Just curious. Stereotypes/Archetypes of directional regions and four gods (holy beasts)?

[LilTV1155]

Just really curious.

I read several manga and stories that mentioned the four gods/holy/sacred beasts in isekai, fantasy, xanxia, and etc. stories.
The most common types I have seen in referencing to the Eastern Culture (East Asia - mostly JP, KR, and CN) for sacred beasts are:

Isekai's Eastern Culture of Sacred Beasts

• North - Genbu / Black Tortoise (according to lore, come with a snake but this part rarely mentioned at all cuz nobody cares)
  • According to a myth, all tortoise are females and need male snakes in order to breed as a pair
  • Depending on the Xaunwu myth, the tortoise and snake are twin siblings, mostly likely fraternal.
• West - Byakko / White Tiger / (Former predesscor - Qilin)
• East - Ryuu / Azure Dragon
• South - Suzaku / Vermillion (Former predessor - Fenghuang)
• Centre - Yellow Dragon

vs.

Isekai's Western Culture of Sacred Beasts

• Bear
• Panther / Lion - Leo
• Wolf - Fenrir
• Drake / Dragon / Snake ( [?])
• Eagle ( [?] )
  • I'm not really clear about it, but Bear, Lion, and Wolf are frequently mentioned the most.

And now for the common archetypes, or stereotypes of regional lords -

• North - Icy Love Interest / Snow skin & ice mountains
• South - Spicy Love Interest / Dark tan & sea ports & islander/(places with spices [?])
• West - (Unknown) Manipulative
• East - (Unknown) Violent, strong penchant for beauties
  • Between West and East, love interests are either frilly pompass / cruel jerkass
    • Due to strong leaning toward patriarchy, heavy misogyny is accepted as social norms in direct or indirect forms
      • Heavy Misogyny breed heavy misandry + medium chauvism (whichever gender it is) = Strong Misanthropists
        [*]Translation: Women haters = Men haters + Sexism = People Haters

So like almost every culture has their own version of their calendars and zodiacs, but I am seriously wondering.

If the Isekai already has the Eastern Cultural views of the Holy Beasts, then what creatures do you think would be represented as Holy Beasts in Northern/Southern/Western Culture of Isekai? Western version is still unclear to me.

What about the typical personalities of love interests that come from the South, West, and East; when the Lord/Lady of North is known for icy beauty/barbarian?

 

[longer]

I know this is slightly off topic, but European culture and mythos doesn't really have 4 divine beasts that are anywhere the importance of the four constellations in East Asian culture. The four winds exist but are kinda lame.

But you know what is cool west of the Zagros mountains? The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Also the four regional personalities are likely rooted in Eurocentrism, not a bad thing necessarily. North is the Anglos, Norse, and similar cultures. South is the Mediterranean and maybe north Africa. West is France, Spain, and the maybe Germany; the mega feudals if you will. And east would be Byzantium, Persia and the like. Cultures seen as ultra extravagant, hedonistic, and alien to a boring central European writer in the middle ages. The stereotypes and such develop from how these cultures are viewed.

 

[Layenlml]

Just really curious.

I read several manga and stories that mentioned the four gods/holy beasts in isekai, fantasy, xanxia, and etc. stories.
The most common types I have seen in referencing to the Eastern Culture (East Asia - mostly JP, KR, and CN) for holy beasts are:

Isekai's Eastern Culture of Holy Beasts

• North - Genbu / Black Tortoise (according to lore, come with a snake but this part rarely mentioned at all cuz nobody cares)
  • According to a myth, all tortoise are females and need male snakes in order to breed as a pair
  • Depending on the Xaunwu myth, the tortoise and snake are twin siblings, mostly likely fraternal.
• West - Byakko / White Tiger / (Former predesscor - Qilin)
• East - Ryuu / Azure Dragon
• South - Suzaku / Vermillion (Former predessor - Fenghuang)
• Centre - Yellow Dragon

vs.

Isekai's Western Culture of Holy Beasts

• Bear
• Panther / Lion - Leo
• Wolf - Fenrir
• Drake / Dragon / Snake ( [?])
• Eagle ( [?] )
  • I'm not really clear about it, but Bear, Lion, and Wolf are frequently mentioned the most.

