [[LittleBitBeastly Faunus]] have a religion named "Ishvara" which worships various animal-based gods. Their creator god Mother Devi is humanoid except for her feline head.
21	* In ''Fanfic/WarriorsRedux'', the Mother is the regional god of the four Clans. It's believed that she became a nearby cave that is core to their spiritual beliefs.
22	[[/folder]]
23
24	[[folder:Literature]]
25	* ''Literature/TheBelgariad'' has seven gods (not counting their father) and, originally, seven tribes. Each god has a totemic animal (bull, bear, serpent, etc.) and the culture of their people is based on the attributes of that animal. Aldur is the odd one out here, who never chose a race and instead has only a handful of disciples. The godless ones drifted apart and became a variety of races worshiping such godly surrogates as demons, their ancestors, or political power. In this setting, the gods largely get along, with the BigBad Torak being the major exception, and when he starts maneuvering to take over the world, they take on incorporeal aspects so that their conflict won't destroy everything. Eventually, a new god, Eriond, is born, who is destined to become the god of all peoples.
26	* 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 [[BlackAndWhiteMorality 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.]]
27	* ''Literature/ChroniclesOfTheKencyrath'': The Three-Faced God is the patron of the Kencyr people, which he created by uniting three disparate tribes.
28	* ''Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian'' stories feature small pantheons composed of a mix of historical and fictional gods:
29	** Crom is the deity of the Cimmerians, Conan's people.
30	** The gods of the Stygians include Set; Derketo, the sea-goddess of pleasure; and Ibis, god of wisdom and the Moon.
31	** The inhabitants of Shem worship Ishtar, goddess of fertility; Derketo; Ashtoreth, patron of fertility, sexuality, and war; Adonis; the fish-god Dagon; and Baal.
32	** The people of Vendhya bow down before Asura and Yizil.
33	** The Hyrkanian gods are the demon-god Yog, Lord of the Empty Abodes; Hanuman the ape-god; Erlik, god of death and the underworld; and Tarim.
34	** The Kushite deities are Jullah, the raven god Jhil, Ajujo the Dark One and Derketa the Queen of the Dead.
35	** The Khitans worship Yag-Kosha (Yogah of Yag, Demon of the Elder World) and Yun.
36	* ''Literature/TheDeathMageWhoDoesntWantAFourthTime'': Originally, the deities Fidirg and Merrebeveil were only worshipped by the lizardmen and scylla, respectively. This changes after Van raises statue to them at Talosheim, after which their worship becomes more widespread.
37	* 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. Some human nationalities also have their own specific gods: Omnians worship Om, and Borogravians have Nuggan (though most of them actually worship the Duchess, who thanks to [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve the power of belief]] has posthumously become the equivalent against her will).
38	* In ''Literature/TheElenium'' each race has at least one god, with a wide variety in the numbers. The Elenes have one, the trolls have five, the Tamuls have about a half-dozen while their offshoots the Atans have one. Meanwhile, the Styrics have over a thousand gods, and the interference of this multitude has led to them being the most practiced magic-users, and famed for it throughout the world. However, the Elene god, commanding the entire combined faith of the most populous race, is probably the most powerful of the gods; but as it happens, he has a strict [[GodsHandsAreTied non-intervention policy]].
39	* In the ''Literature/JohnCarterOfMars'' series, the god Tur is worshipped solely by the Phundahlians, while the god Komal (who is actually just a large Banth) is only worshipped by the Lotharians.
40	* ''Literature/ThePusadianSeries'': Each nation in the world has its own distinct set of deities looking over them, and these are ''very'' jealous of other gods interfering in their turf.
41	* ''Literature/TheQueensThief'': The people of Eddis are the only ones to keep to the worship of the old gods, and are referred to as "Hephestia's people" after the chief goddess of their pantheon.
42	* The different pantheons of ''Literature/TheSagaOfBilly'' reflect each other, with different cultures having a different interpretations of each god. For instance, the goddess of Life as a whole in the verdant region of Erenner is assimilated to Water in the more desertic Stia; Vetherr, [[GodOfEvil the Betrayer]], is seen as more of a judge of your worthiness to survive in Stia than as a more outright malicious entity; Erenner's goddess of Peace and War is replaced by Stia's god of Forgiveness and Grudge.
43	* ''Literature/{{Silverwing}}'': The bats have their own [[AnimalReligion bat gods]] -- the North American bats worship Nocturna, while the South American ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectral_bat Vampyrum spectrum]]'' worship the real-life bat god Cama Zotz.
44	* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', the Drowned God is only worshiped by the Ironborn people. Other lesser known ethnic deities from this universe are the Great Shepherd (worshipped by the Lhazarene people), Boash (was only worshipped by the Lorathi a long time ago), the nameless god of the Norvoshi, and the Black Goat of the Qohorik.
45	* In the ''Literature/TortallUniverse'', by Creator/TamoraPierce, there are many gods, some minor and some designated "great", but even the so-called Great Gods often have specific ethnic groups they hold dear.
46	** In the ''Literature/SongOfTheLioness'' tetralogy, we learn of the persecuted K'Mir tribes of Sarain, who worship the Horse Lords.
47	** In ''Literature/TheImmortals'' tetralogy it's said that the Banjiku tribe were birthed by the goddess Lushagui and worship her along with her brother, Kidunka the World Snake.
48	** In the ''Literature/TrickstersDuet'', it's revealed that the Trickster is the patron god of the Copper Island natives, the Raka. The books (''Trickster's Choice'' and ''Trickster's Queen'') follow his chosen champions in their fight to win the Isles back from the white minority that compose the ruling class. However, as he is one of the Great Gods, he is also worshipped by people so inclined in other countries by other nicknames, such as the Crooked God.
49	* ''Literature/WatershipDown'' has the divine hero of the rabbit race, El-Ahrairah.
50	* ''Literature/TheWickedYears'':
51	** The traditional god for Ozians is the fairy goddess Lurline. According to myth she created Oz and transformed normal animals into {{Talking Animal}}s and {{Funny Animals}}. Lurline worship is considered paganism and has gone out of fashion in exchange for worshipping the Unnamed God instead.
52	** Other regional religions exist in Oz but aren't given much note. For example, Turtle Heart is from the swampy southern region of Quadling County and has never heard of the Unnamed God.
53	[[/folder]]
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55	[[folder: Live-Action TV]]
56	* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': Much like in the books, people of all nations know about the existence of the Valar, but Aule is the only Vala shown actively to be worshiped by the Dwarves.
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59	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
60	* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''
61	** ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'', particularly in 3rd Edition, is an {{exaggerated}} case, with several different racial and ethnic ''pantheons''. The largest is the Faerûnian pantheon (most humans), and there's also the elven pantheon, the drow pantheon, the dwarven pantheon, the halfling pantheon, the gnomish pantheon, and the orcish pantheon. The human nations of Mulhorand and Unther also had their own pantheons, but the Untheric pantheon (an import of the Sumerian and Babylonian pantheons) was extinct by the end of the Time of Troubles and the Mulhorandi pantheon (a version of the Egyptian pantheon) was destroyed by the Spellplague in 4th Edition.
62	** Bahamut and Tiamat are the patron deities of good/metallic and evil/chromatic dragons, respectively. In many settings, they are also their creators. Some editions also include Sardior, the patron and creator of the gem dragons.
63	** Some other racial deities from early editions of the game:
64	*** ''Deities and Demigods Cyclopedia'': Hruggek (bugbears), Skerrit (centaurs and satyrs), Surtur (fire giants), Thrym (frost giants), Grolantor (hill giants and ettins), Skoraeus Stonebones (stone giants), Maglubiyet (goblins and hobgoblins), Kurtulmak (kobolds), Blibdoolpoolp (kuo-toa), Semuanya (lizardmen), Eadro (locathah and mermen), Vaprak (ogres), Sekolah (sahuagin) and Laogzed (troglodytes).
65	*** Some monsters worshipped demon princes from the Abyss as deities: Yeenoghu (gnolls), Demogorgon (ixitxachitl), Baphomet (minotaurs), Graz'zt (lamia).
66	*** ''Magazine/{{Dragon}}'': An article in #63 by Roger Moore adds additional deities to fill out the pantheons of the kobolds, goblins and hobgoblins.
