♘امیرحسین♞
♘ مدیریت انجمن اسب ایران ♞
Many Americans, especially children, have fallen in love with the image of the horse. Horses are strong, elegant, graceful, yet extremely powerful creatures. They lead our soldiers in to battle, pulled our plows and served as our transportation prior to the invention of vehicles. We just would not be where we are today without these wonderful animals. But what did horses mean to ancient Indian and Chinese cultures?
For the ancient Indians horses were primarily sacrificial animals. Horses also represented the sun because the horse was the avatar of the sun God, Surya, who was a form of Vishnu. Surya is said to have been drawn in a chariot pulled by seven red mares called Harrits. The horses names were: Bronte (thunder), Eos (day break), Ethiops (flashing), Ethon (fiery), Erythreios (red producer), Philogen (earth loving), and Pyrois (fiery).
Surya, in the form of a horse, represented the moon, which was called Soma. Surya is also identified with Agni, the lightening, which is also represented by a horse. Interestingly, soma is also the name for the substance that the Gods needed to drink in order to remain immortal. The Hindus believed that the moon was the source of this magical drink. (Howey 117). Based on this information it seems possible that the horse might be related to the idea of immortality.
For the Hindus, the horse is a very spiritual animal that is very close to the Gods. In fact, it has even been suggested that the horse might be related to the Gods. When sacrificed in the ceremony known as Aswamedha, the spirit of the horse is acknowledged and it is believed that it returns home to the Gods from which it came. The Hindu's believe that the horse's parents were heaven and earth and that horses belonged to the same race "devajata" as the Gods. In the post Vedic civilization it was believed that a horse were to be sacrificed with a golden knife the person performing the sacrifice would go to heaven.
The birth of Rama is said to have come about because a horse was sacrificed to the gods. Rama's mother, Kansalya, could not give birth, until a horse was offered up to the gods. She was then made fertile and gave birth to Rama. (Howey 185) The last example we see of the horse in Vedic mythology is when the world ends and Vishnu returns to save the righteous, riding upon a snow white horse in the form of Kalki. (Howey 188)
In Buddhism the horse is one of the 12 animals in the Asian 60 year cycle. The last year of the horse was 2002 and was considered a very fortunate year. The twelve animals go through each of the five elements, which in china are Earth, fire, water, wood, and metal. These animals also rotate through the two sexes, male and female. Unfortunately, females born in the fire horse year were often killed for fear that they would be wild and uncontrollable. (KhandroNet)
In the Buddhist religion the horse symbolizes energy, and the energetic pursuit of Buddha's teachings. (KhandroNet) According to a poem written by the Tibetan poet Jetsun Milarepa, the horse can also be a symbol for the human mind. The mind, like the horse, is strong, wild, and free but can be controlled by its master and used to achieve his/her greatest aspirations. A translated quote from this poem, states "The horse which is my mind flies like the wind. He gallops on the plains of great bliss. If he persists, he will attain the rank of a victorious Buddha." (KhandroNet)
Having grown up with horses I have to say that this is one of the most accurate and most beautiful metaphors I have ever heard. The idea that we have great control over our minds is something that I probably never would have realized if not for my experiences with horses.
The Buddha's horse was called Kamthaka. This horse is supposed to remind us of Karma, give us a sense of duty, and make us more sensitive to those living in the animal realm. Buddha's horse was probably an Akhal-Teke. The Akhal-Teke is a very unusual breed of horse. It has a very thin and seemingly week build, but in reality, is one of the toughest and strongest breeds. (KhandroNet) The most attractive thing about this particular breed of horse is that it has very thin hair, which makes its coats appear to be metallic. This is especially stunning on a golden or copper colored horse.
Another story of the horse's significance in Chinese culture is the story of The Good Luck Horse. This story was told prior to the Hsia Dynasty, so it is very old. It is the story of a young boy named Wa Tung, who loved horses, but was not allowed to ride his father's. One day when Wa Tung was feeling very lonely, he made a horse out of cloth and wished that it were real. Little did he know an old wizard was watching him and planning to make the horse come to life. Wa Tung was overjoyed and very surprised to find that his little cloth horse had been turned into a real horse. Its only flaw was that it had no eyes because when Wa Tung had made it, he had forgotten to cut out eyes. With great excitement and joy Wa Tung rode his new horse through his father's garden. Unfortunately, because the horse couldn't see he ended up destroying everything in the garden. Wa Tung's father was very angry and called the horse bad luck. Seeing this, the wizard made the horse walk backward through the garden undoing all the damage. Wa Tungs father then called him "good luck horse". And so he was called Good luck- Bad luck horse. Unfortunately this horse continued to break things and so Wa Tung's father banished him.
