Jain Spirit 2002 06 No 11

Author(s): Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains

Page 52

INTERFAITH
THE UGH-LY BUGLIES
Quellen segi
Animals have been an integral part of India's folklore. Maneka Gandhi takes a look at some of the less familiar and perhaps less loved creatures
50
mob tuo ni
og bikin da phy consbio
To
W
TORKING ON AN UPCOMING FUNDRAISER FOR 'People for Animals' featuring a jewellery collection based on Karnadeva, the God of Love, I came across a description of the god as a handsome youth riding a parrot, his bow string made of bees, each of the five arrows a different flower, his emblem a dolphin. Who would not be tempted into love with such imagery! Similarly charming instances of animals in myth and legend come from all over the world. There is this lovely story of the kingfisher or halcyon. In Greek myth, Alcyne, daughter of Aeolus, king of the winds, found her husband drowned and cast herself into the sea. The gods rewarded her devotion by turning her into a kingfisher and Aeolus forbade the winds to blow during the 'halcyon days' - the seven days before and after the winter solstice when legend has it that the kingfisher lays its eggs.
In different cultures the same creatures symbolise completely different things. For example in early civilisations like Babylon, China, Japan, Greece and Rome the dragon was a sacred, benevolent creature, an emblem of divinity and power, a symbol of prosperity, rain and wisdom. Its serpent body symbolised matter and water, its wings spirit and breath.
BRON
Jain Spirit June-August 2002
.
MIKE TURNER
VICKY
The Chinese celestial dragon guarded the kingdom of the gods, the three-clawed dragon of Japan symbolised the Mikado, the imperial and spiritual power. By contrast, the western world treated dragons as enemies who lived in
dark caves and breathed fire. One of their saints is anointed for no better reason than killing the last dragon.
Similarly with bats. In ancient Egypt they were regarded as a lucky charm and hung on dovecotes to prevent doves from leaving, while for American Indians they represented new life emerging from the darkness of the earth's womb. In parts of Africa they are revered as the souls of the dead. In Greece, they were the symbol of vigilance. In China bats symbolised health, wealth, longevity and an easy death; in fact the very word for bat, Fu, also means good luck. It is only Western mythology that associates bats with vampires, witches and the devil. India has perhaps one of the richest collections of animal folklore. But I'm not going to talk about elephants and monkeys. Instead, let's look at some less familiar and less loved creatures - some people call them the ugh-ly buglies - beginning with my most favourite insect, the spider. She (I think of spiders as female because they are believed to represent the creative force of life) is one of the most powerful creatures in all myth and symbolism. She is believed to represent wisdom, creativity and new life. Her intelligence compensates for her size allowing her to ensnare other creatures. Her web is believed to connect her to nature's four elements. Many native American tribes had a spider deity. In the plains this was Inktomi, the trickster spider, a shape changer that brought culture to her people. The Pueblos had the Spider Woman who created the universe, while the Kiowa had the spider grandmother who brought light into the world. A Greek story relates how the goddess Athene entered into a spinning contest with a beautiful human girl, Arachne. Upon losing, the jealous goddess turned Arachne into a
"Believe it or not, lizards are wizards,"