Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Japanese Dragons
In Japan, snakes and dragons are depicted with supernatural powers of all sorts. The Japanese tell the story of the Yamata no Orochi, a huge snake that has eight heads and eight tails. His eyes were said to glow like winter cherries. His belly is constantly inflamed and covered with blood, and he extends over eight valleys and eight hills.
Japanese dragons are also linked to natural disasters. Floods were said to be commonly caused by Japanese dragons who were offended by mortals. The also were producers of the storms, and they were water-granting and water-producing creatures.
In addition, heavenly dragons guarded the palace of the gods. The earth dragons decided the course of the rivers, and the spiritual dragons bring the blessed rains. There were also the guardians of earthly treasures.
The Japanese also believe that there is a white dragon that takes the form of an O-gon-cho every fifty years. O-gon-cho are golden-plumed songbird. This create sings a song that brings great sadness. The sound is described like that of a wolf's howl. If one was to hear this terrible song, it would bring about terrible pestilence and many will die.
Hai-riyo was the most advanced dragon to the Japanese. It is the Japanese equivalent to the Chinese Ying-Lung.
In addition, Japanese dragons were able to transform themselves into humans. They also demanded sacrifices, and human sacrifices at that.
Yet, dragons were not seen as entirely evil entities, either. Benton, the only female god of luck, was associated with dragons and was believed to have even married a dragon. However, she had far more draconic connections. She was the daughter of the dragon king, and, in her human form, she could be seen riding a dragon.
However, some dragons were seen as good in Japan. There is a tale of a dragon who was said to have lived in Mano Pond, which was quite deep and large. This dragon, taking the form of a small snake, came out of the depths of this pond to sun himself. A tengu (a winged, gnome-like creature) then swooped out of the sky and grabbed the dragon, who was so surprised that he could not wriggle free. However, the tengu could not simply crush the snake (as the snake was not a snake at all, but a dragon), so he brought him back to his mountain and stuffed him into a hole. Without water, the dragon was unable to fly. However, the tengu returned a few days later with a captured monk, who was stuffed into the same hole as the dragon. When asked about how the monk came there, he explained that, while reaching to get the water jug, a tengu had captured him. The dragon then told the monk that, should he have water, he would be able to fly and save them both. With that, the monk spilled out the water jug and the dragon flew him home. The dragon, however, hunted the tengu in revenge and finally managed to kill him.
Another tale of a gracious Japanese dragon involves two friends: a monk and a dragon. The monk resided at the Temple of the Dragon Garden, and a dragon visited him, in the form of a human, every day to hear his chants. They became friends, and their friendship became famous. A drought then hit Japan, and the emperor summoned the monk and ordered him to tell the dragon to make rain, or else the monk would be forced to leave Japan. The monk returned and explained his plight to his friend, the dragon, and the dragon was quite sad. He told the monk that, in three days time, he would make it rain, but since he was not King Bonden, who decided when it should rain, he would be killed for doing it. He simply requested that his friend bury his body and build temples in three specific areas. Sure enough, three days later, there was rain, and the dragon was dead. Crying, the monk buried his friend's body and built a temple over it, which was named Temple of the Dragon Lake. In addition, he built (in the places designated by the dragon before he died) the Temple of the Dragon Mind, Temple of the Dragon Heaven, and Temple of the Dragon King. For the rest of his life, the monk chanted in memory of his friend, the dragon.
Another very interesting thing to note is that the Japanese believed their emperors to be the descendants of dragons. Fire Fade married the sea king's daughter, who turned into a dragon to give birth to their son. Since he did not keep his promise of not looking at her until she said so, Fire Fade saw his wife as a dragon, and she flew off, leaving Kamu-Yamato-Iware-Biko, their son, with only his father. He became the first human ruler of Japan and was the grandson of a dragon. (Note: Today he is referred to as Jimmu Tenno.)
The Koreans tell the story of the Carp. A poor fisherman was once fishing and managed to capture a huge Carp. This Carp begged for mercy and finally was set free. The Carp turned out to be one of the sons of the Dragon King, and thus the fisherman was rewards great riches.
While most believe that Egyptian dragons were always a sign of evil, some were not. The dates of Egyptian myths vary, but they tend to be within 3,000 BCE and 2,000 BCE as the oldest stories are.
The foremost dragon of Egypt is Apep. He has many other names, and he is the sea serpent. Holding a grudge against Ra, the sun god, Apep attempted to swallow him every night as he made his trip through the underworld. When he succeeded, an eclipse occurred.
In contrast to Apep, there is Mehen, a serpent-dragon. Often, Mehen is depicted coiled around the Boat of the Sun, which Ra traveled upon nightly. He was a protectorate of Ra. Ra also encountered the Guardians of the Gates of the Underworld on his journey.
