Folklore Final Project Paper

Howard Robinson

One day my sister her kids and I were at the park. I saw a bold jumping

spider, a particularly large species of jumping spider. I caught it and watched it

crawl peacefully on my hands. My sisters youngest daughter, who is three years

old, came up to me and asked me what I was doing. I showed her the spider. She

shared my enthusiasm for the small arachnid, and asked if she could hold it. She

was quite enjoying herself. My sister was surprised to see her so excited about a

spider. This scenario is proof of something I had pondered for a while. There is one

hypothesis that tries to explain why we fear some animals. The basic idea of it is

that things like spiders and snakes have the potential to harm us with venom;

because of this humans evolved a natural instinct to be fearful of them for our

protection. I have always took issue with this hypothesis because I cant remember

ever being afraid of spiders or snakes, which shouldnt happen if humans are

suppose to innately fear these things.

I Propose that the fear of animals such as spiders and snakes, is a

cultural construct. A taught behavior rather that an instinctive one. These fears are

fueled by misconceptions; these misconceptions may stem our stories and legends

about these animals.

Lets take ravens for example. Ravens are very smart birds, arguably

smarter than parrots. They use tools to get food, work together to solve problems,

typically mate for life, and even have primitive culture. Not all there behavior are
instinctive but taught from parent to offspring, because of this ravens in one aria

can behave differently then in others. Yet most people dont view ravens in this

light.

In America seeing a raven, crow or even a magpie is not a good thing.

Most Americans consider them to be bad omens. Seeing one is said to mean

someone close to you instead, or that you will have bad luck in the near future.

Even hearing the distinct caw of a crow is enough to fill us with a sense of terror.

This is not the case in England. In the olden days of London the raven

was a common bird, often living close to people. Until the 16th century, it enjoyed

protection in our towns for its scavenger role in "keeping the streets ... free from all

filth"( McCarthy)

Raven stories have a different tone in London. Take for example one of the myths

about the Tower of London. Legend has it that John Flamsteed (1646 - 1719); the

'astronomical observatory' complained to King Charles II that the birds were

interfering with his observations. The King therefore ordered their destruction only

to be told that if the ravens left the Tower, the White Tower would fall and a great

disaster befall the Kingdom. Sensibly the King changed his mind and decreed that

at least six ravens should be kept at the Tower at all times to prevent

disaster.(Johnson)

The ravens of London tower are extremely well treated. They are let out

every day in the mornings and roam the tower as they please the caretakers leave

food out for the ravens to eat. At night the ravens return to their cages for safety.

The public loves these guardians of the tower and come to see them and take

pictures. All the ravens are even given names, and are recognized by their distinct
personalities. Hardey, Thor, Odin, Gwyllum, Cedric, Hugine and Munin, are the

names of the current raven guardians.

Why is it that Americans fear the crow but the British love them? It has to

how there presented to us in our stories and legends. American culture is filled with

stories that paint the crow in a negative light. In Edgar Allen Poes The Raven the

raven is a sign of death, and its crowing drives the character insane. In Alfred

Hitchcocks horror movie The Birds crows attack people and are seen all over the

place representing a looming danger.

Our myths and legends shape how we see these birds. Objectively ravens

arent bringers of death, nor are they noble guardians that protect towers with their

aura. Ravens are simply birds.

Another animal that is viewed entirely different depending on the cultural

background is the rat. Rats are only as dirty as there environment and are actually

one of the friendliest and easy to raise pets for children, however most people are

horrified to consider them as pets. Rats have the potential to spread disease, and

are seen as inherently gross and disgusting creatures. Rats are often the villains of

storys, Redwall, and The Great Mouse Detective, are two examples of stories

with rats as the villains. Even in trading cards and video games rats are often weak

level monsters. Like all animals Rats are only as dirty as there environment, and yet

even the cleanest domestic rat, is seen as dangerous and diseased ridden.

In Indian culture however rats are sacred animals and are even worshiped.

