Adhering strictly to early tradition, a person in search of luck should carry
the foot of a hare, the rabbit's larger cousin. Historically, it was the hare's
foot that possessed magical powers. However, most early European peoples
confused the rabbit with the hare, and in time the feet of both animals
were prized as potent good luck charms.
The luck attributed to a rabbit's foot stems from a belief rooted in ancient
totemism, the claim, predating Darwinism by thousands of years, that humankind
descended from animals. Differing from Darwinism, however,
totemism held that every tribe of people evolved from a separate species
of animal. A tribe worshiped and refrained from killing its ancestral animal
and employed parts of that animal as amulets, called totems.
Remains of totemism are with us today.
In biblical literature, totemism is the origin of many dietary laws prohibiting
consumption of certain animals. It has also given us the custom of
the sports mascot, believed to secure luck for a team, as well as our penchant
for classifying groups of people by animal images or traits. On Wall Street,
there are bulls and bears; in government, hawks and doves; and in politics,
elephants and donkeys. We may have abandoned the practice of physically
carrying around our identifying totems, but they are with us nonetheless.
Folklorists have not yet identified the "Hare" tribal society that gave the
early inhabitants of Western Europe, sometime before 600 B.C., the rabbit
foot amulet. They have ample evidence, though, of why this lagomorph
became a symbol of good luck, not bad.
The rabbit's habit of burrowing lent it an aura of mystery. The Celts, for
instance, believed that the animal spent so much time underground because
it was in secret communication with the netherworld of numina. Thus, a
rabbit was privy to information humans were denied. And the fact that
most animals, including humans, are born with their eyes closed, while
rabbits enter the world with eyes wide open, imbued them with an image
of wisdom: for the Celts, rabbits witnessed the mysteries of prenatal life.
(Actually, the hare is born with open eyes; the rabbit is born blind. And it
is the rabbit that burrows; hares live aboveground. Confusion abounded.)
It was the rabbit's fecundity, though, that helped to give its body parts
their strongest association with good luck and prosperity. So prolific was
the animal that early peoples regarded it as an outstanding example of aJ,1 '
that was procreative in nature. To possess any part of a rabbit-tail, ear,
foot, or dried innards-assured a person's good fortune. Interestingly, the
foot was always the preferred totem, believed to be luckier than any other
body part.
Why the foot? Folklorists claim that long before Freudian sexual interpretations existed, man, in his cave drawings and stone sculptures, incorporated
the foot as a phallic symbol, a totem to foster fertility in women
and a cornucopian harvest in the fields.
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Join the listEnglish Audio Request
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487
Words
/
4 Recordings
/
2 Comments
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Recordings
-
Rabbit's Foot: Pre-600 B.C., Western Europe ( recorded by
Thomas
),
American (Texas)
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-
Rabbit's Foot: Pre-600 B.C., Western Europe ( recorded by
scott_usa_chicago
),
American English
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-
Rabbit's Foot: Pre-600 B.C., Western Europe ( recorded by
Antoinette_
),
American (California)
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-
Rabbit's Foot: Pre-600 B.C., Western Europe ( recorded by
David_B
),
American (Midwest)
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Corrected Textmore↓Adhering strictly to early tradition, a person in search of luck should carry
the foot of a hare, the rabbit's larger cousin. Historically, it was the hare's
foot that possessed magical powers. However, most early European people
confused the rabbit with the hare, and in time the feet of both animals
were prized as potent good luck charms.
The luck attributed to a rabbit's foot stems from a belief rooted in ancient
totemism, the claim, predating Darwinism by thousands of years, that humankind
descended from animals. Differing from Darwinism, however,
totemism held that every tribe of people evolved from a separate species
of animal. A tribe worshiped and refrained from killing its ancestral animal
and employed parts of that animal as amulets, called totems.
Remains of totemism are with us today.
In biblical literature, totemism is the origin of many dietary laws prohibiting
consumption of certain animals. It has also given us the custom of
the sports mascot, believed to secure luck for a team, as well as our penchant
for classifying groups of people by animal images or traits. On Wall Street,
there are bulls and bears; in government, hawks and doves; and in politics,
elephants and donkeys. We may have abandoned the practice of physically
carrying around our identifying totems, but they are with us nonetheless.
Folklorists have not yet identified the "Hare" tribal society that gave the
early inhabitants of Western Europe, sometime before 600 B.C., the rabbit
foot amulet. They have ample evidence, though, of why this lagomorph
became a symbol of good luck, not bad.
The rabbit's habit of burrowing lent it an aura of mystery. The Celts, for
instance, believed that the animal spent so much time underground because
it was in secret communication with the netherworld of numina. Thus, a
rabbit was privy to information humans were denied. And the fact that
most animals, including humans, are born with their eyes closed, while
rabbits enter the world with eyes wide open, imbued them with an image
of wisdom: for the Celts, rabbits witnessed the mysteries of prenatal life.
(Actually, the hare is born with open eyes; the rabbit is born blind. And it
is the rabbit that burrows; hares live above ground. Confusion abounded.)
It was the rabbit's fecundity, though, that helped to give its body parts
their strongest association with good luck and prosperity. So prolific was
the animal that early people regarded it as an outstanding example of a species
that was procreative in nature. To possess any part of a rabbit-tail, ear,
foot, or dried innards-assured a person's good fortune. Interestingly, the
foot was always the preferred totem, believed to be luckier than any other
body part.
Why the foot? Folklorists claim that long before Freudian sexual interpretations existed, man, in his cave drawings and stone sculptures, incorporated
the foot as a phallic symbol, a totem to foster fertility in women
and a cornucopian harvest in the fields.
Comments
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My children distracted me a few times, but I think the I managed to say all the words :)