History Main / TheDescendantsOfCain

* ''The Green Pastures'' features some apocryphal descendants of Cain, including Cain the Sixth. Their wickedness inspires God to order TheGreatFlood.

* In ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'', Cain's curse was actually [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampirism]], so the modern (Western) vampires are all descended from him by transmission of said curse. For this reason, non-Western vampires (like the [[ChineseVampire kuei-jin]]) refer to them as "Cainites".

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See {{Nephilim}} for another group of Biblical descent. Compare {{Lilith}}.

* ''Film/{{Noah}}'' has the antagonists explicitly be the descendants of Cain. Not all of them are evil, they "merely" suffer from a near total [[LowCultureHighTech cultural lack of the wisdom and compassion]] needed to use their knowledge and technology to live in harmony with nature-- and ''each other''. This has gone on since the beginning of their history, leading to ravaging the planet to the point of apocalyptic resource depletion and descent into cannibalism. Of the Cainites, only Ilah and the girl Ham finds, Na'el, were shown to be innocent, and the former was basically raised by descendants of Seth.

** However, Cain's entire backstory was changed in "[[Recap/SupernaturalS09E11FirstBorn First Born]]", where they made him a reformed demon after he slaughtered Abel for being tempted by Lucifer. "[[Recap/SupernaturalS10E14TheExecutionersSong The Executioner's Song]]" builds on this retcon by having Cain actively hunt down and kill his descendents in order to remove his evil from the Earth, and he only goes after the Winchesters when they get in his way, casting doubt on the concept of them being his descendents too. However, since Cain claims to have over 700 million descendents whom he is dealing with in a predetermined order, he might have been planning to get around to the Winchesters eventually.

** However, Cain's entire backstory was changed in "[[Recap/SupernaturalS09E11FirstBorn First Born]]", where they made him a reformed demon after he slaughtered Abel for being tempted by Lucifer. "[[Recap/SupernaturalS10E14TheExecutionersSong The Executioner's Song]]" builds on this retcon by having Cain actively hunt down and kill his descendents in order to remove his evil from the Earth, and he only goes after the Winchesters when they get in his way, casting doubt on the concept of them being his descendents too.

Fictional depictions of Cain's descendants vary; they may inherit the wicked nature of their BiblicalBadGuy progenitor, perhaps to the point of [[MonsterProgenitor having degenerated into hideous monsters]]. The mark specifically placed on Cain by God, which is associated with God's promise that sevenfold vengeance would be taken on anyone would would kill Cain, may or may not be an [[RedRightHand obvious physical feature]] inherited by his descendants.

Compare {{Lilith}}.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': In "[[Recap/SupernaturalS05E13TheSongRemainsTheSame The Song Remains the Same]]", [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Michael]] says the Winchester bloodline is descended from Cain and Abel. Their descendants are the only ones who can be used as vessels by the Archangels Michael and Lucifer to manifest on Earth.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': In "[[Recap/SupernaturalS05E13TheSongRemainsTheSame The Song Remains the Same]]", [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Michael]] says the Winchester bloodline is descended from Cain and Abel. Their descendants are the only ones who can be used as vessels by the Archangels Michael and Lucifer to manifest on Earth. However, Cain's entire backstory was changed in "[[Recap/SupernaturalS09E11FirstBorn First Born]]", where they made him a reformed demon after he slaughtered Abel for being tempted by Lucifer.

* In the ''Literature/SabinaKane'' series, the vampires believe that they are descended from a love affair between Cain and [[HebrewMythology Lilith]]. All vampires are redheads, which is a relic of the Mark of Cain.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': In "[[Recap/SupernaturalS05E13TheSongRemainsTheSame The Song Remains the Same]]", [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Micheal]] says the Winchester bloodline is descended from Cain and Abel. Their descendants are the only ones who can be used as vessels by the Archangels Michael and Lucifer to manifest on Earth. However, Cain's entire backstory was changed in "[[Recap/SupernaturalS09E11FirstBorn First Born]]", where they made him a reformed demon after he slaughtered Abel for being tempted by Lucifer.

Fictional depictions of Cain's descendants vary; they may inherit the wicked nature of their BiblicalBadGuy progenitor, perhaps to the point of [[MonsterProgenitor having degenerated into hideous monsters]]. The mark specifically placed on Cain by God, which is associated with God's promise that sevenfold vengeance would be taken on anyone would would kill Cain, may or may not be an obvious physical feature inherited by his descendants.