Serpents were also known to watch the dead. Such were the Iaculi, the Egyptian Winged Serpent, which can often be found on the tombs of the departed. There was also Wadjet, who was also a symbol of rulership in addition to being a guardian. Often, Pharaohs would have her symbol upon their crowns.
Nehebkau began as a mischievous serpent dragon whom the gods could not trust. However, Ra tamed him and he soon became one of the helpers to the dead. His key role was to protect the Pharaoh in the afterlife.
The other of the evil dragons of the Egyptians was known as Denwen, whom was destroyed by the gods before he could do much damage. There was also Ammut, which most Egyptians feared. They believed that, if you were a sinner, your soul would be devoured by this beast.
The foremost tale of the Babylonians is that of their creation. In this tale, there was nothing except Tiamat and Apsu, and they were the waters. Apsu was the sweet water while Tiamat was the salt waters, and together they created the gods.
As the Apsu grew more and more agitated about the gods, he began to plot a way to rid himself of them. Tiamat did not want to harm her children, so she told Apsu to not harm them as well. Instead, Apsu continued his plot and was soon discovered by Ea. This made Ea take action, and he put a spell upon Apsu. After Ea killed Apsu, he took over the waters, and then he and his wife had Marduk.
Tiamat was not pleased with the murder of her husband. When others began to complain that she had "allowed" him to be slain, she created a brood of monsters to avenge Apsu's death. None of the gods wished to fight these creatures, and so Marduk stepped forward. He made a proposition: he would slay Tiamat, so long as he could be the King of the Gods.
After a great struggle, Marduk emerged victorious over Tiamat and her monsters. He gathered all the monsters within his fish nets, and he cut Tiamat in half. With one half, he created the Earth; with the other he created the Heavens.
Some Babylonian Myths date back to 2000 BCE, and the most famous being the Epic of Gilgamesh. In this Epic, the dragon known as Humbaba appears. Humbaba was a sort of dragon-mix, being that he had the body of a lion, but it was covered with horned scales. His claws and feet were that of a vulture, and his tail ended with the head of a snake. In addition, he had the horns of a bull on his head and walked upright.
Somewhere around 250 AD, the Quetzalcoatl became a very important god to the Aztecs. He did many things, and operated also under the names of Kukulkan, Ehecatl, and The Lord of the Dawn. He left, however, when he could not change the Aztec's warlike ways.
There is also the Aztec Hydra, Coatlcue. Coatlcue was sometimes depicted with two dragon heads and with a skirt made of snakes. She was a symbol for nature.
There are also the Xiuhcoatl, small fire-serpents. They aided Huitzilopochtli in the defeating of his two siblings. It is undetermined, however, if this was a singular creature or if it was a dragon type. It is suspected that it is a dragon type simply due to the abundance of it.
Origin of Dragons
In modern times, the idea of what a dragon looks like has become increasingly stereotypical: reptilian, two bat-like wings, four legs, long neck and tail, tail spade, breaths fire, hoards treasure and is often green. This was not always the case. Ancient dragons were very diverse in form and behavior. This diversity makes it difficult to write a definition of what a dragon is. Dictionary definitions are fairly accurate, but give no clue about whether a creature lacking all of the traits a dragon 'usually' has could still be a dragon. They also do not include how to tell a dragon apart from another creature which has some of these traits.
One answer would be to say that a dragon is any monster which is claimed to be a dragon by the tellers of the myth. There is a big language problem with this approach. In many cultures dragons have a close affinity with some other species. The dividing line between snakes and dragons is particularly small in many cultures. Some serpentine dragons look like giant snakes and have some snake-like attributes (such as spitting poison). This similarity is reflected in language: often one word can be used to describe a snake or a dragon.
The word confusion does not end at snakes. Among the Polynesians, Mo'o or Moko means a lizard of some type. From language alone the moko of a legend could just as easily be a fearsome dragon, or a cute little gecko. Some cultures call many flying animals birds, including the dragon-like ones.
Probably the most accurate way of deciding what is a dragon is to compare the creature with other dragons. There are a number of traits that many dragons possess and a number of themes which appear time and again in legends. If a creature shares a fair number of these traits and themes, there is a good chance it is a dragon. Below is a checklist of traits which many dragons share. A dragon does not need all (or even most) of these traits to be a dragon.
These are some of the most common traits among dragons. All of these appear in numerous cultures. It is unlikely to find a dragon which does not have at least one of these traits:
Reptilian: Could be appearance or behaviour. Scales are common.
Fire: Breathing or spitting fire.
Venomous: Examples are poisonous blood, breath or bite.
Water: Living in water or being associated with water.
Weather: Having control over some aspect of the weather (particularly storms, rain, wind and floods).
Flight: Being able to fly (not necessarily by having wings).
