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Post by brobear on Apr 23, 2017 7:37:58 GMT -5
I just experienced an epiphany. According to the history book, "Bear - History of a Fallen King" both the cave bear and the grizzly shared the crown as the 'King of Beasts' as they were both held in the highest esteem among wild beasts by both the Neanderthals and the Cro-magnons of Pleistocene Europe. It is unclear if there has ever been any break in time when during the Holocene from the day that the Pleistocene ended and the year 1000 AD. As far as we know the grizzly was viewed as the 'King of Beasts' - the animal holding the highest position within the hearts and minds of the European people - for tens of thousands of years. I would think that very likely the title was also shared by the polar bear. Perhaps our site owner/manager Polar can shed some insight on the status of the polar bear within the hearts and minds of the Inuit ( Arctic ) people.
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Post by brobear on May 2, 2017 6:43:52 GMT -5
Repeat from "The Bear, History of a Fallen King"... The oldest trace of the symbolic ties between man and bear seems to date from approximately 80,000 years ago in Perigord, in the cave of Regourdou, where a Neanderthal grave is connected to the grave of a brown bear under a single slab between two blocks of stone, thereby indicating the special status of the animal. The oldest discovered statue, fashioned some fifteen to twenty thousand years ago, is of a bear. The lion was not always king. From roughly 80,000 BC to roughly 1200 AD, the bear was the noted "King of Beasts" and even worshipped in many early societies. While I am among the grizzlies greatest admirers, I absolutely stand firm against anyone choosing to worship the bear or any other beast. Not only can the grizzly be killed, he nearly faced extinction in both the lower 48 of North America and in all of Europe. However, the grizzly, along with the now extinct giant cave bear and along with his closest relative, the great polar bear, deserve the title of "King of Beasts" - IMO. - Of course, the idea of the lion, certainly the top predator of terrestrial Africa, as holding the title of "King of Beasts" is now so deeply ingrained in society, that it will never change. But, I must admit that the lion does indeed present himself in a kingly manner. He is the lord and master of a harem of females. His mighty roar is unparalleled. His shaggy mane on an otherwise tawny very short coat can be viewed as his regal crown. I suppose that the early Church presented the lion as the new King of Beasts for these reasons.
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Post by brobear on May 2, 2017 7:04:30 GMT -5
Aesop's Fables. I loved those stories as a kid. In fact, I still like them. www.britannica.com/biography/Aesop Aesop, the supposed author of a collection of Greek fables, almost certainly a legendary figure. Various attempts were made in ancient times to establish him as an actual personage. Herodotus in the 5th century bc said that he had lived in the 6th century and that he was a slave, and Plutarch in the 1st century ad made him adviser to Croesus, the 6th-century-bc king of Lydia. One tradition holds that he came from Thrace, while a later one styles him a Phrygian. An Egyptian biography of the 1st century ad places him on the island of Samos as a slave who gained his freedom from his master, thence going to Babylon as riddle solver to King Lycurgus, and, finally, meeting his death at Delphi. The probability is that Aesop was no more than a name invented to provide an author for fables centring on beasts, so that “a story of Aesop” became synonymous with “fable.” The importance of fables lay not so much in the story told as in the moral derived from it. The first-known collection of the fables ascribed to Aesop was produced by Demetrius Phalareus in the 4th century bc, but it did not survive beyond the 9th century ad. A collection of fables that relied heavily on the Aesop corpus was that of Phaedrus, which was produced at Rome in the 1st century ad. Phaedrus’ treatment of them greatly influenced the way in which they were used by later writers, notably by the 17th-century French poet and fabulist Jean de La Fontaine. *Note that the Aesop tales were told long before the lion was instated as the "King of Beasts" by centuries! There can be only one explanation. The Church, a powerful force between the years 1000 AD and 1200 AD had the famous fables retold, replacing the bear with the lion.
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Post by brobear on May 2, 2017 8:24:01 GMT -5
Doing the math, and if the bear's reign as the noted "King of Beasts" in all of Europe remained unbroken from 80,000 BC until 1200 AD, this would mean that the bear ( in Europe this means both brown and cave ) was the "King of Beasts" for a period of at least 81,200 years. Historically, there remains some time periods with very little information. But, from all European history now known, the bear has always stood out as the most highly represented of animals up until between 1000 AD and 1200 AD. The reign of the lion has now lasted for roughly 800 to 1,000 years - still a long time.
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Post by brobear on May 5, 2017 13:19:36 GMT -5
In the ancient Roman Games ( Circus Games ), I know that the grizzly nearly always defeated the bull, always defeated the lion, but was easily defeated when faced with a rhinoceros. I also have learned that there was once staged a battle between a grizzly and a python. However, I have found no data on the outcome of that confrontation.