67	*** The 2nd Edition supplement ''Monster Mythology'' has dozens of new deities for monsters.
68	*** 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.
69	** Subverted in ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'' with Sargas, the god of the minotaurs who is worshipped by no other people. While the minotaurs insist that Sargas is their god alone, many in-universe scholars believe that he is the same entity as the WarGod Sargonnas who is worshipped by many peoples across Ansalon. While minotaurs vigorously insist that the two deities are separate, it's eventually confirmed (by Sargas/Sargonnas himself) that they are in fact two names for the same being. The minotaurs do still insist they're his particular favorites, though, which is generally depicted as being true.
70	* ''TabletopGame/GodsOfTheFall'': Tarans worshipped a single patron god called Lelana, the Grandmother of the Skies.
71	* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'':
72	** Svyelun is the patron goddess of the Vodalian merfolk of Dominaria, and is type as a Merfolk God on her card.
73	** Mogis is the patron of the minotaurs of Theros, and takes the form of a colossal, four-horned minotaur himself.
74	* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'': While this isn't taken to the same extremes as it is in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' -- most major deities are explicitly worshipped by multiple cultures and species -- numerous species and factions have their own patron gods, which are rarely if ever worshipped by other groups:
75	** Among true gods, there are the draconic gods Apsu and Dahak; the dwarven pantheon, which further includes Droskar as the god of the duergar; the elven pantheon (excepting Calistria, who is worshipped among most other species); the halfling gods Chaldria Zuzaristan and Thamir Gixx; the [[AncientEgypt Ancient Osiriani]] pantheon; the gnome goddess Nivi Rhombodazzle; Hei Feng, who although he is worshipped throughout [[{{Wutai}} Tian Xia]] is explicitly the patron god of the {{Tengu}}; and the giant pantheon, which is further subdivided between the patron deities of specific giant species -- Minderhal for the stone giants, Thremyr for the frost giants, and Zursvaater for the fire giants. Before his death, Aroden was the patron god of humanity; in ''TabletopGame/{{Starfinder}}'', this role is taken over by Iomedae.
76	** Among the {{demon lords\| and archdevils}}, Baphomet is the patron of [[OurMinotaursAreDifferent minotaurs]], Gogunta of the boggard FrogMen, Jezelda of werewolves, though she hates any [[OurWerebeastsAreDifferent other kind of lycanthrope]], Kabiri of ghouls (however his claims to be [[MonsterProgenitor the first ghoul]] are suspect), Urxehl of [[AllTrollsAreDifferent trolls]], and Xoveron of [[OurGargoylesRock gargoyles]]. In a twist, Urxehl loathes the trolls that worship him and himself for his resemblance to them -- he greatly prefers the fringe groups of druids that worship him as the demon lord of natural disasters instead.
77	* ''TabletopGame/{{Ponyfinder}}'': While most deities are worshipped widely by ponykind and Everglow society as a whole, Soft Whisper and Lashtada were worshipped almost exclusively by the tribe of bones and the short leg ponies, who saw them as their primary deities and cultural patrons. This had a considerable effect on their respective societies -- the tribe of bones were almost solely preoccupied with helping others prepare for death and caring for the deceased, since Soft Whisper is the GodOfTheDead, while short leg society revolved almost entirely around love and romance, due to Lashtada being the LoveGoddess. However, this ended up backfiring for both deities -- the tribe of bones and the short legs were both exterminated centuries before the setting's present, costing Soft Whisper and Lashtada the near totality of their worshippers, influence and power (Soft Whisper squeaked by because she gets a bit of power whenever someone dies, but Lashtada is nearly dead). The other pony gods, which much broader and widely-scattered followings, are instead all doing just fine.
78	* ''Franchise/{{Warhammer}}'': It's routine in the franchise for specific nations or species to worship their own deity or set of deities, and for those deities to only be worshipped by that nation or species. The exceptions are the Chaos Gods, which are worshipped by every Chaos cultist in any given setting, in addition to being, in ''Warhammer Fantasy'', the cultural deities of the Norscans (HeavyMetal HornyVikings), [[HordesFromTheEast Kurgans, Hung]] and {{Beastm\|an}}en, with Slaneesh also being worshipped by several Dark Elf cults.
