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2 1 IN MYTHOLOGY, LEGENDS, AND FOLKLORE
1.1 Africa rst to write in the West about these tortoises in the early
20th century.
Predynastic slate palettes represent freshwater (soft cara-
pace, Trionyx triunguis) turtles as does the hieroglyph
for turtlein which the chelonian is always repre-
sented from above.* [9] Zoomorphic palettes* [10] were
commonly made in the shapes of turtles.A stone vase in
the form of a turtle was found in Naqada.* [11] Other
art representations of turtles in Ancient Egypt were com-
mon.* [12]
The earliest representations of the Nile turtle date back
to pre-dynastic times and were associated with magical
signicance that was meant to ward o evil. Amulets and
objects with depictions of the turtles represent the turtle
as a force to defend health and life.* [13]* [14]
Among Ptah's many creatures, Shetw (Tortoise, Turtle)
was neither especially remarkable nor esteemed. Though
excluded from lists of animal oerings to the deities,
there are nevertheless great quantities of turtle and tor-
toise bones associated with archaeology at the great cer-
emonial complex at Heirakonpolis in Upper Egypt. This
may suggests that sacrices of Chelonians served some
ritual or liturgical purpose within the ancient Egyptian
ceremonial system.* [15]
As an aquatic animal, the turtle was associated with the
Underworld.* [16] The turtle was associated with Set, and
so with the enemies of Ra who tried to stop the solar
barque as it traveled through the underworld. Since the
Brooklyn Museum a human gure squatting on a turtle, Africa, XIXth Dynasty, and particularly in the Late and Greco-
19th century Roman periods, turtles were known to have been ritually
speared by kings and nobles as evil creatures.* [9]
In African fairy tales, the tortoise is the most clever ani- The famous Hunters Palette shows most of the hunters
mal.* [7] carrying a kind of shield which was interpreted as a turtle-
*
Mzee (Swahili for wise old man) is the name of a carapace shield. [9] In an Early Dynastic tomb at Helwan
130-year-old Aldabra tortoise. a man was buried beneath the carapace of a tortoise who
had lost his feet in an accident. The carapace may sym-
In the southern part of Africa, storytales about a tortoise bolize the way in which the owner used to move slowly
named Fudukazi are common. Fudukazi gave the animals like a tortoise,or sitting in the carapace may have been
their color. a very useful way for the owner to move around.* [9]
The Medical Ebers Papyrus cites the use of turtle cara-
1.1.1 Nigeria paces and organs in some formulas,* [9] including one for-
mula for the removal of hair.* [17] An ointment made
Ijapa the tortoise (alternatively called Alabahun) is a from the brain of a turtle was the treatment for squint-
trickster, accomplishing heroic deeds or getting into trou- ing.* [18] Parts of turtles were used to grind eye paint,
ble in a cycle of tales told by the Yoruba of Nigeria and which was applied both as a cosmetic and to protect eyes
Benin Republic (West Africa).* [5] from infection and over-exposure to sun, dust, wind, and
insects.* [13]* [19]
The esh of Trionyx was eaten from Predynastic times to
1.2 Ancient Egypt as late as the Old Kingdom, and later the esh of tur-
tles began to be considered an abomination of Ra
TurtleShetyw,Shetw,Sheta,shtywwas and the role of these animals became an evil one. Tur-
common in Ancient Egyptian Art (especially Predynas- tle carapaces and scutes from Red Sea Turtles (Chelonia
tic and Old Kingdom art).* [9] Turtle fossils are the most Imbricata) were used in rings, bracelets, dishes, bowls,
common reptiles found in the Fayoum, including Gigan- knife hilts, amulets, and combs. Land tortoise carapaces
tochersina ammon, a tortoise as large as those living on from Kleinmann's tortoise were used as sounding boards
the Galapagos Islands today. Charles Andrews was the
1.5 Asia 3
for lutes, harps and mandolins.* [9] Turtle shells were The tortoise was the symbol of the ancient Greek city of
also used to make norvas, an instrument resembling a Aegina, on the island by the same name: the seal and
banjo.* [20] coins of the city shows images of tortoises. The word
Chelonian comes from the Greek Chelone, a tortoise
god.* [7] The tortoise was a fertility symbol in Greek and
Roman times, and an attribute of Aphrodite/Venus.* [25]
Aphrodite Ourania, is draped rather than nude Aphrodite
with her foot resting on a tortoise at Muse du Louvre.
The playwright Aeschylus was said to have been killed by
a tortoise dropped by a bird.
