Ila

Update

Polynesian Accounts of Creation

In Maori myth one cosmogonic account takes the form of a family group like that in the Hawaiian “Chief-who-opened-heaven” to come down to earth and make the beautiful La’ila’i his wife.

The “Woman who ate before and behind” in Tahiti becomes La’ila’i, the “Woman who sat sideways” of the Kumulipo.

If the connection with man’s ultimate fate suggested above for the drawing contest between Kanaloa and Kane is correct, is it possible that late reciters of the Kumulipo chant have obscured the part played by Kanaloa in the story of Ki’i and La’ila’i, and “Ki’i the man” was originally Kanaloa’s figure drawn after the form of god Kane, into which Kanaloa has “placed his essence” to deceive the woman, just as Wakea in the later story enters the image (ki’i) set up to lure Ka-we’o-a?

Hawaiian

Hawaiian Accounts of Creation

David Malo writes, as translated by Emerson: “In the genealogy called Kumulipo it is said that the first human being was a woman named La’ila’i and that her ancestors and parents were of the dim past [he po wale no], that she was the progenitor of the human race.”

He goes on to tell how “The-chief-who-broke-through-heaven” (Ke-ali’i-wahi-lani) looked below and saw this beautiful woman La’ila’i dwelling in Lalowaia and came down and made her his wife, and “from the union of these two was begotten one of the ancestors of this race.”

During those intervals night reproduced night by living as man and wife and producing many gods often spoken of by the people of Hawaii as “the forty thousand gods, four thousand gods, four hundred thousand gods,” and in the eighth interval birth changed to that of human beings; that is, to La’ila’i and all those born with her.

Hinduism

Ila (Sanskrit: इल) or Ilā (Sanskrit: इला) is a deity in Hindu legends, known for their sex changes.

As a man, they are called Ila or Sudyumna, and as a woman, they are called Ilā.

Ila is the child of Vaivasvata Manu and Shraddha.

Depending on the version of the tale, Ila is either born female and changed into a male by divine grace or born male.

In the Linga Purana and the Mahabharata, Ila is initially a daughter who is transformed into a male, Sudyumma, by the deities Mitra and Varuna.

Other texts suggest that Ila's parents prayed for a son but ended up with a daughter due to a ritual mistake.

As an adult, Ila enters a sacred grove of Parvati and is cursed to change gender monthly or to become a woman permanently.

Ilā’s alternating gender condition is sometimes lifted, allowing Ila to remain permanently male, depending on the version of the tale.

As Sudyumma, Ila also fathers three sons who rule different regions.

In the Matsya Purana, Ila is disinherited due to the gender changes, and the kingdom is passed to Pururavas.

Some texts mention Ila achieving salvation by merging with the Supreme Goddess.

The tale of Ila's transformations is told in the Puranas, the Ramayana, and the Mahabharata, highlighting the complex interplay of gender and divine intervention in Hindu mythology.

Ila is associated with events from the ancient Hindu texts, which place her existence in the early ages of the cosmic time cycle known as Yugas.

Specifically, Ila lived during the Satya Yuga (also known as Krita Yuga), the first and the most virtuous of the four Yugas in Hindu cosmology.

The Satya Yuga is characterized by truth, virtue, and moral integrity, and it is the age where many primordial events and legendary figures, including Ila, are situated.

This period is marked by the creation and early development of human civilization, where divine interactions and miraculous occurrences are more prevalent, fitting well with the transformative and divine nature of Ila's story.

Cycles

September 2024 Update

August 2024 Update

Polynesian Accounts of Creation

Hawaiian Accounts of Creation

Ila

Four Yugas

The Hindu Puranic King List

Elohim, The powerful ones

Aessir Anunnaki