Zhuang · deity · Zhuang traditional religion; continuing · deity
Gyaj is the thunder god of the Zhuang and ruler of heaven, the uppermost of the three realms in Zhuang cosmology. He governs storm, lightning and the life-giving rains on which the rice harvest depends, and stands beside the creator Baeuqloxdoh (ruler of the human earth) and the dragon king Ngweg (ruler of the waters). Thunder worship is deeply rooted among the Zhuang and is connected to the widespread frog cult, the frog being regarded as the thunder god's child or messenger summoning the rains.
Domains
thunder and the heavens
Powers
to command thunder and send the rains from heaven
Epithets
Gyaj
Sources
Holm, David. Recalling Lost Souls: The Baeu Rodo Scriptures, Tai Cosmogonic Texts from Guangxi in Southern China. Bangkok: White Lotus, 2004.
Holm, David. Killing a Buffalo for the Ancestors: A Zhuang Cosmological Text from Southwest China. DeKalb: Southeast Asia Publications, Northern Illinois University, 2003.