* The UsefulNotes/{{Mormon|ism}} scripture ''The Pearl of Great Price'' describes a vision in which "the seed of Cain were black" and thus set apart from all of Adam's other descendants (Moses 7:22). The scripture also states that Canaan's children were all cursed with a despicable "blackness" (Moses 7:8), and explains that the Egyptians were forbidden the priesthood because their Canaanite descent through Ham's daughter Egyptus "preserved the curse in the land," apparently referring to the curse of Ham (Abraham 1:23–27). Though the scripture neither claims that Cain was punished with blackness nor identifies him as the ancestor of the Canaanites or the Egyptians, Brigham Young's non-canonical ''Journal of Discourses'' explicitly associated black skin and the curse of Ham with the descendants of Cain: the postdiluvian "servant of servants" curse was "pronounced upon the same race" as Cain, whose mark "is the flat nose and black skin," and whose curse will not be lifted "until all the other descendants of Adam have received the promises and enjoyed the blessings of the Priesthood and the keys thereof." In part because of teachings like these, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints barred people of African descent from the priesthood (even though a few had been ordained by Joseph Smith) until 1978, when a new revelation received by the Church leadership allowed "all worthy males" to be ordained to the priesthood from that time forward.

* The UsefulNotes/{{Mormon|ism}} scripture ''The Pearl of Great Price'' describes a vision in which "the seed of Cain were black" and thus set apart from all of Adam's other descendants (Moses 7:22). The scripture also states that Canaan's children were all cursed with a despicable "blackness" (Moses 7:8), and explains that the Egyptians were forbidden the priesthood because their Canaanite descent through Ham's daughter Egyptus "preserved the curse in the land," apparently referring to the curse of Ham (Abraham 1:23–27). Though the scripture provides no genealogical link between Cain and the black Canaanites or the Egyptians, Brigham Young's non-canonical ''Journal of Discourses'' explicitly associated the curse of Ham with the descendants of Cain: the postdiluvian "servant of servants" curse was "pronounced upon the same race" as Cain, whose mark "is the flat nose and black skin," and whose curse will not be lifted "until all the other descendants of Adam have received the promises and enjoyed the blessings of the Priesthood and the keys thereof." In part because of teachings like these, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints barred people of African descent from the priesthood (even though a few had been ordained by Joseph Smith) until 1978, when a new revelation received by the Church leadership allowed "all worthy males" to be ordained to the priesthood from that time forward.

* The UsefulNotes/{{Mormon|ism}} scripture ''The Pearl of Great Price'' describes a vision in which "the seed of Cain were black" and thus set apart from Adam's other descendants (Moses 7:22). Though the scripture provides no genealogical link between Cain and the Canaanites, who were cursed with a despicable "blackness" (Moses 7:8), or the Egyptians, who were forbidden the priesthood because their Canaanite descent through Ham's daughter Egyptus "preserved the curse in the land" (Abraham 1:23–27), Brigham Young's non-canonical ''Journal of Discourses'' explicitly associated the curse of Ham with the descendants of Cain: the postdiluvian "servant of servants" curse was "pronounced upon the same race" as Cain, whose mark "is the flat nose and black skin," and whose curse will not be lifted "until all the other descendants of Adam have received the promises and enjoyed the blessings of the Priesthood and the keys thereof." In part because of teachings like these, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints barred people of African descent from the priesthood (even though a few had been ordained by Joseph Smith) until 1978, when a new revelation received by the Church leadership allowed "all worthy males" to be ordained to the priesthood from that time forward.

* The Book of Abraham from the UsefulNotes/{{Mormon|ism}} scripture ''The Pearl of Great Price'' states that the rulers of the Egyptians in Abraham's day were Canaanites descended through Ham's daughter Egyptus, and were of a lineage which, having "preserved the curse in the land," was forbidden the priesthood. Brigham Young's non-canonical ''Journal of Discourses'' explicitly associated the curse of Ham with the descendants of Cain: the postdiluvian "servant of servants" curse was "pronounced upon the same race" as Cain, whose mark "is the flat nose and black skin," and whose curse will not be lifted "until all the other descendants of Adam have received the promises and enjoyed the blessings of the Priesthood and the keys thereof." In part because of teachings like these, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints barred people of African descent from the priesthood until 1978, when a new revelation received by the Church leadership allowed "all worthy males" to be ordained to the priesthood from that time forward.

After Cain [[CainAndAbel killed his brother]], he was not killed but cursed by God and driven into exile in the land of Nod. There he took a wife (a famously UnknownCharacter), and at least six generations were descended from him.

* The Book of Abraham from the UsefulNotes/{{Mormon|ism}} scripture ''The Pearl of Great Price'' states that the rulers of the Egyptians in Abraham's day were Canaanites descended through Ham's daughter Egyptus, and were of a lineage which, having "preserved the curse in the land," was forbidden the priesthood. Brigham Young's (non-canonical) ''Journal of Discourses'' explicitly associated the curse of Ham with the descendants of Cain: the postdiluvian "servant of servants" curse was "pronounced upon the same race" as Cain, whose mark "is the flat nose and black skin." In part because of teachings like these, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints barred people of African descent from the priesthood until 1978, when a new revelation received by the Church leadership allowed "all worthy males" to be ordained to the priesthood from that time forward.

