ANUNG-ITE

Real Name: Anung-Ite

Identity/Class: possibly human(?) mutated by magic (see comments).

Occupation: Servant

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: pawn of Ba'al, Carlton Beatrice, and Darryl Licht;
    uncertain association with Native American Gods (Anasazi)

Enemies: Blaze, She-Hulk, Warpath (James Proudstar), Wendigo, Wyatt Wingfoot

Known Relatives: possibly Waziya (father), Wakanka (mother), Tate (husband);
    Four Winds, Yumni (children)

Aliases: possibly formerly Ite

Base of Operations: Unknown, possibly somewhere in the cosmology of the Native American gods.

First Appearance: She-Hulk: Ceremony#1 (1989)

Powers/Abilities: Anung-Ite possesses superhuman strength and resistance to injury comparable to the She-Hulk (Class 90). It can assume an immaterial form to pass and reach through walls, teleport at will and reappear in smoke. It also has sharp claws that can rend through most substances. Anung-Ite might also be able of splitting in two, but this is unconfirmed.

Physical Description: Anung-Ite resembles a minotaur like the one from Graeco-Roman Mythology. It has the horns and head of a bull or buffalo, as well as one thorax (ribcage) on top of the other, each with a set of arms.

History: see comments for possible history.

(She Hulk: Ceremony#1)- Aung-Ite was a powerful Native American spirit known to the Keewazi Indians. Manipulated by the mortal businessman Carlton Beatrice using totemistic objects, it was sent to battle the She Hulk to retrieve a sacred Keewazi basket but was defeated by her before obtaining its goal.

(She-Hulk: Ceremony#2)- Blackmailing the She Hulk for the basket, Beatrice took the soul of Wyatt Wingfoot in order to blackmail her into surrendering the basket. Giving in, the She Hulk handed over the basket as Beatrice used to take over the free minds of everyone in the world. He sent Anung-Ite to stall her as he completed her rituals, but She-Hulk and Wingfoot joined forces in a ritual to remove Beatrice of his powers. Defeated, Beatrice lost his power over Anung-Ite as it deserted him and fled back to its realm.

(Blaze#4-5)- Darryl Licht, a graduate student from an unidentified college, was transformed into the Anung-Ite (or a duplicate of it) by the Ba’al. All the time Licht utilized the power of the Anung-Ite, the energies paved the way for Ba'al's transport to Earth. Licht lost his powers in a conflict with Blaze and Warpath (James Proudstar).

Comments: Created by Dwayne McDuffie, Robin D. Chaplik, and June Brigman.

The Anung-Ite is derived from the Gods worshipped by the Lakota.
http://www.runningdeerslonghouse.com/webdoc91.htm

Wakanka and Waziya were banished to the edge of the world until they could learn to do good for young children and old people. They too were renamed for their misconduct, becoming known as the Witch and the Old Man, or Wizard. Iktomi was also banished to the edge of the world where he was to remain forever friendless. He accepted his judgement with his usual smugness, reminding Skan that he still had the birds and the animals with whom he could live and upon whom he could continue to play pranks. Tate, who was also judged for marrying Ite, was instructed to raise his children properly and to do a woman's work. Thus he lived along with his four sons, the Winds, and his fifth son, little Yumni, the Whirlwind, in their home beyond the pines in the land of the ghosts. Each day his sons travel over the world according to his instructions.

One day, as the Four Winds were on their tours away from home, a shining object appeared outside of Tate's tipi. Tate looked out and saw a lovely young woman, beautifully dressed. Tate asked her who she was and where she came from. She replied that she came from the Star People, that her father was Sun and her mother, Moon, and that she had been sent to the world to find friends. She also told him that her name was Whope. When the Four Winds and Whirlwind returned home, they were surprised to find that their father had taken a woman. But after Whope had prepared for each of them, her favorite meal, and no matter how much they ate, their plates remained full, they realized that she was supernaturally endowed. They learned that their father treated her, not as a wife, but as a daughter. They welcomed her into their lodge. Soon, each brother wanted Whope as his woman and competed with one another in showing her favors. Tate decided to hold a feast, to which all the Gods should be invited. At this feast Tate honored his guests with presents. Many told stories of their power and there was much dancing. Then the Gods asked Tate how they might please him. He told them that if they honored his daughter, Whope, he himself would be pleased. Then they asked Whope what she wanted. Whope arose and stood by Okaga, the South Wind, who folded his robe around her. "I want a tipi for Okaga and myself, a place for him and his brothers." So her wish was granted and Whope became Okaga's wife. And then, as a present for the couple, the Gods made them the world and all there is in it.

The banished Waziya and his family were also involved in the story. In the beginning, the Wizard. the Witch, their daughter, the Double-faced Woman, and Iktomi, the Trickster, were the only people on earth. Iktomi grew tired of playing pranks on birds and animal's. He had fun doing it, but they never showed any shame over their misfortunes. So he, again, went to Anung-Ite, asking her what she most desired. She told him that if she would tell him, he should never resort to tricks and pranks again. She explained that if her people tasted meat and learned about clothes and tipis, they would want such things and come to where they could be had. With these instructions, Iktomi then went to the wolves, seeking their aid in bringing mankind to earth. Again, in return for help, Iktomi swore to abandon his pranks. The wolves agreed to this and Iktomi instructed them to drive moose, deer and bears to Anung-Ite's tipi, where she would prepare food, clothing and tipis to entice mankind.

Then Iktomi gave to one of the wolves a packet, which Anung-Ite had prepared containing tasty meat and fancy clothing for the man and woman. He then directed the animal to take the packet to the entrance of the cave which opened into the world. The wolf did as instructed and when it saw a brave young man apart from the others., it presented the packet, telling the young man to taste the meat and advising him and his wife to wear the clothing. The wolf told the young man that the people also should be allowed to taste the meat and see the clothing, and that there were many such things as these on earth. The young man, Tokahe, the First One, was pleased to do this, for now he would be considered a leader. When the people tasted the meat and saw the clothes Tokahe and his wife wore, they were envious and asked how they too might obtain such things. The old man of the group then directed that three brave men accompany Tokahe to find out where such good things came from and to prove that Tokahe was truthful.

The four young men set out and, led by the wolf, they entered the world from the cave. They were led to a lake where Anung-Ite had pitched her tipi. She appeared to Tokahe and his companions as a beautiful young woman. Iktomi appeared as a handsome young man. The four young men were shown much game which Iktomi had previously arranged with the wolves to have driven past. Anung-Ite gave them many tasty foods and many presents of fine clothing for them and for their people. Iktomi told them that he and his wife were really very old, but by eating this earthly food they remained young and attractive.

When the four young men returned through the cave to their people, they described what they had seen. But an old woman, doubted such wonders, cautioned them to be wary. The people argued, some wishing to go with Tokahe, others saying that he was a wizard. When Tokahe offered to lead any who wished to follow him up to the earth, the chief warned them that whoever ventured through the cave to the earth would never find the way back. Nonetheless, six men and their wives and children joined Tokahe, and they left the underworld guided by the wolf. When they reached the earth it was strange. They became lost and tired, hungry and thirsty. Their children cried. Anung-Ite appeared and tried to comfort them, but they saw the horrible side of her face and ran in terror. Iktomi appeared in his true form and laughed at their misery. Their leader, Tokahe, was ashamed. The revelation of Iktomi's falsity and Anung-Ite's ugliness was then removed by the appearance of the Old Man and the Witch, who, according to the prophecy at the time of their banishment, had come to understand the qualities of mercy and tenderness. They appeared to Tokahe and his followers, bringing food and drink. They lead the disheartened group to the land of the pines, to the world of the Ghosts. They showed them how to live as men now do. Thus Tokahe and his followers were the first people on earth.

Their descendants are the Dakota.

Whether the Anung-Ite is the same as this character is unknown, as is how much of the above story is consistent with the history of the Marvel Universe. I'd guess that Beatrice and Licht might have tapped into the power of the Anung-Ite, or they just used the name b/c of the double body thing. It is similarly unclear whether the versions used by Beatrice and Licht were the same being or energy source, but I think they are the same.
--Snood

I trully doubt that the MU Anung-Ite is meant to be Dakota mortal turned goddess Anung Ite. I found a another version of the same story with the original names (the sun god is called Angpetu Wi, not just Wi). I suspect the creature the She-Hulk fought was just made up possibly to go with a name I suspect was pulled at random.

