Bukunawa
Another moon-swallowing creature, the Bukunawa is a Philippine dragon that threatens to swallow the moon forever. However, the creature is often scared away from total digestion by loud noise or music - and in these circumstances is forced to regurgitate the moon and return home, which is deep under the sea. We know these incidents as eclipses.
The Filipinos believe there are seven moons, not one, and that these moons were created by Bathala to keep the sky light at night. But every time Bathala let a moon rise into the sky, the Bukanawa would launch itself from the water and eat it whole. Bathala wasn’t impressed, but there wasn’t a whole lot he could do about it, either. He instructed the island's residents to gather outside with cookware and make as much noise as possible so as to confuse and scare the dragon away.
There is a short tale that further details the history of the Bukunawa. Apparently the deep-sea dwelling creature had a sister by who was a sea turtle. She would lay her eggs on the shore, but every time she did so, she would bring waves with her which would not settle back to their normal levels after she had left. So they killed the turtle, and the Bukunawa didn’t like this at all. Its desire to eat the moon stemmed from this incident.
Lindworm
Away from the East we have the European dragons, which are quite different (though equally as fierce). The lindworm is one such example - a serpent creature with no wings, two claws, and an alarmingly strong jaw. You might remember the post on apocalypses - if so, then you’ll remember the Norse concept of the end of the world, and how a creature known as Jörmungandr arrives on the land from the sea. Well, this foul demon is a lindworm. Perhaps the most famous lindworm of them all.
The lindworm’s physical appearance can vary, however. There are lindworms with four legs or none. There are those privileged enough to have wings. However, most lindworms are snakey, slithery creatures with only two claws with which they pull themselves around.
The stories surrounding the lindworm are various - in many they occupy negative space, and are truly demonic and foul creatures. Its poisonous bite allows it to kill quickly, and so it has no reason to fear us humans. In Norse mythology, the lindworms gnaw at the very bottom of the roots of Yggdrasil, and you can see the influence of the Norse in many tales, in which the lindworms rise from below the Earth.
Wyvern
I can imagine the wyvern is familiar to many of us. We know the wyvern as a two-legged dragon with all the features typical of such a creature. There are, however, also underwater wyverns, who do not have the traditional tail, but a fin instead. Their similarities to dragons makes is difficult to tell them apart. Many a dragon has been called a wyvern by an ignorant writer, and that writer has often been turned to a charred corpse only seconds later…
Wyverns are often considered to be ‘lesser’ dragons. Many wyverns are incapable of breathing fire, and they tend to be smaller than the larger dragon. The wyvern is similar to the lindworm in that they operate largely with poison - though the wyvern has poisonous breath rather than a poison bite. Like the lindworm, there are no redeeming characteristics to a wyvern - they’re unpleasant, foul creatures akin to demons.
Slavic Dragons - Zmey Gorynych & Zmaj
Slavic dragons have much in common with their European counterparts, except they often have more than one head and some can even regenerate limbs. The two names above are specific dragon types - the first, Zmey Gorynych, is a creature particular to Ukrainian and Russian mythology, and the second is a creature of South Slavic origin which is said to be very wise, have incredible strength, and possesses magical abilities.
Zmey Gorynych is a more traditional dragon. It has four legs, though only walks on the rear two, and does all the traditional dragon things - spits fire, munches flesh, throws people around… the number of heads isn’t detailed, but paintings show the Zmey Gorynych owning three heads or more.
The Zmaj is altogether more interesting. Sure it has strength and knowledge and magical abilities, but it’s also said to possess great wealth and a lustful desire for women. It can reproduce with human woman, and it lurks in the neutral zone of good vs bad. It’s not the most benevolent of creatures, but neither is it the darkest evil. Like other dragons it can breathe fire, but unlike other dragons, it’s often highly respected - which makes it sound like an upstanding member of the local community.
However, and most intriguingly, many national heroes have been said to be dragons. One such character was the Bosniak general Husein-kapetan Gradaščević who fought the Ottomans for Greater Bosnian independence. His success led to him being named ‘The Dragon of Bosnia.’ So dragons *do* walk among us.
They also have the Aždaja, which like the Zmey Gorynych which has many heads but is a creature of absolute pure evil. It lives deep in caves and dark areas and tends to guard specific locations. It’s basically a monster to slay in fairytales, which is rather unfortunate. It’s not really a dragon either - more of an evil creature - but it and the zmaj get confused frequently.
There are many other types of dragon existing in the world today. Chuvash dragons, Romanian dragons, Asturian dragons… maybe we will document more in later articles!
Author Notes Michael Anderle
