Mythological Throwback Thursday: Bears
Welcome to this week’s Mythological Throwback Thursday! In the US, today is Thanksgiving, which means among other things that winter is irrefutably here. During winter, a lot of animals have the bright idea of hibernating or entering a state of lethargy, like bears. At Beyond Books, we sometimes wish we could do the same. In the meantime, we’re collecting together all the bear-related myths we can. Please bear with us. (Sorry for the grizzly pun...)
A little-known but beautiful variety of bear is the Kermode bear of British Columbia. A species of black bear, they are unusual for having a common gene that occasionally turns their fur a creamy white. For this reason, they are sometimes called spirit bears. To the Kitasoo people of the area, though, they are called Moksgm’ol.
In Kitasoo legend, Raven the Creator was dissatisfied with his work, as there was no reminder of the Long White Time, when all the land was covered with permanent ice. He went to Black Bear, keeper of memories and dreams, and asked for his help. In exchange for promises of his children’s safety, Black Bear agreed to Raven’s proposal. Raven turned one in ten black bears white. According to scientists studying the bears, this pigmentation mutation may in fact be rooted in the Ice Age, and could have persisted due to the slight advantage it grants spirit bears when salmon fishing. Sounds like Raven made good on his promise.
A bear features in the Greek and later Roman myth of Callisto. As Ovid relates, Callisto was a nymph serving Diana, goddess of the hunt. Sworn to chastity, she was seduced by Jupiter, who appeared to Callisto initially as her lady. Callisto became pregnant, but when Diana found out she exiled Callisto from her service. Callisto gave birth to a son, Arcas, but was transformed into a bear by Jupiter’s jealous wife, Juno. The youth Arcas later unwittingly encountered his transformed mother during a hunt. Rather than let the two of them kill each other, Jupiter turned them into constellations: Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor, the Big and Little Bears.
As something of a reversal of fortunes, there is the tale of Ungnyeo, the mother of the Korean nation. A long time ago, a tiger and a bear desired to be human, and prayed to the divine king Hwanung, who was living on Earth in the holy city of Sinsi. Hwanung told them to live in a cave for a hundred days, eating only mugwort and garlic. The tiger lasted only twenty days before leaving the cave due to hunger, but on the twenty-first day, the bear was transformed into a beautiful woman called Ungnyeo. Though she was happy to be human, she was lonely, and prayed once more for a companion. Hwanung took her for a wife, and they had a child together called Dangun, who founded the ancient Korean kingdom of Gojoseon.
We’ll pause there. Please stick around though for more posts on fairytales, myths and legends, and we’ll see you next week for another Mythological Throwback Thursday!