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Post by brobear on May 5, 2017 13:32:04 GMT -5
www.endangeredspecieshandbook.org/persecution_bears.php The immense Grizzly or Brown Bear, which once roamed the prairies and woodlands of western North America, inspired awe and fear in explorers and settlers alike. For thousands of years, Native Americans revered this bear. The Cree called it a four-legged human, and other tribes considered it a brother or cousin. They felt a kinship based on its intelligence and respected its great strength. They could not easily hunt it with bows and arrows, and when wounded, it showed great courage defending itself, able to cause severe injuries or death with its 5-inch claws. The Grizzly reigned as the fearsome and unchallenged king of all wildlife on the continent, numbering at least 100,000 prior to the arrival of Europeans (Nowak 1999). These extremely adaptable bears lived in every western North American habitat except deserts. Arriving from Asia by way of the Bering Strait 12,000 years ago when sea levels were lower, Grizzlies gradually colonized western regions, the biggest of an array of large carnivores that inhabited the continent at that time, including dire wolves, hyenas and sabre-toothed cats. They survived the frigid and harsh climate of the Pleistocene Ice Age. They thrived in prairies, especially those with scattered woodlands. In the 1500s, their range extended from the Arctic tundra south through the shortgrass prairie to the pine forests of northern Mexico, and west to the Pacific Ocean. In fact, the original range of the Grizzly Bear may have been larger than previously thought, reaching east to the Atlantic in Canada. A Grizzly skull has been found in a midden of the late 18th century, and pelts of these bears reportedly were taken in Labrador as late as 1927 (Nowak 1999). Grizzly Bears of North America and Brown Bears of Eurasia were previously considered separate species, but today they are classified as a single one, Ursus arctos. The bears that live along the southern Alaskan coast and offshore islands, such as the Kodiak, are the world's largest carnivores (Nowak 1999). Weighing up to 780 kilograms (1,716 pounds), Kodiak Grizzlies have a shoulder height up to 1,500 millimeters (58.5 inches, or almost 5 feet), and a body length ranging up to 2,800 millimeters (109.2 inches, or 9 feet) (Nowak 1999). Standing height can be almost 12 feet. Adult males are larger than adult females. North American Grizzlies are far larger than bears of the same species native to southern Europe, which average only 70 kilograms (154 pounds) (Nowak 1999). Grizzlies of the northern portion of the lower 48 states are only somewhat smaller than the Alaskan bears, while those native to Arizona, New Mexico and Mexico, all now extinct, were smaller still, weighing less than 1,000 pounds. Reproducing at a very slow rate, Brown Bear females have an average of two cubs only once every two to four years, and the cubs stay with their mother for this entire period (Nowak 1999). On occasion, only one cub is born, and sometimes up to four. If the mother is killed at any time before the cubs leave to be on their own, the cubs will also die because they are unable to fend for themselves, destroying two generations. The training period of these bears is extremely long, an indication of their slow maturation and the complexity of learning about food sources and other keys to survival. Another reason for this long apprenticeship is the potential of attacks by male Grizzly Bears. Until a young bear is 3 years old or older, it is not large enough to withstand an attack by an adult male, requiring the protection of its mother. Males continue to grow until they are 10 to 11 years old, and may provoke fights with younger bears to chase them from the territory, which prevents inbreeding. Females remain fertile until well into their 20s. Females in the Yellowstone region are known to live to be 25 years old, and Grizzly Bears may have the potential to live 50 years in captivity (Nowak 1999). They do not reach sexual maturity until they are at least 4 to 6 years old. These bears have a low natural death rate, and when combined with their slow reproduction, they are very vulnerable to extinction should they suffer high mortality. A large habitat requirement is another aspect of their vulnerability. In the Arctic, a single Grizzly requires more than 100 square miles of tundra, and in the Yellowstone area, each bear occupies about 88 square kilometers (Nowak 1999). In regions where they are distributed sparsely, they can be eliminated easily, and even where they are more numerous, persecution and trophy hunting have caused local extinctions. The strength, intelligence and size of the Grizzly, which have served it so well for thousands of years, were no match for European guns. Explorers, trappers and, later, settlers, slaughtered thousands of Grizzlies, killing them on sight. The first to disappear were the bears of the Great Plains, where the landscape was open and provided little cover. In some cases, these bears showed almost mythic strength upon being shot. Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804 reported that one wounded bear ran at a fast clip for nearly a quarter of a mile before it fell dead after being shot through the heart (Peck 1990). Persecution of bears often includes the killing of their cubs. Early in the 20th century, President Theodore Roosevelt refused to kill bear cubs pointed out by his hunting guide, and when this was publicized in newspapers, he became a folk hero as a result. Toy manufacturers took advantage of the story by producing stuffed animal "Teddy Bears," which remain popular today. President Theodore Roosevelt left a legacy of destructive trophy hunting, however, including the killing of many adult bears. Settlers moving into the West hunted these bears, and during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, government predator-control agents began campaigns to eliminate these bears. Much of the zeal with which the bears were slaughtered was based on a misconception: they were thought to be vicious man-eaters. In fact, they are mainly vegetarian and only occasionally kill animals for meat. The most common animals killed by Grizzly Bears are various types of rodents, such as ground squirrels and, in some areas, fish. Elk calves are killed as part of their diet in some areas. The staple foods of the Grizzly diet are green shoots, sedges, clover and lilies early in the spring and, later in the summer, berries, roots, fruit, acorns and nuts, with occasional rodents (Peacock 1996). These bears do not consider humans to be natural prey, and attacks are rare. Prejudices dominated, however, and hunters who killed them were considered heroes and rewarded with bounty money. To protect their livestock, ranchers insisted that government hunters kill off every Grizzly Bear, and after several centuries of uncontrolled hunting, trapping and poisoning, the bears became extinct in their vast original realm south of Canada except for a few hundred animals protected in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks. All 26 subspecies of Grizzly Bears south of Canada and Alaska, except Ursus arctos horribilis, became extinct by the 1950s, and some disappeared during the 19th century. The latter subspecies, named from specimens obtained in northeastern Montana, barely survived. In fact, Ursus horribilis was the species' scientific name until recently, an indication of the prejudice against it. Now considered a subspecies, Ursus arctos horribilis is listed on the US Endangered Species