Guarding Something: Often treasure or knowledge, but it could be a city, maiden or some other resource.
Magical/Supernatural Powers: Sometimes these are powers displayed by the live dragons and sometimes magical properties of dead parts of the dragon.
Bird Talons: Raptor-like talons on the feet.
Less Widespread Common Traits:
Other Bird Traits: Most commonly feathers.
Transformation: Ability to turn into another type of animal (including human).
Power: Holding a position of power (such as a being a god, or close servant of the gods).
Healing: Some dragons have remarkable self-healing powers, able to heal quickly during fights and possibly grow back body parts.
Common Story Themes
A basic list of story themes can be a useful tool for deciding if a myth is genuinely a dragon myth. It is difficult to summarise the themes of dragon myths concisely. There are many themes and variations. These themes are also not exclusive to dragons. Despite the problems, this list does give another starting point for making a decision.
Dragon controls the weather
Causes rainfall or storms
Causes floods
Creates lightning
Dragon lives in water
Dragon home is a lake, river, well or ocean
Dragon rises up from the water to attack the local area
Dragon causes havoc
Hero fights the dragon
Hero makes parts of the universe from the dragon body
Dragon given offerings
Maidens
Food
Dragon marries a human
Marrying the daughter of a Dragon King
Dragon marries/intends to marry the maiden sacrifice
People or nation are descended from a dragon
Dragon guards treasure
Protects hoard or special items from humans
Protects home, palace or temple
Dragon grants a gift in return for goods or services
Offering gold
Offering special powers
Offering daughter in marraige
What a Dragon is Not
Another important point when deciding what is and is not a dragon, is to beware modern stereotypes. There are many generalisations and stereotypes which are taken to be true of all dragons. They are not. Below are a few of these stereotypes and generalisations. If you are discounting a creature as a dragon because it lacks these, then it is a good idea to think again:
Stereotype 1 - Western dragons are evil and Eastern dragons are good: There is a general trend for eastern dragons to be more benevolent than their western counterparts. Even so, Eastern dragons are capable of causing total havoc and destruction (and did on many occasions). There are also Western dragons who are kindly towards local humans. For example, there are numerous helpful household dragons in the West.
Stereotype 2 - Dragons must have legs and wings: Many of the European dragons had no limbs, such as some of the worms and the Midgard Serpent. Some dragons are sometimes shown with legs, and sometimes without, such as Ouroboros.
Stereotype 3 - Dragons must be intelligent: There are many dragons who talk in legends. However, this is not true of all of them. Some of the polynesian Taniwha show remarkable strength but not a whole lot of thinking power. The apocryphal dragon in 'Bel and the Dragon' shows no signs of great intelligence. It eats what humans give it, does not talk and does not have the intelligence to see the threat which kills it.
Stereotype 4 - Mythological dragons are large: Contrary to popular belief, it was not roleplaying games like AD&D that created the fairy dragon. Various forms of fairy dragon, and draconic household spirits, appear in folklore. In general they are very small. Much smaller than a human.
Conclusion
Defining dragons is a very complex subject and cannot be done with a few sentences. Even a more elaborate definition, such as this one, will have problems classifying some creatures.
Some myths have several versions of the story. A creature might seem more dragon-like in one version than another. All of the versions may be authentic, causing confusion about exactly where the creature should be classified.
The line between dragons and non-dragons is easily blurred. Deciding whether a creature is a dragon can be made easier by comparing it to known dragons. This will never remove the affect of personal opinion in these judgments, but it does at least provide a basic method for making the decisions.
Further Reading in The Dragon Stone
1 - Dragon Dictionary Definitions
2 - European Dragons - The Midgard Serpent (Jormungand)
3 - European Dragons - Lambton Worm
4 - Oceanian Dragons - Moko
5 - African Dragons - Anzu
6 - North American Dragons - Piasa
7 - Asian Dragons - Dragon Kings
8 - European Dragons - Fafnir
9 - African Dragons - Bida
10 - African Dragons - Musrussu
11 - Asian Dragons - O Goncho
12 - European Dragons - Lernaean Hydra
14 - European Dragons - Tarasque
15 - African Dragons - Tiamat
16 - Asian Dragons - Vietnamese Dragon King
17 - African Dragons - Hydra (African)
18 - Asian Dragons - Nagas (Cambodia)
19 - North American Dragons - Sisiutl
20 - South American Dragons - Quetzalcoatl
21 - European Dragons - Mlokoky Smij; Zitny Smij
22 - Alchemy - Uroboros
23 - European Dragons - Knucker
24 - Oceanian Dragons - Taniwha
25 - Dragon and Serpent Apocrypha Quotations - Daniel, Bel and the Snake
26 - European Dragons - Mlokoky Smij; Penezny Smij; Puk; Zitny Smij