Tuesday

The Monkey and the Crocodile, a Panchatantram fable

Here is another interesting tale from the Panchatantra collection. Long ago, there lived a monkey named Raktamukha, on a Jamun (Black-berry) tree by the side of a river. The tree was always full of fruits, which were as sweet as nectar. The Monkey used to eat fruits from the tree. Raktamukha was happily passing his days jumping from one tree to another. Once, a crocodile named Karalamukha came out of the waters and took rest under the tree on which the monkey lived.

Raktamukha, who was sitting high on a branch, saw the crocodile taking rest under the tree. The monkey became very eager to talk to the crocodile. Since he had no friends, he wanted to make friends with him. Addressing the crocodile, Raktamukha said, “As you’re taking rest under the tree, you’re my guest and it’s my duty to offer you food.” The monkey gave a lot of Jamuns to the crocodile to eat. The crocodile ate them to his fill. He thanked the monkey for his generosity and went home.

The Monkey and the Crocodile Wallpapers photo

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Karalamukha started coming ashore everyday and enjoy the fruits offered by the monkey. Soon they became good friends. Both of them started spending time with each other discussing the world. One day, the crocodile asked the monkey for some Jamuns to take for his wife. The Monkey happily gave the fruits to the crocodile. The crocodile took the fruits cheerfully to his wife and also narrated the whole story to her.

After eating the fruits, the crocodile's wife was overjoyed and said to her husband, "Dear, if these fruits are so tasty, then the monkey who eats these fruits must be ten times tastier. Why don't you bring the heart of this monkey for my meals?” The crocodile was stunned to hear such words from his wife. He replied,” Sweetheart, the monkey is my friend. It would not be fair to take his heart”. The crocodile’s wife was shrewd and pleaded with her husband to bring monkey’s heart for her. The crocodile was unwilling to deceive his friend, but then she insisted on not eating anything till he brought her monkey’s heart.

The Crocodile was left with no other option, but to bring monkey’s heart for his wife. He was afraid that how could he ask for such thing from his friend. He devised a plan and rushed to the monkey. Raktamukha was waiting for his dear friend for the daily meeting. Reaching ashore, Karalamukha asked the monkey in a sad tone, "My wife and I invite you to our home for a dinner. My wife is very angry with me for not having invited you earlier". He stated that his wife is anxious to meet such a nice friend.

Poor monkey didn’t know about the plan and believed the story of crocodile. He asked the crocodile,” I accept your invitation, but how will I go with you? I don’t know how to swim?” The crocodile replied,” Don’t worry. Come and sit on my back. I‘ll take you to my house.” The monkey happily sat on the back of the crocodile and they started their journey. The crocodile entered in the deep waters with an intention to kill the monkey. The monkey got scared to see water all around and asked the crocodile to move slowly.

The crocodile thought that now he could reveal his real intentions to the monkey, as it was impossible for him to escape from the middle of the river. The crocodile gullibly said to the monkey, “I am taking you to my home to please my wife. She wants to eat your heart. She says that since you eat tasty fruits day and night, your heart must be ten times tastier than those fruits."

The monkey was taken aback to hear these words. He had never expected this type of a request from a friend. He kept cool and said wittingly, "Oh dear! Why didn’t you tell me earlier? It would be my privilege to offer my heart to your charming wife. I usually keep my heart safely in the burrow of the tree. In order to serve my heart to your wife, I have to go back to get my heart.”

The foolish crocodile swiftly then swam back to the tree where the monkey lived. On reaching the bank the monkey quickly jumped off the crocodile’s back and climbed up his home tree. The crocodile was in a hurry and realized that the monkey was taking too long in getting his heart. Impatiently he asked, “What is the delay? Get you heart. My wife will be very happy.”

By the time, the monkey had realized that this was a rebirth for him. The monkey laughed and answered, "My dear foolish friend. You've deceived me as a friend. Can any one take out his heart and keep that in a burrow. It was all a trick to save my life and teach a lesson to an unfaithful friend like you. Now go away and don’t ever come back." The crocodile was ashamed for his act and went home with his head bent down.

Moral: At times, presence of mind pays well.