I have no idea who Waziya is, but Wakinya sounds like Wakonda, another Native American god. Not sure if Tate is really their son because "son" was used for all male descendants. The wind-god, Tate, Gaoh or whatever, was grandson of the Great Spirit and an uncle of the Sky Father. Notice I use the roles rather than the names. I think the spirits of the Native Americans might be gender neutral because they change sex from myth to myth or just in the same story.

I would say Inktomi (whose name is also spelled Iktomi) is the trickster/Coyote/Nanabozho. There is another Native American trickster called the Raven and he once contained the winds until his nephew freed them to share them with mortals, but this trickster is a far more beneficient deity than Coyote. Inktomi is a "potential" name of the trickster. I say this because of a odd parallel in the Lakota (North Woodlands) story to the Navaho (Southwestern) story. In both stories, a spider-god (male Inktomi or female Susstinnako) is the ancestor of mortals. The spider goddess had two daughters who were taken as wives by the Sky father and Trickster. The sky father fathered the sun god and the moon goddess and it was the Great Spirit that decided that sun and moon father mortals. Wind-God then carried or lead the way for mortals from the underworld to find their way to Earth. Inktomi, theoretically, could be mate to the female Susstinnako, but this is not in Native American religion, but Trickster cannot be his own father-in-law unless he usurped the power of the older deity.

The Four Winds in other Native American myths represent water, fire/lightning, earth and sky/air and are the progenitors of the Native American gods such as Sky Father and Trickster. In Native American myth, I find its best to form the family tree with the roles and then formulate the stories after the multiple names are applied. You'd be surprised how often the stories come into line no matter how far apart the stories were told. It's almost as if one tribe takes over the story where another one left off.
--Will U

Other races of beings in Native American religion include:

• Anamaqkiu- Algonquin underworld spirits
• Anaye- Navaho cannibal spirits descended from man and demon
• Chapiude- Zuni cave-creatures
• Chixu- Pawnee spirits of the dead
• Halda’wit- Tsimshian ghouls that steal dead bodies
• Hatcko-tcapko- Creek disease-demons
• Hoga- Osage spirits of the underworld
• Mistai- Cheyenne forest spirits
• Nekedzaltara- Navaho demons
• Wamageswak- Penobscot cannibal demons
• Wanaxe- Evil apparitions of the Ponca Indians
• Windigos- East Woodland cannibal forest spirits

Darryl Licht = derelict? You be the judge.

by Will U and Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Anunge-Ite is not to be confused with:

• Any other "Anung-Ite" in the Marvel Universe

Darryl Licht

Darryl Licht had some crazy going on, which he blamed on his parents not sending him to summer camp, resulting in deep seated resentments that manifested themselves in...yadda yadda yadda. He was a former graduate student at State University doing a paper on the "Dark Side of Shamanism in Native American Cultures of the Southwest." He visited the Keewazi reservation and visited the family of Jesse Pinto several times, because the grandfather was a big-time medicine man. Seeking power from the Trickster-God (Nanabozho), Licht performed several ritual human sacrifices, unwittingly contacting the god-demon Ba'al instead. Licht was transformed into the Anung-Ite and went on a rampage, fighting and capturing John Blaze, Warpath (James Proudstar). The heroes broke free from their bonds and Blaze combined an iron#7 nail file with a shotgun shell, which he then charged with hellfire and shot into the Anung-Ite, returning him to normal and removing his powers.

In addition to the above powers, the Licht-Anungite could transform its fingers into snakes, open (and close) terraform solid rock, create magical bonds.

--Blaze II#4 (4(fb)-BTS, 4, 5

Images taken from:
images: main pic-She Hulk: Ceremony#1, pg. 28, mid-panel;
action SH:C#2, pg. 36, middle panel;
Licht: Blaze II#4, p16, panel 5;
Licht/Anung-Ite: Blaze II#4, last page.