What animals are revered in different parts of the world?

Animals often become the object of attention of many people. Firstly, they are cute, and secondly, they can be useful. Many of them are revered at the level of religion, and somewhere even at the legislative level they are subject to protection. We will now discuss where the elephant is a sacred animal, where the cow is revered, and where the wolf is considered a sacred animal.

Romans – wolves

The she-wolf, as you know, nursed the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, with her milk. The cult of the wolf was also present among the Slavs. Most often, it was the wolf that was responsible for the bread: they turned to him for the harvest. The Scandinavians, on the other hand, considered wolves to be harbingers of Ragnarok, and the huge wolf Fenrir, whom the gods chained, would free himself at the end of the world and kill the supreme god Odin.

Burkina Faso – crocodile

Yes, these beautiful elegant animals do not always go to handbags and gloves. In Burkna Faso, a small African country, there are some areas where crocodiles are actually worshipped. All reptiles with prehistoric roots here are always well fed, happy and even act as such judges. If someone from the tribe is guilty and deceives someone, he will be sent to stand by the water. It is believed that the sacred crocodiles will eat the liar.

Do not think that the inhabitants here are silly. In one of the villages, children calmly swim in a pond with crocodiles, and women wash their clothes right here. But it is the West African representatives of crocodiles that live here: they are not aggressive and, as a rule, do not touch people.

In modern culture, crocodiles and alligators also do not always become deadly animals. This cutie, for example, played an alternate Loki in the Marvel Universe and looked like a comedic character in general.

India – cow

Even before the Hindus, the animal was revered by the Romans and Egyptians. Now it is sacred among the followers of Hinduism, Zoroastrianism and Jainism. Even the local laws of India and Nepal, officially secular countries, forbid touching cows: here they freely roam the cities, and when the locals really need good luck, they feed the animals. The milk of cows is used in various rituals.

Cows are honored here so much that in the century before last, the locals even rebelled against the British colonists. In 1857, the British began to supply local residents who serve in the army with rifles. And rumors claimed that the cartridge, which had to be bitten when charging, was soaked in beef and pork fat. And because of this abuse of local customs, an uprising broke out. Well, it was suppressed, but the Indians were still able to capture Delhi.

Thailand – elephant

Elephants are revered in the countries of Indochina. In Thailand, these animals have become a symbol of the country. Even one of the Hindu gods, Ganesh, who personifies wisdom and prosperity, has an elephant's head.

Thailand has a special law that regulates the position of albino elephants. So, for example, they are all considered the property of the king. And any person who finds a white elephant is legally obliged to bring it to the palace, and in exchange he will receive a lifetime allowance from the monarch.

And the Constitution of the Asian state spells out the special rights of elephants. So it goes.

India – snake

Not only cows are respected in India. Snakes also enjoy a special status here. They crawl on the streets, in hotels (even five-star ones!). A Hindu, seeing a snake, will not drive it out of the house, much less kill it. He will lure and persuade it, and if "even" this does not help, he will call a specialist (yes, there are such people).

In addition, the country has a separate holiday dedicated to snakes - nagapanchami. It is celebrated in July; on this day snakes are brought to cities and showered with flowers. Even accidentally killing a snake is considered a sin in India. In the event of the death of a snake (if people see it), a real funeral is arranged for it: prayers are read over its body, and later a funeral pyre is arranged.

But there is another side to such reverence: approximately 80 thousand people become victims of snake bites every year. But the Hindus are sure that snakes bite only sinners who do not honor these animals enough.

China – tiger

Tigers are of great importance in Chinese mythology. They are most revered in the city of Kunming, where they are even used to attract tourists.

Tigers have a special status in Vietnam and Thailand. In Thailand, there is even a Buddhist temple, which is also called the “tiger monastery”. There, the monks freely communicate with the tailed-striped ones, and at the same time they do not even defend themselves from them. In the meantime, not a single death from such communication has been recorded so far.

Northern Africa – horses

These beautiful animals are especially revered by 23 peoples of North Africa and the Middle East. Earlier, when many peoples of Central Asia led a nomadic lifestyle, horses were also honored among them. Often animals are buried in the same way as humans. With sacrifices, if they were made, it was inferior in value only to a human sacrifice.

By the way, in many myths, it is horses that often appear in various myths: they either become winged or cross huge spaces. Modern religions are also not far behind: for example, St. George, striking the serpent.

Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece – pig

In ancient Egypt, pigs were often consumed precisely as sacred sacrifices for various gods. The Greeks gave them as a sacrifice to the goddess Demeter, who, in turn, contributed to a good harvest, fertility, purity and youth.

We hope you found out something new about sacred animals.