rabbit demon mythology

Since they generally do not appear to people unless they sense a strong spiritual connection, the dragonfly bunny spirits were initially only visible to Jinora (the young daughter of Tenzin/granddaughter of Aang and Katara). In Chinese, Japanese, and Korean mythology, rabbits live on the moon. Theres even a cartoon series based on the books, currently in its third and final season. in Holidays & seasons turning, Myth & folklore | Permalink What fascinated ancient Greek and Roman writers most about our leporine friends was their fertility. The Italian band, Moonlight Haze, has a song "The Rabbit of the Moon", inspired by the Japanese legend. To that end, the critter is described as having the head of a hare (or rabbit), the body of a squirrel (or hare), the antlers of a deer, and wings (and sometimes webbed feet) of a pheasant or duck. The Cherokee, the Creek, the Biloxi and other tribes tell humorous stories of a mischievous Rabbit who is cousin to Brer Rabbit and Compair Lapin, outwitting foes and puncturing the pride of friends with his clownish antics. Get the latest History stories in your inbox? Chang'e dances into Smite, brings Jade Rabbit with her. Fortunately for Lepus, he had a better fate than other tulpas and gods who were demonized by the Church. Learn Religions. Religious role of the hare Easter is a celebration of spring and new life. In Destiny 2, players can visit the Moon and find miniature statues of chibi-styled jade rabbit dolls which accept offerings of rice cake.[18]. To amuse children, Eostre changed her beautiful pet bird into a rabbit. The trio has become the personifications of the holiday, when they descend to the mortal world and give out cellophane lanterns, mooncakes and gifts to children.[8]. If they ever do end up taking over the world, its not like we havent been warned. In medieval and Renaissance art, rabbits were frequently represented alongside Venus, the ancient Roman goddess of love and sexuality. Jimmy Stewart stars as good-natured kook Elwood P. Dowd, who spends his days at his favorite bar in the company of his best friend, Harvey, an invisible, six foot, three-and-one-half-inch tall talking rabbit. In the folklore of various cultures and ancient civilizations, rabbits have represented a kind of Trickster figure. No matter what shape the pca takes, its fur is always dark. The Aztecs worshipped a group of deities known as the Centzon Totochtin, a group of 400 hard-partying rabbits who were. The moor rabbit was found in the region of High Moor. Based on the legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, Usagi is a formidable warrior in adorable rabbit form, and is frequently ranked among the greatest comic book characters of all time (by Wizard magazine, Empire magazine, and IGN, among others). Please enable JavaScript if you would like to comment on this blog. "Egg-Laying Bunnies and Mad March Hares." Whereas in Pisanello's Allegory of Luxuria (1426), a rabbit takes on a completely different meaning (Credit: Alamy). They were rather scrawny, but quite . If you would like to comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Culture, head over to ourFacebookpage or message us onTwitter. In Greco-Roman myth, the hare represented romantic love, lust, abundance, and fercundity. The rabbit brought forth brightly colored eggs, which Eostre gave the children as gifts" (Miller & Taub, pg 169). In West Africa, many tribal cultures, such as the Yoruba of Nigeria and the Wolof of Senegal, have traditional story cycles about an irrepressible hare Trickster who is equal parts rascal, clown, and culture hero. You can find it being used in many medieval churches in the UK in South Tawton (Devon), Long Melford (Suffolk), Cotehele (Cornwall), St David's Cathedral in Pembrokeshire, and Chester Cathedral. You should probably listen to him. In one well-known story from Dartmoor, a mighty hunter named Bowerman disturbed a coven of witches practicing their rites, and so one young witch determined to take revenge upon the man. Read more: Norwegian Mythology & Folk Tales In Chinese folklore, female hares conceive through the touch of the full moon's light (without the need of impregnation by the male), or by crossing water by moonlight, or licking moonlight from a male hares fur. Author and folklorist Suzanna Linton says, The English village of Dartmoor claims three hares in a circle as its symbol. So here we go: Peppy Hare is a member of the original Star Fox team who serves as a mentor to the games protagonist, Fox McCloud. In other tales hes a clown, a thief, a lecher, or a cunning predator -- an ambivalent, amoral figure dancing on the line between right and wrong. To their surprise, they discovered that the designs famous tin association is actually a dubious one, deriving from a misunderstanding of an alchemical illustration published in the early 17th century. Carvings of rabbits eating grapes and figs appear on both Greek and Roman tombs, where they symbolize the transformative cycle of life, death, and rebirth. The Fox brought him fish from a stream, and the Monkey brought fruit from the trees, but the Rabbit could only offer grass. 