They were fierce hill tribes in what is now Scotland, and we called them Picts. The name seems to mean "The Painted People" for they were known to love bright body art and multi-coloured clothing. They were artists, prolific carvers of stone and from the carved standing stones still found in the region around Loch Ness, we can see that the Picts were fascinated by animals, carefully etching their likeness into the surface of the stone. And they left us a mystery.
For all the animals depicted on the Pictish stones are lifelike and easily recognisable, except for one. This exception is a strange beast with a long elongated beak or muzzle, a head spout, and with flippers instead of feet, somewhat like a swimming elephant. This Pictish beast is the earliest known reference to the belief that took hold in the Scottish Highlands at least 1,500 years ago, that Loch Ness is home to a mysterious underwater animal. The Loch Ness Monster.
Columba stood for no nonsense, even from a monster. He had ordered one of his monks to swim across the loch to fetch a boat when, halfway across, the beast appeared and rushed at the swimmer, roaring in a most frightening way. The Saint himself jumped in the loch crying out at the monster "Go no further, nor touch the man! Go back!". Thus commanded, the monster fled. The great Columba converted most of Scotland to Christianity and apparently converted Nessie too, for it is said that until he went out on the waters and soothed the beast, she had been a murderess.
In Scottish folklore, large animals are associated with many bodies of water from small streams to the largest lakes, often labeled Loch-na-Beistie on old maps. These water-horses, or kelpies, are cousins of the Irish Pooka and have similar magical powers but often malevolent intentions. They are dragons under water, lurking with ravenous intent, waiting for the onset of darkness in the long Northern nights before they come forth and devour the Innocent.
The monster, sea serpent, kraken and other mythological creatures have formed a part of folklore since the beginning of time. Around the world there are reputed to be sea serpents or monsters in many bodies of fresh water. Nessie in Loch Ness, Morag in Loch Morar, Shielagh in Loch Shiel, Lizzy in Loch Lochy, Champ in Lake Champlain, Ogopogo in Lake Okanagan and, quaintly, Wally in Lake Wallowa.
While research has been conducted at many of these lakes, Loch Ness is the icon for monsters and Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster is, without doubt, the grandmother of them all. It is to Loch Ness where myriad researchers have flocked with their cameras and sonars, webcams and mini submarines, their hopes, fears and dreams of solving the mystery of Nessie.
She is reported to have an elongated neck that quite often protrudes from the water with a small head, diamond shaped flippers and three distinct humps on her back followed by a tail. Sone say that she lives under or around Urquhart Castle and many photographs (mostly fake) have been taken of her in the vicinity.
The sedimentary rocks which cradle Loch Ness are some of the oldest in the world. The sandstones were originally laid down in warm seas when Scotland was located in the latitude where Australasia is today. As the continents drifted northwards the land became squeezed into the dry centre of the super-continent Pangaea.
400 million years ago, the Great Glen side slip fault was created. This Great Glen, almost cutting Scotland in two, is home to the black waters of Lochs Ness, Oich, Lochy and Linnhe
As the continents began to break up and cluster around the north pole, great Scottish mountains, which would have been Himalayan in size were gradually worn down to the stumps which you see today. Scotland was still in the grip of the ice twelve thousand years ago, but the main advances were over and the land was beginning to rebound from being depressed into the mantle. The surface of Loch Ness would have been at a similar elevation to sea level.
Anything living in the Loch today must have arrived from the freezing North Sea up the River Ness after the final retreat of ice.
Many scientists and zoologists will admit to half- believing that a large aquatic animal does in fact exist in Loch Ness. There are numerous theories as to her identity, including a snake-like primitive whale known as a zeuglodon, a type of long-necked aquatic seal, giant eels, walruses, floating mats of plants, giant molluscs, otters, a "paraphysical" entity, mirages, diving birds and most popularly, a plesiosaur. Nessie was even given a scientific name "Nessiteras rhombopteryx" named by Sir Peter Scott so that Nessie could be added to the British Register of officially protected wildlife.
The name, translated from Greek means "The wonder of Ness with the diamond shaped fin". Over the years many have noted that if you rearranged the letters of Nessiteras rhombopteryx, it can be made to read "Monster hoax by Sir Peter S".
This may mean something - or it may mean nothing at all.
Nessie is either there, or she's not. I like to think she has outwitted our efforts to trap her, pin her down, categorise her, tame her and turn her into tea towels. And one day you may get to see her yourself. Long may she live in the loch !
Susanna Duffy is a Civil Celebrant, grief counsellor and mythologist. She creates ceremonies and Rites of Passage for individual and civic functions, and specialises in Croning and other celebrations for women. http://celebrant.yarralink.com
The Shwedagon Paya is much more than just another temple.... Read More
LifeI paint with an emphasis on expressing LIFE (the spirit... Read More
I had lived in Vancouver very briefly as a child... Read More
Humanity - the sole endeavor of sanctity in every man,... Read More
They walk among us. By the mid nineties, science had... Read More
At the end of Part 3 in this series I... Read More
The FoolMy first direct experience of the fool in masking... Read More
Since pearls are so rare and possess such a high... Read More
If you are wishing to harmonize or balance your house... Read More
The Million dollars was my life-savings earmarked for prime the... Read More
Towards the end of Million Dollar Baby the character Scraps,... Read More
Between 603 and 702 AD. a truly marvelous temple was... Read More
I have a small website where I try to sell... Read More
What was the controversy all about?In the 2004 Olympics, an... Read More
I cannot emphasize enough the dearth of information, or the... Read More
Good feng shui often requires making wise decisions based on... Read More
A mirror, when becoming a feng shui mirror, can be... Read More
Ever walked into a house that felt like home? Ever... Read More
Feng shui (say "fung shway"), often called the art of... Read More
The film portrays the creation, fate, and redemption of a... Read More
The River Wandle is sourced from the North Downs above... Read More
GRIGORY EFIMOVICH NOVYKH (RASPUTIN):'Hail, Hail, Ras-putin'. This man's story has... Read More
A comedian once showed a newspaper to his audience. The... Read More
Some scientists argue over creation and evolution and they argue... Read More
In 1350 AD we were still quite a few centuries... Read More
"Ron, I can't take much more of his sleazy behavior!... Read More
FRANCIS DRAKE: - It is my perspective that history has... Read More
Folklore includes a traditional trickster figure, the subject of many... Read More
Because of different instruments, materials and cultural background, Chinese paintings... Read More
King Ludwig II of Bavaria, named after his grandfather, was... Read More
On December 26, 2004 a massive tsunami swept through Thailand... Read More
At a recent art show, I could not help but... Read More
ZORRO:Timon of Athens. But most often they wrote in code... Read More
FABULOUS: - Many 'fabulous' personages and concepts are created by... Read More
Special Types of MediumsRice paper is a very delicate medium... Read More
She brought the guitar into vogue. She created the first... Read More
A great tool to help you find out more about... Read More
To the online artist, it might seem a paradox, at... Read More
HUMAN GENOME PROJECT: - In 1991 Michael Coe wrote Breaking... Read More
Humanity - the sole endeavor of sanctity in every man,... Read More
A little girl came up to her mom in the... Read More
A mirror, when becoming a feng shui mirror, can be... Read More
Many people collect Inuit art as investments. Inuit art is... Read More
Silver is widely diffused but is rarely found in the... Read More
Passion was the main stuff of journalism long before the... Read More
Our culture is defined by what we have access to!... Read More
Spainīs flag (the national one) is as colorful as the... Read More
His plays and adaptations have been performed in many countries... Read More
Change is the only inevitably constant aspect of life in... Read More
1. Can you briefly summarize why you think history is... Read More
Over thiry-five years ago, I picked up a book on... Read More
The history of the royal barges dates back to the... Read More
Collecting art can be one of the most enjoyable ways... Read More
When my wife and I announced that we were moving... Read More
Ephesus had a shrine to the Anatolian mother-goddess and the... Read More
Between 603 and 702 AD. a truly marvelous temple was... Read More
He seems to live forever. A network television movie about... Read More
Most myths have some element of truth in them. The... Read More
What is the New Age Movement? It is similar to... Read More
Lord Renfrew, Disney Professor of Archaeology at Cambridge University states:... Read More
The Rooster is traditionally considered to be a favourable sign.... Read More
It is safe to say that in ... Read More
Drawing a face isn't as hard as it looks. To... Read More
* Make sure you set your browser encoding correctly to... Read More
I cannot emphasize enough the dearth of information, or the... Read More
Our Self is the true center of our being and... Read More
Humanities |