1.3 Ancient Mesopotamia Ketupat penyu is made from a coconut leaf to appear like
a turtle. It is used in a ritual to banish the ghosts in Malay
In ancient Mesopotamia, the turtle was associated with traditional medicine.
the god Ea and was used on kudurrus as a symbol of
Ea.* [23] The heron and the turtle is an Ancient Sume- 1.5.2 China
rian story that has survived to this day.* [24]
In China the traditional Chinese character symbolizing
the turtle () shows a head like that of a snake at the
1.4 Ancient Greece and Rome top, to the middle left of the paws, to the middle right
of the shell, and at the bottom of the tail. According to
One of Aesop's fables is The Tortoise and the Hare. the Book of ceremonies, the single-horned rhino,
4 1 IN MYTHOLOGY, LEGENDS, AND FOLKLORE
strength, and longevity.* [27] The tortoise and the tiger 1.5.3 India
are the only real animals of the four, although the tor-
toise is depicted with supernatural features such as dragon Main article: World turtle India
ears, aming tentacles at its shoulders and hips, and a long
hairy tail representing seaweed and the growth of plant
In Hindu mythology the world is thought to rest on the
parasites found on older tortoise shells that ow behind
backs of four elephants who stand on the shell of a tur-
the tortoise as it swims. The Chinese believe that tortoises
tle.* [30] In Hinduism, Akupara is a tortoise who car-
come out in the spring when they change their shells, and
ries the world on his back, upholding the Earth and the
hibernate during the winter, which is the reason for their
sea.* [2]
long life.* [7]
One Avatar of Vishnu is the giant turtle Kurma. The Sri
The Chinese Imperial Army carried ags with images of
Kurmam Temple in Andhra Pradesh, India, is dedicated
dragons and tortoises as symbols of unparalleled power
to the Kurma avatar. Kurmavatara is also Kasyapa, the
and inaccessibility, as these animals fought with each
northern star, the rst living being, forefather of Vishnu
other but both remained alive. The dragon cannot break
the protector. The plastron symbolizes the earthly world
the tortoise and the latter cannot reach the dragon.* [7]
and the carapace the heavenly world. The Shatapatha
In China, the tortoise was also called the Black warrior,
Brahmana identies the world as the body of Kurmaraja,
standing as a symbol of power, tenacity, and longevity,
the king of tortoises, with the earth its plastron, the
as well as that of north and winter. A tortoise was often
atmosphere its body, and the vault of the heavens its cara-
put at the base of burial monuments. Legend holds that
pace. The tortoise holds the elephant, on which rests the
the wooden columns of the Temple of Heaven in Bei-
earth. The elephant is the masculine symbol and the tor-
jing were built on the shells of live tortoises since people
toise the feminine.* [7]
thought that these animals were capable of living for more
than 3000 years without food or water and are adorned
with a magical power that prevents wood from rotting. 1.5.4 Japan
It was considered that the tortoise does not remember the
day and month of its birth so calling someone atortoise
in China was considered oensive.
In Tibet, the tortoise is a symbol of creativity.* [7]
The tortoise is of the feng shui water element* [28] with
the tiger, phoenix, and dragon representing the other
three elements. According to the principles of feng shui
the rear of the home is represented by the Black Tortoise,
which signies support for home, family life, and per-
sonal relationships. A tortoise at the back door of a house
or in the backyard by a pond is said to attract good for-
tune and many blessings. Three tortoises stacked on top
of each other represent a mother and her babies.* [28] In
Daoist art, the tortoise is an emblem of the triad of earth-
humankind-heaven.* [29]
The tortoise is a symbol of longevity, with a potential
lifespan of ten thousand years.* [2] Due to its longevity, a
symbol of a turtle was often used during burials. A burial
mound might be shaped like a turtle, and even called a
grave turtle.A carved turtle, known as bixi was used
as a plinth for memorial tablets of high-ranking ocials
during the Sui Dynasty (581-618 CE) and the Ming pe-
riods (1368-1644 CE). Enormous turtles supported the
memorial tablets of Chinese emperors* [27] and support
the Kangxi Emperor's stele near Marco Polo Bridge in
Beijing, China. Tortoise shells were used for witchcraft Japanese Edo period depiction of a minogame.
