I did a lot of research on different animals and their symbolism as part of my AS Level Art project last year entitled 'People and Animals' and I thought it would be fun to share some of the stuff I learned. Here is Part 10: Whales. This is the final part! Scroll to the end to get the links to the other parts!
Whales
- In China, Yu-Kiang, a whale with human hands and feet, was said to rule the sea
- The Tlingit people say that orcas were created when the hunter Natsihlane carved eight wooden fish and told them to swim
- In the Tyrol region of Austria, if a sunbeam were to fall on a female entering womanhood, she would be carried away in the belly of a whale
- The Japanese hold funerals for beached whales
- A whale cult in Japan have cemeteries with grave stones dedicated to whales killed to feed the people - whale embryos found inside the mother's dead body were buried with the same respect as humans
Whale Gallery