7. The jackalope legends of the American Southwest are stories of a more recent vintage, consisting of purported sightings of rabbits or hares with horns like antelopes. Moon-inhabiting and moon-staring hares proliferate across the visual cultures of China, Japan, and Korea. They have been connected with the enigmatic purity of the moon, with chastity and with superlative powers of fertility. Bridget McGovern wasnt really all that screwed up by Watership Down, if you dont count the fact that she just stays up nights writing frantically about bunnies (and will always maintain a vague but potent distrust of Art Garfunkle). In a scene in the sixteenth century Chinese novel, The singer/composer Cosmo Sheldrake references the rabbit in the moon in their song "The Moss". Plus its chock-full of bunnies, of course. Learn how and when to remove this template message. The Moon is so angry, she beats Hare with a stick, splitting his nose (as it remains today). The Moon rabbit legend is popular and part of local folklore throughout Asia. Eventually, Jinora urged the spirits to reveal themselves to Tenzin, Korra, Bumi, and the rest of her family, and they helped the group gain access to the spirit world. Roger gets murdered early on in the book, leaving private eye Eddie Valiant to track down his killer. In Egyptian myth, hares were also closely associated with the cycles of the moon, which was viewed as masculine when waxing and feminine when waning. Each animal represents a year in a twelve-year cycle that is based on Jupiter's orbitthe planet takes nearly twelve earth years to circumnavigate the sun. Bakeneko. Recent archaeological research appears to confirm the worship of Eostre in parts of England and Germany, with the hare as her main symbol. Captain Carrot (aka Roger Rodney Rabbit of Gnu Yorkno relation to the other Roger, presumably) leads the intrepid Zoo Crew ask they face an array of sinister anthropomorphic villains and, apparently, a world filled with animal-related puns (theres a character named after Burt Reynolds. Fearing Fenrir's strength and knowing that only evil could be expected of him, the gods bound him with a magical chain made of the sound of a cat's footsteps, the beard of a woman, the breath of fish, and other occult elements. Along with Sam, a wise-cracking, fedora-wearing dog, Max works as a private investigator with a healthy disrespect for the law; where Sam is grounded and professional, Max is gleefully violent and maybe a tad psychotic (in a fun way!) C Cabbit Centzon Ttchtin H Hare Hare of Inaba J Jackalope Jiibayaabooz K Kaltes-Ekwa L Lepus cornutus M Macuiltochtli Al-Mi'raj Milk rabbit Moon rabbit R Rabbit (zodiac) His highly intelligent dog, Gromit, saves the day (as usual), but afterwards both Wallace and the rescued rabbit (now called Hutch) exhibit strange behavior. Magical uses for rabbit energy include protection, good luck, and messages from the underworld. On Easter Sunday, children look for hidden special treats, often chocolate Easter eggs, that the Easter bunny might have left behind. As rabbits were not yet introduced to China during Western Han, the original image was not a rabbit but a hare. Groening would also represent himself and his sons Will and Abe in rabbit form in the strip, which finally ended its run in 2012. A loyal ally and expert in camouflage, Basil assists Matthias and the other denizens of Redwall Abbey when trouble threatens, playing a key role in several rescue missions, and is known for both his appetite and his battle cry, Give em blood and vinegar!, The eponymous hero of his own comic book series as well as an animated TV series and several video games, Bucky OHare is the captain of The Righteous Indignation, a spaceship in service of the United Animals Federation. Okay, full disclosure: Ive never actually played Star Fox, but when I