Wednesday, 8 December 2021

Legendary Horned Water Serpents

 

 Horned Water Creatures

Some sightings of lake creatures such as Ogopogo  or Nessie describe them as having horns or protuberances on their heads. Many countries have legends about horned freshwater serpents .It is a common belief among many native indigenous people  of the  United States and Canada. Horned serpent stories vary  but they are usually describe a large dragon-like creature with horns . Sometimes seen on  land, they tend to live in rivers and lakes. They are often depicted in the art works of tribal people.

In Greek  mythology the Cerastes is a creature like a  snake with either two large horns or four pairs of smaller horns. Isidore of Seville described it.

In Mesopotamian the legendary  Ningishzida, is described  as a serpent with horns.

Cheyenne people believe that there are two names for the water monsters,some believe in two different types. Mehne is always described as a horned serpent, while Axxea is sometimes described as a worm.  They may be placated  by making offerings.

 The indigenous people that lived near Lake Champlain were the Abenaki and the Iroquois. Both  had legends concerning a serpent in the lake. The Abanaki called the creature Tatoskok. They made offerings to the creature.

There have been about 300 reported sightings of Champ over the years. Read more here:

https://cryptozoo-oscity.blogspot.com/2011/11/champthe-lake-champlain-creature.html

I feel legends should not be ignored and often contain some truth. Whether it is because the creatures were seen or because of finds of prehistoric creatures’ fossils, no one knows. The fact that there are still sightings today would tend to confirm the former, that there were sightings. What do you think?

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