Act as Threatened, and this subspecies is used to indicate all Brown Bears in the lower 48 states. Grizzly populations still occupy only 1 percent of their original range in the lower 48 states and number fewer than 1,000 (Nowak 1999). This includes Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, whose protection prevented their total extinction south of Canada, a few wilderness areas in Idaho, western Montana, and Washington. Human activities such as road building disturb them and cause them to desert otherwise prime habitat. They are no longer the fearless animals that Lewis and Clark encountered, but have become very shy outside of national parks after centuries of persecution. Although they may pose a potential threat to humans who enter their last retreats, people are a far greater threat to them. Their rugged wilderness habitat in Montana is being developed rapidly, and Grizzly populations, which had risen somewhat after their listing on the US Endangered Species Act, are now in danger of disappearing again. Added to this, some ranchers in the region still persecute them. A prime habitat for Grizzly Bears, the 329,000-acre Swan Valley of northwestern Montana borders the Bob Marshall Wilderness area, a country of open grassland and forest with breathtaking mountain views. Until recently, this landscape remained almost unchanged from its original state. Ranching, road building and other activities, and an increasing human population in this region, however, are now ruining its wilderness character and threatening the Grizzlies (Pelletier and Servheen 1995). Through cooperation with local residents, the Fish and Wildlife Service is identifying important habitat areas and linkage corridors for the Grizzly Bears in this part of Montana to prevent conflict with humans. These zones would be a link between the small population of bears in the Mission Mountains to the west and those in the Bob Marshall Wilderness area (Pelletier and Servheen 1995). The land is a checkerboard of ownership by private individuals, state, federal and corporate entities; in an unusual project, all private and public lands will be included in a management plan, with input by local citizens (Pelletier and Servheen 1995). These bears remain under the continual threat of being shot by ranchers fearful for their livestock and apprehensive about possible land restrictions in areas where Grizzly Bears are resident. Sport hunting of this small population is also allowed. Grizzly Bears are still depicted in the media as dangerous man-eaters, resulting in a prejudiced view by the American public. A number of television programs produced by the National Geographic Society, CBS, the Discovery Channel, Fox and others have perpetuated this image. With titles such as "Dangerous to Man!," "Bear Attacks" and "Man-eaters," these programs often demonize the bears and interview people who have been attacked while camping in the bears’ habitat. Very few such attacks have occurred, and almost none has been fatal. After centuries of being shot at and harassed by humans, Grizzly Bears tend to avoid people. When camping inside national parks where Grizzlies are resident, special precautions must be taken, and it should be kept in mind that the parks are their home, and humans are the intruders. The national parks, where hunting is banned, are their only refuge. Some documented cases of attacks have occurred when a mother bear felt her cubs were threatened by humans, especially if they approached the cubs. Mother Grizzlies may be the fiercest protectors of their young in the animal world, a trait that should be admired from a distance. Television programs that sensationalize the potential threat of animals do not note the hundreds of Grizzly Bears killed by humans every year in North America. They also fail to show the many bears that are merely wounded by hunters and suffer a long death, or the cubs that are orphaned and die of starvation. The irrational fear and hatred aroused by misinformation often result in mortalities to these bears by armed tourists and residents in their range who misinterpret the bears' behavior. Many bears have had to be destroyed because tourists fed them, and they became fearless, capable of swiping food or destroying tents and property. Information on avoiding Grizzly Bear encounters is available from National Park Service rangers, other federally employed biologists, and many conservation and humane organizations. Only with tolerance, respect and an informed public concerned about preserving these bears can they survive. Ecotourism in the threatened and unprotected portions of the Grizzlies’ range is in the early stages of development. Portions of the revenues from tours could be spent to acquire habitat and conduct local education programs. In Alaska, this has been highly successful, with tourists coming from around the world to see these bears fishing for salmon. Montana has some of the most spectacular scenery on the continent, sweeping vistas and vast open spaces that rival those of East Africa. They could be a magnet for tourists anxious to see Grizzly Bears and other native wildlife against a background of snow-capped peaks. Unfortunately, much of their prime valley habitats have been taken over by ranchers and private homes. The tourism in the area has been of a highly commercial and exploitative nature. For example, in some Montana towns, tourists see many stuffed Grizzlies in local businesses, and one can have one's photograph taken posed in a cutout painting of a Grizzly Bear appearing to attack. If sizeable portions of Montana valley habitats were acquired for the Grizzly Bears, tourists could be taken on van tours, similar to those that now operate in East Africa. For the more athletic, groups of tourists could be taken on guided walks into the high country. Portions of the funds from the tours could be used to purchase privately owned land, to fund public education about these bears and their survival, and to compensate ranchers for livestock losses. The Nez Perce tribe is working with the Fish and Wildlife Service on a project to reintroduce the Grizzly Bear into the Selway Bitterroot wilderness of Idaho and Montana, another magnificent area for ecotourism (Robbins 1997). Plans to reintroduce Grizzlies into the 1.9 million-acre San Juan National Forest in southwestern Colorado have sparked controversy and prejudice (Papich 2000). Decades after Grizzlies disappeared from the state, the Fish and Wildlife Service reintroduction project has been applauded by local conservation organizations, such as the Colorado Grizzly Project, and opposed by ranchers and even hiking groups who fear attacks (Papich 2000). Returning the Grizzly Bear to portions of its former range in the lower 48 states, even into immense wilderness areas, will be a slow process, possible only after extensive education and a change in the accepted practice of releasing livestock in national forests without sheepdogs, herders or other protections. The Mexican Grizzly (Ursus arctos nelsoni) persisted in the remote mountains of northern Mexico until it was poisoned, shot and trapped to extinction in the late 1960s (Day 1981). This race was smaller than northern Grizzlies, weighing about 700 pounds. Quite numerous and widespread, the Mexican Grizzly had an enormous range in the pine forests of the northeast until efforts began to exterminate it. Only about 30 animals remained by 1960. Although some individuals tried to protect these last bears, others set out to destroy them, and a campaign of poisoning, trapping and hunting, sponsored by ranchers, resulted in the killing of the last animal in the early 1960s (Day 1981). In 1968, biologist Carl Koford conducted a three-month survey in the isolated mountain canyons of Chihuahua where they had last been seen, and he saw no sign of Grizzly Bears (Day 1981). Subsequently, they were declared extinct. Hunters in many parts of the Grizzly Bear's range in Canada kill the species in such numbers that many biologists consider it to be threatened there. The Canadian Broadcasting Company's "Nature of Things" program produced a film, “Grizzlies: Losing Ground,” which painted a dim picture of this bear's future in Canada. They are killed by ranchers and hunted for trophies and for their gallbladders, which are used in Traditional Medicine. Many are killed by park rangers merely because they come too close to tourists. They are being driven from their wilderness homes by unrestricted logging and mining as well. Brown Bears are already extinct in North Africa, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, Syria and the United Kingdom. They are endangered in the few countries where they remain in Western Europe. In Scandinavia, there may be as many as 700 Brown Bears, with populations of less than 1,000 in Slovia, Romania and Bulgaria, and possibly 2,000 in the former Yugoslavia (Nowak 1999). Fewer than a dozen Brown Bears survive in France's Pyrenees Mountains where, despite protests from around the world, a major highway was built through the center of their habitat. Brown Bears are heavily persecuted throughout Eurasia for body parts, especially gallbladders. They are considered endangered in Central Asia's mountains where Ursus arctos isabellinus occurs, a CITES Appendix I race, and the Tibetan Brown Bear (U.a. pruinosus) is listed as Endangered on the US Endangered Species Act. Outside Russia, only about 4,500 to 7,600 of these bears remain in China, and isolated populations survive in Mongolia, northern Japan and Turkey (Nowak 1999). The South American Spectacled Bear (Tremarctos ornatus) is classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN, with persecution by ranchers a major cause (Nowak 1999). These 300-pound black bears have large circles of white fur around the eyes and white circular markings on the neck and chest. They feed on fruit, bamboo hearts, corn, and other vegetation with about 4 percent of their diet composed of rodents and insects (Nowak 1999). Spectacled Bears are native to the Andes of western Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and western Bolivia. This high-altitude, shy bear is active mainly at dusk and at night and poses no threat to livestock, yet ranchers and landowners have persecuted and hunted it in Peru and other countries because of the mistaken belief that it kills livestock (Nowak 1999). With the destruction of their high-altitude, humid forest and grasslands replaced in many areas by agriculture, some bears have raided corn fields to survive; many of these bears have been shot by farmers (Nowak 1999). This bear is declining throughout its range, and few areas remain where it can forage without being hunted, either by livestock ranchers, farmers, or for its body parts to sell to Asian markets for traditional medicine. Only a few national parks exist within its range, and populations have become fragmented and isolated from one another. A biological study of these bears in Bolivia by British zoologist Susanna Paisley is uncovering new information about their natural history and the threats posed by radio-tracking. A film about her study and the local people helping her, “Bears of the High Andes,” was shown on a National Geographic Explorer television program in 1998, providing a unique glimpse into the lives of these rare bears.
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Post by brobear on May 13, 2017 15:54:37 GMT -5
treesforlife.org.uk/forest/mythology-folklore/bear/ Bear folklore is widespread, especially in the far northern hemisphere. It is not surprising that this awesome beast was one of the first animals to be revered by our ancestors. From as far back as the Palaeolithic (around 50,000 years ago) there is evidence of a bear cult in which the bear was seen as lord of the animals, a god, and even the ancestor of humans. Various species of bear played a central role in many shamanic practices of the north, and brown bears were part of our native forests as recently as the 10th century, when hunting and habitat loss drove them to extinction. The Celts venerated the bear goddess, Artio - like a mother bear she was a fiercely protective influence. The bear god Artaois is closely linked to the warrior-king, Arthur; with his legendary strength and fighting prowess, Arthur's name and emblem both represent this animal. Celtic families would often have their own animal totem, a tradition that is still evident in the family name McMahon, which means 'son(s) of the bear'. Viking warriors were famous for working themselves into an insane battle frenzy (it has been suggested that the psychotropic fly agaric mushroom was sometimes used). They invoked the bear spirit, at times even donning a bear skin, to imbue them with superhuman strength and fury. These were the Berserkers, their name being derived from a Norse word meaning 'bear shirt'. In Greek legend, Zeus fell in love with the huntress Callisto, and she bore him a son named Arcas. In a fit of jealous rage, Zeus's wife turned Callisto into a bear. Time passed, and one day Arcas was out hunting. How was he to know that the bear he was stalking was his own mother?! On seeing that Callisto's life was in danger, Zeus whisked her up into the night sky out of harm's way. She can still be seen in the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear. (In another version, Arcas is also sent skywards, and becomes the adjacent Ursa Minor, the Little Bear.) The Big Dipper, or Plough, is one of the more familiar groups of stars within this constellation. Interestingly, the Druidic name for this group was Arthur's Plough, and the constellation was also seen as a bear in Native American and Hebrew tradition. In Native American folklore there are many tales about bears. It is highly respected as the 'keeper of dreams', and 'the keeper of medicine', and is one of the most powerful totems. (Bears hibernate, giving them associations with the world of dreams.) Human fascination with this animal has not always worked in the bear's favour. The bear appears in the names of many English pubs, and this is thought to be a hangover from the days bear-baiting - medieval 'entertainment' which involved tying a bear to a post and setting dogs on it. The Caledonian bear was said to be so fierce that it was favoured by the Romans who used them in their amphitheatres, for similar purposes. In 1902, U.S. President Theodore ('Teddy') Roosevelt was on a hunting trip along the Mississippi, but showed mercy to an old bear he could have easily taken as a trophy. The story of this act spread quickly, and the Teddy Bear was born. Bears still make an appearance in recent literature. Beorn in Tolkien's The Hobbit was a man who could take the shape of a bear, echoing ancient shamanic practices. And who could forget wise old Baloo, the teacher of the wolf cubs from Kipling's Jungle Book, Paddington Bear (think marmalade sandwiches and hard stares), or Winnie the Pooh? More recently, Benjamin Hoff's Tao of Pooh used this unassuming bear to illustrate the Taoist principles of modesty, simplicity, and intuitive, practical wisdom. In Phillip Pullman's Northern Lights, the young heroine, Lyra, befriends a fierce and loyal polar bear king named Iorek Byrnison, helping him to regain his throne.