mentioned this post to Chris and Sarah here in the Tor.com offices, they immediately started yelling about Peppy Hare and wouldnt stop playing clips of all his weird wingman advice and catchphrases until I added him to the list. It is often portrayed as taking the form of an animal, such as a rabbit or a horse, and is known for playing tricks on humans. Knowing only how to gather grass, the rabbit instead offered its own body by throwing itself into a fire the man had prepared. Among the many different Native American story traditions, Trickster tales featuring Coyote or Raven tend to be best known to non-Native audiences, but there are also a large number of tales that feature a trickster Rabbit or Hare, particularly among the Algonquin-speaking peoples of the central and eastern woodland tribes. Eggs and flowers are rather obvious symbols of female fertility, but in European traditions, the bunny, with its amazing. Three rabbity themes cut across global mythology and religion: bunnies' perceived sacredness, their mystical link to the moon, and their connection with fertility. Bakeneko means "changed cat" in Japanese. It involved eating a pie made with hare meat and people scrambling for a slice. The sharks . Telugu song 'Chandrullo unde kundelu' from the movie. In some stories, Nanabozho is a revered culture hero -- creator of the earth, benefactor of humankind, the bringer of light and fire, and teacher of sacred rituals. If you have wild rabbits or hares that live in your yard, leave them an offering of lettuce, shredded carrots, cabbage, or other fresh greens. Advertising Notice the familiars of witches, or as witches themselves in animal form. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit was only the second non-American movie to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and it was the very first stop-motion film to win, which is pretty impressive. Archaeologists have interpreted this as a religious ritual, with hares representing rebirth. They often live and breed in dark and unusual places such as caves, tunnels and lofts, leaving these at twilight - the time between light and darkness - in search of food. Based on the Australian science fiction novel The Year of the Angry Rabbit, the movie version moved the setting to Arizona, leaving the books satirical elements behind while retaining the basic premise: giant, mutant carnivorous rabbits threatening humans. Hares were venerated in Celtic mythology, and are portrayed as canny tricksters in the myths of Native American tribes including the Michabo and Manabush. This list may not reflect recent changes . Hares were given ritual burials alongside humans during the Neolithic age in Europe. In Pisanello's drawing, the rabbit symbolises lechery. When exposed to negative energy, dragonfly bunny spirits may turn into dark spirits, but otherwise make great pets and I totally want one. In China, for example, the Hare in the Moon is depicted with a mortar and pestle in which he mixes the elixir of immortality; he is the messenger of a female moon deity and the guardian of all wild animals. (Bugs Bunny owes more than a little of his character to this folkloric archetype.). He derived this name from the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre, who Bede, an early medieval monk considered to be the father of English history, mentioned in 731 C.E. A six-foot-tall rabbit sporting formal wear, a monocle, and a top hat, the very proper, very English Mr. Herriman is obsessed with keeping order and protecting Madame Foster, who created him when she was a small child in the 1930s. Even within Europe, different societies used rabbits as an icon of fecundity and linked them to deities of reproduction. [citation needed]. Let's look at some possible uses for some of that "mad March hare" energy in magic. A scholar traces the folk figures history from the Neolithic era to today. For example, the novel was set in the present day (and not the 1940s), the cartoon characters interacting with humans are mostly drawn from comic strips (like Dick Tracy, Garfield, and Life in Hell), and not classic animated cartoonsand Roger Rabbit? And yet everywhere we see it symbolised by a floppy-eared, bucktoothed, and egg-dispensing lagomorph. Nachtkrapp usually goes out to hunt from their nest during nighttime. The Roman author Aelian (c175-c235 AD) suggested that hares were capable of superfetation the ability to gestate an embryo whilst already pregnant. Br'er Rabbit is a trickster character. The ancient enigma that still resonates today. For example, the Virgin Mary is often shown with a white hare or rabbit, symbolizing that she overcame sexual temptation. To withdraw your consent, see Your Choices. Add a few rabbit hairs to. Rabbits were common animals throughout the Realms. Nanabozho (or Manabozho) the Great Hare, for instance, is a powerful figure found in the tales of the Algonquin, Fox, Menoimini, Ottawa, Ojibwa, and Winnebago tribes. Only the crane was willing to take him there. History and Culture of Hare/Rabbit on the Moon (Jade Rabbit), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Moon_rabbit&oldid=1151596373, Articles containing Chinese-language text, Articles containing Vietnamese-language text, Articles containing Japanese-language text, Articles needing additional references from August 2022, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2022, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2021, Articles with Japanese-language sources (ja), Articles with Chinese-language sources (zh), Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, The Moon rabbit was the subject of a humorous conversation between NASA mission control and the crew of, The Moon rabbit theme makes an appearance in the "Legend of the Stars" section of the. Terms of Use Described as a weird hyperkinetic rabbity thing, Max is the smaller, more aggressive member of the infamous crime-fighting duo known as Sam and Max: Freelance Police. In Chinese folklore, the rabbit is often portrayed as a companion of the Moon goddess Chang'e, constantly pounding the elixir of life[1] for her and some show the making of cakes or rice cakes; but in Japanese and Korean versions, the rabbit is pounding the ingredients for mochi or some other type of rice cakes; in the Vietnamese version, the Moon rabbit often appears with Hng Nga and Ch Cui, and like the Chinese version, the Vietnamese Moon rabbit also pounding the elixir of immortality in the mortar. To amuse children, Eostre changed her beautiful pet bird into a rabbit. Wenenut (Egyptian) "Deified rabbit-headed goddess. African hare stories traveled to North America on the slavers ships, mixed with rabbit tales of the Cherokee and other tribes, and were transformed into the famous Brer Rabbit stories of the American South. The association of rabbits, hares, and the moon can be found in numerous cultures the world over -- ranging from Japan to Mexico, from Indonesia to the British Isles. Jerk.) Easter is a celebration of spring and new life. They are both part of the taxonomic order Lagomorpha, and the family Leporidae, and have often been treated in the same way in religions, fables, and in visual culture. Wigington, Patti. Cesaer recorded that rabbits and hares were taboo foods to the Celtic tribes. Most of the depictions of a Jackalope show an animal that has horns that are branched like that of a deer, but there are some variations that show the creature with the . She traveled with a sacred hare and boar in a chariot drawn by cats. So, weirdly, in the medieval and Renaissance periods, rabbits could either be symbols of chastity or boundless sexuality, depending on the context. window.__mirage2 = {petok:"Iwx8igBLrh._vaB3F.M1nIvgLLkAz9idDEzaf7xttaE-1800-0"}; Richard Kellys Donnie Darko quickly gained a huge cult following when it was released in 2001 (and since then seems to have received a certain amount of backlash), but whether you love it or think its completely overrated, I think we can all agree that Frank is probably the creepiest rabbit-type-thing on this list, appearing to the title character in a series of visions like in the form of some kind of menacing demon-alien terror bunny. As part of his humane pest control business, eccentric inventor Wallace attempts to brainwash a group of rabbits out of stealing vegetables, but during the process things go awry and Wallace ends up with one of the bunnies fused to his head. White Rabbit has been a trippy byword for psychedelic drug use since the 1960s, as well as a recurring trope in both Lost and the Matrix movies (apparently, he moonlights as a harbinger of not-very-satisfying conclusions). Its not long before the village is being terrorized by a giant, vegetable-crazed Were-Rabbit, and Wallace and Gromit must solve the mystery before the monster can ruin the annual Giant Vegetable Competitionand if you havent seen this movie, you probably should. Woods, W. David; MacTaggart, Kenneth D.; O'Brien, Frank. At the same time that Chandler Harris was recording