Golden Crane Part 1
In The Buried Giant, Kazuo Ishiguro tells the story of an elderly couple traveling through post-Arthurian Britain. Axel and Beatrice journey with an aging knight, a warrior and a troubled boy. The group encounters fantastical creatures on their search for a dragon while unraveling fragments of their mysteriously lost past. Grief, religious fanaticism and ethics are set against a backdrop of magic and the curious nature of time and memory. Reading this book revived my curiosity in the iconography of folklore and how it efficiently highlights one of the basic tenets of the human experience: fear and desire as the inevitable fire that creates and consumes all of human endeavors.
In translating the immaterial aspects of being into narrations, over time and across the world, different cultures have crafted a series of beings with diverse attributes.
- Dryads are tree spirits that inhabit and protect forests, particularly oak trees. Each dryad is linked to a specific tree and is believed to die if the tree is destroyed.
- The Leshy is a forest guardian with the ability to shape shift and control wildlife. Often depicted as a tall, tree-like figure with leaves and moss, Leshy is a protector of animals and plants, sometimes leading travelers astray if they disrespect the forest.
- Kodama are spirits that inhabit trees, particularly ancient or sacred ones. They bring good fortune to those who respect nature but curse those who harm their trees. The sound of a tree falling in a silent forest is said to be a kodama’s cry.
- Wendigos are said to be cursed humans, transformed into monstrous creatures due to greed or cannibalism, often lurking in cold, dense forests.
- In the Amazon region, the Encantado is believed to be a shape-shifting river dolphin or serpent that lives in forested rivers and mountains. It can take on human form and is known for enchanting people, often luring them to hidden realms.
There are also Aluxes in Mexico, Amarok in Inuit mythology, Kitsune in Japanese folklore and Skogsrå in Scandinavian lore. From jungle guardians to wolf entities, trickster foxes and shape shifting spirits, folklore and mythology plug humanity into cosmological structures. This somatizes an individual’s emotions into the larger historical body of humankind. Storytelling is an exorcism of fear. One person’s experience transmutes into the communal space of shared experiences. Fantastical beings function as tools for social order and resource management. This is particularly clear in the superstitions that mediate the interactions of humans with nature.
- In the Philippines the Kapre, a tree-dwelling giant who smokes cigars and hides in large trees, plays tricks on those who wander into its territory or even fall in love with people who spend too much time in the forest. To avoid angering the Kapre, Filipinos say “tabi-tabi po” (meaning "excuse me") when passing by large trees.
- Mount Osore, one of Japan's "Three Sacred Mountains," is considered a portal to the afterlife. Located in northern Japan, the mountain is believed to be haunted by yūrei (restless spirits), particularly those who died in tragic circumstances. Every year, a festival is held there to communicate with spirits through mediums.
- In Andean culture, the mountain peaks, known as apus, are considered sacred and are believed to house spirits that protect the people and land. Offerings, such as coca leaves or small animal sacrifices, are made to the apus to ensure safe travels, successful crops, and protection from natural disasters.
“As the night advanced, a fierce wind arose from the woods, and quickly dispersed the clouds that had loitered in the heavens: the blast tore along like a mighty avalanche, and produced a kind of insanity in my spirits, that burst all bounds of reason and reflection.”
What is the spirit of nature? In the kaleidoscope of folklore there could be profound meaning or ambiguous speculation. Superstitions might illustrate cardinal aspects of life’s purpose or sheer ignorance. Something, everything or nothing can be illustrated in these stories, their strength enduring thousands of years or instantly overpowered by scientific certainties or disinterest. However, something, everything always remains, an enduring presence beyond cognition. And the only requirement, to participate in its everlasting portrayal.
The ethereal, the indescribable, the floating presence, invisible, intangible and imposing, the ever changing spirit.
