Thor, Avan in Norse myths was a thunder god when Odin became Chiefs among the gods. Odin was said to inhabit a magnificent palace, there he sat with two raven birds perched on his shoulder. One by one the gods perished, even Gdin and Odin and all things collapsed into the dark nothingness from which everything had come.
Thor denounced with vehemence, violent denunciation rumbling sound, a thunderer, a thunder god, a thunder bolt travelling at very fast speeds as a result, the rain in thunderstorms always falls in large drops.
Thor became a thundering denunciator, orator or a hand who operates stage thunder, a bull-roarer, a thunder bolt, a missile of the thunder god-popularly imagined material body seen at lightening; a stone identified therewith as belemnite, a stone axe. He became a violent and irresistible destroyer or hero god. A day, the fifth day of modern era week, was originally sacred to Thor, known as Thor’s day - Thursday.
In Benin myths Avan - Thor was a son of Aboh-monarch in the bay of the Atlantic ocean. He came to marry a daughter of Ogiso king in Benin City. Esagho one of the wives of Ogiso prepared nicely delicacy owo, with amphibians - frogs for the bride and bridegroom sensing to use available animals found at the sea-shore also available at the hinter lands.
Avan became ‘‘aggressive, denounced vehemently, roaring like a bull-gha guieso uweunun, gha hue yo, hue reed bull roarer, rumbling sound,” gha he yo, he rre” for he was deeply touched and offended on the reception accorded him and his wife.
He could airlift himself and his wife into the cloud and swim the waves. He had a pepper fruit seeds, Ako, pilularia plant and planted the seed with incantation, and began to sing a magical formula over the seed to grow viz “ Ako mwe tan ree Igiogio, Ako mwe, tan ree Igiogio”. Incantatory saying that the seed must grow quickly, so that he could climb into the cloud swim along the waves as such was the sung for purpose of enchantment, or the use of spells to transcend.
Trees feature in many myths about the creation of the world, with their roots in the ground, their trunks rising through the plane on which we live and their branches and leaves towering above our heads. Trees span the tree levels of man’s experience. Their symbolic importance is a recurring theme in culture throughout the world.
Mythological tree represents the cosmos and provides the bridge between the heavenly and terrestrial spheres, by which the gods descended to go about their works of creation.
The tree is the symbol of the back-bone and also a bridge by which the messenger of the gods descends to earth and into the bodies of the initiates, who then become possessed. Avan vehemently asked the tree to grow quickly, so that he may transcend with his wife. He then took his wife and sat on the branch of the Ako tree as the tree grow. Magically, singing the enchantment over it.
The tree grow into the sky. People gathered around to watch him as he entered into the cloud. They beckoned him to come down but vehemently resorted that he will punish Esagho and all the evil doers.
Thor, Avan, Thunor, Esango, Shango, in Edo, English, Yoruba and Norse myths was a thunder god, throwing missile of thunder bolt to avenge the mal-treatments caused by some people.
Avan became a thundering denunciator, a stage thunder, a bull-roarer throwing a missile of thunder bolt, stone axe to destroy those who maltreated him, —and all the evil doers. As the storm thunders, the wife would percify him saying I!rokho, rokho:” slow cool down, not all people did the evil, hence when thunder roars with storm, heavy wind blowing down trees, the Benin would say “Ovbiogie Nore Eboh, Ovbiosa roto, rokho rokho” the lightening splashing and thundering would subsides with mild noise.
Avan, Thor, began to wield thunder, he became to be called Avan-nukhunmwun, a god that wields thunder; Thunder-god, Thunor the thunder-god, Thunor’s day; A day sacred to the English thunder god. In Edo, Benin, Esan, Urhobo, Isoko and the Yoruba, Thunor, Thor, Avan is believed to throw thunder bolts - Neolithi-celts, from the sky when the causes lightening to -strike and to kill evil doers and later began to be worshiped from the Yoruba concepts of shango - the god of Thunder.
Shango worship is carried out with dancing and singing to the accompaniment of an instrumental ensemble consisting of two drums, egogo c1apperless bells and Ukoise esango, gourd rattles.
Traditionally, music in honour of Shango - Esango, is played on double membrane, conical bata drums, but nowadays double membrane tension drums belonging to the ‘dundun’ drum are often used instead. Sometimes there is a side-blown horn-ekpere, Iwo etu or ipe, in the ensemble. There is a special gourd rattle called Ukoise esango by the Edo, and sere sango by the Yoruba that may be used only in Shango,