Brer Rabbit stories from the African American oral tradition, folklorist Alcee Fortier was setting down the folk tales of the Cajun (French Creole) culture of southern Louisiana -- including delightful stories of a fast-talking rabbit Trickster called Compair Lapin. Learn Religions, Aug. 28, 2020, learnreligions.com/egg-laying-bunnies-and-mad-march-hares-2562459. The character of the "Easter bunny" first appeared in 16th-century German writings, which said that if well-behaved children built a nest out of their caps or bonnets, they would be rewarded with colored eggs left in the night by an Easter Hare. Later, it appears in both the writings of Sir Thomas More, with "As mad not as a March hare, but as a madde dogge,"and later in a 16th-century book of proverbs. Driven by Stewarts delightful and deeply touching performance, Harvey is a lighthearted comedy with unexpected depths, an inspiring piece of fantasy that celebrates the triumph of a kind-hearted nonconformist over worldly cynicism and the pressures of respectability. Country of Origin: Japan. She is the author of Daily Spellbook for the Good Witch, Wicca Practical Magic and The Daily Spell Journal. The kumiho is actually a demon who tries to lure men to their deaths by shape-shifting into a seductive woman. Appearing as half bird, half mammal at the edge of day and night they are seen as liminal beings and not part of the natural order. They hunt little children for food. Considered to be bringers both of good and bad fortune, they could either help or hinder rural and marine communities. The symbolism of the hare has had many tantalizing ritual and religious roles down through the years. So how can you channel this frantic, fertile energy into a magical working? The rabbit is seen as a trickster figure in many western mythologies. This story, and hares' lunar associations in general, probably derived from much more ancient religions in India. In Chinese mythology, Chang'e () is best known for stealing an elixir of immortality from her husband, the legendary archer Hou Yi (), and escaping to become the goddess of the moon. The first reference of Echidna is in the Greek mythology of Hesiod called Theogony, written probably around the turn of the 7th-8th century BCE. Plus, they multiply almost as fast as Tribbles (but with less purring and many, many more teeth). Bugs made his official debut in 1940s A Wild Hare, a huge critical and commercial success (it even got an Oscar nomination), with the legendary Mel Blanc providing the bunnys now-famous New Yawk accent and delivering his catchphrase, Whats up, Doc? Since then, the rascally rabbit has starred in countless cartoons, movies, video games, even commercials, satirizing and spoofing decades worth of popular culture and accumulating plenty of SF/F cred along the way. "Demonic" hares and rabbits are found on cathedral carvings and in other forms of Christian sacred artbut we also find the opposite: the pagan Three Hares symbol (mentioned above) representing the Holy Trinity, and unblemished white rabbits symbolizing purity, piety, and the Holy Virgin. An early Chinese source called the Chu Ci, a Western Han anthology of Chinese poems from the Warring States period, notes that along with a toad, there is a hare on the Moon who constantly pounds herbs for the immortals. Jo Walton has discussed the book at length, although I was initially introduced to Fiver, Hazel, and company through the animated film version; as a seven year old, I found it equal parts disturbing and fascinating (and Im apparently not the only onein writing this post I ran across a Facebook group called Watership Down (the film) traumatized me as a kid!). Among the most famous Inuit myths is the legend of the sea goddess, known by various names (Sedna, Nuliayuk, Taluliyuk, Taleelayuk). In some magical traditions, the wild rabbit is associated with, Rabbits and hares are able to go to ground quickly if in danger. You cant really separate the Simpsons from their origins in Life in Hell, the long-running comic strip dedicated to Matt Groenings ruminations on life, love, work, death, and all the fear, humor, irritations, and anxiety that existence entails. Based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning stage play, Harvey embodies everything strange and brilliant and wonderful about classic Hollywood. This notion is supported by later texts, including the Song-era Taiping Imperial Reader. Protectress of fertility, goddess of rebirth and friend to all children. Quetzalcoatl, being the stronger of the two, managed to escape, but Mayahuel was torn into pieces and eaten by the demons. In medieval societies in Europe, the March hare was viewed as a major fertility symbolthis is a specific species of lepus that is nocturnal most of the year, but in March when mating season begins, there are bunnies everywhere all day long. Okay, its complicatedif you want an excellent rundown of the film, go herebut all you really need to know is that if Frank shows up on your doorstep with a basket of Peeps and jellybeans, you should probably run for the hills and dont look back. This legend became part of American folklore in the 18th century, when German immigrants settled in the eastern U.S. To bring yourself boundless energy, carry a talisman engraved or painted with a rabbit's image. Created by Stan Sakai in the early 1980s, Usagi Yojimbo follows the adventures of Miyamoto Usagi, a rabbit ronin, as he wanders about on a warriors pilgrimage, occasionally serving as a bodyguard. Rather like in Alice in Wonderland, the white rabbit can never be fully grasped. Known locally as the Tinner Rabbits, thedesign was widely believed to be based on an old alchemical symbol for tin, representing the historic importance of tin mining on Dartmoor nearby -- until a group of local artists and historians created the Three Hares Project to investigate the symbols history. Freya (Norse) emblem of Freya, a mother goddess, giver of fruitfulness and love; associated with Holda, the Norse moon goddess, Hermes (Greek) God of the spoken word; the rabbit was sacred to Hermes as a fleet-footed messenger. The rabbitfor good reasonis often associated with fertility magic and sexual energy. [2], Han Dynasty poets call the hare on the Moon the "Jade Hare" () or the "Gold Hare" (), and these phrases were used often, in place of the word for the Moon. This article is about the mythological character. According to Chris and Sarah, Peppy is way more awesome than the teams other wingmen, Slippy Toad (who is the worst) and Falco Lombardi (who does nothing but criticize, even when you save his life. However, the rabbit was not burnt and the old man revealed that he was akra. For as long as civilization has tried to impose order on its subjects, Tricksters have been thumbing their nose at the rules. If this is right, it means that long ago, Christian iconography appropriated and adopted symbols from older, pagan religions, blending them in with its own. Released in 1972, Night of the Lepus was a monumental flop, completely panned by critics for its horrible plot, premise, direction, acting, and special effects, and for utterly failing to make giant bunnies seem scary (presumably forcing audiences to wait with bated breath another six years before they could be properly traumatized by the film version of Watership Down). In Vietnamese mythology, the Jade Rabbit on the Moon is often accompanied by the Moon Lady and Cui, who sits under a magical banyan. Natch.) Wenenut is the female counterpart of thehare-headed God, Weneu. Read the original article. In Japan, the fox is the primary Trickster animal, but hares too are clever, tricky characters. furry! This German mythological creatures was inspired to induce fear in the children to make them sleep. When they reached the Moon, the rabbit touched the crane's head with a bleeding paw, leaving the red mark cranes wear to this day. Cookie Policy Most Christian symbols derive from Biblical sources, although some survived from the art cultures of ancient Greece and Rome. The themes of renewal and rebirth seem linked to the Easter message. In the book, its the Hare, not the Rabbit, that loves to partyand maybe they were only drinking tea when Alice first encounters the March Hare, but something tells me he would fit right in with a certain clique of ancient Aztec party bunnies. The idea that the witches of winter should be banished at Easter is a common European folk motif appearing in several festivities and rituals. Yokai are supernatural creatures of the Japanese folklore, sometimes also considered as specters or demons. In European traditions, the Easter bunny is known as the Easter hare. However, even after the first moon landing decades ago, we still see the moon as a somewhat mysterious place with a wide-ranging variety of beings living in itfrom aliens, gods and goddesses to rabbits! Are rabbits connected with Easter because they've often been considered holy?

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