And now for the common archetypes, or stereotypes of regional lords -

• North - Icy Love Interest / Snow skin & ice mountains
• South - Spicy Love Interest / Dark tan & sea ports & islander/(places with spices [?])
• West - (Unknown) Manipulative
• East - (Unknown) Violent, strong penchant for beauties
  • Between West and East, love interests are either frilly pompass / cruel jerkass
    • Due to strong leaning toward patriarchy, heavy misogyny is accepted as social norms in direct or indirect forms
      • Heavy Misogyny breed heavy misandry + medium chauvism (whichever gender it is) = Strong Misanthropists
        [*]Translation: Women haters = Men hates + Sexism = People Haters

So like almost every culture has their own version of their calendars and zodiacs, but I am seriously wondering.

If the Isekai already has the Eastern Cultural views of the Holy Beasts, then what creatures do you think would be represented as Holy Beasts in Northern/Southern/Western Culture of Isekai? Western version is still unclear to me.

What about the typical personalities of love interests that come from the South, West, and East; when the Lord/Lady of North is known for icy beauty/barbarian?

Elemental/season related dragons? Fairies and spirits could also work, I remember someone using seasonal Gods/Goddess too so it could depend on your setting to make one of your own like some demon continent at the north(?) and a holy/angel at the south(?)

 

[NotaNuffian]

I will be honest, I never knew about the four sacred beasts until the visit to Korea and the Korean Fever with their TV drama. Then xianxias continue to drill the concept in along with pangu and all the gods from the celestial palace.

The only thing I know is Polaris being the North Star.

 

[Ilikewaterkusa]

Just really curious.

I read several manga and stories that mentioned the four gods/holy beasts in isekai, fantasy, xanxia, and etc. stories.
The most common types I have seen in referencing to the Eastern Culture (East Asia - mostly JP, KR, and CN) for holy beasts are:

Isekai's Eastern Culture of Holy Beasts

• North - Genbu / Black Tortoise (according to lore, come with a snake but this part rarely mentioned at all cuz nobody cares)
  • According to a myth, all tortoise are females and need male snakes in order to breed as a pair
  • Depending on the Xaunwu myth, the tortoise and snake are twin siblings, mostly likely fraternal.
• West - Byakko / White Tiger / (Former predesscor - Qilin)
• East - Ryuu / Azure Dragon
• South - Suzaku / Vermillion (Former predessor - Fenghuang)
• Centre - Yellow Dragon

vs.

Isekai's Western Culture of Holy Beasts

• Bear
• Panther / Lion - Leo
• Wolf - Fenrir
• Drake / Dragon / Snake ( [?])
• Eagle ( [?] )
  • I'm not really clear about it, but Bear, Lion, and Wolf are frequently mentioned the most.

And now for the common archetypes, or stereotypes of regional lords -

• North - Icy Love Interest / Snow skin & ice mountains
• South - Spicy Love Interest / Dark tan & sea ports & islander/(places with spices [?])
• West - (Unknown) Manipulative
• East - (Unknown) Violent, strong penchant for beauties
  • Between West and East, love interests are either frilly pompass / cruel jerkass
    • Due to strong leaning toward patriarchy, heavy misogyny is accepted as social norms in direct or indirect forms
      • Heavy Misogyny breed heavy misandry + medium chauvism (whichever gender it is) = Strong Misanthropists
        [*]Translation: Women haters = Men hates + Sexism = People Haters

So like almost every culture has their own version of their calendars and zodiacs, but I am seriously wondering.

If the Isekai already has the Eastern Cultural views of the Holy Beasts, then what creatures do you think would be represented as Holy Beasts in Northern/Southern/Western Culture of Isekai? Western version is still unclear to me.

What about the typical personalities of love interests that come from the South, West, and East; when the Lord/Lady of North is known for icy beauty/barbarian?

All of the cultures and traditions have flavors of the one primordial universal truth, one we have forgotten but one we pull upon consciously or unconsciously.

 

[Devils.Advocate]

versions

I remember...

