Post by Sindran on Apr 21, 2019 4:25:32 GMT
So...I own a book called "A Maltese Bestiary". It's in English (thankfully). When I get time, I will be updating this thread with new entries. It will take a while, so bear with me. Watch this space!
(I'm only including entries that are more "mythical" in description. The book contains a lot of folklore so I'm sorting through it).
First, there's a few mythical places to discuss. One is called Bugidba and is a sort of netherworld described in Maltese legends. Many of the following creatures have some sort of connection to it. There's another land called Bufies which is pretty much the same. Both are extremely hard to travel in.
PLANTS
BLOOD APPLE (tuffieh tad-demm): Legend says a peasant girl was murdered in an orchard near the village of Nadur. The soil and roots were drenched in her blood. The subsequent apples produced a red liquid when cut with a knife. People avoided the cursed orchard and it fell into neglect.
FLY TREE (sigra tad-dubbien): Native to Bufies. They have a symbiotic relationship with insects and can even control them. It is a foul smelling tree and is covered by a thick layer of black flies. If a passer-by does not treat it with due respect, the tree will cause the flies to swarm the intruder and tear them apart.
DANCING TREE (see BUFIES NIGHTINGALE): A netherworld tree that swings to and fro while opening and closing its leaves. Has a symbiotic relationship with the Bufies nightingale.
INSECTS
ANT KING (sultan in-nemel): It's known that queen ants rule a colony, but there is a singular king ant who rules every colony on Malta. He's not a tyrant though, if a human preforms favors for ants (such as providing them food) he will tell the colony to reward the human in turn. Legend says that the ants of Malta had a particular hatred of Napoleon's invading army and bit the soldiers, causing them to miss their marks. If the French ever invade Malta again, the Ant King will rise up in revolt along with the Maltese people.
MAMMALIAN BEASTS
LION (ljun): Besides being a popular heraldic device, lions in Malta are regarded as protectors and guardians. There is a particular sort that prowl the valleys leading to the lands of Bufies and Bugidba, as they are known man-eaters and sleep with their eyes open. Another types can close its eyes but still can sense an intruder and attack them unexpectedly.
THUNDER CAMEL (dajna): The dajna was a gigantic cameline beast that was considered too big to board Noah's Arc, being ten times the size of an elephant. As a result, it became extinct on the surface world but can still be found in the netherworld. It's regarded as very dangerous, hence it's only heroes who seek out the female's milk, a yellowish liquid that can cure blindness.
GOLDEN OX (qawqam/ghogol tad-deheb): The hill of Gelmus in Gozo is thought to be a passage to the netherworld, one which the Golden Ox travels though. It is considered to be extremely dangerous and wanders the countryside, occasionally entering the city streets at night. Any encounter with it is most likely fatal.
CAT (qattus, in guardian form, a Nawnu): In Malta they have 7 instead of 9 lives and serve as familiars and can forecast weather. A cat isn't always a cat. Some are guardian spirits (hares). One that guards a bridge to Vallettta was taken to be an ordinary cat and struck by a carriage driver to make it move out of his way. The cat grew into a huge beast and slashed back at the driver with it's own whip-like tail. The gaurdian spirit form is known as a Nawnu. It is large, white, thickly furred and has green eyes. It's name comes from the sound it makes "Nawh nawh". It lounges on walls looking like a mass of fluffy cotton with large bright eyes. When disturbed it will attack with it's long fangs and claws. It if feels threatened, it might sometimes vanish in thin air like the Cheshire Cat. The guardian spirit can possess cats and dogs, transforming them into rabid creatures.
GANDLORA CAVE BEAR (ors tal-Gandlora): Extinct in the upper world. It survives in the land of Bugibdba and occasionally visits the surface. One bear will ascend from the cave mouth of the Gelmus hill and roams the city streets at night. Due to it's thick coat, it's only seen in the cold nights of mid-winter, around the time of Candlemass in early February. Children are warmed to keep their doors and windows shut on this night, otherwise it will pluck them from their rooms with its long hooked claws.