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Post by brobear on May 14, 2017 10:31:13 GMT -5
www.crystalinks.com/bears.html Bears in Mythology and Legend There is evidence of prehistoric bear worship. Anthropologists such as Joseph Campbell have regarded this as a common feature in most of the fishing and hunting-tribes. The prehistoric Finns, along with most Siberian peoples, considered the bear as the spirit of one's forefathers. This is why the bear (karhu) was a greatly respected animal, with several euphemistic names (such as otso, mesikŠmmen and kontio). The bear is the national animal of Finland. This kind of attitude is reflected in the traditional Russian fairy tale "Morozko", whose arrogant protagonist Ivan tries to kill a mother bear and her cubs - and is punished and humbled by having his own head turned magically into a bear's head and being subsequently shunned by human society. "The Brown Bear of Norway" is a Scottish fairy tale telling the adventures of a girl who married a prince magically turned into a bear, and who managed to get him back into a human form by the force of her love and after many trials and difficulties. In the 1970s, this story was adapted into the East German fantasy film The Singing Ringing Tree and broadcast on British television. Evidence of bear worship has been found in early Chinese and Ainu cultures, as well (see Iomante). Korean people in their mythology identify the bear as their ancestor and symbolic animal. According to the Korean legend, a god imposed a difficult test on a she-bear; when she passed it, the god turned her into a woman and married her. Legends of saints taming bears are common in the Alpine zone. In the arms of the bishopric of Freising, the bear is the dangerous totem animal tamed by St. Corbinian and made to carry his civilised baggage over the mountains. A bear also features prominently in the legend of St. Romedius, who is also said to have tamed one of these animals and had the same bear carry him from his hermitage in the mountains to the city of Trento. Similar stories are told of Saint Gall and Saint Columbanus. This recurrent motif was used by the Church as a symbol of the victory of Christianity over paganism.[59] In the Norse settlements of northern England during the 10th century, a type of "hogback" grave cover of a long narrow block of stone, with a shaped apex like the roof beam of a long house, is carved with a muzzled, thus Christianised, bear clasping each gable end. Though the best collection of these is in the church at Brompton, North Yorkshire,[60] their distribution ranges across northern England and southern Scotland, with a scattered few in the north Midlands and single survivals in Wales, Cornwall, and Ireland; a late group is found in the Orkney Islands.
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Post by brobear on May 15, 2017 9:12:04 GMT -5
www.druidry.org/library/animals/bear The Bear - by David Legg NATURAL HISTORY The bear has been worshipped, probably as a brother, for many thousands of years. In this it can probably be said to be the oldest human-animal relationship. It can be seen why the bear is regarded as a Brother - they can walk on two legs, are omnivorous and like the same food as humans - honey, salmon, fruit, nuts and meat. There are several species of bear - Asiatic Black, American Black, Spectacled, Polar, Sun, Sloth and the Panda. Here I shall concentrate on the Brown bear and its sub-species. Genus Brown Bear: Ursus Arctos (sub-species are the Grizzly, Kodiak, European, American, Asiatic, Kamchatka, Syrian and Mexican) Habitat The brown bear is the most widespread bear species. They can be found over most of Europe, North America, and Northern Asia. The most stable populations of brown bear are found in North America and Russia. In North America, they are found mainly in the north-western regions of Alaska, Canada and a few scattered populations in the north-western United States. Only four populations of brown bear remain in central and western Europe: in the Cantabrian Mountains of Spain, the Pyrenees Mountain Range, the Alps, and the Abruzzo Mountains of Italy. Some populations exist in Scandanavia and in the Caparthian and Balkan mountains. In Asia, the bear population is declining rapidly to extensive hunting for their body parts. However, there is still a large population in the Japanese island of Hokkaido. Brown Bear Appearance Weight: 130 - 700 Kg (300 -1500 lbs.) Brown Bears have coats in shades of blond, brown, black, or a combination of those colours; the long outer guard hairs are often tipped with white or silver, giving a ‘grizzled’ appearance. Brown Bears have a large hump of muscle over their shoulders which give strength to the forelimbs for digging. Their heads are large and round with a concave facial profile. In spite of their size, they can run at speeds of up to 56 km/h (35 mph). Voice Since bears are usually not found in social groups, their vocalizations are rare. The obvious exception would be a mother bear with cubs. Cubs need to communicate, often quite loudly, through cries, whines, and whimpers when distressed, hissing when frightened and a loud humming sound when contentedly nursing or drowsing. Mother bears also have a range of sounds from snorts that call her cubs to follow, scolding growls to correct youthful behaviour and loud woofs that send cubs scrambling up the nearest tree to safety. Breeding Mating season takes place from May to July and the young are born in January and February while hibernation is taking place. Sexual maturity isn’t reached until 4 to 6 years of age. Females produce a litter every 2 to 4 years. Habits The Brown Bear is primarily nocturnal and in the summer puts on up to 180kg (400 pounds) of fat, on which it relies to make it through winter, when it becomes very lethargic. Although they are not true hibernators and can be woken easily, they like to den up in a protected spot such as a cave, crevice or hollow log during the winter months. Normally a solitary animal, the Brown Bear congregates alongside streams and rivers during the salmon spawn. Lifespan They live for 20 to 30 years (wild), 50 years (captivity) . Diet Brown Bears are omnivores; they feed on a variety of plant parts, including berries, roots, and sprouts; fungi; and fish, insects and small mammals. Brown Bears are largely vegetarian, deriving up to 75% of their dietary calories from vegetable matter. Interestingly, bears eat an enormous number of moths during the summer—sometimes as many as 20-40,000 in a day—and may derive up to one third of their calories from moths. Enemies Man. Intelligence Can count to ten - many tribes regard them as our brothers.
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Post by brobear on May 15, 2017 9:12:59 GMT -5
Continued.... FOLKLORE Worshipping a bear may have been a religion among the ancient hunter tribes in Eurasia and even of Neanderthal man. Drawings of bear worship have been found in caves in Southern Europe dating back tens of thousands of years. Finnish bear tradition reflects the religious and ideological system of different eras starting from shamanism and ending in the belief of evolution in the Western societies. During the Catholic era St. Birgitta became guardian of the bear. Hunters turned to her so that she would keep her bears under control.There is a cycle (see the Stag / Deer) where by the famous Bear (or Human-Bear) Hunter chases the Stag that steals the sun in order to return it. This would relate the Bear in astronomy to Bootes the Hunter / Herdsman or Arcturus and the returning sun. However there is confusion around whether the legends relate to Bootes or Ursa Minor.
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Post by brobear on May 15, 2017 9:13:56 GMT -5
Continued.... Finland In Finland a bear is thought to be an intelligent and soulful creature. It is no ordinary animal but some sort of human being living in a forest. It can count at least to nine and it can understand the language of man. Even though a bear has the strength of nine men it will not attack a human being without a good reason.
In Finnish tradition women had a special relationship with bears. It was imagined that bears were looking for a chance to reincarnate through women. Because of this belief women were supposed to stay far away from a dead bear during a bear's funeral feast. It was commonly believed that bears would not attack a person they recognised as a female.
Certain beasts, birds, and trees, are held sacred in Finland. In the Kalevala are evident traces of arctolatry, bear-worship, once very common among the tribes of the north, Otso, the bear, according to Finnish mythology, was born on the shoulders of Otava, in the regions of the sun and moon, and ‘nursed by a goddess of the woodlands in a cradle swung by bands of gold between the bending branches of budding fir-trees.’ His nurse would not give him teeth and claws until he had promised never to engage in bloody strife, or deeds of violence. Otso, however, does not always keep his pledge, and accordingly the hunters of Finland find it comparatively easy to reconcile their consciences to his destruction. Otso is called in the runes by many endearing titles as ‘The Honey-Eater’, ‘Golden Light-Foot’, ‘The Forest-Apple’, ‘Honey-Paw of the Mountains’, ‘The Pride of the Thicket’, and ‘The Fur-robed Forest-Friend’. Our word karhu (bear: describes a hairy fur of the bear, a shaggy creature) was not allowed to be said out loud. That is why there are many euphemisms in Finnish language, which were used when one wanted to weaken or hide the fear towards the bear. Kontio (bruin) describes the way the bear walks. A certain stress was used when Se (it), Itse (self), Hän (he) was said. Metän elukka (beauty of the forest), Otso (the apple of the forest) etc. are usually appropriate code names. When one wanted to flatter one might say Jumalan mies (the man of God), Suuriherra (mighty master), Mesikämmen (lazy honey-pawed one), Mesikkäinen (honey-eater). Words like Kouki, Kouvo, Metsän- vaari (grandpa of forest), Tätinipoika (the son of my aunt) are reminders of the belief that a man and a bear are related to each other. When adults intimidated children by a bear it was called Pöppö, Mörkö (bugbear), Mönninkäinen or Kurko.
Original text in Finnish by Kaija Halme Translated by Päivi Taavila
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Post by brobear on May 15, 2017 9:15:10 GMT -5
Continued.... Scandinavia / Russia Many Northern tribes believed that a bear was their forefather. For example, in Russian Karelia as late as in the early 20th century people didn't eat bear because of the common belief that bears were relatives of man.
Oct 7th in Telemark is Britemesse, in memory of St. Birgitta of Sweden. It is supposedly the day the bear collects heather and moss and goes to his winter den. St Birgitta in English would become Bridget or Bride.
In many countries there are stories about a bear's and a woman's relationships and their offspring together. As an adult this offspring usually became a hero. Knuut II the Great, the king of Denmark is said to be a descendant of a bear. Skolts in Lappland call themselves brothers of the bear. Also hunter Indians in North America believe that the most skilled hunter families are a result of such a union.
Germany The Beauty and the Beast cycle of legends come from here. This is an earlier form and is probably related to the Norse Berserks (Bear shirts) who used the Bearskins they wore to increase their savagery in battle.
A soldier, having deserted his regiment in the thick of battle, took refuge in the woods. However, the foes of war were soon replaced by other enemies: cold, thirst, and hunger. With nowhere to turn for help, he was about to surrender to the powers of despair, when without warning an awful spirit appeared before him. He offered the poor soldier great wealth, if he would but serve this uncanny master for seven years. Seeing no other escape from his misery, the soldier agreed.
The terms of the pact were quickly stated: for seven years the soldier was to wear only a bearskin robe, both day and night. He was to say no prayers. Neither comb nor shears were to touch his hair and beard. He was not to wash, nor cut his nails, nor blow his nose, nor even wipe his behind. In return, the spirit would provide him with tobacco, food, drink, and an endless supply of money.
The soldier, who by his very nature was not especially fond of either prayers or of cleanliness, entered into the agreement. He took lodgings in a village inn, and discovered soon enough that his great wealth was ample compensation for his strange looks and ill smell. A nobleman frequented this inn. Impressed by Bearskin's lavish and generous expenditures, he presented him with a proposal. ‘I have three beautiful daughters,’ he said. ‘If the terms are right, you may choose any one of them for a bride.’
Bearskin named a sum that was acceptable to the nobleman, and the two set forth to the palace to make the selection. The two older daughters made no attempt to hide their repugnance of the strange suitor, but the youngest unhesitatingly accepted her father's will. Bearskin formalised the betrothal by removing a ring from his own finger and twisting it into two pieces. One piece he gave to his future bride; the other he kept. Saying that soon he would return, he departed.
The seven years were nearly finished, so a short time later Bearskin did indeed come back for his bride. Now freshly bathed, neatly shorn, elegantly dressed, and riding in a luxurious carriage, he was a suitor worthy of a princess. Identifying himself with his half of the twisted ring, he claimed his bride.
Beside themselves with envy, and furious that they had squandered their rights to this handsome nobleman, one of the bride's older sisters hanged herself from a tree and the other one drowned herself in a well. Thus the devil gained two souls for the one that he had lost.
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Post by brobear on May 15, 2017 9:16:54 GMT -5
Continued.... France / Switzerland Artaius or Artio was the bear god in Gaul (France), particularly in present-day Switzerland. The Romans had identified Artaius with Mercury. Bern, the capital of Switzerland is named after the Bear.
According to one legend, Berthold V of Zähringen named Bern after the first animal killed during a hunt when the city was founded in 1191. Some scholars believed that King Arthur (Arth is Welsh for Bear) may have originally been a god, and was derived from the Gallic god Artaius. Though, Artaius had also been identified with another Welsh figure, named Gwydion.
