So if dragons or water serpents were real, what would they mean to the Mayans? How do you call one? What are they used for?

Best answer:

Answer by Kecak
From link 1:
Quetzalcoatl (“feathered snake”) is the Aztec name for the Feathered-Serpent deity of ancient Mesoamerica, one of the main gods of many Mexican and northern Central American civilizations.

The name “Quetzalcoatl” literally means quetzal-bird snake or serpent with feathers of the Quetzal (which implies something divine or precious) in the Nahuatl language. The meaning of his local name in other Mesoamerican languages is similar.

The Maya knew him as Kukulkna; the Quiche as Gukumatz. The Feathered Serpent deity was important in art and religion in most of Mesoamerica for close to 2,000 years, from the Pre-Classic era until the Spanish Conquest.

Gukumatz was a culture hero who taught the Toltecs, and later the Maya, the arts of civilization, including codes of law, agriculture, fishing and medicine. He came from an ocean, and eventually returned to it. According to Mayan legend, Gukumatz will return to the Earth during the End Times. He also represents the forces of good and evil, similar to the ying-yang paradigm of Oriental religions.

Gukumatz was a god of the four elements of fire, earth, air and water, and each element was associated with a divine animal or plant:

Air — Vulture
Earth — Maize
Fire — Lizard
Water — Fish

From link 2:

Dragons
Sometimes serpents and dragons are used interchangeably, having similar symbolic functions. The venom of the serpent is thought to have a fiery quality similar to a fire spitting dragon. The Greek Ladon and the Norse Níðhöggr (Nidhogg Nagar) are sometimes described as serpents and sometimes as dragons. In Germanic mythology, serpent (Old English: wyrm, Old High German: wurm, Old Norse: ormr) is used interchangeable with the Greek borrowing dragon (OE: draca, OHG: trahho, ON: dreki). In China, the Indian serpent n?ga was equated with the lóng or Chinese dragon. The Aztec and Toltec serpent god Quetzalcoatl also has dragon like wings, like its equivalent in Mayan mythology Gukumatz (“feathered serpent”).

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No one would ever dare to explain why a Dragon, a legendary creature, has created a huge impact in the lives of people today. Is it because people have heard a lot of stories about it, which makes it real? Or is it because the stories that were told since long time ago have been embodied by the people, made these affect their lives and daily living?

The answer may be vague, but the again, dragons, although mythical creatures, have existed in the minds of every person, and will continue to play in the imagination of the future generations.

A legendary creature made into symbols

Since no one would ever dare to prove the existence of dragons, people since the ancient times have created an image to portray how the legendary creature looks like. Based on stories passed from one generation to the other that would often describe the physical attributes of the creature, people saw the real image of a dragon.

They made sketches, and formed sculptures of a huge animal. The size would often be described similarly, but other attributes are different. Chinese dragons are longer, swims on air, and would often symbolize kindness and goodwill. On the other hand, Japanese dragons do not have wings, love the water, and have three claws.

Dragons from Europe are usually depicted of having three heads, aggressive, and burns villages. There are other illustrations of dragons, depending on a certain culture. In general, there are cultures that would portray their dragon as virtuous, but there are also cultures that would label dragons as ghastly elements.

Dragon symbols made into body art

After several pictures of dragons sprouted out, people used the symbolism for themselves. In the form of tribal dragon tattoos, people from different cultures have radiated their might to their enemies. In fact, several tribes would often paint their bodies with a dragon design before going to war. This is to show to their enemies that they are tough and fearless.

But tribal dragon tattoos do not usually mean the same thing. There are also cultures that would place these on their bodies as a sign of good luck, good health, and good fortune. These are commonly seen on Chinese cultures. Aside from body art, Chinese dragons are also a usual subject on paintings, pottery and embroidery.

However, there are cultures that used creature as a symbol of their deviancy to their religion. For instance, those who are against the Christian religion, would place dragon symbols around themselves and worship this mythical creature. They would often attack the church of Christ with this symbol, since it was mentioned in the bible that dragons are creatures from the underworld.

Dragon Tattoos today

A lot of people love tribal dragon tattoos, not only because of the unique design, but because of their legendary significance and symbolism. Tattoo artists have also crafted the design to make it more modern and attractive. Some would combine colors of red, yellow, and green to make the tattoo radiant and eye-catching.

Much folklore about dragons was believed throughout time. In Egyptian mythology, the god of the underworld, Osiris, is sometimes represented by a dragon. In Greek mythology, dragons are always guarding something or eating someone. In European mythology, a dragon is a serpent-like legendary creature. In both Eastern and Western mythology, the dragon is believed to be responsible for eclipses.

In Bulgarian legend, dragons are three headed, winged beings with snake’s bodies. There is also a white dragon, which according to legend can transform into a bird called O-Goncho. The dragon also plays a vital role in Arthurian legend.

In Romanian folklore, even the snake, which in certain conditions, has the ability to turn into a dragon, has a strong malefic meaning. The ancient Greeks and Romans, who revered dragons for their wisdom but feared them for their tremendous powers, shared this belief. Similarly, in the Babylonian creation myth, Tiamat the embodiment of chaos is portrayed as a terrible dragon. This myth is almost as hard to kill as the dragon itself was. For this reason, the dragon symbol is the sign of authority, often being worn on the robes of the Imperial family and nobility.

Dragons have long been considered evil, maiden-stealing, village destroying, fire-breathing beasts. This lead to many brave knights attempting to hunt down and slay dragons, as recounted in many medieval writings. When knights began inventing stories about them defeating such dragons, the dragon and knighthood peak was reached.

Almost every country in the world as some sort of dragon story. Legends and myths are filled with stories of dragons. In European mythology, a dragon is a serpent-like legendary creature. In many legends dragons personify evil, and are vicious beasts who live to wreak havoc and must be pacified by human sacrifice. One of the most feared monsters of the Greeks and Romans was the Hydra, a dragon with multiple heads and poisonous breath.

In fairy tales and in medieval poetry in the Western world dragons are dangerous, untrustworthy creatures. Medieval people liked to scare each other with dragons. All peopel are drawn by the dragon’s aura of mystery, its ancient magic, its nobility; its awesome might and power.

Was this Swiss bird-watcher killed and eaten by a group of Komodo dragons? Hunter and Hunted: Dragon King : SAT MARCH 1 9P et/pt : channel.nationalgeographic.com

Video Rating: 4 / 5

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The Dragon has played an important part in myths and religions since pre-historic times. The history of dragons goes back at least six thousand years, and there are dragon tales and legends from every continent except Antarctica. In almost every culture, and all throughout history, there are stories of these mythical and magical creatures called dragons. Different people have various theories of why so many cultures developed such a long lasting belief in dragons; however, none can actually be proven.

Many believe that dragons were what we now call dinausaurs. It may be that dragon stories partly grew out of people finding dinosaur bones. The thought is that when dragon bones were dug up later, they were given the new classification of dinosaur. Many evolutionists believe that dinosaurs became extinct millions of years before man walked the planet, while others claims dispute this. It is said that dinosaur fossils, which have been discovered along with human footprints and remains, add proof to the ancient people’s history of dragons. Others feel that people forgot that dragons were ever real, and quickly faded into mythology.

In almost every culture and all throughout history there are stories of these magical creatures called dragons. Later, in Europe these dragons in art forms were thought to be real life animals rather than symbols of evil.

Throughout many cultures, dragons may have appeared different, but they have always retained the same basic core elements. When most people think of dragons they generally think of fire breathing monsters, but originally dragons were usually connected with water. To the ancient Chinese, dragons were not creatures of fire, as so many would think, but rather creatures of water. The dragon of the Chinese resided in rivers, lakes, pools and rose in great clouds of mist to promote rainfall. In earlier Mideast stories, the dragons are most often associated with water and wisdom. Historians use this conection with water to distinguish dragons from other mythical animals.

While the east feels that the dragon is a divine, mythical creature that brings good fortune, prosperity and bounty, western dragons are viewed differently. They are connected to the element fire, and they fling their colossal tails about, and viciously create destruction. The contrary views of the east and the west indicate opposing views where humans viewed dragons as a symbols of wisdom and peace, or symbols of chaos and evil. Neither would disagree that dragons were viewed as powerful creatures. This, along with the wide variance in the physical description of dragons, contributes to confusion in the definition of a dragon.

The humans revered the dragons, some clans even calling them gods. Hence, dragons were held in high regard, and their images kept and worn, to win their approval. Originally, it was believed that dragons were the ones who talked directory to the Gods. It was also thought at this time that earthquakes were caused by battles between dragons and gods. In history, many different cultures began to adopt the idea of gods fighting with dragons to restore order.

The dragon may be ancient, but it remains as influential today as it did four thousand years ago. Today, the popularity of fantasy, and such role-playing games as Dungeons and Dragons, means that dragon figurines are a hot commodity.

Online stores promoting dragon items have popped up including http://www.dragon-gifts.com

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They fill the air with fire,
They soar above the tallest tower,
They glisten with emerald-scaled attire
They inspire awe and terror whenever they glower…Dragons!!

Dragons are more than just creatures of myth; they are beings of legend. They are even considered gods in some cultures. Dragons of ancient times garner fear and respect but dragons of modern times entertain and inspire the imagination.