79	** ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'':
80	*** Among the human nations, 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 deified founder, although the Imperials also worship other gods such as Ulric, Morr, and Myrmidia that they share with other human cultures; these each began as the patron deity of one of the Empire's founding tribes and, while most are now worshipped throughout it, Ulric is now worshipped almost entirely by the Middenlanders. The Bretonnians worship the Lady of the Lake (possibly a Wood Elf enchantress).
81	*** 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.
82	*** The Orcs and Goblins worship Gork, the god of brutality, and Mork, the god of cunning. The Forest Goblins additionally worship their own native deity, the Spider God.
83	*** The Lizardmen revere their Old One progenitors, but the cult of the snake god Sotek has in recent centuries become their leading faith.
84	*** The Skaven worship the Horned Rat, which they view as their creator and special patron.
85	** ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': The Eldar retain their ethnic gods, with the change that the bulk of their pantheon was destroyed by Slaneesh with the exception of Khaine (who was literally shattered but survived), Isha (who most Eldar don't know is still alive) and Cegorach; the Craftworld Eldar still worship their gods, while the Harlequins worship Cegorach exclusively and the Dark Eldar forsook their deities altogether. The Orks still worship Gork and Mork, while humanity worships the God-Emperor of Mankind.
86	** ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'': While most gods of Chaos and Order are followed by most people aligning to those factions, Teclis and Tyrion are the patron deities of [[OurElvesAreDifferent the Aelves]] and Alarielle is the goddess and queen of [[NatureSpirit the Sylvaneth]], while the Idoneth revere the long-dead sea god Mathlann. The Greenskins in general follow Gorkamorka, the two-headed fusion of Gork and Mork, while the Moonclan Grots instead worship a poorly-understood entity called the Bad Moon. The Great Horned Rat, while technically one of the four Chaos Gods now, is still only really worshipped by the Skaven.
87	[[/folder]]
88
89	[[folder:Video Games]]
90	* ''VideoGame/ArcanumOfSteamworksAndMagickObscura'': The Ancient Lesser Gods are each worshipped by a certain race -- Alberich by the dwarves, Bolo by the halflings, Geshtianna by the humans, Kerlin by the gnomes, Makaal by the bedokaan LizardFolk, Shakar by the orcs (although he's also worshipped by many human barbarians), Ter'el by the elves and Torg by the ogres.
91	* ''VideoGame/BlackAndWhite'' implies this while applying it rather loosely. Each god met in the game commands a single tribe, and there are races with no god, due apparently to a long-time war of attrition among the gods. The tribes are based on real-life ethnic groups, e.g. the Egyptians, Japanese, Norse, etc., but the gods are entirely fictitious and have no strong resemblance to any of the gods these groups historically worshiped.
92	* ''VideoGame/DivineDivinity'': Six of the seven gods of the setting are the patrons and creators of one of the main sapient races -- Rhalic is the god of the humans, Duna of the dwarves, Tir-Cendelius of the elves, Zorl-Stissa of the {{lizard\|folk}}s, Vrogir of the orcs and Xantezza of the imps. Amadia isn't the patron of any species, but a past relationship with a mortal wizard led her to become the patron deity of magic-users.
93	* ''Franchise/DragonAge'':
94	** The elves worship a pantheon of deities known as the Creators ([[spoiler:revealed to have been ancient elven god-kings in the third game]]). . Humans and the qunari/kossith lack such a deity, since the most common human faith is that in TheMaker, which proclaims universality, and the qunari follow the quasi-religious philosophy of the Qun, which is likewise not specific to their race. In ancient times, however, the human tribe of Tevinters worshiped a pantheon of seven Old Gods (giant magical dragons).
95	** "The Stone" is a deity worshipped within the Dwarven culture, and while the dwarves venerate their ancestors, the Stone is a more larger and more ambiguous concept, as it possibly represents the entirety of the earth ([[spoiler:and may be a massive slumbering Titan]]). It's treated as both a deity and immanent force that controls both the fates of the Dwarves themselves as well as the subterranean world they live within. Every Dwarf is considered part of the Stone, which is used to justify [[SocialDarwinist culling the weak or degenerate]] from their ranks, since said "weaknesses" would also affect The Stone.
