Strange and obscure folklore and sayings relating animals

In the towns of Boabeng and Fiema in Ghana a religious belief proves to be beneficial to the conservation of the King colobus monkey.

In these towns it is believed that the King colobus are the descendents of "the sons of the gods" and that their presence protects the community from harm.

As such it is forbidden by strong cultural taboos for the colobus monkey to be harmed or hunted in any way by the townspeople.

The belief is so strong that if a colobus monkey is found dead from natural causes by people then a funeral is organized and the animal is buried with full honours and respect by the community in a special cemetery area specifically for the monkeys.



Sources: "West African Wildlife: A Resource in Jeopardy", Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu , 1987 (Journal: Unasylva).


Photo credits to @Titus, @Giant Eland and @Gigit.

 

In Brazilian culture the lion tamarins (known as "micos") are seen as mischievous and comical little animals and this is reflected in an expression commonly used in Brazilian Portuguese.

This expression is "pagar micos" (also "pagar um mico") which translates as "to pay monkeys".

This expression is used by Brazilians as a self-deprecating phrase to express a sense of shame / embarrassment of having made a fool of oneself in public.



Photo credits to @WhistlingKite24.

 

In the Khezeli dialect of the Kurds who inhabit the Iranian occupied territory of Kurdistan the Persian leopard is an animal used as a positive metaphor.

The expression "to be like a leopard" can be used describe someone who possesses strong fighting prowess in guerilla warfare.

But the leopard also serves in this Kurdish dialect as a metaphor for someone who is either humble or shy and retiring this due to the perceived elusive and shy nature of the leopard.

Sources: "Conceptualization of Man's Behavioral and Physical Characteristics as Animal Metaphors in the Spoken Discourse of Khezel People", Mohammad Aliakbari and Elham Faraji, 2014 (Journal: Psychology).

Photo credit to @fofo.

 

Unlike in other religions of the Middle East the snake is seen as a profoundly positive symbol within the Yazidi religion.

To the Yazidis snakes are holy animals and particularly the black cobra which is considered a symbol of a saint.

Strong taboos exist amongst the Yazidi against the killing of the black cobra which is also a symbol integral to Yazidi mythology because of its role in their telling of the story of "Noah's ark":

"The snake is justified as an object of adoration for having saved the Yezidi-Noah and his ark. “As the water rose and the ship floated, it came above Mount Sinjar, where it ran aground and was pierced by a rock. The serpent twisted itself like a cake and stopped the hole."

" It is highly regarded in Yezidi lore as the one that rescued the ark and thereby ensured the survival of mankind, or rather the Yezidi nation. Furthermore, there is a taboo with regard to the killing of black snakes and the serpent is seen as symbolising a Yezidi saint."



Yazidi places of worship in Syria (prior to destruction by ISIS and the Syrian civil war) and Armenia include iconography of this mythological black snake:

"The image of the black serpent is present in many Yezidi sanctuaries where it flanks the doorways and is reverentially kissed by believers as they enter."




Sources: "The Serpent Symbolism in the Yezidi Religious Tradition and the Snake in Yerevan", Peter Nicolaus, 2011 (Journal: Iran and the Caucasus).


Photo credits to @jayjds2, @alexkant and @drzoomi.

 

Here are some legends linked with crocodiles in Madagascar:

The Zafindravoay considers the crocodile is an ancestor. A woman was caught in a fish trap with a crocodile she had married. She went back to earth to give birth to 2 sons and then returned to her husband. Tribal people cross dangerous river with no fear of crocodiles. When a Zafindravoay dies, the corpse is told to join its ancestors; it becomes a crocodile after its tomb is closed.

A branch of the Antanosy tribe had a tame crocodile, regarded as the reincarnation of a dead child. It came to the call of the child’s father. People around Lake Itavy thought a crocodile exacted a human life for every crocodile killed by hunters. They could only kill crocodiles that killed people.

Some tribes believe that souls of dead chiefs enter crocodiles’ bodies. The chief in the Bay of Antongil regarded a huge crocodile in a nearby pool was his ancestor. Each year, he suspended a young man and girl, bedecked in jewels, over a pool until they were claimed by a crocodile. A crocodile never attacked anyone with a clear conscience. The Sakalava fed the entrails of their dead kings to crocodiles. People living near Lake Anivorano thought that a sorcerer made water engulf a village and turned the people into crocodiles, as they hadn’t given her water. The woman who had given her water was saved and her descendants offer a cow or another sacrifice to the crocodiles.

A Malagasy villager was taken by a supposedly sacred crocodile. Tribes caught a crocodile with fire-hardened poles; spears were inappropriate to kill one of the saurian brothers. They offered profuse apologies and lamentations for acting heinously. The animal’s body was wrapped in silken cords and ceremoniously buried, while village women let down their hair in morning.

Some tribes periodically gather at a location where the "sacred crocodiles" remain. They sacrifice a zebu, give them everything inside and share the meat. This is done in a traditional festive atmosphere with ritual dances, traditional music and prayers that asking for favours such as having a child, or having success in a specific area, etc. Sacred lakes include the sacred lake of Antsiranana, Lake Ampijoroa, Komakoma Lake and the sacred lake next to Antsanitia Resort in Mahajanga. Worshippers are forbidden to kill one of the crocodiles, which are reincarnations of their ancestors.