November 17, 2007

 Once upon a time, in a far away land, there lived…

Well, that’s how it almost always began! From Cinderella to Snow White to Sleeping Beauty and those countless stories of elves, fairies and little people that have kept us enthralled like generations before us, have a very special ingredient (in addition to the story line, of course) in the form of all those mythical creatures that had supernatural and magical powers. They would add the necessary spice to the plot as well as all the twists and turns, eventually leading to a very happy ending.

Closer home, we have had our fair share of such stories as well. From Alif Laila to Amir Hamza, Djinns to Naags, princes and princesses, Paristan and Kohqaaf — where only the mighty dwell — and as kids we devoured them all. When I was growing up (in early 80s), we could also get those 50-paisa spooky fairy tales from a regular shop. They would be less than 20 pages long and were quite satisfying in terms of reading and barter trading.

Fast-forward to the late nineties and a phenomenal re-birth of the mythical creatures was witnessed in the form of The Ring trilogy and Harry Potter.

The question is: are these magical creatures for real, did they really exist at some point in time — the way we are led to believe? Or are they simply myths, told eons ago to placate (and possibly fire up the imaginations of) the rowdy children?

In search for some answers, I came across fascinating information about the different species of these magical creatures, their habits and habitat.

Within the myths and legends of mankind, there are hundreds of magical creatures. They are unusual, unique and simply wonderful. I hope you enjoy exploring them as much as I did.

Here are a few magical creatures, A-Z:

• Apsaras or water nymphs are beautiful women with red-painted nails, who wear gauzy clothing that mimics the movements of water as they dance. They are said to have originated from India.

• Basilisks are deadly snakes with stingers on the end of their tails. Their breath and glance are fatal to all living beings except a weasel. It is born from an egg laid by a chicken and incubated by a frog. The name comes from a Greek word ‘basiliskos’, meaning ‘Little King’. The only known way to slay a Basilisk safely is to get it to look at its own reflection (or get Harry to do the job for you!).

• Centaurs are horses with the upper portion of a man’s torso where the head would be. Their uncivilised nature made them part beasts. One of the most famous centaurs was Cheiron — ‘the great teacher’, more humane than most humans, he was accidentally killed by one of his star pupils Herakles. After death he was put into the sky as the constellation Sagittarius.

• Dragons are mainly of two types: Chinese and European. Chinese dragons are human-friendly and symbols of power and strength. Whereas, European dragons are malevolent creatures that look like a gigantic serpent or lizards with wings. They typically live in caves and guard treasures.

• Elves are mischievous creatures and take extreme delight in playing tricks on humans. They are immortal and tiny, related to the pixies, brownies and fairies.

• Fairies look like tiny humans with wings and are probably the most popular of magical creatures. Being close to nature they make their homes in the trees. They are shy around humans.

• Giants are large versions of human beings. Savage and uncivilised, they are also dim-witted to the extent of being imbeciles. Goliath was the most famous giant who was killed by David.

• Hippogriffs, once thought to be the symbol of the sun, are a cross between a mare and a griffin. They have the head and front legs of an eagle and the back end of a horse. Preferring ice and snow, they live in the most northern regions of the land.

• Imps resemble babies with horns and wings. They delight in causing trouble.

• Jinshinmushi or the ‘earthquake beetle’ is a gigantic Japanese beetle with the head of a dragon, ten spider legs and a scaly body. Its movements are said to be the cause of all the earth rumblings.

• Kappa is a water demon from Japan. He resembles a green monkey with a turtle shell. He holds his magical water in a dent on his head that is the source of his powers. He loves drowning people, especially children.

• Leprichauns appear as small old men with grey beards and twinkling eyes. They love to play tricks on humans searching for gold. If you catch a Leprichaun, he will give you his stash of gold. They are excellent secret keepers and neither tell a lie nor the whole truth.

• Mandrake or Mandragora is the root of a plant-animal that grows in the ground at the foot of a gallows tree. It appears as an anatomically correct human being with the males being white and females being either red or black. When plucked, they emit high-pitched sounds that can drive even the strongest person insane.

• Nagins (males are called Naags) were the immortal snake-women from India. Being especially closer to gods, they were often sent to run errands for them. Although preferring their original, nagins may assume any form that they desire.

• Ogres look like giants with big, pointed teeth, thanks to their human-eating habits. They are always hungry and are uglier and stupider than the true Giants.

• Phoenix is a magical giant bird that feeds only on air. It is a symbol of resurrection. After living for a thousand years, it flies to Phoenecia, where it builds the funeral pyre on top of the tallest palm tree and dives into it. After nine days the phoenix is reborn from the ashes.

• Sphinx is of two types, the Egyptian sphinx and the Greek sphinx. With the body of a lion and head of a man, the Egyptian Sphinx is associated with the god Re. The Greek sphinx was a winged lion with the head of a woman. She possessed the secrets of the universe but refused to reveal them.

• Tommy Knockers are the helpful spirits of coal miners who died in a mine. They make tapping noises to warn the living miners of cave-ins.

• Unicorns are the most popular and the fastest of all magical creatures. Pure white with the head, body and tail of a horse, the hind legs of an antelope, the whiskers of a goat and a long horn on its forehead. Their horns are quite useful in detecting and dispelling poisons in water and other liquids.

• Vampires drink human blood to survive and cannot exist in sunlight. They neither have reflections nor cast a shadow. With no real need for rest, they sleep in a coffin with soil from their homeland.

• Werewolves are humans changed into wolves, either completely or partially, usually around full moon. A person can become a werewolf by being bitten by one or reciting an incantation alone in the forest.

• Yeti or the Abominable Snowmen are large, hairy, man-shaped creatures that live in the Himalayas. No concrete evidence has been found of their existence except odd sightings, fur and footprints.

• Zombies are mortals who have cursed and turned into the ‘living dead’. They can be revived but do not survive after revival. Zombies are quite popular amongst the Voodoos and can only be summoned by a voodoo sorcerer.