Take the Karni Mata temple for example. The Karni Mata Temple in Rajasthan, India,

is known for its devotion to the furry animals, often seen as the scourge of urban

areas.Devotees have even gone to extreme lengths to protect the species by building
netting and grills to keep out predators such as raptors.(Tomlinson)Protecting rats is

an absurd concept to Americans, but not to the Indians, even the temple visitors love

the rats. Many visitors offer sweets and other candy to the vermin. The food

nibbled by the rats is also considered holy and is sometimes consumed by a

devotee - even if it has been half eaten by rodents. This is where many Westerners

would draw the line. Eating the food that a rat has touched let alone eaten is sure to

cause disease, yet they never get sick from the rats. The temple is clean enough

that the rats dont get diseased, after all rats are only as diseased as there

environment.

So why are rats so worshipped in this temple? The main religion in India is

Hinduism. In Hinduism when someone dies they get reincarnated as another living

thing, this happens until there soul is deemed perfect and can return to its source.

Even gods can reincarnate as a human form like in the story of Karni Mata. The

legend goes that Karni Mata, a mystic matriarch from the 14th century, was an

incarnation of Durga, the goddess of power and victory. At some point during her

life, the child of one of her clansmen died. She attempted to bring the child back to

life, only to be told by Yama, the god of death, that he had already been

reincarnated. Karni Mata cut a deal with Yama: From that point forward, all of her

tribespeople would be reborn as rats until they could be born back into the

clan.(Guynup)

Since these rats are reincarnated children of a god they are treated with

respect and kindness.

Not all of these interpretations of animals come directly from a story, some of

them stem from traditions that arent ceremonials but still shape the idea of some
animals. Take our last example for instance the cicada. Insects in general are not

viewed in a very positive light in America. Most people, while recognizing that they

are harmless, still dont want anything to do with them. The sight of them is

repulsive and the sight of one will make you instantly lose your appetite. The larger

the insect the more disgusting it is especially if it flies. Japan is a different story.

There are a lot of large bugs in japan, and children love them. They collect them like

entomologists. They keep them as pets, and if you have a model specimen or a rare

one, you are the coolest kid ever that has one of the greatest pets ever.

This brings us to the humble cicada. In America the sound that they make is

eerie and creepy. It means that somewhere there are hundreds of fairly larger bugs

watching you. Cicadas are extremely common in japan, so much so that you can

constantly hear them during the summer, when they are trying to attract mates.

When a Japanese person hears the cicadas song they are instantly transported back

there childhood memories. That sound is the sound of summer and is associated

will all the fun memories they have during their summer vacation.

The sound is so synonymies with nostalgia and summer that when a story is

trying to sell summer items or even items that are nostalgic they will play the

cicada sound in the isle, to put customers in the summer mood. There is no

particular story in America or japan about cicadas, but the view of them is changed

by the traditions of the folk group, young children on summer vacation in this case.

To conclude the fear of animals is not an instinctive behavior but a learned

one. The taught behavior to fear animals may have originated from a member of

our pack to be killed by one so we spread the info to others. Fear of harmless

animals get there reputation from the storys and myths of our ancestors. Since
each aria has a different culture different arias have vastly different thoughts on

animals. From this understanding hopefully we can grow past the misconceptions of

these animals.

Editor, Michael McCarthy Environment. "Ravens, the Literary Birds of Death,

Come Back to Life in Britain." The Independent. Independent Digital News and

Media, 22 Jan. 2006. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

Guynup, Sharon. "Rats Rule at Indian Temple." National Geographic. National

Geographic Society, 29 June 2004. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

Johnson, Ben. "Tower Ravens."Historic UK - The History and Heritage

Accommodation Guide.Historic UK, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

Saran, Shalini, et al. "Traveling in Northern India: Where Fantasy Reigned."

India: Northern, Northeastern & Central India (Nelles Guide), 1998 3rd Edition, p.

162. EBSCOhost,
 Sax, Boria. "How Ravens Came to the Tower of London." Society & Animals,

vol. 15, no. 3, Sept. 2007, pp. 269-283. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1163/156853007X217203.

Tomlinson, Simon. "Inside India's Rat Temple Where 20,000 of Them Are

Worshipped, Fed and Protected as They Scurry between the Feet of Tourists." Daily

Mail Online.Associated Newspapers, 24 Feb. 2014.Web. 25 Apr. 2017