TIDBITS 02/06/05

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Tyger

Tyger, Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night ....

The first two lines of William Blake's great poem: The Tyger.

And why not? Blake is only one of many that elevated this--
the largest of the great cats--to heroic proportions. Any one
out there remember Shere Khan ... Rudyard Kipling's creation
of Mowgli's nemesis? And how about that predatory creature
in Little Red Riding Hood?

Hunh? Wazzat? It's a wolf that goes with that tale you say?
Nay nay sweet boids of yute. In the Chinese version ... it's a
tiger wot takes the place of the wolf and eats ol' gran'ma. So ...
when he's ogling women ... he ain't no wolf ... he's a tiger.

The Tiger is the cat of ultimate symbolism. It is creator and
destroyer. It is cruel greed and royal strength. It is anger. In
the orient ... it is the yang ... the King of Beasts.

The Tiger is a Grave-Guardian. It drives away demons in the
dark of night. It is chthonic. And now ... a quick
legend of the great cat offered here as a prelude to the
carved turquoise you are all about to see.

It is said that once the Tiger has eaten a man ... he can then make
his victim's ghost walk in front of him through the jungle
enticing fresh prey. After the next victim has been eaten ...
the ghost of the first is free to go about doing whatever it
is ghosts do.

So there it is ... everything you ever wanted to know about
Tigers ... and more. Which brings us to this piece of turquoise
with a roaring tiger sculpted in relief. The mythology is
fascinating ... as is the jeweler's work. It is quite beautiful.

For those of you who are new to this thing called
Tidbits...may I direct you to my home page at www.tyler-adam.com where
you will scroll down the left side menu till you get to the area that
says Tidbits Graphics ... and then click on the link that says: Tyger
.... in order to view a turquoise pendant with the great cat sculpted
in relief.

And there ya have it.
That's it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark

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