96	** According to Solas, some benevolent spirits will watch over a particular group of people--whether it be as large as an entire ethnic group or a small village or family. Often, these spirits will do so without that group of people even knowing they're there, like one spirit he calls "The Matchmaker", who helped people within a small village with perfect romantic compatibility meet each other and fall in love.
97	* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
98	** Throughout the series and its lore, the implication of the many differing religious beliefs and {{Creation Myth}}s is that AllMythsAreTrue. While there are many shared elements, there are numerous contradictions as well. Despite this, they all seem to have elements of truth regardless of the contradictions. At the very least, it is implied that all myths are at least MetaphoricallyTrue. Also implied is that the [[FantasyPantheon many different]] [[OurGodsAreDifferent divine beings]] worshiped by the different races of Nirn are implied to be different aspects of the same handful of divine beings. For instance, Stendarr is known as the God of Mercy and Justice in the Imperial and Aldmeri pantheons, but his Old Nordic aspect Stuhn can be better understood as the God of ''Ransom''. Additionally, the religions of the [[OurElvesAreDifferent races of Mer (Elves)]] typically despise Lorkhan, the [[GodIsDead "dead" creator god]] of Mundus (the mortal plane), for being a trickster who cost the divine ancestors of the Mer their CompleteImmortality. However, Lorkhan, known as Shor to the [[HornyVikings Nords]], is beloved by them (and the Imperials) as a bloodthirsty warrior god-king who defended their ancestors from Merrish oppression in ancient times.
99	** 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 acknowledges Lorkhan/Shor as the "missing" god, mostly appeasing both sides.
100	** Talos, the Ninth Divine, is the [[DeityOfHumanOrigin ascended god form]] of Tiber Septim (possibly [[MergerOfSouls among]] [[BecomingTheMask others]]), founder of the Third Cyrodiilic Empire and the first to unify all of Tamriel. While the exact means of his [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence apotheosis]] is a hotly debated topic both in-universe and out, it is believed to be related to the spirit of Lorkhan/Shor. As the [[WarGod God of War]] and [[TheGoodKing Good Governance]], he has been the most active divine in safeguarding Mundus since his ascension. He is especially favored by (and [[HumansAreSpecial favors]]) the races of Men, particularly the Nords and Imperials. However, in part due to his relation to Lorkhan and in part due to the Aldmeri belief that the races of Mer descend from the gods (and [[FantasticRacism no man could ever possibly join their ranks]]), worship of Talos has become banned by the time of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' as part of the White-Gold Concordat between the [[VestigialEmpire Vestigial Third Empire]] and their ancient rivals, the re-formed [[AntiHumanAlliance Aldmeri Dominion]] under the leadership of the extremist [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Thalmor]].
101	** As seen most prominently in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', the Dunmer (Dark Elves) of Morrowind worship a trio of formerly mortal {{Physical God}}s (Vivec, Almalexia, Sotha Sil) known as the Tribunal or ALMSIVI. Thousands of years ago, they were the advisors of the [[LongDeadBadass ancient Chimeri]] ({{Precursors}} of the Dunmer) hero, Lord Nerevar. Though every surviving party [[TheRashomon has their own version]] of the events surrounding Nerevar's death and the Tribunal's ascension, the Tribunal would greatly influence the affairs of the Dunmer people for thousands of years after, including protecting them in times of war and performing miracles. (As a result of the events of ''Morrowind'' and the ''Tribunal'' expansion, [[spoiler:they are cut off from the source of their power and two of them are killed]].) It's the first in a long, ''long'' TraumaCongaLine for the Dunmer in the centuries that would follow...
102	** The Orsimer primarily worship the Daedric Prince Malacath, who himself tends to manifest most often in the form of an orc.
