Читать книгу The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures: The Ultimate A–Z of Fantastic Beings from Myth and Magic - John Matthews - Страница 385

The cicada has been symbolic in many cultures. In Greek mythology, it is sacred to Apollo because of the way it pours out its song. The cicada came into being from the man Tithonous who obtained immortality – but forgot to ask for eternal youth to accompany it. Out of pity, he was changed into a cicada. Because they are so often associated with immortality, it was bad luck to kill one. Perhaps due to its incessant song, some say that the cicada is the representative of all bad and garrulous poets. It was also believed that cicadas lived on dew alone and were bloodless. In China, cicadas were kept in cages as pets. They were symbols of temperance, immortality and eternal youth, and jade cicadas were put into the mouth of the dead to signify immortality. Among the Polynesian peoples, it was believed that no one should make a noise while the cicada was making its song.

According to the Andamanese Islanders in the Bay of Bengal, the Cicada was killed by the great hunting spider, Da Tengat. As he crushed the Cicada to death its dying shrill cry sounded, and the first darkness fell. All the creatures were terrified and they began to sing in order to make the Cicada sing once again. Da Tengat lit the darkness by showing his people how to make torches from resin. Finally, all their torches caused the dawn to come again. From that time onwards, day has followed night and night day. The Andamanese still dance into the night, believing that their dances cause the sun to rise again.