Wednesday 25 April 2012

Fafnir the Dragon (Part 1)


The Origin of Fafnir the Dragon


The story of Fafnir is the story of how craving after material wealth destroys those who indulge in it. In this story the Dragon, and the Dragon’s treasure, came to symbolize the power of Greed. Now the moral is out of the way, just sit back and enjoy a good tale out of Teutonic mythology.

Dwarves loved gold and riches, and Hreiðmarr and his three sons; Ótr, Fafnir and Regin were no exception. Fafnir was the strongest and most belligerent of the three brothers and the duty of guarding his father’s house, including with its store of gold and gems, fell into his strong arms. Ótr, meanwhile, roamed the land during the day in the guise of an otter. Unfortunately Ótr came across Odin (All-Father of the Æsir), Hœnir (who helped Odin create mankind), and Loki, the unpredictable, and often mischievous, Jötunn who were travelling through the domain of Hreiðmarr the Dwarf King. Loki threw a rock which killed the otter and all three skinned the animal and kept the pelt. That evening the Gods came to the castle of Hreiðmarr and, during the meal, brought the skin of his son Ótr out while Loki boasted of his hunting skills. Hreiðmarr was livid, and ordered his remaining two sons to seize Odin and Hœnir to be held as ransom while Loki was to bring back a ransom to atone for the death of Ótr.

Loki left the castle with the otter’s skin and the task of filling it with gold and covering the outside with red gold and went immediately to see the sea-goddess Ran. Loki borrowed Ran’s net, which she used to capture hapless mariners, and went to visit the dwarf Andvari. Andvari (‘careful one’) lived under a waterfall and could turn into a fish at will. Using the net of Ran Loki was able to catch Andvari in the form of a pike and demand his treasure as the price of his freedom. Andvari had amassed his large hoard of gold using the power of his magical ring Andvarinaut, and Loki made sure that the ring was also part of the deal. Andvari, however, was also gifted in magic and cursed the treasure so that whoever saw it would covet it, and further cursed the ring Andvarinaut so that it would bring about the death of any mortal who owned it. Loki presented the treasure to Hreiðmarr, who fell under the spell of the Ottergild (Otter’s Gold) and forgot all about his dead son. As soon as the ransom was accepted Loki, Odin and Hœnir left the castle without a moment’s delay.

No sooner than the Gods had left than Regin and Fafnir demanded a share of the treasure and, when Hreiðmarr refused to share it, joined together to kill their father. After this odious patricide the two sons still fought among themselves until Fafnir, the stronger of the two, drove Regin away and took the treasure, and the ring, for himself. As the ring’s curse worked on Fafnir he became more irritable and even more greedy, eventually moving the treasure into a cave on Glittering Heath to keep the gold safe. Little by little greed and malice grew in Fafnir, turning him into a fierce Dragon. Once he had fully turned into a Dragon Fafnir breathed poison onto the heath around him so that nobody would brave the wasteland to get near his treasure. Fafnir grew so terrible and mighty that all the populace around lived in fear of his rages.

Just because he was driven away by Fafnir, Regin did not in any way give up on trying to get the treasure and the ring back. He plotted and schemed for many years until he came up with a plan to obtain his revenge.

But that is a story to be told later …



Thursday 12 April 2012

Dragons in Africa: Aido-Hwedo

The Rainbow Dragon:
Aido-Hwedo of the Fon People of Dahomey





http://www.susanneiles.com/aido.html
African Dragons are more like serpents or giant snakes but they permeate the myths of the African tribes and even appear in the Egyptian pantheon as Apep (Apophis). The most accessible of the African Dragons is Aido-Hwedo of Dahomey in West Africa. Aido-Hwedo, a rainbow-coloured Dragon that is both male and female, was brought into being by the Creator God Nana-Buluku to serve as his companion and instrument in his Creation of the World. The Rainbow Dragon was the only being capable of travelling between Heaven and Earth and it carried the Creator God in its mouth as it passed between the two realms. It represents the link between the Sacred and the Secular.
While it was in the Heavens it bent across the sky as a rainbow arch and its droppings became mountains and fertile soil and its writhing passage formed the rivers and valleys.



Aido-Hwedo and the Red Monkeys by ~Flame-Shadow on deviantART
 Aido-Hwedo was so large it could hold up the entire world, but once the multitude of creation was done Nana-Buluku asked Aido-Hwedo to coil up beneath the land to cushion it. Aido-Hwedo cannot stand heat so the Creator made the ocean for the Dragon to live in (like the Midgard Serpent in Teutonic legend). Inhabiting the undersea with the Rainbow Dragon is a troop of red monkeys who forge the iron bars that are Aido-Hwedo’s food.











When the iron runs out and Aido-Hwedo grows hungry it will start to chew on its own tail. The earth above will become unbalanced, be struck by repeated earthquakes and eventually slide off the Dragon’s back into the sea.


The Aido-Hwedo myth still carries the resonance of its transcendent meaning into modern times, as can be seen by the poem by Audre Lorde:

Call
 But I must recover my spirit first…
Holy ghost woman
stolen out of your name
Rainbow Serpent
whose faces have been forgotten
Mother loosen my tongue or adorn me
with a lighter burden
Aido Hwedo is coming.