The female form of this deity was Artio or Dea Artio, the bear-goddess. There's a Roman statue of Artio, now housed in the Historisches Museum, in Bern. The statue depicts the goddess seated, facing a bear - unless of course the bear is the goddess and the woman a supplicant.
Italy In Greek myth Boötes is said to be Arcas, whose mother Callisto was transformed into a bear by the jealous Juno/Hera. Arcas, whilst out hunting one day, discovered his mother in her bear form and pursued her into the temple of Jupiter/Zeus. Jupiter, to prevent Arcas from unwittingly killing his mother, took them both into the skies where Boötes is now seen following the bear - in fact the two bears, around the heavens. In this we see an interesting reversal in his role as he passes from the land to the heavens. Upon the land he was as Arcas the huntsman pursuing the bear into the forest, or the Land, and on into sacred space, the temple. At the point where he would have killed his Mother who gave him life, he is rescued by the Father God, and in a spectacular exchange of energies his role as hunter is changed into that of Guardian or Keeper as he enters the realm of stars. In another version of this story Jupiter also transforms Arcas into a bear, and places them both in the heavens as the Great and Little Bear. So the Great Bear of the Northern skies may be regarded as a she-bear, the Earth-Bear Mother.
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Post by brobear on May 15, 2017 9:17:28 GMT -5
Greece Callisto, meaning ‘most beautiful’, was a charming nymph and handmaiden to Artemis. In honour of the goddess, Callisto took a vow to be a maiden. However, this vow was abruptly violated when Zeus fell in love with her. Zeus disguises himself and seduces Callisto.
From this point, there are several different versions of the story. Some tales claim that it was Artemis who, in retribution for this transgression, changed Callisto into a bear. Other stories attribute the transformation to Hera, Zeus’ jealous wife or Zeus himself trying to protect Callisto from Artemis/Hera.
Regardless of the details, the result is the same - Callisto lived the rest of her life as a bear. The great Roman poet Ovid wrote that Callisto and Arcas, her son by Zeus, were together turned into the constellations known as the Great Bear and the Little Bear. And so together this pair shines from the night sky.
Eire There was in Ireland in the 2nd Century a high king named Art Oenfer ‘Art the Lonely’, or Lonely Bear. In 825 according to one chronicle, and 827 according to another, Art, son of the Irish king Diarmait, was beheaded. From the name of this man Art comes the name Ua hAirt, who we encounter in the Chronicon Scotorum under the dates 1012, 1083, and 1095. Today one says O’Hart, which means ‘grandson of the bear’. One finds also Mac Airt, ‘son of the bear’, that is to say, son of the bear god.
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Post by brobear on May 15, 2017 9:18:03 GMT -5
England / Wales The Anglo-Saxon epic hero Beowulf may be named after the Bear. His name is often translated as meaning 'Bee Wolf'; as a Bear attacks bees for their honey. That fact that he is a huge man and strong as a bear would tie in with this. He was the inspiration for Tolkien's character Beorn, the man who shape changes into a bear, in the Hobbit.
The bear was regarded as the king of all animals. Arthur is described as the mighty bear, and as a god and hero. Among the rural population about eighty years ago it was customary to call the Great Bear ‘Arthur's Plough’. People said that in the dead of the night, if anybody cared to listen, the plough and waggon of the Great and Lesser Bear could be heard turning. The little, almost invisible star just above the middle one in the tail of the plough was called the ‘plough-man’, or ‘driver’. The Morris dancers never went forth in former times without a man wrapped in a bear-skin. Ursa Minor, the Little Bear, contains Polaris the North Star. This is the pillar around which the night sky turns, although with precession in 14,000 years time it will be another star, Vega. However if the Great Bear is ‘Arthur's Plough’ this could make the Little Bear Arthur.
Japan The Ainu, a distinctly different people, to the north of Japan practised an elaborate bear cult into the 1920s that immediately calls to mind the Palaeolithic bear cult. The Ainu captured a bear cub, nurtured it for months and then sacrificed it during an elaborate ritual. They are the only people to have retained a full fledged bear cult into the twentieth century and the Palaeolithic elements are unmistakable; the Ainu are truly amazing from a Western anthropologist's viewpoint.
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Post by brobear on May 15, 2017 9:19:04 GMT -5
Native American The Evenk have a Bear Myth. A girl went to the woods, got lost and wintered in a bear's den. In the spring she came back to the village and in due time gave birth to a bear cub. Later when she married a man from her village, she had a son. The two brothers—one a bear-boy and the other a man-boy—grew and one day, playing and fighting, the man-boy wounds his bear brother. Dying, the bear explains to his boy-brother the rituals that should be followed when hunting bears and burying them. Since then the Evenks hold a big ritual to honour the bear. Inuit Bear Myth tells of a woman who has a human husband and a lover who is a bear.
MAGIC
Arcturus Rising When from the Tropic, or the winter's sun, Thrice twenty days and nights their course have run; And when Arcturus leaves the main, to rise A star bright shining in the evening skies; Then prune the vine. - Hesiod
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Post by brobear on May 15, 2017 9:19:34 GMT -5
Symbolism The Bear being the keeper of Great Medicine
The Bear is one of our oldest role models. It can be seen from the cave paintings at Chauvet in France through to the Ainu Bear ceremony in the 20th century. Even today, with the Bear relatively scarce and threatened with extinction in many places, it is one of the most dominant creatures for people across the world. Our childhoods are littered with Teddy Bears, Pooh Bears and many others. To our children the Bear represents a strong, stabilising and comforting force to the darkness and chaos (factors outside their control) within their world. In the Tao of Pooh he is recognised as our natural way of being. In Russia, California, Bern in Switzerland and many other places they are proud of their symbolic relationship with the Bear. In the night sky the Great Bear and the Little Bear point us to Polaris - the pillar of the night sky.