Good luck-Bad luck horse flew away and met a mare named No good mare whom he married. . They lived together happily for some time, but Good luck - Bad luck horse wanted to return to see Wa Tung for he missed him very much. Good luck – Bad luck horse and No good mare traveled together to see Wa Tung. When they finally arrived at Wa Tung's house he was getting ready to go off to war with the nation on the other side of the great wall. Good luck - Bad luck horse, however would put an end to this war. Wa Tung chose to ride him into battle, but Good-luck Bad-luck horse ended up reasoning peace with the other horses and convincing them not to carry their masters into battle. And this is what he said "Brothers, cousins, friends… we are all relations here. I am married to one of yours and all of you are wedded to my strength of purpose, my power. In war we more than the humans suffer the most.. . . Today Brothers, cousins friends, we shall not die; we shall live. We shall carry our people, these foolish men . . . so close to one another that they will be unable to fight." And so it was done, and peace was made and from then on Good luck - Bad luck horse was called only "Luck" and his wife, No good mare, was called "Luck's wife." (Hausman 55)
This story might be part of the reason that the year of the horse is considered lucky or the story may have been created because horses were considered to be lucky. Either way, it continues to confirm the idea that the horse is a very highly valued animal.
While Horses are obviously seen, used, and treated differently in Indian and Chinese cultures, they are no less respected. In some ways, they are far more so. In America we love the horse for its beauty and for its influence on our culture. The Chinese and Indians, however b respected the horse for its spirituality and magic. The research I have done for this paper further enforces what I have always believed from my experiences with horses. They are magical, spiritual beings.
Works Cited
Hausman Gerald and Loretta. The Mythology of Horses. New York: Three Rivers Press. 2001
Howey M. Oldfield. The Horse in Magic and Myth. Mineola New York: Dover Publications INC. 2002.
For the ancient Indians horses were primarily sacrificial animals. Horses also represented the sun because the horse was the avatar of the sun God, Surya, who was a form of Vishnu. Surya is said to have been drawn in a chariot pulled by seven red mares called Harrits. The horses names were: Bronte (thunder), Eos (day break), Ethiops (flashing), Ethon (fiery), Erythreios (red producer), Philogen (earth loving), and Pyrois (fiery).
Surya, in the form of a horse, represented the moon, which was called Soma. Surya is also identified with Agni, the lightening, which is also represented by a horse. Interestingly, soma is also the name for the substance that the Gods needed to drink in order to remain immortal. The Hindus believed that the moon was the source of this magical drink. (Howey 117). Based on this information it seems possible that the horse might be related to the idea of immortality.
For the Hindus, the horse is a very spiritual animal that is very close to the Gods. In fact, it has even been suggested that the horse might be related to the Gods. When sacrificed in the ceremony known as Aswamedha, the spirit of the horse is acknowledged and it is believed that it returns home to the Gods from which it came. The Hindu's believe that the horse's parents were heaven and earth and that horses belonged to the same race "devajata" as the Gods. In the post Vedic civilization it was believed that a horse were to be sacrificed with a golden knife the person performing the sacrifice would go to heaven.
