R.I.P. Addwaitya
Reuters has a story from Kolkata, India announcing the death of Addwaitya, a 250 year-old giant tortoise said to have been the pet of Robert Clive, the famous British military officer in colonial India around the middle of the 18th century. It's odd to think of an animal having been alive for so long, literally a contemporary of Samuel Johnson and Frances Burney.
Of course there are plenty of plants around that are much much older, but few with such personal associations as this venerable reptile. Here is a list of some ancient plants:
A 5000 year-old yew tree in Scotland
The “oldest potted plant in the world” at Kew Gardens
A 40,000-year-old shrub, known as King's Holly, in Tasmania
The King's Holly is interesting in light of Celtic mythology about the Holly King and the Oak King. According to the myth, the Holly King and the Oak King represent two sides to the Greenman. The Oak King is born at Yule, and his strength grows through the spring, peaks at Beltane and then he weakens and dies at Samhain. The Holly King lives a reverse existance, and is born at Midsummer, waxes more powerful through the summer and fall, to his peak at Samhain. His influence then lessens until Beltane, when it is his turn to pass away.
Since the Holly King lives a reverse existance and Tasmania has its seasons reversed because it's in the Southern Hemisphere, it seems like a fitting place for the Holly King to live.
Of course there are plenty of plants around that are much much older, but few with such personal associations as this venerable reptile. Here is a list of some ancient plants:
A 5000 year-old yew tree in Scotland
The “oldest potted plant in the world” at Kew Gardens
A 40,000-year-old shrub, known as King's Holly, in Tasmania
The King's Holly is interesting in light of Celtic mythology about the Holly King and the Oak King. According to the myth, the Holly King and the Oak King represent two sides to the Greenman. The Oak King is born at Yule, and his strength grows through the spring, peaks at Beltane and then he weakens and dies at Samhain. The Holly King lives a reverse existance, and is born at Midsummer, waxes more powerful through the summer and fall, to his peak at Samhain. His influence then lessens until Beltane, when it is his turn to pass away.
Since the Holly King lives a reverse existance and Tasmania has its seasons reversed because it's in the Southern Hemisphere, it seems like a fitting place for the Holly King to live.
posted by Grammar Cracker at
2:14 PM
1 Comments:
Good point, random. That is a better illustration of their duality and allows the two Kings to enjoy a more intricate interplay of power. At any given time, they both exist but have varying levels of influence throughout the year.
The Holly King evolved into the present day Santa Claus (Santa's Pagan heritage!). The merry old man wears red, dons a sprig of holly in his hat, and drives a team of eight (number of spokes in the Wheel of the Year) deer, an animal sacred to the Celtic Gods. Like the Druids, we use holly and mistletoe during Yuletide. Originally, holly was hung in honor of the Holly King; mistletoe (which grows high in the branches of oak trees) in honor of the Oak King.
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