AVIANS
SCREECH OWL (golfu): Kills other birds, sometimes by breaking into aviaries. The mythical version of the golfu is similar to the cockatrice. It can easily kill anyone who attempts to capture or get close to it by transforming them into a pillar of salt, simply by emitting a powerful high-pitched screech. This vaporizes the victem's bodily fluids, leaving behind a satue of reddish-brown salts. The last upper-world golfu was killed by a hunter who spotted it from a distance, shooting it before it could see him.
GIANT EAGLE/KING OF THE BIRDS (sultan it-tajr): Giant eagles live in the lower levels of the netherworld. They are intelligent and can communicate with humans. It will repay human kindness in a number of ways. It can carry humans on its back through the portals that separate the netherworlds and will even give commands to other birds to aid the human should they need it.
BUFIES NIGHTINGALE (l-Ghasfur li jghanni): An exceedingly beautiful songbird native to Bufies. Kings offer great prizes for their capture, but few have ever returned from this land alive, making it hard to acquire. The birds live on a diet of fruit and nectar produced by the dancing-tree. Being in a symbiotic relationship with the bird, if it is separated the bird's songs that sustain the tree will cease and the tree will die.
REPTILIANS
DRAGON (dragun): They are described as serpentine and live in aquatic habitats as well as the netherworld. They can possess the powers of a mage and are shapeshifters. Sometimes it will take on the form of a prince to trick and abduct princesses, returning to dragon form upon returning home. In the tale "the eight son" seven brothers were sent to rescue such a princess but were enslaved by the dragon. The dragon lost, however, to the eighth brother who slayed it was a massive hammer. Rarely they might have wings, as featured in the tale "The four trades". This dragon lived on a remote island, and like the former was obsessed with capturing princesses. The girl was rescued by four brothers but attacked their ship, but was slain by the one who was a sharpshooter. Dragons aren't always bad as witnessed by the tale "My brother the dragon". A girl raised a snake-like dragon and released it into a marsh when it got too big. As an adult, it later helped the girl outwit her enemies as repayment.
SEVEN-HEADED HYDRA (Ghageb tal-lima, Serp ta' hafna rjus): Very similar to its Greek counterpart in that it was venomous, lived in water and ate humans. Virgins were offered to it. The hero had to cut off all seven heads in order to kill it. It is thought to be the embodiment of the Seven Deadly Sins.
FILFA LIZARD (gremxula ta' Filfa): Notable for having a forked tale (otherwise it's a real life lizard).
GECKO (wizgha): Thought to be the harbinger of plauge. A hares may take on the form of a gecko, so the last thing anyone should do is kill one as it would anger the spirit. The tail of a newly killed gecko can continue to move, thus cursing its killer.
SNAKES
ST. PAUL'S VIPER (lifgha ta' San Pawl): St. Paul as according to the Bible was bitten by a venomous serpent yet did not die. According to Maltese folklore, this miracle is said to have caused a nationwide effect in which all the rocks of the island began to absorb poison causing all the local snakes lose their venomous bite. These rocks were crushed into "terra sigillata melitensis", then sold as medicine that could cure poisonings and fevers. There were also petrified objects (glossopetrae) in limestone called St. Paul's Tongues and Serpent Eyes. The ability of these objects to absorb poison made them popular with nobility, who dipped them in their wine. In Malta and Italy "Linguae melitensis" and Serpent's Eyes were also used as amulets to ward off poison and the Evil Eye.
FIRE SNAKE (lifgha tan-nar): Said to be as bright as daylight, one of these snakes exited a church in Zebbug shortly after a man had been exorcised. It flew into the "Valley of Hell" afterwards. Sometimes they are seen in the form of lighting bolts attempting to enter a window overlooking the same valley. The inhabits were saved by a bright light that appeared in the room and repelled the snake, said to have taken the shape of an M (as in Madonna, who was thought to have protected them). A certain pastry replicates the M and is hung in homes to ward of lighting strikes and other spirits.