The birth of Rama is said to have come about because a horse was sacrificed to the gods. Rama's mother, Kansalya, could not give birth, until a horse was offered up to the gods. She was then made fertile and gave birth to Rama. (Howey 185) The last example we see of the horse in Vedic mythology is when the world ends and Vishnu returns to save the righteous, riding upon a snow white horse in the form of Kalki. (Howey 188)
In Buddhism the horse is one of the 12 animals in the Asian 60 year cycle. The last year of the horse was 2002 and was considered a very fortunate year. The twelve animals go through each of the five elements, which in china are Earth, fire, water, wood, and metal. These animals also rotate through the two sexes, male and female. Unfortunately, females born in the fire horse year were often killed for fear that they would be wild and uncontrollable. (KhandroNet)
In the Buddhist religion the horse symbolizes energy, and the energetic pursuit of Buddha's teachings. (KhandroNet) According to a poem written by the Tibetan poet Jetsun Milarepa, the horse can also be a symbol for the human mind. The mind, like the horse, is strong, wild, and free but can be controlled by its master and used to achieve his/her greatest aspirations. A translated quote from this poem, states "The horse which is my mind flies like the wind. He gallops on the plains of great bliss. If he persists, he will attain the rank of a victorious Buddha." (KhandroNet)
Having grown up with horses I have to say that this is one of the most accurate and most beautiful metaphors I have ever heard. The idea that we have great control over our minds is something that I probably never would have realized if not for my experiences with horses.
The Buddha's horse was called Kamthaka. This horse is supposed to remind us of Karma, give us a sense of duty, and make us more sensitive to those living in the animal realm. Buddha's horse was probably an Akhal-Teke. The Akhal-Teke is a very unusual breed of horse. It has a very thin and seemingly week build, but in reality, is one of the toughest and strongest breeds. (KhandroNet) The most attractive thing about this particular breed of horse is that it has very thin hair, which makes its coats appear to be metallic. This is especially stunning on a golden or copper colored horse.
Another story of the horse's significance in Chinese culture is the story of The Good Luck Horse. This story was told prior to the Hsia Dynasty, so it is very old. It is the story of a young boy named Wa Tung, who loved horses, but was not allowed to ride his father's. One day when Wa Tung was feeling very lonely, he made a horse out of cloth and wished that it were real. Little did he know an old wizard was watching him and planning to make the horse come to life. Wa Tung was overjoyed and very surprised to find that his little cloth horse had been turned into a real horse. Its only flaw was that it had no eyes because when Wa Tung had made it, he had forgotten to cut out eyes. With great excitement and joy Wa Tung rode his new horse through his father's garden. Unfortunately, because the horse couldn't see he ended up destroying everything in the garden. Wa Tung's father was very angry and called the horse bad luck. Seeing this, the wizard made the horse walk backward through the garden undoing all the damage. Wa Tungs father then called him "good luck horse". And so he was called Good luck- Bad luck horse. Unfortunately this horse continued to break things and so Wa Tung's father banished him.
Good luck-Bad luck horse flew away and met a mare named No good mare whom he married. . They lived together happily for some time, but Good luck - Bad luck horse wanted to return to see Wa Tung for he missed him very much. Good luck – Bad luck horse and No good mare traveled together to see Wa Tung. When they finally arrived at Wa Tung's house he was getting ready to go off to war with the nation on the other side of the great wall. Good luck - Bad luck horse, however would put an end to this war. Wa Tung chose to ride him into battle, but Good-luck Bad-luck horse ended up reasoning peace with the other horses and convincing them not to carry their masters into battle. And this is what he said "Brothers, cousins, friends… we are all relations here. I am married to one of yours and all of you are wedded to my strength of purpose, my power. In war we more than the humans suffer the most.. . . Today Brothers, cousins friends, we shall not die; we shall live. We shall carry our people, these foolish men . . . so close to one another that they will be unable to fight." And so it was done, and peace was made and from then on Good luck - Bad luck horse was called only "Luck" and his wife, No good mare, was called "Luck's wife." (Hausman 55)
This story might be part of the reason that the year of the horse is considered lucky or the story may have been created because horses were considered to be lucky. Either way, it continues to confirm the idea that the horse is a very highly valued animal.
While Horses are obviously seen, used, and treated differently in Indian and Chinese cultures, they are no less respected. In some ways, they are far more so. In America we love the horse for its beauty and for its influence on our culture. The Chinese and Indians, however b respected the horse for its spirituality and magic. The research I have done for this paper further enforces what I have always believed from my experiences with horses. They are magical, spiritual beings.
Works Cited
Hausman Gerald and Loretta. The Mythology of Horses. New York: Three Rivers Press. 2001
Howey M. Oldfield. The Horse in Magic and Myth. Mineola New York: Dover Publications INC. 2002.