Take a look at some of the more popular dragons of modern times:

Dragons in Movies

Dragonheart: Based on the concept that dragons were being hunted to extinction, this movie has heart. Literally. During this time, one lonely dragon was sought out to save the life of the king’s son. This noble dragon gave this young prince a piece of his dragon heart. The problem was, with a dragon’s heart beating in his chest, he couldn’t die. This prince turns into one of the worst villains the world had ever known. He is eventually brought down when the dragon sacrifices himself to allow his dragon heart to die. Dragons, in this film, are seen as noble, valiant creatures with true compassion.

Reign of Fire: This is one of those movies that does a splendid job of picturing dragons as vicious and hungry creatures. Twenty years after his mother inadvertently awakens a fire-breathing dragon, Fire Chief Quinn must do all he can to save the remaining human population from total eradication by the dragons.

Dragons in Literature

There are no cultures in the world that feature the dragon more prominently than the cultures of Japan and China. In Japanese and Chinese literature, dragons are spirits and gods of ancient times with untold power and supernatural wisdom. Dragons feature greatly in their religious beliefs and cultural ceremonies and rituals. When written and drawn with an Eastern pen, dragons hold immense magic and fantastical power.

Dragons in Animation

Talented and imaginative, animators from all over the world have dipped their pens into the same ancient inkwell and have conjured for us fearsome creatures and loyal friends. Disney animators have crafted generations of movies that either feature dragons as the main character, as in their movie Mulan or they have dragons as secondary characters as in Sleeping Beauty where Maleficent transforms into a dragon to keep Philip from Aurora and the Sword in the Stone wherein Madam Mim transforms into a dragon during her wizards duel with Merlin. Everyone remembers the fire breathing dragon guarding the tower in which Aurora slept. Everyone giggles when they catch a glimpse of the laughable and delightful Mushu. Overall, Disney has created a new look for the dragon that will last generations to come. Animators have a rare chance at crafting an image of dragons that is truly unique

Popular media is filled with all types of dragons little and large; ferocious dragons whose very breathe can fill you with dread. Since the very beginning, dragons have held man captive with their fiery breath and hair-raising tales; it is likely to be that way till the fire dies away, if it ever will.

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There are many legends associated with dragon artwork. These are stories associated with dragon artwork. The dragon artwork used to tell stories in older days. The dragon artwork used to create stories in pictorial format rather to use words.

There are many mythological stories behind the dragon artwork, the most common story is, some people wanted to replace tiger as the king of the animals. People uses dragon to represent their ambitions etc. Another story behind dragon artwork is that one of the Chinese jade emperor had to make a decision whether to create a dragon or a tiger as the king of animal kingdom but ultimately had chosen dragon as a king of water and tiger as the king of the earth.

The dragon artwork includes several available features such as clipart, bars, icons, animations etc. Dragon artwork consist dragon galleries such as dungeon draft, dragon horde, dragon tattoos and other galleries. The dragon draft contains dragon artwork, you can draw back and white dragon draft, eastern dragons and computer drawn dragons.

Dragon artwork can be use for online comics in which dragons can play a major role. You can enjoy great stories of dragons while you are reading. These styles called comic strip styles, which are available online to read. There are many kinds of dragons tattoos use in comics such as catharsis comics, urban dragon comics, shallow knights and dex lives.

If you are thinking of dragon tattoos than you can see some difference between eastern and western tattoos, for instance eastern dragons have regarded as benevolent protector of people, dispenser of life-giving in water , herald of fertility and good fortune. The western dragons on other side considered as an evil creature, which can destroy villages and can, do lot of destruction.

The origin of dragon art has started from various oriental countries such as Japan, china, Korea and Taiwan. In these countries dragon considered as a supreme spiritual power also people can see their dragon artwork in their architectures, mystical beliefs etc. people can find dragon artwork to represent their wisdom, strength and beliefs.People can see dragon artwork in their country’s imperial places, public parts etc.

Nine-dragon wall is an example of a dragon art. It is the most popular tourist place in Beijing. Nine-dragon wall has also been one of the place of worship for those who love dragons.This has been on for the last 200 years.It contains a gigantic sculpture of dragon, which mounted on the wall. It is 15 meter high and 21 meter long. This wall is comprised of 434 seven -color ceramic titles drawing. Massive crowds come every day to look to this incredible piece of artwork.

Another example of dragon artwork is an none other than the dragon sculpture, which represents a mysterious secret, can found in temple of Kyoto of Japan. The temple consist a dragon, which is large, represents power and mystery. People can see this dragon on the ceiling of temple. It has believed that it contains some magical qualities. Not in china, dragon artwork seen in many countries so in short, dragon artwork represents culture influence of many countries.

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