MORE TO COME!
(I'm only including entries that are more "mythical" in description. The book contains a lot of folklore so I'm sorting through it).
First, there's a few mythical places to discuss. One is called Bugidba and is a sort of netherworld described in Maltese legends. Many of the following creatures have some sort of connection to it. There's another land called Bufies which is pretty much the same. Both are extremely hard to travel in.
PLANTS
BLOOD APPLE (tuffieh tad-demm): Legend says a peasant girl was murdered in an orchard near the village of Nadur. The soil and roots were drenched in her blood. The subsequent apples produced a red liquid when cut with a knife. People avoided the cursed orchard and it fell into neglect.
FLY TREE (sigra tad-dubbien): Native to Bufies. They have a symbiotic relationship with insects and can even control them. It is a foul smelling tree and is covered by a thick layer of black flies. If a passer-by does not treat it with due respect, the tree will cause the flies to swarm the intruder and tear them apart.
DANCING TREE (see BUFIES NIGHTINGALE): A netherworld tree that swings to and fro while opening and closing its leaves. Has a symbiotic relationship with the Bufies nightingale.
INSECTS
ANT KING (sultan in-nemel): It's known that queen ants rule a colony, but there is a singular king ant who rules every colony on Malta. He's not a tyrant though, if a human preforms favors for ants (such as providing them food) he will tell the colony to reward the human in turn. Legend says that the ants of Malta had a particular hatred of Napoleon's invading army and bit the soldiers, causing them to miss their marks. If the French ever invade Malta again, the Ant King will rise up in revolt along with the Maltese people.
MAMMALIAN BEASTS
LION (ljun): Besides being a popular heraldic device, lions in Malta are regarded as protectors and guardians. There is a particular sort that prowl the valleys leading to the lands of Bufies and Bugidba, as they are known man-eaters and sleep with their eyes open. Another types can close its eyes but still can sense an intruder and attack them unexpectedly.
THUNDER CAMEL (dajna): The dajna was a gigantic cameline beast that was considered too big to board Noah's Arc, being ten times the size of an elephant. As a result, it became extinct on the surface world but can still be found in the netherworld. It's regarded as very dangerous, hence it's only heroes who seek out the female's milk, a yellowish liquid that can cure blindness.
GOLDEN OX (qawqam/ghogol tad-deheb): The hill of Gelmus in Gozo is thought to be a passage to the netherworld, one which the Golden Ox travels though. It is considered to be extremely dangerous and wanders the countryside, occasionally entering the city streets at night. Any encounter with it is most likely fatal.
CAT (qattus, in guardian form, a Nawnu): In Malta they have 7 instead of 9 lives and serve as familiars and can forecast weather. A cat isn't always a cat. Some are guardian spirits (hares). One that guards a bridge to Vallettta was taken to be an ordinary cat and struck by a carriage driver to make it move out of his way. The cat grew into a huge beast and slashed back at the driver with it's own whip-like tail. The gaurdian spirit form is known as a Nawnu. It is large, white, thickly furred and has green eyes. It's name comes from the sound it makes "Nawh nawh". It lounges on walls looking like a mass of fluffy cotton with large bright eyes. When disturbed it will attack with it's long fangs and claws. It if feels threatened, it might sometimes vanish in thin air like the Cheshire Cat. The guardian spirit can possess cats and dogs, transforming them into rabid creatures.
GANDLORA CAVE BEAR (ors tal-Gandlora): Extinct in the upper world. It survives in the land of Bugibdba and occasionally visits the surface. One bear will ascend from the cave mouth of the Gelmus hill and roams the city streets at night. Due to it's thick coat, it's only seen in the cold nights of mid-winter, around the time of Candlemass in early February. Children are warmed to keep their doors and windows shut on this night, otherwise it will pluck them from their rooms with its long hooked claws.
