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Chapter 11
Sharks in Stories, Media,
and Literature
What roles do sharks play in religion and mythology?
The sea is a dangerous and mysterious place and an understandable
source of myths and legends. Sharks undoubtedly played a part in the
stories of “sea monsters” who gobbled up sailors. Without photographic
equipment to document a brief, tragic event, descriptions of the perpetra-
tors were likely to be inaccurate if not embellished, fueled by the imagina-
tions of sailors already strained by the perils of long ocean voyages. Thus
were born various sea serpents. Some sightings are now thought to have
been decomposing Basking Sharks. Baskers grow to 12.5 m (40 ft) in length
and leave behind a cartilage skeleton with a relatively small head, a long
neck, and a long tail. Beached, decomposing Basking Sharks still show up
in modern news accounts as “mysterious sea creatures,” or even reptilian
plesiosaurs, until a knowledgeable ichthyologist dispels the mystery.
Seafaring nations, from small tropical islands to continental locales, all
respected the sea and its denizens and developed rituals to placate ocean
deities or ensure harvests and safety. One source of legend, myth, and wor-
ship in many countries are the very real pristid sawfishes. Sawfishes occur,
or occurred, globally in tropical marine nearshore areas. They often enter
fresh water, which means people did not have to go to sea to encounter
them. At lengths of over 7 m (23 ft), weighing in excess of 2,250 kg (5,000
lb), and equipped with a swordlike snout lined on either side with inch-
long (2-cm) spiky teeth that they use for slashing, they demand respect.
Examples of sawfishes in story and culture come from across the globe.
The Aztecs believed that a monstrous sawfish named Cipactli was respon-
sible for forming the earth and kept crops growing. Cipactli had to be fedhttp://www.ebook3000.com