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| The legends of crocodiles | | September
30, 2002. |  In
medieval Europe, the crocodile was associated with the dragon because of its long
body and tail. In some instances it was related to negative aspects, and to positive
ones in others. It could function as guardian to mystic treasures or wisdom, as
well as the reincarnation of Satan himself who was always defeated by some hero
or saint like Apollo, Saint Michael Archangel, Heracles or Saint George.
The
wish of every medieval knight was to face a powerful dragon and defeat him to
be rewarded by the people, the church, the militia, the heads of state or a beautiful
lady. During the crusades, many legionnaires told of their heroic deeds against
the dragons. Nevertheless, some were so intrepid as to bring back proof of the
existence of those beings with them. In that respect, it was said that the skull
of a supposed dragon killed by the crusaders and then exhibited for centuries
in the church of Mons in Belgium, ended up being identified as that of a large
crocodile. Ever since ancient times, the dragon with great
teeth and claws has been the symbol used to represent both earth and water in
Chinese folklore. It was believed that every river, stream and well has its own
dragon, a subject of the king dragons of the four seas that surrounded the earth.
Also, the "Mountain of the Dragons" that encircles today's city of Beijing,
is traditionally considered to be the center of the ancient earth, the same place
where -coincidentally- the skull of the Peking Man was discovered in 1929, the
first human creature to be related to the use of fire, an element essential to
the dragon's iconography. In the traditions of the people
of Thailand, Burma and Japan, dragons are beneficial beings that ascend to the
sky to bring rains as they squeeze the clouds with their claws. Some ancient kings
and emperors declared that they possessed the "face of the dragon" that
enabled them to rule over the storms and granted them the ability to assume the
shape of anyone or anything. To the Brazilian Kayapó
ethnic group, great carnivorous predators such as crocodiles, anacondas, jaguars
and giant nutrias are seen as models of strength, aggressiveness and courage,
qualities that every man wishes to possess within his society. Such
was the devotion of ancient Egyptians towards the crocodile that they deified
it, building an impressive sacred city to him on the banks of the Nile, the city
that was known in the ancient world by its Greek name - Crocodilopolis. This spiritual
capital was the center for the cult and adoration of the god Sobek, symbol of
eternity and protection. In various hieroglyphics, we can find its human countenance,
doted with an impressive crocodile head.  The
Greek historian Herodotus relates how Egyptians "managed to tame the crocodile
to the point where it will allow itself to be touched and they did everything
in their power to ensure that it would lead a splendid life. They would hang golden
rings adorned with cut stones in its ears (crocodiles do not have ears, they probably
hung the rings in the bony protuberances behind the animal's eyes or at the base
of the skull), adorn its back feet with gold bracelets and feed it with flour
"tortillas", a drink made with wine, milk and honey, along with meat
from the sacrifices. When the crocodile died, it was embalmed and placed in a
sacred tomb."
Some communal groups in Mali continue
to consider crocodiles as sacred beings, as an ancient legend tells how one of
them helped a man to cross a river. They are deemed to be twins of man and they
say that when a child is born, so is a crocodile. It is strictly prohibited to
hunt crocodiles and anyone violating this concept runs the risk of a series of
personal disgraces. One African tale says that one day a
small, chubby chicken was walking along the banks of the river. A crocodile that
was watching it, rushed over to the succulent meal. At that moment, the chicken
turned around and exclaimed, sobbing: "Brother, do not eat me!" The
victim's words disconcerted the crocodile, but his appetite was stronger and he
ate the chicken anyway. The next day, another fat chicken was strutting along
the riverbank, picking away for food. Remembering the delicious flavor of the
one he had eaten the day before, the crocodile hurried to attack it so that he
could eat this one too. This one also reacted and screamed: "Brother, do
not eat me!" This time, the crocodile turned away from the chicken. Disconcerted,
the crocodile decided to go see "Mother Earth" called Nzambi to ask
her why the chicken had called him "brother". On his way to meet Nzambi,
the crocodile stumbled upon a large lizard to which he related his experience.
Surprised, the lizard answered him, "You don't know? All those who lay eggs
are our brothers: ducks, geese, you and me too." For
the longest time, it was thought that crocodiles did not have tongues because
when God gathered the animals to grant them gifts, the dog took advantage of the
crocodile's inattention to steal his and make his own bigger. In reality, crocodiles
do have tongues, but it is attached to the base of their mouths. English poet
Robert Herrick (1591-1674) alluded to this belief in his poem "To my beloved
Ann Potter", when he wrote: "True love is as scarce as a crocodile's
tongue." cupul@pvmirror.com Archives
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