Mysterious Piasa Bird – Native American Dragon That Existed Thousands Of Moons Before The Pale Face Came
Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com - Depictions of the mysterious giant Piasa bird can be found on a limestone bluff overlooking the Mississippi.
Native American legends tell this creature existed long before the pale faces arrived on their lands. It was a bird described as one 'that devours men' in the Illini tongue.
An interesting theory suggests the Piasa Bird may be related to ancient Japanese dragons.
The first discovery of the Piasa Bird was reported in 1673, when French Canadian explorers Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet sighted a painting of the creature as they navigated the river near present-day Alton, Illinois.
A representation of the legendary creature. The original cliff drawing of the bird was destroyed during the 19th century. Credit: Illinois Dept. Of Natural Resources
"As we were descending the river," Marquette recorded later in his diary: "we saw high rocks with hideous monsters painted on them and upon which the bravest Indian dare not look. They are as large as a calf, with head and horns like a goat, their eyes are red, beard like a tiger's, and face like a man's. Their tails are so long that they pass over their bodies, ending like a fish's tail.
They are painted red, green, and black and so well drawn that I could not believe they were drawn by the Indians and for what purpose they were drawn seems to me a mystery."
Who Made The Paintings Of The Piasa Bird?
Measuring some 30 feet long to 12 feet high, the depictions of the Piasa Bird are the largest petroglyphs ever documented in aboriginal America. The carvings were made on the sheer face of the cliff. Native Americans said the cliff was so steep that no man could climb up to it.
If Native Americans did not make the carving of the Piasa Bird, then who did?
The Illini Indians near what is now Alton were terrified of the bird and fired arrows and bullets whenever they passed the painting.
Researchers who spoke to Illini Indians learned that the Piasa Bird existed in this country many thousands of moons before the arrival of the pale faces. Indians from Miami said something similar. According to them, the Piasa Bird was present in America several thousand winters before the pale faces came.
The Native American dragon came to the country a very long time ago. The Illini Indians say the giant bird killed not only their animals but also people. Finally, they managed to drive the creature away in prehistoric times.
In the 19th century, explorers reportedly found a nearby cave filled with human bones, and sightings persist in the area of a giant bird.
Was The Piasa Bird Related To Ancient Japanese Dragons?
Nobuhiro Yoshida, Professor of languages and president of the Japan Petrograph Society, compared the Piasa Bird's paintings with depictions of ancient Japanese dragons and found some striking similarities.
Top image: Piasa Bird of Alton, Illinois. Bottom image: The Japanese dragon. Credit: Professor Nobuhiro Yoshida and Frank Joseph
According to Professor Yoshida, the Piasa Bird resembles the dragon depicted by Seikoh Kano in his painting for the ceiling of the Hachi-Rai shrine at Yukuhashi, Fukuoka PrefeTheoth the American Piasu and the Japanese dragon have talons, are winged, bearded, horned are multi-colored.
This may naturally be a coincidence, but it's an interesting observation. However, unlike the murderous Piasa Bird, dragons were the objects of Japanese prayers and rituals because the creatures were personifications of drought-ending thunderstorms.
As Ancient Pages wrote earlier, we encounter dragons and dragon kings in almost every world culture. Dragons play an essential role in the beliefs of our ancestors, and these creatures were depicted in various ways.
Dragons can be placed in two groups- East and West dry were regarded as either good or very fearsome and evil creatures.
Updated on June 29, 2022
Written by Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com
Copyright © AncientPages.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of AncientPages.com
Expand for referencesMore From Ancient Pages
-
Ancient European Languages Shed Light On A Great Migration And Weather Vocabulary
Archaeology | Aug 14, 2023
-
Native American Sun Dance: Important Ceremony Of The Plains Indians Of North America
Ancient History Facts | May 20, 2016
-
12 Masonic Symbols Explained
Ancient Symbols | Jul 2, 2018
-
Madame de Pompadour – Powerful And Hated Mistress – Sex, Manipulation And Intrigue In Versailles
Featured Stories | Jul 12, 2018
-
On This Day In History: Knights Templar Arrested In The Kingdom Of France – Oct 13, 1307
News | Oct 13, 2016
-
Amazing Discovery: Great Pyramid Of Giza And Its Chambers Concentrate Electromagnetic Energy
Archaeology | Jul 31, 2018
-
3,000-Year-Old Female Statue Unearthed In Turkey
Archaeology | Aug 11, 2017
-
Fragment Of A Royal Memorial Inscription Attributed To Sargon II – Unearthed
Archaeology | May 5, 2021
-
Strange Ancient Mechanical Flying Animals – Myths Or Advanced Ancient Technology? – Part 1
Featured Stories | Mar 25, 2020
-
Ancient History Of Chinese Swords
Featured Stories | Aug 20, 2018
-
What Does The Brain Of The Homo Erectus Fossil With The Lowest Cranial Capacity Tell About Evolution?
Archaeology | Mar 2, 2023
-
Birka Warrior Was A Woman – DNA Reveals
Archaeology | Feb 15, 2018
-
More Beautiful Mosaics In The Ancient City Of Hadrianopolis In Northern Turkey
Archaeology | Sep 28, 2022
-
Odd Monster Namazu ‘Earth Shaker’ Was First Feared By People And Later Worshiped As Luminous Deity Repairing The World
Featured Stories | Feb 3, 2024
-
Tiresias – Unusual Prophet Who Turned Into A Woman For Seven Years
Featured Stories | May 16, 2020
-
On This Day In History: Heidelberg University Established – On Oct 19, 1386
News | Oct 19, 2016
-
Examined Ancient Bone Suggests Santa Claus Was Real
Archaeology | Dec 8, 2017
-
New Tool-Making Timeline For East Asian Hominins – Study
Archaeology | Mar 9, 2024
-
Peopling the Americas: Not “Out of Japan” – Popular Theory Debunked
Archaeology | Oct 13, 2021
-
Italy’s Stunning Secret Temples Of Damanhur – City Of Light
Featured Stories | May 21, 2017