Little Black Project: Piceous Powers Quiz

Answer: Fire walking

According to the Sanskrit epic "Mahabharata", when Draupadi came into the world, she emerged from a sacrificial fire an extraordinary dark beauty. Her father, King Draupada, married her to five Pandava brothers. At their side, she became Empress. One of her husbands wagered her in a game of dice. When the winner tried to force her to disrobe, she prayed to Lord Krishna, and a miracle occurred. The more her would-be-defiler unwrapped her sari, the longer it became until finally, her tormentor tired and gave up. Today, her followers at more than 400 temples believe her to be an incarnation of either the Goddess Mariamman or Kali, the Goddess of Time, Creation, Destruction and Power. During Thimthi an annual festival in her honour, the priest and others walk across beds of hot coals in a firewalking ceremony.

(Question provided by pitegny)

Answer: Navajo

According to the Navajo creation myth, the world we live in is the fifth one, out of seven. The Black World was the first, and in that world, the Black and White Cloud came together to create the first man while the first woman was created at the same time, by the Yellow and Blue Clouds. The Black God is encountered later, during the third (yellow) world. It is a god of fire and the only one of the Navajo gods to be depicted as frail and elderly.

The photo is taken in Navajo Nation's Monument Valley Park in Arizona, US.

(Question provided by WesleyCrusher)

Answer: Great Woman of the Night

Hine-nui-te-po's father is Tane, the god of peace and beauty. Her mother is a human, Hine-ahu-one, made from red earth by the Earth Mother (Papatuanuku). Hine-nui-te-po had the birth name Tikikapakapa. She was tricked into marrying her father, Tane, and was so ashamed when she found out that she committed suicide (which was the first instance of suicide in the Maori Histories) and became the goddess of the underworld, or "Po" in Maori. There she becomes Hine-nui-te-po, acquiring men's souls, while her father Tane tries to lead them to light. As red is her colour, she is also the Goddess of the Sunset, with its red sky leading into night.

(Question provided by em1958)

Answer: Buffalo

Yama, or Yamaraja, is the Hindu god of death. Like the Grim Reaper in Western myth, Yama is often shown to visit the dying to take away their souls. In some instances, he also metes out justice, determining where the soul should go after death. In art and sculpture, Yama is shown to be dark-skinned and usually clad in bright red clothes. His mount is the he-buffalo, though he is mostly shown leading it, rather than riding it.

The incorrect options are mounts of other Hindu gods - Indra (elephant), Ganesha (mouse), and Shiva (bull).

(Question provided by zorba_scank)

Answer: Erebus

Hesiod's poem "Theogony" described the origins of the Greek gods and how they established control over the universe. Chaos is seen as the first being to exist, being the parent to Erebus / Erebos (Darkness) and Nyx (Night). Nyx and Erebus were in turn parents to Eros (Love), Aether (representing "upper air") and Hemera (Day), along with several others depending on the source. The name "Erebus" also refers to the place in the underworld where the dead pass immediately after dying.

The photo shows Mount Erebus, an active volcano on Antarctica.

(Question provided by Lones78)

Answer: Veda-Vyasa

Vyasa, whose name means "compiler", was born somewhere between 200 and 500 BCE. His alternative name of Krishna Dvaipayana refers to his dark complexion and the fact that he was born on an island. In Hindu tradition he is believed by some to be an Immortal. Vyasa devoted his life to writing the "Mahabharata", one of the two main sacred texts in Sanskrit. This text contains the beautiful "Bhagavad Gita", "The Song of God".

After witnessing the first atomic explosion, Robert Oppenheimer quoted, from the "Bhagavad Gita", "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds". The translation of the original text is "If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One... I am become Death, the Shatterer of Worlds."

(Question provided by windrush)

Answer: Saint Maurice

St. Maurice served in the Roman Army and grew quickly in rank. He eventually became a leader in the Theban Legion. St. Maurice was not always depicted as black in art until the 12th century. He was a very popular saint and became the patron of Holy Roman Emperors, among other people and places. Veneration to St. Maurice declined with the dawn of the Atlantic Slave Trade, when his image was removed in many places.

(Question provided by Joepetz)

Answer: Time

Kali is one of the most powerful Hindu goddesses. Usually she is portrayed naked but for a garland of human skulls and/or a skirt made of tiger skin. Her right arms are conferring gifts and blessings, while her left arms hold a sword (or a trident) and a severed head. Her main occupation is time and the destruction caused by time, so she also acts as goddess of death and ruin. One of the best known stories is how she fights the self-cloning demon Raktabija. As Raktabija clones himself when blood drops touch the ground, Kali licks all blood before it enters in contact with the ground and then slays the original demon.

(Question provided by JanIQ)

Answer: Izanagi

Izanagi and Izanami were originally the god and goddess considered responsible for the creation of the Japanese islands in the myths of the Shinto religion. Izanagi was god of the sky and his wife the goddess of the earth until the birth of their first child Kagutsuchi, the god of fire. His birth resulted in his mother being burned to death and sent to the underworld, where she became its queen and therefore associated with a mixture of both life and death.

Tsukiyomi (the moon god) and Susanowo (the storm god) were both children of Izanagi who were born out of parts of his face after the loss of his wife.

(Question provided by Fifiona81)

Answer: Poland

The Black Madonna of Czestochowa is a religious icon depicting the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus. It is found in the Jasna Góra Monastery in Czestochowa, Poland. Legend states that it was created by Saint Luke, the author of the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts in the Bible. The icon is known as the Black Madonna as both Mary and Jesus are shown having dark skin. Similar icons are found in other parts of the world. The Black Madonna of Czestochowa is highly regarded in Poland. It is believed to have saved the Jasna Góra Monastery during the Swedish invasion in 1655, resulting in the Polish King John II Casimir Vasa declaring it to be the Queen and Protector of Poland.

The photo is of an authorized copy of the famous Black Madonna of Częstochowa, Poland, in the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome.

(Question provided by zorba_scank)