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Friday

Anne Boleyn Ghost Stories Legend (with wallpapers)

The ghost of Queen Anne Boleyn is quite a unique phenomenon in the world of the paranormal. Unlike most ghost who haunt a certain locality, Queen Anne Boleyn's ghost is said to haunt a number of different locations through out the UK. Her spirit seems to have left a permanent imprint on the fabric of her surroundings, which is perhaps down to the impact she made in life and her traumatic death as to why her ghost still persists more than 500 years after her execution.

Queen Anne Boleyn portrait
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Anne Boleyn was the second wife of King Henry VIII, with their marriage changing the course of English History. King Henry was already married to Catherine of Aragon and could not obtain a divorce from the Roman Catholic Church. In order to obtain his divorce he therefore created a reformed version of the Church, putting himself at the head - a direct challenge of authority to the Pope.

Having obtained his divorce and married Anne, the King's most important desire was for Anne to conceive a male heir. His previous queen had only given him a female heir, Princess Mary. On 7th September 1533 Anne Boleyn gave birth to a girl, Elizabeth (who was later to become Queen Elizabeth I). After her birth, the relationship between the King and Anne Boleyn deteriorated, and he began to court a new queen in Jane Seymour.

Painting the ghost of Anne Boleyn
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However, Anne became pregnant again, and there was a brief reconciliation, but the child was stillborn. Henry determined to get rid of Anne Boleyn and came up with a charge of treason, arresting and confining her to the Tower of London. Her execution had been scheduled for 18 May 1536 but actually took place the following day as there had been a delay while a skilled executioner was brought in from France.

Queen Anne Boleyn is one of the most enduring ghosts at the Tower of London. Queen Anne is buried under the chapel's altar, with her ghost being spotted there on many occasions. Anne Boleyn has also often been seen standing at the window in the Dean's Cloister at Windsor Castle.

Anne Boleyn's ghost also appears in the grounds of Blickling Hall dressed all in white, seated in a ghostly carriage that is drawn by headless horses, spurred on by a headless coachman. Anne too is headless, holding her severed head securely in her lap. On arrival at Blickling Hall the coach and driver vanish leaving the headless Anne to glide alone into Blickling Hall where she roams the corridors and rooms until daybreak.\The magnificent Blickling Hall was built during the reign of King James I, by the Holbert Family, on the ruins of the old Boleyn family property. Blickling Hall in Norfolk has recently topped a National Trust poll as the Trust's Most Haunted Building. Blickling Hall was in the possession of the Boleyn family between 1499 and 1507. There is a statue and portrait of Anne Boleyn in the Hall, the statue is inscribed "Anna Bolena born here 1507".

Queen Anne Boleyn Wallpapers art visualization
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Her brother, Lord Rochford, also appears on the same night, he too is headless although he doesn't enjoy the comfort of a carriage, for he is dragged across the surrounding countryside by four headless horses.

Sir Thomas Boleyn, who stated his belief of Anne's guilt at her trial has not found peace in death. Every year, for a thousand years to do as penance, tradition says he is obliged to drive his spectral coach and horses over twelve bridges that lie between Wroxham and Blickling.

Many myths and legends about Anne Boleyn have survived over the centuries. One is that she was secretly buried in Salle Church in Norfolk under a black slab near the tombs of her Boleyn ancestors. Her body was said to have rested in an Essex church on its journey to Norfolk. Another is that her heart, at her request, was buried in Erwarton (Arwarton) Church, Suffolk by her uncle Sir Philip Parker.

Anne Boleyn Wallpaper from BBC TV Series The Tudors
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Anne's ghost has reportedly been sighted at Hever Castle, Blickling Hall, and Salle Church. The most famous account of her reputed haunting has been documented in paranormal researcher Hans Holzer's book Ghosts I've Met. In 1864, one Major General J.D. Dundas of the 60th Rifles regiment was quartered in the Tower of London. As he was looking out the window of his quarters, he noticed a guard below in the courtyard, in front of the lodgings where Anne had been imprisoned, behaving strangely. He appeared to challenge something, which to the General, looked like a whitish, female figure sliding towards the soldier. The guard charged through the form with his bayonet, then fainted. Only the General's testimony and corroboration at the court-martial saved the guard from a lengthy prison sentence for having fainted while on duty.

