Devil Whale
 | |
| Country | Ireland |
|---|---|
| Region | Atlantic Ocean |
The Devil Whale is a legendary demonic whale-like sea monster, (or a sea turtle in some legends), that was first reported by St. Brendan.[1] According to myths, this whale is of enormous size and could swallow entire ships. It is often mentioned in children's books. It also resembles as an island when it's sleeping, tricking sailors into putting ashore on it's back.[2]
History
When the sailors start a fire, The Devil Whale awakes and attacks the ship, dragging it under the water and to the bottom of the sea. Early explorer Saint Brendan the Navigator, in his travels, reportedly landed on the back of The Devil Whale on Easter Sunday. Soon as his monks started a fire to cook their meal, the "island" began to swim away and the sailors quickly scrambled back to their boats.
In news and literature
- The Devil Whale name has been attributed to the California gray whale by Japanese whalers. In 1908, a Japanese whaler related stories about hunting gray whales, which he referred to as "Kukekua Kugira" (Devil Whale) due to the difficulty and danger in hunting it.[3]
- Moby Dick is a fictional novel about a whale written by Herman Melville in 1851; subsequent studies of the book have drawn connections between the Moby Dick character and the Devil Whale.[4]
References
- ^ O'Meara, John J. (December 3, 1981). Voyage of St Brendan (English Translation ed.). Dolmen Pr. ISBN 0851055044.
- ^ Hamilton, Sue L. (2010). Creatures of Abyss. ABDO. pp. 6–7. ISBN 1604532610.
- ^ Young, Henry Walter (May 1913). "Rediscovering the Gray Whale". Popular Electricity and the World's Advance. 6 (1–6). Chicago, IL: Popular Electricity Publishing Co.: 538–539.
- ^ Stanonik, Janez (1962). Moby Dick: the myth and the symbol: A study in folklore and literature. Ljubljana University Press. p. 62.