103	* ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXIV'': Throughout the various worlds, dimensions and nations within ''FFXIV'', there are many "primals"--which are godlike entities born from huge amounts of [[BackgroundMagicField aether]], embodying the hopes, dreams or raw emotions of whatever group of people brought it into being. For example, Ramuh is associate with the Sylphs, Susanoo with the Kojin, and Lakshmi with Ananta [[BeastMan beast tribes]]. Most of the "enlightened" playable races of Eorzea have either abandoned worshipping primals, never worshipped them, or are actively opposed to their very existence, due to fact that primals by their very nature require so much aether to exist that they will strip the world bare of life if allowed to exist long enough, as well as the fact that when a primal [[BrainwashedAndCrazy "tempers"]] a mortal, that mortal is permanently and irrevocably devoted to that primal's service. These factors have led to numerous wars and battles being waged between races who serve a particular tribal and others who either serve a different one or reject them altogether.
104	* In ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'' each of the Seven Archons is primarily worshipped by a different nation. Mondstadt, where the game begins, worships the Archon of Wind, Barbatos, Liyue worships the Geo Archon Morax, etc.
105	* In ''VideoGame/KingOfDragonPass'', the tribe the player controls are humans who are part of a broader culture that worships Orlanth (who controls rain, lightning, and air) as their primary god, admiring and following him to the point where they call themselves Orlanthi.
106	* ''VideoGame/TheLastSovereign'': PlayedWith. At first it appears to be played straight: all humans worship Ivala, all succubi worship the Lustlord, all elves worship the Mother, and all dwarves worship Tertia. As the game goes on, however, various nuances are introduced.
107	** Sarai, a halfling Ivalan High Priestess, confirms that halflings don't have a traditional god/goddess.
108	** Only the humans on the continent of Arclent worship Ivala, while the humans on other continents worship different gods. The church is an active proselytistic religion that tries to stamp out all others.
109	** A majority of succubi worship the Lustlord but, due to the fractious nature of the Incubus Kings, each domain has splintered off into different sects.
110	** Not all elves worship the Mother. Due to the diaspora caused by the Incubus King's invasion, some have settled onto human lands and turned to Ivala as a result.
111	** Dwarves don't worship Tertia so much as they memorialize her, believing her to be dead, sleeping, or having otherwise abandoned them.
112	* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
113	** ''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 hers 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 most 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." ''Ocarina of Time'' also implies that the [[OneGenderRace Gerudo]] worship a "Sand Goddess" instead of the other deities.
114	** ''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: [[spoiler:they're the descendants of the original Zelda, who was actually the physical incarnation of Hylia]].
115	* ''VideoGame/{{Populous}}'': Each tribe has a commanding and beneficent god, one of which [[AGodIsYou is the player]].
116	* ''VideoGame/SixAges'': The Hyalorings worship Hyalor, the Wheels worship Samnal and both worship Elmal and consider him the king of the gods, so the two cultures are sometimes grouped together as Elmali. The Alkothi worship Shargash, the Demon Sun. The Ram People worship Orlanth, which is one of the reasons you don't get on with them, because [[HaveYouSeenMyGod their god killed yours]].
117	* ''VideoGame/StoryOfSeasons'': The game's characters worship the Harvest Goddess, a local god who lives in a lake. The [[VideoGame/HarvestMoon1 first game]] implies that other gods exist, but that the characters worship the Harvest Goddess over them due to the fact they live in a rural farming community. The Harvest King and Harvest Lord are introduced later on, but they're not worshipped like the Goddess. Of note, there are ''various'' different Harvest Goddesses for different towns. One game implies that there are different denominations of Harvest Goddess worship, but it's not expanded upon.
118	[[/folder]]
119
120	[[folder:Webcomics]]
121	* ''Webcomic/Aurora2019'': Gods often arise as protectors of specific places, and this leads many of them to serve as the patrons and protectors of nations, peoples and cultures. A distinction exists in-universe between the gods of city-states and organized nations and the patron gods of species and cultures. The former protect a discrete area and provide order and direction for its society, institutions and politics; the latter act as embodiments of a shared cultural spirit, providing guidance for groups potentially scattered over extensive areas but not specifically providing laws and enforcing societal structures.
