ISBN:
9789004678309
Language:
English
Pages:
1 online resource (369 pages)
Edition:
1st ed.
Series Statement:
Ancient Languages and Civilizations Series v.5
Parallel Title:
Erscheint auch als
DDC:
398.2454
Keywords:
Dragons Folklore
;
Rainbows Mythology
Abstract:
Why is the dragon idea globally distributed when no such creature existed? This book argues that the idea of dragons evolved from preliterate attempts to explain the causality and nature of rainbows.
Abstract:
Intro -- Contents -- Foreword -- In Memoriam -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Figures and Tables -- Introduction -- Prologue: From Nature to Culture in Two Steps -- 1. From Rainbow to Rainbow Serpent -- 2. From Rainbow Serpent to Dragon -- Part 1. Dragons -- Chapter 1. What, If Anything, Is a Dragon? -- Chapter 2. Why Dragons? Theories from A To Z -- 1. Naturalistic Theories of the Dragon: Cryptozoology -- 2. Symbolic Theories of the Dragon -- 3. Neo-Lamarckian Theories: The Dragon as Archetype -- 4. Diffusionist Theories -- 5. Other Theories -- Chapter 3. Dragons and Waterfalls -- 1. North America -- 2. The Caribbean and South America -- 3. Insular Southeast Asia -- 4. The Pacific -- 5. Africa -- Chapter 4. Dragons and Thunder/Lightning -- Chapter 5. The Ethnology of the Dragon -- 1. Central and East Asia -- 2. North America and Mexico -- 3. The Data -- Part 2. Rainbows -- Chapter 6. What, If Anything, Is a Rainbow? -- 1. Rainbows: Familiar and Fantastic -- 2. Portrayals of the Rainbow -- 3. Distributional Summary -- Chapter 7. The Ethnology of the Rainbow -- 1. How the Dragon Was Born -- 2. Mysteries of the Rainbow -- 3. Sunshowers -- 4. The Rainbow Taboo -- Chapter 8. A Glimpse of the Glory -- 1. Europe -- 2. Ancient Near East -- Part 3. Summing Up -- Chapter 9. Connecting the Dots -- Chapter 10. Conclusions -- Appendix. Ethnic Groups Cited -- References -- Index.
Abstract:
"Modernization and conversion to world religions are threatening the survival of traditional belief systems, leaving behind only mysterious traces of their existence. This book, based upon extensive research conducted over a period of nearly four decades, brings scientific rigor to one of the questions that have always attracted human curiosity: that of the origin of the "dragon". The author demonstrates that both dragons and rainbows are cultural universals, that many of the traits that are attributed to dragons in widely separated part of the planet are also attributed to rainbows, and that the number and antiquity of such shared traits cannot be attributed to chance or common inheritance, but rather to common cognitive pathways by which human psychology has responded to the natural environment in a wide array of cultures around the world"--
Note:
Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources
