Ua-Ildak

Vegetation goddess. Mesopotamian (Babylonian-Akkadian).

The deity responsible for pastures and poplar trees.

Bera Pennu

Vegetation goddess. Northern Indian. Worshiped by the Khonds in Bengal. She was the recipient of human sacrifice to ensure good harvest, particularly of the spice turmeric, and as a protection against disease and infirmity. The sacrificial victim or meriah was youthful, often kept for years as a holy person before death and was always either the offspring of a previous sacrificial victim, or purchased from impoverished families for the purpose. He or she was generally strangled, sometimes in the fork of a tree, after days of festivities. In other instances the victim was cut up alive.

Asˇnan

Vegetation goddess. Mesopotamian (Sumerian and Babylonian-Akkadian). Minor deity probably known to the Sumerians from circa 3500 BC or earlier. She is concerned with the abundance of grain in the fields, sent as its protectress by the gods ENLIL and ENKI. According to creation accounts, she and the cattle god LAHAR were first intended to serve the needs of the Annunaki, the celestial children of AN, but when the heavenly creatures were found unable to make use of their products, humankind was created to provide an outlet for their services.