and future forecasting. There are innumerable tales on
the longevity of the tortoises and their ability to transform
Japanese culture adopted from China the myth of four
into other forms.* [7]
Guardian Beasts, said in Japan to protect the city of Heian
(Kyoto) from threats arising from each of the four car-
dinal directions. The Black Tortoise or Gen-bu, some-
times depicted as a combination of a tortoise and a snake,
6 1 IN MYTHOLOGY, LEGENDS, AND FOLKLORE
protects Kyoto from the north; the other beasts and as- King's envoy oered a sacred turtle (Vietnamese: Thn
sociated directions are the Azure Dragon (Sei-ryu, east), Quy) which was carved in Khoa u script on its carapace
the Vermilion Bird (Su-zaku, south), and the White Tiger writing all things happening from the time Sky and Earth
(Byak-ko, west). had been born. Yao King ordered a person to copy it and
In Japan, however, the turtle has developed a more inde- called it Turtle Calendar.
pendent tradition than the other three prominent beasts Another legend told that Kim Quy Deity (Golden Tur-
of China. The minogame (), which is so old it has tle Deity) came into sight and crawled after An Dng
a train of seaweed growing on its back, is a symbol of Vng's pray. Following the Deity's foot prints, An
longevity and felicity. A minogame has an important role Dng Vng built C Loa Citadel as a spiral. An
in the well-known legend of Urashima Tar. Dng Vng was given a present of Kim Quy Deity's
According to traditional Japanese beliefs, the tortoise is claw to make the trigger (Vietnamese: ly), one part of
a haven for immortals and the world mountain, and sym- the crossbow (Vietnamese: n) named Linh Quang Kim
bolizes longevity, good luck, and support. It is the symbol Tro Thn N that was the military secret of victorious
of Kumpira, the god of seafaring people.* [7] Zhao Tuo.
The tortoise is a favored motif by netsuke-carvers and A 15th-century legend tells that L Li returned his
other artisans, and is featured in traditional Japanese wed- sacred sword named Thun Thin (Heaven's Will) to
ding ceremonies.* [2] There is also a well-known artistic Golden Turtle in Lc Thy lake after he had won Ming's
pattern based on the nearly hexagonal shape of a tortoise's army. That is why Lc Thy lake was renamed Sword
shell. These patterns are usually composed of symmet- Lake (Vietnamese: H Gm) or Returning Sword lake
rical hexagons, sometimes with smaller hexagons within (Hon Kim Lake). This action symbolizes taking leave
them.* [31] of weapons for peace.
The World Turtle carries the Earth upon its back in myths
from North America; for this reason many aboriginal
North Americans refer to it as Turtle Island. In Cheyenne
tradition, the great creator spirit Maheo kneads some mud
he takes from a coot's beak until it expands so much
that only Old Grandmother Turtle can support it on her
back. In Mohawk tradition, the trembling or shaking of
the Earth is thought of as a sign that the World Turtle is
stretching beneath the great weight that she carries.* [5]
Indians of North America used combs made of tortoise
shell to signify the margin between life and death. Ac-
cording to their beliefs, the cosmic tree emerges from the
spine of the tortoise.* [7]
The expression "turtles all the way down" comes from the
notion of the World Turtle.
1.8 Oceania
1.8.1 Tahiti
1.8.2 Polynesia
In Susm the hatching and return of baby turtles to the According to the laws of Kashrut (Kosher), the turtle is
sea is a symbol for returning to God through God's guid- considered "impure" and cannot be eaten.
ance.* [33] The journey of the baby turtle is a good model Back when the Jews still had the temple, when a woman
for the Quranic verseExtol the name of your Lord, the completed her period, she had to give two pigeons and
Highest, who has created and regulated, and has destined two turtles to a Kohen, a priest. The exact passage from
and guided[87:1-3]. the Torah is:
8 3 IN MODERN FICTION
3 In modern ction
See also: List of ctional turtles
tower. There is also a small carving of the turtle which In the children's story, Esio Trot by Roald Dahl, a char-
is described as a 'tiny god'. A rhyme is recited by the acter named Mrs. Silver has a small pet tortoise, Ale,
characters,See the TURTLE of enormous girth, on his who she loves very much. One morning, Mrs. Silver
shell he holds the Earth.This rhyme and the turtle also mentions to Mr. Hoppy that even though she has had Al-
show up in King's novel It, where the turtle represents the e for many years, her pet has only grown a tiny bit and
opposition to the terror that is It. has gained only 3 ounces in weight. She confesses that
Turtle is a character who gures prominently in Barbara she wishes she knew of some way to make her little Ale
Kingsolver's novels The Bean Trees and Pigs in Heaven. grown into a larger, more dignied tortoise. Mr. Hoppy
suddenly thinks of a way to give Mrs. Silver her wish
She is a Cherokee child whose adoptive mother, Taylor
Greer, so nicknamed her because Turtle grabs onto Tay- and (he hopes) win her aection. He eventually begins
swapping the tortoise for bigger and bigger ones, with the
lor and will not let go. Taylor explains, In Kentucky
where I grew up, people used to say if a snapping turtle illusion of using magic.