AVIANS
SCREECH OWL (golfu): Kills other birds, sometimes by breaking into aviaries. The mythical version of the golfu is similar to the cockatrice. It can easily kill anyone who attempts to capture or get close to it by transforming them into a pillar of salt, simply by emitting a powerful high-pitched screech. This vaporizes the victem's bodily fluids, leaving behind a satue of reddish-brown salts. The last upper-world golfu was killed by a hunter who spotted it from a distance, shooting it before it could see him.
GIANT EAGLE/KING OF THE BIRDS (sultan it-tajr): Giant eagles live in the lower levels of the netherworld. They are intelligent and can communicate with humans. It will repay human kindness in a number of ways. It can carry humans on its back through the portals that separate the netherworlds and will even give commands to other birds to aid the human should they need it.
BUFIES NIGHTINGALE (l-Ghasfur li jghanni): An exceedingly beautiful songbird native to Bufies. Kings offer great prizes for their capture, but few have ever returned from this land alive, making it hard to acquire. The birds live on a diet of fruit and nectar produced by the dancing-tree. Being in a symbiotic relationship with the bird, if it is separated the bird's songs that sustain the tree will cease and the tree will die.
REPTILIANS
DRAGON (dragun): They are described as serpentine and live in aquatic habitats as well as the netherworld. They can possess the powers of a mage and are shapeshifters. Sometimes it will take on the form of a prince to trick and abduct princesses, returning to dragon form upon returning home. In the tale "the eight son" seven brothers were sent to rescue such a princess but were enslaved by the dragon. The dragon lost, however, to the eighth brother who slayed it was a massive hammer. Rarely they might have wings, as featured in the tale "The four trades". This dragon lived on a remote island, and like the former was obsessed with capturing princesses. The girl was rescued by four brothers but attacked their ship, but was slain by the one who was a sharpshooter. Dragons aren't always bad as witnessed by the tale "My brother the dragon". A girl raised a snake-like dragon and released it into a marsh when it got too big. As an adult, it later helped the girl outwit her enemies as repayment.
SEVEN-HEADED HYDRA (Ghageb tal-lima, Serp ta' hafna rjus): Very similar to its Greek counterpart in that it was venomous, lived in water and ate humans. Virgins were offered to it. The hero had to cut off all seven heads in order to kill it. It is thought to be the embodiment of the Seven Deadly Sins.
FILFA LIZARD (gremxula ta' Filfa): Notable for having a forked tale (otherwise it's a real life lizard).
GECKO (wizgha): Thought to be the harbinger of plauge. A hares may take on the form of a gecko, so the last thing anyone should do is kill one as it would anger the spirit. The tail of a newly killed gecko can continue to move, thus cursing its killer.
SNAKES
ST. PAUL'S VIPER (lifgha ta' San Pawl): St. Paul as according to the Bible was bitten by a venomous serpent yet did not die. According to Maltese folklore, this miracle is said to have caused a nationwide effect in which all the rocks of the island began to absorb poison causing all the local snakes lose their venomous bite. These rocks were crushed into "terra sigillata melitensis", then sold as medicine that could cure poisonings and fevers. There were also petrified objects (glossopetrae) in limestone called St. Paul's Tongues and Serpent Eyes. The ability of these objects to absorb poison made them popular with nobility, who dipped them in their wine. In Malta and Italy "Linguae melitensis" and Serpent's Eyes were also used as amulets to ward off poison and the Evil Eye.
FIRE SNAKE (lifgha tan-nar): Said to be as bright as daylight, one of these snakes exited a church in Zebbug shortly after a man had been exorcised. It flew into the "Valley of Hell" afterwards. Sometimes they are seen in the form of lighting bolts attempting to enter a window overlooking the same valley. The inhabits were saved by a bright light that appeared in the room and repelled the snake, said to have taken the shape of an M (as in Madonna, who was thought to have protected them). A certain pastry replicates the M and is hung in homes to ward of lighting strikes and other spirits.
MORE TO COME!