* The Book of Abraham from the UsefulNotes/{{Mormon|ism}} scripture ''The Pearl of Great Price'' states that the rulers of the Egyptians in Abraham's day were Canaanites descended through Ham's daughter Egyptus, and were of a lineage which, having "preserved the curse in the land," was forbidden the priesthood. Brigham Young's ''Journal of Discourses'' explicitly associated the curse of Ham with the descendants of Cain: the postdiluvian "servant of servants" curse was "pronounced upon the same race" as Cain, whose mark "is the flat nose and black skin." In part because of teachings like these, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints barred people of African descent from the priesthood until 1978, when a new revelation received by the Church leadership allowed "all worthy males" to be ordained to the priesthood from that time forward.

* The Book of Abraham from the UsefulNotes/{{Mormon|ism}} scripture ''The Pearl of Great Price'' states that the rulers of the Egyptians in Abraham's day were Canaanites descended through Ham's daughter Egyptus, and were of a lineage which, having "preserved the curse in the land," was forbidden the priesthood. (Also, according to Brigham Young's ''Journal of Discourses'', "the Lord put a mark upon [Cain], which is the flat nose and black skin," and the postdiluvian "servant of servants" curse was "pronounced upon the same race.") In part because of this scripture the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints barred people of African descent from the priesthood until 1978, when a new revelation received by the Church leadership allowed "all worthy males" to be ordained to the priesthood from that time forward.

* The Book of Abraham from the UsefulNotes/{{Mormon|ism}} scripture ''The Pearl of Great Price'' states that the rulers of the Egyptians in Abraham's day were Canaanites descended through Ham's daughter Egyptus, and were of a lineage which, having "preserved the curse in the land," was forbidden the priesthood. (Also, according to Brigham Young's ''Journal of Discourses'', "the Lord put a mark upon [Cain], which is the flat nose and black skin.") In part because of this scripture the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints barred people of African descent from the priesthood until 1978, when a new revelation received by the Church leadership allowed "all worthy males" to be ordained to the priesthood from that time forward.

* The Book of Abraham from the UsefulNotes/{{Mormon|ism}} scripture ''The Pearl of Great Price'' states that the rulers of the Egyptians in Abraham's day were Canaanites descended through Ham's daughter Egyptus, and were of a lineage which was forbidden the priesthood. In part because of this scripture the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints barred people of African descent from the priesthood until 1978, when a new revelation received by the Church leadership allowed "all worthy males" to be ordained to the priesthood from that time forward.

* The idea that Cain or his descendants were cursed with black skin dates back at least to the Middle Ages. Many Christians in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries also believed that dark-skinned people were the descendants of Ham and a wife who was descended from Cain. Thus, they attributed to black people not only the mark of Cain but the curse God placed on Ham's son Canaan that declared him "servant of servants." These common nineteenth-century belief were adopted into the Books of Abraham and Moses from the UsefulNotes/{{Mormon|ism}} scripture ''Pearl of Great Price'', where the Egyptians are Canaanites descended through Ham's wife and/or daughter Egyptus. The Mormon leader Brigham Young stated that Cain's mark was "the flat nose and black skin." The Church of Latter-Day Saints used the Book of Abraham to bar blacks from the priesthood until 1978, when [[Theatre/TheBookOfMormon God changed his mind about black people]].

* In the DCUniverse, Comicbook/VandalSavage was at one point revealed to ''be'' the Biblical Cain, leading to stories in which the monster Grendel, his daughter Scandal Savage, and his indirect descendant Comicbook/{{Batwoman}} had to deal with the familial and mystical consequences of being, well, descendants of Cain.

* In ''Literature/{{Beowulf}}'', it is said that the monster Grendel and his mother are descended from Cain.

* TheBible names six generations of Cain's descendants. Cain begat Enoch, who begat Irad, who begat Mehujael, who begat Methusael, who begat Lamech. Lamech's wife Ada bore him Jabal the shepherd and Jubal the musician; their half-brother Tubalcain and half-sister were Lamech's sons by his other wife, Zillah. Lamech explains to his two wives how, where Cain would be avenged sevenfold, Lamech's vengeance is seventy-sevenfold.

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Fictional depictions of Cain's descendants vary; they may inherit the wicked nature of their BiblicalBadGuy progenitor, perhaps to the point of having degenerated into hideous monsters. The mark specifically placed on Cain by God, which is associated with God's promise that sevenfold vengeance would be taken on anyone would would kill Cain, may or may not be an obvious physical feature inherited by his descendants.