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Wednesday

The Wendigo (With Wallpapers)

The Wendigo (also Windigo, Weendigo, Windago, Windiga, Witiko, Wihtikow, and numerous other variants) is a spirit in Native American mythology. It has also become a stock horror character much like the vampire or werewolf, although these fictional depictions often do not bear much resemblance to the original mythology. Wendigo - The Wendigo in Native American mythology.

The Wendigo is a mythical creature appearing in the mythology of the Algonquian people. It is a malevolent cannibalistic spirit into which humans could transform, or which could possess humans. Those who indulged in cannibalism were at particular risk, and the legend appears to have reinforced this practice as taboo. Wendigo Psychosis is a culture-bound disorder which involves an intense craving for human flesh and the fear that one will turn into a cannibal. This once occurred frequently among Algonquian Indian cultures, though has declined with the Native American urbanization.

In Algonquian mythology The Wendigo is part of the traditional belief systems of various Algonquian-speaking tribes in the northern United States and Canada, most notably the Ojibwa/Saulteaux, the Cree, and the Innu/Naskapi/Montagnais. Though descriptions varied somewhat, common to all these cultures was the conception of Wendigos as malevolent, cannibalistic, supernatural beings (manitous) of great spiritual power. They were strongly associated with the Winter, the North, and coldness, as well as with famine and starvation. Basil Johnston, an Ojibwa teacher and scholar from Ontario, gives one description of how Wendigos were viewed:

" The Weendigo was gaunt to the point of emaciation, its desiccated skin pulled tautly over its bones. With its bones pushing out against its skin, its complexion the ash gray of death, and its eyes pushed back deep into their sockets, the Weendigo looked like a gaunt skeleton recently disinterred from the grave. What lips it had were tattered and bloody, Unclean and suffering from suppurations of the flesh, the Weendigo gave off a strange and eerie odor of decay and decomposition, of death and corruption."

Wendigo Ilustrating
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At the same time, Wendigos were embodiments of gluttony, greed, and excess; never satisfied after killing and consuming one person, they were constantly searching for new victims. In some traditions, humans who became overpowered by greed could turn into Wendigos; the Wendigo myth thus served as a method of encouraging cooperation and moderation.

Among the Ojibwa, Eastern Cree, Westmain Swampy Cree, and Innu/Naskapi/Montagnais, Wendigos were said to be giants, many times larger than human beings (a characteristic absent from the Wendigo myth in the other Algonquian cultures). Whenever a Wendigo ate another person, it would grow larger, in proportion to the meal it had just eaten, so that it could never be full. Wendigos were therefore simultaneously constantly gorging themselves and emaciated from starvation.

Human Wendigos
All cultures in which the Wendigo myth appeared shared the belief that human beings could turn into Wendigos if they ever resorted to cannibalism or, alternately, become possessed by the demonic spirit of a Wendigo, often in a dream. Once transformed, a person would become violent and obsessed with eating human flesh. The most frequent cause of transformation into a Wendigo was if a person had resorted to cannibalism, consuming the body of another human in order to keep from starving to death during a time of extreme hardship or famine. Among northern Algonquian cultures, cannibalism, even to save one's own life, was viewed as a serious taboo; the proper response to famine was suicide or resignation to death. On one level, the Wendigo myth thus worked as a deterrent and a warning against resorting to cannibalism; those who did would become Wendigo monsters themselves.

Wendigo ceremony
Among the Assiniboine, the Cree and the Ojibwa, a satirical ceremonial dance was originally performed during times of famine to reinforce the seriousness of the Wendigo taboo. The ceremonial dance, known as a wiindigookaanzhimowin in Ojibwe and today performed as part of the last day activities of the Sun dance, involves wearing a mask and dancing about the drum backwards. The last known Wendigo Ceremony conducted in the United States was at Windigo Lake of Star Island of Cass Lake, located within the Leech Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota.

Wendigo psychosis
The term "Wendigo psychosis" (also spelled many other ways, including "Windigo psychosis" and "Witiko psychosis") refers to a condition in which sufferers developed an insatiable desire to eat human flesh even when other food sources were readily available, often as a result of prior famine cannibalism; Wendigo psychosis is identified by Western psychologists as a culture-bound syndrome, though members of the aboriginal communities in which it existed believed cases literally involved individuals turning into Wendigos. Such individuals generally recognized these symptoms as meaning that they were turning into Wendigos, and often requested to be executed before they could harm others. The most common response when someone began suffering from Wendigo psychosis was curing attempts by traditional native healers or Western doctors. In the unusual cases when these attempts failed, and the Wendigo began either to threaten those around them or to act violently or anti-socially, they were then generally executed. Cases of Wendigo psychosis, though real, were relatively rare, and it was even rarer for them to actually culminate in the execution of the sufferer.

