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Text: Bread Clip Knowledge
Edit|Bread Clip Knowledge
«——[Legend of the Water Monkey]——»
I'm sure you've heard of something similar: that's the real experience of the "water monkey", like a relative who fell into the river and was rescued by someone, a blue and purple palm print on the ankle, etc., this kind of strange thing that happened in reality. In China, there is a legend that is widely circulated:
"Don't go to the river, there are water monkeys in the water, they will pull you into the river and drown, and you will never be reincarnated. ”
Many people have heard such legends when they were children, but in fact, the "water monkey" in the mouth of adults also refers to water ghosts, and they are also called "kappa" and "water demons" abroad. In China, this legend is known from all over the country, and it is widely spread.
Although the names in the legends vary from region to region, with some places called water monkeys and some places called water ghosts, the content of the legends is basically the same.
That is, this thing is transformed by the soul of a child, and some people fall into the water and drown, and their souls cannot be reincarnated, so they can only turn into water ghosts and stay in the water to suffer. Only by waiting for the next person to be drowned can they go to reincarnation.
Some ghosts who can't wait directly choose to go ashore to catch children, find a stand-in, and drag them into the water to drown. Only in this way can the shackles of the water be freed from the shackles of the water and enter the cycle of reincarnation, and the drowned child can only become the next water ghost and suffer in the water.
These water ghosts, who look like people but are not human, covered in hair, are called water monkeys. This legend sounds very scary.
What makes people feel strange is that the mainland is vast and rich, and the folk culture of various places is diverse. For superstitious things, it is difficult for everyone to agree on the statement, Zhang San said one version, and Li Si said another version.
The legend of the water monkey and the water ghost has been passed down from ancient times to the present, and the ancient information is blocked, and even at the beginning of the founding of New China, everyone's information is difficult to communicate.
Why is it possible to maintain such a common denomination in the age of information blockage? Could it be that there were really water monkeys in the past? Everyone sees the same, so the description of the legend is almost the same?
«——[The True Face of the Water Monkey]——»
In fact, the legend of the water monkey once caused panic in the mainland, and the government sent people to arrest the water monkey. Once, in a small village in Hunan, rumors of water monkeys were boiling.
At first, the chickens they kept by the river were lost, then the fish they caught were broken, as if they had been bitten by something, and finally a big sister who was washing vegetables was attacked by an unknown creature.
Everyone will also hear strange cries on the shore, which alarmed the local government, but many people were sent to investigate, but the reason behind it was not found.
Just as he was about to identify himself as a "water ghost", a villager said he had seen the culprit of the incident: an otter. The otter is an amphibious animal that forages in the water and cannot do without water for the rest of its life, unless it is extremely hungry and will come ashore in search of food.
Their fur is very smooth, highly waterproof and can swim. I especially like to live alone in a quiet environment, especially in places where there are more people, and they will never appear without extremely special circumstances.
The living habit of otters is to stay away from people, and their vigilance is very high, and humans usually do not see them.
They will look for branches to build a nest on the surface of the water, form a small dike, hide themselves very well, and sometimes cry out when they are happy. To humans who rarely hear it, it's a strange cry.
He can be recognized by everyone as a water monkey, not only because of his strange voice and rare appearance.
«——[Otter Habits and Distribution]——»
The distribution of otters is extremely wide, from the northeast of the mainland to the mainland of Hainan, there are basically this aquatic plant, even not only in the coastal areas, in the inland areas, as long as there are rivers and water, this creature will basically exist.
In the past, the environmental damage was not severe, and the food in the water was abundant enough that otters did not have to go ashore to find food for the rest of their lives.
And now the environment has changed very much, and the small otter seems so small in front of nature.
The once clear water of the river has become dirty, and there has been a huge reduction in fish and shrimp. Coupled with overfishing, the ecological environment in the rivers is destroyed, and the fish are in danger, so that the species that feed on fish will also die out as the fish decline.
Otters can't catch enough prey and have to go ashore in search of food, and once they do, they are easily spotted by humans living on land.
Many people have reported that when they saw a creature that looked like a monkey but not like a monkey, or a man who did not look like a man, stood on the shore, they immediately plunged into the water, and after making a splash, it seemed as if it had never appeared.
Long hair can also dive, and stand up like a person, so it is called "water monkey". Although otters are not scarce, they are also scarce. The fact that more and more wild otters are being spotted by humans is also not a good thing, which represents the destruction of their peaceful home.
«——【Relationship between otters and water monkeys】——»
In fact, if you look closely, the otter is a particularly cute creature, with dark and round eyes, a short nose, and a whole face that looks like a monkey.
So why do people still think of him as a water ghost? This is why we have to talk about the habits of otters.
The otter is very good at diving, and when there are humans in the river, he will hide in the water and not come out, and occasionally naughty and show the surface of the water, which will also make humans exclaim: What else can a hairy thing in the water be?
In our human cognition, there is no such thing as a living and hairy person in the water, and if we have to find a possibility, there is only the legendary "water ghosts" and "water monkeys".
For people who are too superstitious. Or people who don't know about this creature will definitely be considered a water ghost. Legend has it that the water monkey has long hair and can cross any body of water, which matches the wide distribution and physical characteristics of otters.
Legend has it that water monkeys make oozing cries and drag their children into the water, which can also be found on otters:
When they are stimulated, such as when their home is destroyed and they suddenly change to a new living environment, they will become particularly sensitive, extremely aggressive, and will howl.
Since the habit of hunting is in the water, if it finds food on the shore, it will subconsciously drag the food into the water, although the otter is not a terrible creature in the picture.
But once in the water, it is the otter's "home field", and the otter's strength in the water is unusually large, and the prey that is generally caught cannot break free.
There were once three women in the United States who met an otter while bathing in the wild, and somehow angered him, three women were attacked by the otter, one of them lost an ear, and the other two were seriously injured and hospitalized.
In this respect, the otter is also a killer in the water, and the otter's attack on people must have happened, which coincides with the characteristics of the legendary water monkey.
«——[The meaning of "water monkey"]——»
Speaking of otters, it is rare in ordinary life, and he basically lives away from humans. So why do some people love the legend of the "water monkey" so much that they take the trouble to tell it to their children?
In fact, it is for the safety of the child. Water monkeys are not terrible, but what is terrible is water, water can drown people! In the hot summer season, those who have better water quality prefer to go to the river to bathe, which is a good way to enjoy the coolness.
However, without the company of adults, even if the water is good, there will be cramps in the water due to physical exhaustion, large temperature differences, etc.
As long as it is in the river, the possibility of drowning has always existed, and once there is an accident, there will be many chain reactions, and social news about the drowning of children happens every year, and this kind of tragedy has not only happened in the mainland.
Not to mention the small probability of encountering this otter, there are aquatic weeds in the water, and the aquatic weeds are entangled in people's ankles, and people cannot go ashore normally.
After some people drown, they climb ashore, or are rescued ashore, their ankles are blue and purple, most likely because they are entangled in aquatic weeds, or their skin is blue and purple due to cramps.
For the sake of the child's safety, adults have to make up this set of lies to scare the child, which is also a kind of intention to protect the child.