gets hold of you it won't let go till it thunders.* [34] In children's literature such as Dr. Seuss's Yertle the Tur-
In the books by Terry Pratchett, the Discworld is carried tle, the turtle is often depicted as a humorous charac-
on the backs of four elephants, who in turn rest on the ter having
* *
a mixture of animal and human characteris-
back of the gigantic world turtle Great A'Tuin. In the tics. [36] [37]
Discworld novel Small Gods, the Great God Om mani-
fests as a tortoise. 3.3 Film and television
In The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck uses the tortoise
as an emblem of the resolve and persistence of theOk-
iesthat travel west across the US for a better life.* [4]
Ursula K. Le Guin's novel "The Lathe of Heaven" intro-
duces a person whose dreams involuntarily become real-
ity. The novel eventually features sea turtle aliens.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are comic book The Pokmon series has a few species resembling tur-
characters whose adventures have been adapted tles or tortoises. Squirtle, Wartortle, and Blastoise are
for TV and lm. They are Leonardo, Raphael, the water-type 'starter' Pokmon in the Kanto Region.
Donatello, and Michelangelo. They were created in Turtwig, Grotle, and Torterra are likewise the grass-type
1983.* [38] They were a cultural phenomenon be- starter Pokmon of the Sinnoh Region. Shuckle, in the
tween 1988 and 1992, with their images ubiquitous Johto Region, can often be mistaken for a stylised turtle,
in advertising, cinema, comics, magazines, music, but is in fact a Mould Pokmon. Tirtouga and Carracosta
newspapers, and television.* [39] Their action g- are can be revived from Fossils in the Unova Region.
ures were top sellers around the world. In 1990, Blastoise, the nal evolved form of Squirtle, is the mascot
the cartoon series was shown on more than 125 tele- of the Pokmon Blue video game.
vision stations every day and the comic books sold
125,000 copies a month.* [38] Their origin ushed
down the toilet and ending up in the sewer sys-
tem echoed contemporary urban legends of small 4 Political use
reptiles that were ushed down toilets growing into
erce animals in city sewers.* [39]
Seirijai, Lithuania
[7] http://www.eedi.org.ua/eem/3-11eng.html
[8] File:Rock-painting-turtle.jpg
[13] http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/religion/turtles.html
a returnee, a Chinese person who has studied abroad and
returned home. (There is also a pun here, as hi gi is also [14] http://ethnology.wordpress.com/category/
, to come back home from overseas). The term african-tribesculturescountries/ancient-egypt/
has positive connotations, implying a dynamic ability to [15] http://home.earthlink.net/~{}fridjian/id7.html
travel across the ocean. By contrast, "kelp" (simplied
Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: hi [16] Turtle headed watery messenger of Osiris Archived De-
di), is used to describe an unemployed returnee. It has cember 12, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
negative overtones, implying the person is drifting aim- [17] Archived June 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
lessly, and is also a homophonic expression (Chinese:
; pinyin: hidi, literally sea waiting). [18] Ophthalmology in Ancient Egypt
[1] Cirlot, Juan-Eduardo, trans. Sage, Jack, 2002, A Dictio- [26] Allan, Sarah, 1991, The Shape of the Turtle: Myth, Art,
nary of Symbols, Courier Dover Publications, ISBN 0- and Cosmos in Early China, SUNY Press, ISBN 0-7914-
486-42523-1. 0459-5.
[3] Lutz, Peter L., Musick, John A., and Wyneken, Jeanette, [28] Moran, Elizabeth, Biktashev, Val and Yu, Joseph, 2002,
2002, The Biology of Sea Turtles, CRC Press, ISBN 0- Complete Idiot's Guide to Feng Shui, Alpha Books, ISBN
8493-1123-3. 0-02-864339-9.
13
[31] Niwa, Motoji, 2001, trans, Thomas, Jay W., Snow, Wave,
Pine: Traditional Patterns in Japanese Design, ISBN 4-
7700-2689-7.
[32] http://www.lexiline.com/lexiline/lexi73.htm
[37] Goldstein, Jerey H., 1994, Toys, Play, and Child Devel-
opment, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-45564-
2.
[38] Long, Mark A., 2002, Bad Fads, ECW Press, ISBN 1-
55022-491-3.
[41]
[43] Berg, John C., 2003, Teamsters and Turtles?: U.S. Pro-
gressive Political Movements in the 21st Century, Rowman
& Littleeld, ISBN 0-7425-0192-2.
11 External links
Sea Turtle Postage Stamps of the World.
12.2 Images
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