One of the more famous cases of Wendigo psychosis involved a Plains Cree trapper from Alberta, named Swift Runner.

More Wendigo Ilustrating
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During the winter of 1878, Swift Runner and his family were starving, and his eldest son died. Within just 25 miles of emergency food supplies at a Hudson's Bay Company post, Swift Runner butchered and ate his wife and five remaining children. Given that he resorted to cannibalism so near to food supplies, and that he killed and consumed the remains of all those present, it was revealed that Swift Runner's was not a case of pure cannibalism as a last resort to avoid starvation, but rather of a man suffering from Wendigo psychosis. He eventually confessed and was executed by authorities at Fort Saskatchewan. Another well-known case involving Wendigo
psychosis was that of Jack Fiddler, an Oji-Cree chief and shaman known for his powers at defeating Wendigos. In some cases this entailed euthanizing people suffering from Wendigo psychosis; as a result, in 1907, Fiddler and his brother Joseph were arrested by the Canadian authorities for murder. Jack committed suicide, but Joseph was tried and put to death.

Fascination with Wendigo psychosis among Western ethnographers, psychologists, and anthropologists led to a hotly debated controversy in the 1980s over the historicity of this phenomenon. Some researchers argued that Wendigo psychosis was essentially a fabrication, the result of naïve anthropologists taking stories related to them at face value. Others, however, pointed to a number of credible eyewitness accounts, both by Algonquians and by Westerners, as proof that Wendigo psychosis was a factual historical phenomenon.

The frequency of Wendigo psychosis cases decreased sharply in the 20th century as boreal Algonquian people came in to greater and greater contact with Western ideologies and more sedentary, less rural lifestyles. While there is substantive evidence to suggest that Wendigo psychosis did exist, a number of questions concerning the condition remain unanswered.

Wendigo wallpapers make us more think what wendigo looks like
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While Wendigos have been referred to in literature for many decades (most notably in Algernon Blackwood's 1910 story "The Wendigo," which introduced the legend to horror fiction, the well-known locked-room mystery Rim of the Pit by Hake Talbot (1944), where it is suggested that the murderer is a Wendigo, and in Stephen King's novel Pet Sematary), recently the Wendigo mythology has featured quite frequently in movies and television, including the movies Wendigo, Ravenous, Ginger Snaps Back, and Frostbiter: Wrath of the Wendigo, and in episodes of the television series Charmed, Supernatural, Blood Ties, and Fear Itself.

They have become something of a stock character in horror and fantasy films, along the lines of werewolves and vampires, usually bearing very little resemblance to the Algonquian spirit. They appear as characters in a number of computer and video games, including Final Fantasy, Hexen, and the Warcraft Universe, as well as role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, or Call of Cthulhu (where the depiction varies significantly), and also as a Marvel Comics character (see Wendigo (comics)).

Wendigo Wallpaper in Black and White
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In other words the Wendigo has also become a horror entity of contemporary literature and film, much like the vampire, werewolf, or zombie, although these fictional depictions often bear little resemblance to the original entity.

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Tuesday

Djinn, Jinn, Geanie (With Wallpapers)

In Islam and pre-Islamic Arabian folklore, a genie (also jinn, djinn, jinnī) is a supernatural creature which possesses free will. Genies are mentioned in the Qur'an, wherein a whole Sura is named after them (Al-Jinn). They can be either good or evil. In some cases, evil genies are said to lead humans astray. In Islam, Satan, known in Arabic as Iblis, is the iconic genie that refused to bow down to Adam when ordered to by Allah.