On worn kitchen stools and tables
we are piercing our weapons together
scraps of different histories
do not let us shatter
any altar
she who scrubs the capitol toilets, listening
is out sister’s youngest daughter
gnarled Harriet’s anointed
you have not been without honor
even the young guerilla has chosen
yells as she fires into the thicket
Aido Hwedo is coming.

I have written your names on my cheekbones
Dreamed your eyes flesh my epiphany
Most ancient goddesses hear me
enter
I have not forgotten your worship
nor my sisters
nor the sons of my daughters
my children watch your print
in their labors
and they say Aido Hwedo is coming.

I am a Black woman turning
mouthing your name as a password
through seductions self-slaughter
and I believe in the holy ghost
mother
in your flames beyond our vision
blown light through fingers of women
enduring warring
sometimes outside your name
we do not choose all our rituals
Thandi Modise winged girl of Soweto
brought fire back home in the snout of a mortar
and passes the word from her prison cell whispering
Aido Hwedo is coming.

We are learning by heart
what has never been taught
you are my given fire-tongued
Oya Seboulisa Mawu Afrekete
and now we are mourning our sisters
lost to the false hush of sorrow
to hardness and hatchets and childbirth
and we are shouting
Rosa Parks and Fannie Lou Hamer
Assata Shakur and Yaa Asantewa
my mother and Winnie Mandela are signing
in my throat
the holy ghosts’ linguist
one iron silence broken
Aido Hwedo is calling
calling
your daughters are named
and conceiving
Mother loosen my tongue
or adorn me
with a lighter burden
Aido Hwedo is coming.

Aido Hwedo is coming.

Aido Hwedo is coming.



Wednesday 4 April 2012

The Nine Dragon Wall

The Nine Dragon Wall


The first Ming Emperor of China declared that the five-taloned Dragon would be the symbol of only the Emperor with the four-clawed Dragon reserved for the Imperial Nobility and certain Officials of high rank, and the three-toed Dragon left for use by the general public and lower Officials. Other nations under Chinese suzerainty were directed to use only the lesser Dragons as well. Misuse of the yellow five-taloned Dragon was treason and resulted in the sure death of the offender and his entire clan.
The number nine is considered auspicious because it is the highest single digit number, and has connotations of extended time. Dragons were also associated with the number nine, as there were nine forms of Dragon and nine offspring of the Dragon King. Therefore it was only natural that nine Dragons became the symbol of the Emperor and his immediate court. The Emperor wore robes with nine Dragons on them (with one Dragon hidden from general view) and his Officials wore nine Dragon robes under a surcoat.

Nine Dragon Wall in the Forbidden City:


The Architectural symbol of the Emperor’s power was the Nine Dragon Wall, and many of these walls were built in Imperial compounds throughout China. The three most famous are the wall in the Forbidden City, constructed in 1772 for the Emperor QuinLong, the wall in Beihai Park, and the Nine Dragon Wall in Datong.
Nine Dragon Wall in Beihai Park, built in 1756:


Luckily, for those of us who do not live in China, there is a Nine Dragon Wall in North America in the City of Mississauga just outside of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The Nine Dragon Wall in Mississauga, Ontario:



This wall, in many ways similar to the one in Beihai Park, is made of seven-coloured ceramic tile, and depicts nine five-taloned Dragons. It, too, is 27 meters long and 5 meters high, smaller than the Forbidden City wall.  We are very fortunate that this wall has been built so near to us so we can enjoy it in its entirety, even getting up right next to the ceramics.

The Nine Sons of the Dragon King (with no relation to the images on the wall) are:



Chiwen: seen on top of things. If you look at the roof-ridge of a building, his image is often carved there so he can gaze into the distance and provide early warning.

Baxia: found near water. His image will be carved on bridges and arches leading to piers so that he can take a swim when he likes and protect the traveler from the water.
Pulao: fond of his own voice and likes to roar, so his image is carved on bells.
Bixi: actually has a tortoise shape, but is considered to be one of the dragon legends. The Bixi is an excellent pack-animal whose image appears on panniers. Bixi are represented on the sides of grave-monuments and are frequently carved as the base for important memorials.
Qiuniu: loves music and adorns bridge of stringed musical instruments.
Suanni: fond of smoke and fire, so he twines up the legs of incense-burners. Suanni, who like to sit don, are represented upon the bases of Buddhist idols under the Buddha's or Bodhisatvas' feet.
Jiaotu: can keep his mouth shut like a clam. He appears as either a conch spiral shape or a clamshell shape. He is found on door lintels, front doors, and major entryways. He guards your peace and privacy.


Haoxian: a reckless and adventurous dragon whose image can be found decorating the eaves of palaces.
Yazi:  brave and belligerent, he can be found engraved on the handles of knives and the hilts of swords.












Map of the Mississauga Chinese Centre:




View Larger Map
If you can possibly do it, go to the Mississauga Chinese Centre and visit the Nine Dragon Wall. You will find it very enjoyable. Don't forget to take your camera.



Mississauga Dragon Wall Photos by Bo Caunce