hindu crazy times makara sea monsters

Hindu Crazy Times - Makara sea-monsters, the zodiac, and you. BONUS: Why

Hinduism could be a relevant theme

So I had a bonkers kind of 'Holy shit' moment today, randomly reading

up on the Zodiac for purposes that had nothing to do with Cloverfield.

Not that this really buttresses the Hindu theory into any sort of

solid reality, but in my little parallel world where Hindu influence

on a mid-budget major-hype monster movie is possible, it's pretty

freaking zany.

I will not waste your time with a huge discussion of the Zodiac. Here,

have a Wiki article: The Zodiac.

Now, lemme direct your attention to the dates during winter. On the

Western zodiac, which overlaps neatly with eastern calendars and ties

directly to the rise of certain constellations, we see the archer,

Sagitarrius, leading directly into Capricorn, on January 19th.

(Sidereal/eastern causes some odd overlap, as their zodiac indicates

the 15th. However, I'm really kinda going by New York time). So,

Capricorn. He's a goat, right? Yeah; not always.

Starting from the Babylonian, the goat of Capricorn has been kind of a

fish-goat. But don't let's get caught in that. Instead, let's look at

the Hindu version of Capricorn: Makara.

Makara's a word that I've popped up before; there's a set of harvest

festivals that are tied to Makara, and I'm not enough of a hindu

expert to figure out why yet (I suspect - dun-dun-dun... that it's due

to the timing as it lines up with the zodiac season changes). But

Makara itself is... weird. Here, lemme quote the Wiki article for you:

"Traditionally, a makar is considered to be an aquatic creature, and

some traditional accounts identify it with crocodile, whereas some

other accounts identify it with dolphin. Still others portray it as a

fish body with an elephant's head. The tradition identifies the makar

with water, the source of all existence and fertility. In astronomy,

it is the sign of capricorn, one of the twelve symbols of the zodiac."

He's generally more associated with oceans, to boot.

Generally, the word has come to mean a kind of sea-monster, a chimera

with ever-increasingly fanciful parts. Elements of crocodile and

elephant seem to remain consistent, but brief google searching shows

possible claws. Also, elephants have a fantastically impressive

bellow, much like a roar. Incidentally. Ahem.

Lovely little site on makaras here

random article on fishapods - a real makara-like critter that looks

weirdly unfishy, with bone structures in the fins that resemble

fingers

BONUS ADDENDUM TIME:

I get crap (rightfully so) for suggesting so much foreign influence

into a monster movie that contains 'our monster,' as Abrams desires.

Except that throughout the years, the themes of our movies are driven

by the themes of our lives. The Red Scare of the sixties promoted a

major uptick into invasion horror movies, movies that found their

lynchpin in the idea of paranoia. (INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS) The

rise of nuclear energy gave us mutants and ecology gone wild (THEM,

PROPHECY (not the Walken one)) The me-me-me culture of the 80's and

90's gave rise to a new fascination with serial killers, the danger

from inside faceless society (Jack the Ripper revivals, SCREAM,

AMERICAN PSYCHO, ELM STREET)

So what's our fear now? Lou Dobbs on CNN knows. It's the outsider

again. The foreign. The East (and the south) coming in and taking our

joooorbs! Sure, we get pissy about the Mexicans, but in our lucrative

tech industry, what are we really screaming about? Indian call

centers, Chinese lead, Japanese just kicking our asses at everything,

etc.

We, the melting pot, are getting a little spooked of the melty. As a

comedian pointed out, we're on super-chunk these days. So, perhaps the

Hindu influence is not as out there as it could be.

Posted by M.D.S. at 8:36 AM