Insects
in Mythology
|
September,
2004
By Professor Fabio Cupul - Contributor
of Ambito Weekle Puerto Vallarta Newspaper
Translated by Marianne Klahre
|
 The smallness of the insects
together with the destructive capacity of certain
species for agricultural crops, for the pollution
or harm they provoke in food and other stored products
and for serving as a focus of diseases, has caused
insects to be considered, from man’s point of view, undesirable or insignificant,
to such a degree that the word “insect” is
used to refer to an annoying person or someone with
modest and inconsequential abilities.
However these living organism can be beneficial
and transcendental, since a huge variety of them
are important agents for the pollination of plants
(like the orchids and an infinity of fruit trees
and vegetables), some other insects provide products
of a commercial value (honey, wax, silk, dyes) or
they are a food source for birds, fish and even man
himself, besides they live as parasites or are predators
for other insects, helping to keep them under control.
Certain species, being act as garbage collectors;
thereby preventing the appearance of infectious focuses.
They are also used in treatments against diseases,
as well as in hereditary experiments, evolutionary
experiments and experiments on environmental pollution
and other biological problems or they are simply
studied for being beautiful and interesting. In addition,
even though you may not believe it, an insect like
the mosquito stars in more legends than you can imagine,
obviously derived from its habit to suck blood.
As an example, in the Mayan mythology, the mosquitoes
were considered spies. By sucking blood from various
masters they could memorize their names and discern
which ones were real men and which ones were dummies.
 The native Tahltan of British Columbia tell us the
legends that once upon a long time ago a bark beetle
(the larva of a beetle) and a mosquito were living
together. Day after day the bark beetle saw the
mosquito arrive at home swollen by the blood he
had eaten. When the mosquito was questioned about
the blood’s provenance – not wanting
to reveal his secret – he told the bark beetle
that he sucked it from the surrounding trees. Upon
receiving this information, the bark beetle immediately
threw himself onto the trees; however, the bark
beetle, as well as his descendants, still keeps
looking for blood amongst the tree trunks.
The Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest, on
their part, explain that the mosquitoes were created
from the ashes of a cannibal who was incinerated
by the youngest of 5 brothers avenging the assassination
of his family.
On the other hand, conscientiousness, order and
discipline are the best concepts to define the efficient
and effective work that ants carry out in teamwork
every minute of their lives. It is not a coincidence
that for a long time this insect has been the symbol
representing the industrious human labor society.
 The idea that men come to be as ants and thereby
acquire their qualities is elucidated in the biblical
passages of Proverbs 6:6 and Proverbs 30:26, that
mention “look at the ant, oh slacker, contemplate
its path and be wise…”. In these biblical
passages, the described friend, called Nemalah
in Hebrew, is the harvester ant (Messor semirufus),
which is found in any part of Palestine. This ant
stores the grains inside its nest and is employed
to represent a positive aspect of human behavior;
occasionally it causes much harm to the farmers’ harvests.
Up to the present day the native Nahuas from Guerrero
in Mexico, keep the tradition of placing corncobs
(olotes) over the anthill to attract rain. The native
Hopi of the North American Southwest believed that
the first settlers were ant-persons. The Yurok of
California tell the story those ants just like wasps
transform themselves into poisonous beings by grabbing
with their mouths the splinters that shed from the
mythical red-hot arrowhead. In China they were and
are a symbol of patriotism, virtue, self interest,
order and a tireless staff of servants.
Switching to the last insect I shall talk about
in this occasion, a legend of the Australian aborigines,
narrates how a tribe passed a great part of its time
stocking up for the winter. This good action induced
their eventual transformation into bees and they
survived. On the other hand, another tribe of the
same location, lazy and frivolous, did not take any
precaution in order to survive the winter, therefore
it members were transformed into flies and they died.
 This millennial store described
a huge portion of the generalized idea that humanity
has on flies as detestable beings with negative
connotations. Flies represent weakness and insignificance,
as well a devilish spirits and corruption. Within
the artistic expression of the primitive Christian
church the fly was a universal symbol of agony.
Nonetheless for the ancient Egyptians the fly represents
the spirit or “ba” of a dead person since
they took it once its larvae decomposed the body.
Hence the settlers did not kill the flies, because
they regarded them as the spirit of an ancient settler
of the area. In the same way the Egyptian priests
placed fly amulets on the mummies with the purpose
of symbolizing the return of “ba” to
the body of the deceased.
Fabio Cupul - Contributor of Ambito Weekle Puerto
Vallarta Newspaper
* Pof. Fabio Cupul is a Title Member of the Mexican
Society
for the Disclosure of Science and Technology SOMEDICYT
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