122	* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': The world was created as a joint effort by the Norse Gods, the Mesopotamian pantheon, and the Zodiac animals, who claimed dominion over the Northern, Western, and Southern continents and their peoples. Also, despite being one of the Western Gods, Tiamat is the patron goddess of draconic species and is revered by dragons and kobolds worldwide. Other racial and cultural pantheons also exist, such as the elves worshipping a pantheon of ascended elven mortals and the goblinoids worshipping the Dark One, a former goblin warlord who became a deity. Also, the idea is a slightly deconstructed when we discover that this world is not the first incarnation. In fact, [[spoiler: this world is just the latest in billions of attempts to make worlds to stay. These worlds had all sorts of races and worshippers, which makes the idea of ethnic/racial gods seem rather ridiculous in retrospect, at least in a world of eras and cycles.]] Durkon alludes to this when he [[spoiler: tells off Redcloak, noting that his plan is ridiculous given how the next world may not even have goblins or other humanoids and instead consist of talking fish or even sentient lamp posts]].
123	* ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'': The Norse pantheon is worshipped by Icelanders and Norwegians, but the FlatEarthAtheist Swedes and Danes are technically under its protection, as well. The Finns, who are also the smallest remaining known nation in the setting, worship their own pantheon.
124	[[/folder]]
125
126	[[folder:Western Animation]]
127	* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', people of all nations believe in spirits (though they don't necessarily worship them), but certain spirits are only or primarily worshipped by one nation (for example, Tui and La, the spirits of the moon and sea, are worshipped by the Water Tribes).[[note]]Some fans headcanon that the national spirit of the Fire Nation is Agni, named after the [[Myth/HinduMythology Hindu god of fire]] (and whose name shows up in the term ''Agni Kai''), but there is no canon mention of any spirit by that name.[[/note]]
128	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'' the entire pantheon is composed of racial gods; it is stated that most of the individual gods created the individual races they represent, but they have no domains ''other'' than being patron gods for their races. This gets to the point that [[RageAgainstTheHeavens Oropo]]'s plan of [[TopGod replacing them]] with demigods from each race is a perfectly valid strategy, [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter excepting the individuals he chose]].
129	[[/folder]]
130
131	[[folder:Real Life]]
132	* 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. However, the 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, but while the early Jews believed in what is known as "ethical monotheism", which holds that morality stems from God alone and that its laws are unchanging, they grew to believe that their god was the only real one and the rest were demonic beings or pure fantasy. While the early Israelites originated as a [[Myth/MesopotamianMythology Mesopotamian culture]] and as slaves to the Egyptians (maybe), their belief in a singular all-powerful deity was revolutionary for its time, and the same god has gone on to be adopted by Christians and Muslims as the universal God, but is still firstly an ethnic god from a Jewish perspective.[[note]] The ancient Israelites were a Semitic people who settled in Canaan. In time, they established the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, where the modern nation of Israel is today. In 722 B.C, the Assyrians gained control of the kingdom of Israel. The Babylonians conquered Judah in 586 B.C, destroying the city of Jerusalem and removing its inhabitants to Babylon for some years. Eventually the people of Judah came to be known as Jews. Over the years the Jews produced sacred books, some of which form the Tanach, a set of documents known to Christians as the Old Testament of the Bible. These books include myths and legends about the history of the early Israelites as well as information about their religious beliefs. Traditional Jewish stories were influenced by ancient Semitic mythology. Connections are clearly seen in such stories as the fight between Cain and Abel and the great flood survived by Noah in his ark. In the same way, the story of creation in the book of Genesis in the Old Testament contains parallels to Mesopotamian myths about how Marduk organized the universe. One major difference between Jewish tradition and earlier Semitic mythology, however, is that Judaism was and is monotheistic. Instead of a pantheon of deities, it referred to a single, all-powerful God, sometimes called Yahweh.[[/note]] Prior to Judaism, there's evidence of their ancestors believing there were many gods, but coming to have exclusive worship of Yahweh (henotheism) before this became monotheism.
133	* [[UsefulNotes/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 Thrace and Athens respectively.
134	* 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 include {{UsefulNotes/Buddhism}}, {{UsefulNotes/Christianity}}, and UsefulNotes/{{Islam}}).
135	[[/folder]]

Context Main / EthnicGod