Animal
Sea Serpents and Nagas
It has been often said that the oarfish (Regalecus glesne) may be responsible for many of the sea serpent legends. It was suggested by Fredrick McCoy in 1878 that the oarfish was a very good candiate for the sea serpent of legend as it was a very rare strange looking fish that sailors would be very unaccustomed to seeing unlike seals and long clumps of seaweed. This is probably not a bad point there is a specific modern example of an Oarfish being mistaken for a Thai naga or a Nak. Nagas are beings with snake and sometimes human features that are often associated with deep water and fertility. If you would like more detail about what a Naga is go here. The Nak is genally depicted as a long crested serpent sometimes with 7 heads. So a long crested eel like fish is probably not a terrible match, not a serpent but it is snakelike and has a crest. On September 9, 1996 a very large oarfish was found at a navy seals base in Coronado Island and a photo was taken by Leo Smith, which featured in the Coronado Eagle in April 1997. Somehow a doctored version of this made it to Thailand with the caption "Queen of Nagas seized by American army at Mekhong River, Laos Military Base June 27, 1973 with the length of 7.80 meters. It is theorized the doctored picture was originally sold in Nong Khai possible during "Bung Fai Phya Nak" an event that occurs the on the full moon the 11 month of the luna year at the end of Pansa or Vassa, also sometimes called Buddhist lent. During this festival large soundless red fireballs rise from the Mekhong river and disapate every year and no one really knows why, the best scientific theory for a natural explaination so far is swamp gas coming from moving water or of course humans. The explation generally attributed to the festival is that the King of the Nagas/Nak creates the fireballs in honor of Buddha on this day. The photo is now somewhat commonly found with vendors at this festival and has developed it's own urban legends. One story about the photo was that the men in the photograph ate the flesh of the that Naga and then all of them died. Thus I think the theory of Oarfish being mistaken for legendary creatures is fairly valid.
It has been often said that the oarfish (Regalecus glesne) may be responsible for many of the sea serpent legends. It was suggested by Fredrick McCoy in 1878 that the oarfish was a very good candiate for the sea serpent of legend as it was a very rare strange looking fish that sailors would be very unaccustomed to seeing unlike seals and long clumps of seaweed. This is probably not a bad point there is a specific modern example of an Oarfish being mistaken for a Thai naga or a Nak. Nagas are beings with snake and sometimes human features that are often associated with deep water and fertility. If you would like more detail about what a Naga is go here. The Nak is genally depicted as a long crested serpent sometimes with 7 heads. So a long crested eel like fish is probably not a terrible match, not a serpent but it is snakelike and has a crest. On September 9, 1996 a very large oarfish was found at a navy seals base in Coronado Island and a photo was taken by Leo Smith, which featured in the Coronado Eagle in April 1997. Somehow a doctored version of this made it to Thailand with the caption "Queen of Nagas seized by American army at Mekhong River, Laos Military Base June 27, 1973 with the length of 7.80 meters. It is theorized the doctored picture was originally sold in Nong Khai possible during "Bung Fai Phya Nak" an event that occurs the on the full moon the 11 month of the luna year at the end of Pansa or Vassa, also sometimes called Buddhist lent. During this festival large soundless red fireballs rise from the Mekhong river and disapate every year and no one really knows why, the best scientific theory for a natural explaination so far is swamp gas coming from moving water or of course humans. The explation generally attributed to the festival is that the King of the Nagas/Nak creates the fireballs in honor of Buddha on this day. The photo is now somewhat commonly found with vendors at this festival and has developed it's own urban legends. One story about the photo was that the men in the photograph ate the flesh of the that Naga and then all of them died. Thus I think the theory of Oarfish being mistaken for legendary creatures is fairly valid.
Here is the Queen of the Nagas photo
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment