The Dragon Around The World
         The dragon is the most universal of the fabulous beasts. A gigantic serpentine being with supernatural powers, it has appeared in different forms from Egypt to China to the Americas. From myth to folklore, the dragon spread from one culture to another and emerged in different societies, with local haunts and individual personalities. Nearly every group of people seems to have need of a dragon-like creature of its own.

Tetsu
         In Japan, the dragon is called Tetsu and has three claws.

The Nagas
         The dragon-like naga of India has the head and torso of a human and the body of a snake. Like the dragons of China, different groups of nagas cause clouds and rain, guard treasure, protect palaces and temples, dwell in springs and rivers, and live in places under the sea. They, too, have a divine pearl.

Quetzalcoatl
         The plumed serpent of ancient Mexico was a combination of the rare quetzal bird and a serpent. He was a god of wind and water, bringing rain and fertility to the desert, and arcing himself across the sky as a shimmering rainbow. He created human beings, taught them the arts, and revealed to them the mineral treasures of the earth. After Quetzalcoatl quarreled with other gods, he left the land on a raft of snakes, followed by flocks of brilliantly feathered birds. He vowed to return in the year 1519.
         Historically, Cortez and the Spanish conquistadors arrived in Mexico in 1519, The Aztec king, Montezuma, believed Cortez to be Quetzalcoatl, granted the Spaniard all the treasure and power he desired. Thus weakened by their belief, the Aztecs were conquered by the Spanish.

Piasa
         While exploring the Mississippi River in 1675, the French priest Jacques Marquette came upon paintings of two monsters on a rocky cliff overlooking rouge water. These petroglyphs depicted human-headed creatures with deer antlers, scaly bodies, and long tails that wound over the beast and back between its legs. Sketches of the Piasa [PIE-ah-saw] include fangs, eagle talons, and spiny wings. Father Marquette’s Native American guides showed great respect for the painted monster, whose name means “the bird that devours men.”
         In Alton, Illinois, the site of the painings, the Piasa is a tourist attraction. A new metal sign picturing the monster is attached to a cliff near the town, and the Piasa glowers from tee-shirts and postcards. The town’s mascot, the story goes, carried off dear and people for dinner until one brave warrior shot it with poison arrows.
         Like Chinese dragons and the nagas of India, the Piasa and other monsters of Native American lore were associated with water. These creatures lived in springs, rivers, and lakes. They caused storms, overturned boats, and drowned swimmers. Tribes from the Mississippi Valley and Great Lakes commonly drew monsters on cliffs above dangerous rapids and whirlpools.

Mo-o



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