Often the Bear is associated with danger and aggression. Yet they are usually only dangerous when provoked, other than that Bears are the archetypal gentle giant. How many large, gentle men are likened to a Bear? The Great Mother is often symbolised as a Bear, this could be shown through the Norse gods where one of Thor's associations is the Bear and his mother was Mother Earth. In this Bears are often symbolised as the violence that can be tamed. The Bear is also a determined and protective mother, when pushed very aggressive, but her calm strength allows diplomacy. Many peoples regard her as the mother of all animals.
In psychological terms seeing Bears in dreams may represent introspection or depression. This may also represent the Healing power of the bear where the person has retreated in order to regenerate and grow. This is much like the Chipewyan story of the Bear who stole the sun, causing winter, and it took the other creatures to break into his cave and bring the spring sun back. The cave can be like a womb. However Native Americans say that dreaming of bears is a sign of receiving the wisdom of the ancient ones. They revere the Bear for helping man find herbal help as the Bear is the only creature not afraid of man and the only one who shows man kindness. Perhaps it is that their behaviour is so like ours that they are regarded as Brother Bear. It has often been the case of Bears nurtured by Humans and in past times it has been the other way round. Symbolically the Great Bear is Mother to us all.
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Post by brobear on May 15, 2017 9:20:22 GMT -5
Naming Name/ Meaning/ Language Arthur/ Bear-man /Bear-son Welsh Bjorn, Beorn, Bruno/ Bear/ Norse, German Bernard/ Bold as a Bear/ Old English Nita/ Bear/ Choctaw Avonaco/Lean Bear/ Cheyenne Honaw/ Bear/ Hopi Orsen, Orson, Orsini/ Little Bear/ Italian, Old French Ursula/ Little Bear /Latin
Tokens and Artwork: One only needs to see the ancient cave paintings and sculptures of the bear.
Many children had a favourite Teddy Bear or were influenced by childhood bears such as Pooh, Little Bear, Paddington or the many others that are special across the world.
The Bear Paw is another great symbol of those who seek Bear Medicine.
Sacred Times The most sacred time will be the time of the Alban Arthuan, the Light of Arthur. This is the Winter Solstice, Yule or the Wheel of the Year. Arthur is the great leader, the Beowulf, with the strength of ten men and the wisdom of how to use it. In the ancient tales this would be when the Bear-man travels into the dark places, that we are scared to go, and retrieves the sun from the Stag, son of the Heavenly Doe.
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Post by brobear on May 15, 2017 9:22:25 GMT -5
Astral Travel
Where was Bruin given birth the bear's cub brought up? In a little woollen box in a little iron box. Where was Bruin given birth the bear's cub brought up? On the peg of a small cloud. How was he let down to earth? On a nameless, quite untouchable string. (A Finnish folk poem)
A way is to find a great, shaggy coat (I can't condone Bear skin) to don. This is what the Bear Sark (Bear Shirts) Viking warriors did before battle. They would then invoke the spirit of the Bear and become incredibly strong and so hungry for battle that they would bite their shields. Going ‘Hamr out’, spiritually shape shifting, like this is not to be done lightly. It can tear the physical body with its strength. Boðvar Bjarki fought in the form of a bear while his body lay in trance (HrolfKrakisaga), his story is similar to Beowulf’s.
Prophecy and Divination Ogham Ailim is actually the Old Irish word meaning, ‘to rear, educate, train, nurture’. This would tie in with the Bear symbolism. Although Airt/Art is not described in the Ogham texts Ailm is also named ‘ardam iactadh’ or ‘the loudest groaning’ which seems appropriate to the bear. Dreamwork The bear could mean any of the following depending upon the context: Being bearish, pessimistic, negative or under performing. A strong and potentially aggressive force, maybe a paternal one. It may represent a need to withdraw or go within, to hibernate or be introspective. Something that represents a heavy load, too much to bear. Or maybe something cuddly, loveable, childlike.
Magic Circles The Bear Posture, in shamanic works by Felicitas Goodman, is a great healing and visionary posture, which asks for the wisdom of Grandparent Bear to lead us to healing. In Whittelsey, Cambs UK, on Twelfth Night, they have resurrected the custom of the Straw Bear. A ploughing custom (note the time and plough reference) ‘the `straw-bear' was a man completely swathed in straw, led by a string by another, and made to dance in front of people's houses…’
Trance The Bear can often appear as the guardian in trance work. The bear is the gatekeeper that only allows the traveller through when they are ready to go. In this it is a symbolism of strength and protection. When discovered, at first, we can fear the bear, rather than the darkness behind the gate. When the person is ready they will be able to proceed through the gate, the bear may not even be there anymore.
Healing The hibernation of Bears in caves is also a powerful route to healing and a rebirth from pain. Retreating to a cave to sleep and heal is an instinct that is often not followed. A Taoist saying is ‘the sage sleeps when he is tired’. However the greatest healing the Bear has led us to is honey. It is not known when people became aware of the healing power of honey but it has great anti-septic wound healing powers. It can be used on open wounds to promote healing, reduce swelling and provide an anti-bacterial agent plus promoting new skin growth. For sore throats and stomach ulcers, Manuka honey in particular, has been proven an effective remedy.
Protection The Bear Paw: this is a sign of direction and power. It is a Good Omen and to follow it is to walk a safe path. Thor's Rune / Thurisaz: the thorn that protects and stings. Use it to attack, or to actively defend from known enemies. Just like the thorn bush, or a Bear's claw, it would protect and guard those within it, and attack those attempting to pass through it. It makes people afraid, it makes people sicken and it drives people insane. It is good for tests, or to represent a test.
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Post by brobear on May 15, 2017 9:29:27 GMT -5
odinsvolk.ca/new/sacred-symbols/bear/ Bear The Bear is considered the greatest of all beasts, and are held sacred to Thor. Bears are considered to be similar in personality and temperament to humans as they are intelligent, curious, highly adaptable, brazen and persistent creatures, with an innate awareness of fairness and honor. A common favorite of berserkers and shape shifters, the Bear is often the totem spirit of those who are extraordinarily strong of body, mind, and soul.
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