Genie is the English transliteration of the Arabic term jinn. The first recorded use of the word Genie in the English language was in 1655 as geny, with the Latin meaning (see Genius (mythology)). The French translators of The Book of One Thousand and One Nights later used the word génie as a translation of jinni because it was similar to the Arabic word both in sound and in meaning; this meaning was also picked up in English and has since become dominant. The plural, according to Sir Richard Francis Burton, is Jann. The French génie, in turn, came from the
Latin genius, which meant a sort of tutelary or guardian spirit thought to be assigned to each person at their birth. The Latin word predates the Arabic word jinni in this context, and may have been introduced in the Arabian civilization through the Nabataeans. The root, and its concept of being "hidden" or "concealed", comes from and the Arabic word 'Jánna' which means "to hide" or "to conceal" (This is not to be confused with the Arabic word 'Jannah', which means 'paradise'), and the Semitic root "JNN".

Ilustration of Djin/Jinn/Geanie always use big baldy man
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Arabic lexicons, such as William Lane's lexicon provide the rendered meaning of jinn not only for spirits, but also for anything concealed through time, status and even physical darkness.

In other cultures, as in the Mythology Guanche (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain), also existed the belief in beings that qualify as geniuses, such as the so-called Gods paredros or maxios (domestic spirits and nature), the Tibicenas (evil genius) and also demon Guayota (aboriginal god of evil) that, like the Arabic Iblis, is sometimes identified with a genius. The Guanches were of Berber origin in northern Africa which further strengthens this hypothesis.

More representation we met a Djin with flying carpets
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In Islamic theology jinn are said to be creatures with free will, made from 'smokeless fire' by Allah in the same way humans were made of earth. According to the Qur'an, Djinn have free will, and Iblis used this freedom in front of Allah by refusing to bow to Adam when Allah told Iblis to do so. By disobeying Allah, he was thrown out of Paradise and called “Shaitan”. Djinn are frequently mentioned in the Qur'an, Sura 72 of the Qur'an (named Al-Jinn) is entirely about them. Another Sura (Al-Nas) mentions Djinn in the last verse. The Qur’an also mentions that Muhammad was sent as a prophet to both “humanity and the Djinn”.

Similar to humans, jinns have free will allowing them to follow any religion they choose. Jinns have significantly lower intelligence than humans but are physically stronger. They are usually invisible to humans and humans do not appear clear to them. However, non-Muslim jinn often harass and even possess humans (Muslim jinn are forbidden from doing so), for various reasons, such as infatuation (with a girl), revenge, or because of a deal made with a practitioner of black magic. Jinns have the power to travel large distances extremely quickly and live in remote areas, mountains, seas, trees, and the air, in their own communities. Like humans, jinns will also be judged on The Day of Judgment and will be sent to Heaven or Hell according to their deeds. Since humans usually cannot see them and humans do not appear clear to them, the human "world" and that of the jinn is considered separate, and only practitioners of "black magic" contact them deliberately. Ibn Taymiyyah's Essay on the Jinn describes Jinn in detail. Of course, as it is written that Solomon caused Djinn to serve him and could call upon their services, it is not always true that black magic is necessary. Assuredly, it is also written that the Djinn may be found by very holy men, fakirs, and sufis or any who might be granted wisdom in Barakah.

Brush art of Djinn with His Branding: The Magic Lamp
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Every person is assigned a special jinn to them, also called a qareen, the jinns that whisper into your soul and tell you to give into your evil desires. The Prophet Muhammad's jinn turned into a Muslim jinn, on the recitation of the Qur'an, as the jinn found it very beautiful. However, the notion of a qareen is not universally accepted amongst all Muslims.

The social organization of the jinn community resembles that of humans - such as they have kings, courts of law, weddings, and mourning rituals. The Prophet Muhammad reportedly divided jinn into three classes: those who have wings and fly in the air, those who resemble snakes and dogs, and those who travel about ceaselessly. Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud (d. 652), who was accompanying the prophet when the jinn came to hear his recitation of the Quran, described them as creatures of different forms; some resembling vultures and snakes, others tall black men in white garbs. They may even appear as dragons, onagers, or a number of other animals. In addition to their animal forms, the jinn occasionally assume human form to mislead and destroy their human victims. One such jinni who had assumed the form of a beautiful woman was identified because of her beastly feet by her human victim, who killed her by throwing a rope around her neck and dragging her behind his camel. This type of jinn is called mardāzmā,
(tester of men) among the Baluch people. The prophet is also said to have told the jinn that they may subsist on bones, which will grow flesh again as soon as they touch them, and that their animals may live on dung, which will revert back to grain or grass for the use of the jinn flocks.

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