Four dwarves: Suðri, Austri and Vestri
Anemoi: Boreas, Zephyrus, Notus, Eurus
Lokapalas: Kubera, Yama, Indra, Varuṇa
Four sons of Horus: Duamutef, Hapi, Imsety, Qebehsenuef

 

[Cipiteca396]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Symbols#:~:text=See%20also%5Bedit,Tetramorph

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anemoi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horae

Although I couldn't find a convenient link, it's also worth noting that some of the directions were named after constellations. In particular, the word for north in Latin references Oxen. There's also Ursa Major, the Bear. So that might be relevant as well.

For personal experience, I'm only really familiar with the Four Winds and the Four Seasons. Maaaybe the Four Elements, but that one's a stretch.

Edit: Ah, I'm dumb. I was thinking of the Zodiac as an Eastern thing, but it's not. That's the biggest one.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zodiac

 

[Agentt]

If the Isekai already has the Eastern Cultural views of the Holy Beasts, then what creatures do you think would be represented as Holy Beasts in Northern/Southern/Western Culture of Isekai? Western version is still unclear to me.

What about the typical personalities of love interests that come from the South, West, and East; when the Lord/Lady of North is known for icy beauty/barbarian?

That reminds me of pokemon, the rivalry between the pearl clan and the diamond clan about who the real sinnoh(God) is. The pearl clan said it was a being who controlled time, while the diamond said it was a being who controlled space.

 

[NobleTalon]

Just really curious.

I read several manga and stories that mentioned the four gods/holy beasts in isekai, fantasy, xanxia, and etc. stories.
The most common types I have seen in referencing to the Eastern Culture (East Asia - mostly JP, KR, and CN) for holy beasts are:

Isekai's Eastern Culture of Holy Beasts

• North - Genbu / Black Tortoise (according to lore, come with a snake but this part rarely mentioned at all cuz nobody cares)
  • According to a myth, all tortoise are females and need male snakes in order to breed as a pair
  • Depending on the Xaunwu myth, the tortoise and snake are twin siblings, mostly likely fraternal.
• West - Byakko / White Tiger / (Former predesscor - Qilin)
• East - Ryuu / Azure Dragon
• South - Suzaku / Vermillion (Former predessor - Fenghuang)
• Centre - Yellow Dragon

vs.

Isekai's Western Culture of Holy Beasts

• Bear
• Panther / Lion - Leo
• Wolf - Fenrir
• Drake / Dragon / Snake ( [?])
• Eagle ( [?] )
  • I'm not really clear about it, but Bear, Lion, and Wolf are frequently mentioned the most.

And now for the common archetypes, or stereotypes of regional lords -

• North - Icy Love Interest / Snow skin & ice mountains
• South - Spicy Love Interest / Dark tan & sea ports & islander/(places with spices [?])
• West - (Unknown) Manipulative
• East - (Unknown) Violent, strong penchant for beauties
  • Between West and East, love interests are either frilly pompass / cruel jerkass
    • Due to strong leaning toward patriarchy, heavy misogyny is accepted as social norms in direct or indirect forms
      • Heavy Misogyny breed heavy misandry + medium chauvism (whichever gender it is) = Strong Misanthropists
        [*]Translation: Women haters = Men haters + Sexism = People Haters

So like almost every culture has their own version of their calendars and zodiacs, but I am seriously wondering.

If the Isekai already has the Eastern Cultural views of the Holy Beasts, then what creatures do you think would be represented as Holy Beasts in Northern/Southern/Western Culture of Isekai? Western version is still unclear to me.

What about the typical personalities of love interests that come from the South, West, and East; when the Lord/Lady of North is known for icy beauty/barbarian?

I find the North and South more cliche than East / West.

North is always linked to ice, snow, coldness etc.

South is always linked to fire, sand, heat, etc.

As for West and East, it depends on the novel and its world map, unless you are reading a novel that confronts the real-life West / East. In this case, the West is often richer, more productive and ppl are happier than the East.

As for the Gods, what I find interesting is how religion is used in different kinds of novels.

To vulgarly summarize :

- CN novels like to use sects, their gods are often from the Chinese mythology. They are mostly inspired by Buddhism.

- JP novels like to use clans, their gods are often from Japanese mythology. They are mostly inspired by Shintoism and zen, and they use folklore monsters much more often than Chinese authors.

- KR novels are kinda a mix of both Chinese for the gods and Japanese for their folklore. They also use sects a lot, but much less based on pure hierarchical power.

- Western novels mostly depend on the author. North American authors tend to take stuff from everywhere depending on their preferences and tastes, because their country lacks the rich culture of European nations. As for the European authors, it varies a lot between the country they come from.

However, when it is a fantasy novel and a kind of 'church' or any other monotheist religion is introduced, the Asian authors tend to embellish it, the same way western authors embellish and beautify Asian folklore.

 

[Alfir]

Isekai's Western Culture of Holy Beasts

The OG Fenrir from Scandinavian mythology is the strongest on the list both in specs and achievements...
Western, even as isekai, don't really have this lot as four mythical beasts. Mythos-wise, they aren't.
Dragons in western mythos are symbols of an apocalypse, chaos, and destruction. They are bad omens.
Meanwhile, in the eastern mythos, Dragons are seen relative to deities. They symbolize good harvest, grace, and such.

Leo

The only lion I know except the Zodiac sign is its other name, Regulus.

Eagle ( [?] )

The only birdy mythos I can think in the western side on par with the four holy beasts is Garuda. Though it's actually Indonesian mostly related to Buddhism, I hear it most often in the western isekai stories. Another mythological bird beast is Roc, from the middle east specifically from the Arabian fairy tales. Roc is like the lesser version of Garuda in terms of aesthetics and specs. Garuda is familiar with the Phoenix that they are both actually of oriental origins given the Buddhism inclinations. I believe that Garuda is used on western Isekais because these mythical beasts are less popular than the Phoenix, and Garuda's aesthetics resembles the western monsters in folklore just like how the Greek Mythos' monsters are appealing to the Western Isekai.

Bear

I am not sure about the bear. In Greek mythology, we have Callisto, a poor lass victimized by Zeus's perversion. Hera in her fit of rage cursed Callisto to become a bear. This is as far as I can remember. Eventually, Callisto was killed by her child born of Zeus's seeds then Callisto became the star called Ursa Major, it sounds familiar, right?

Then we have Winnie the Pooh, the Golden Bear. Yeah, we know Winnie the Pooh as that lovable cartoon character but meh... The beast Winnie the Pooh is based upon is actually a legendary creature called the GOLDEN BEAR. This is just my theory though. The Golden Bear is actually a REAL BEAST that once walked among us. Its enormity caused the natives that co-existed with it to give birth to more legends recounting just what in the world is a GOLDEN BEAR! Well, it's a massive deadly bear that originated from American folklore, they symbolize strength wisdom, and good fortune. Winnie the Pooh isn't the only inspired golden bear of Disney, I can't remember the title of the other bear movie but with more mystical elements...

Then we have the Norse version of the Bear called Berserkers. They are not, really bears... I think... To Norse warriors, it roughly meant Bear-shirt. I leave the rest to your imagination. Maybe it's like warriors wearing Bear fur?

Lastly, I think Holy Beasts ain't gonna cut it. I believe the more accurate words should either be Sacred Beasts or Heavenly Beasts.

 

[Plantorsomething]

All of the cultures and traditions have flavors of the one primordial universal truth, one we have forgotten but one we pull upon consciously or unconsciously.

I watched the vid and started thinking a lot about this and it’s potential for story writing, thank you!

 

[Ilikewaterkusa]

I watched the vid and started thinking a lot about this and it’s potential for story writing, thank you!

That’s good to hear, so do you plan on doing any deeper research because I could recommend you some people

 

[Alfir]

Eagle ( [?] )

I remember now, there is an eagle that is pure western. It's Hraesvelgr, a legendary bird from Norse mythology that perches on the top of Yggdrasil. I completely forgot it, since Hraesvelgr appeared as a dragon in Final Fantasy. Hraesvelgr is a jotun who appears in the form of an eagle. In terms of pure raw power, I believe Hraesvelgr is above the phoenix given Hraesvelgr's phenomenal strength as a Jotun and impressive power to spread his winds across the nine realms.

 

[Plantorsomething]

That’s good to hear, so do you plan on doing any deeper research because I could recommend you some people

Yeah that sounds cool, thanks!