关于大象的神话

大象大象 你的鼻子。。。。

Elephantidae (the elephants) is a family of animals, and the only remaining family in the order Proboscidea. Elephantidae has three living species: the Savannah Elephant and Forest Elephant (which were collectively known as the African Elephant) and the Asian Elephant (formerly known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, which ended about 10,000 years ago.

Elephants are the largest land animals and largest land mammals alive today. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kg (265 lb). It takes 20 to 22 months for a baby elephant to mature to birth, the longest gestation period of any land animal. An elephant may live as long as 70 years. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1974. It was male and weighed 12,000 kilograms (26,400 lb). The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a pre-historic variant that lived on the island of Crete until 5000 BC, possibly 3000 BC. Their scattered skulls, featuring a single large trunk-hole at the front, formed the basis of belief in existence of cyclops, one-eyed giants, which are featured in Homer's Odyssey.

Recent findings of animal remains in central China show Prehistoric human beings ate elephants. The elephant is now a protected animal, and consumption is prohibited around the world.

额。。。如果说汉族的中国神话还真的少见，少数名族里面的傣族倒有一个神象： 　　神象是傣族神话文化的重要部分。 　　傣族的先民百越族群在远古时就与象结下了不解之缘。亚热带丛林中的象与生活在亚热带河谷平坝的傣族长期以来友好相处。傣族的土地是象的乐园；丛林中有象群，村寨和寺庙中有塑象，水井旁有塑象，壁画和布画中有象的图画，家里摆设中有各种象工艺品，贝叶经中有象的传说故事，宗教节日中有赕白象……总之，象崇拜渗透到傣族社会生活的各个领域。 　　傣族中流传着众多的象神话，主要有创世神话、始祖神话和守护神话三类。 　　傣族的创世史诗《巴塔麻嘎捧尚罗》讲到英叭神造好了天地之后，天和地都还在飘浮动荡之中。于是，他又造了一只神象“掌月朗宛”，用鼻子顶住了天，用四只大脚镇住了地，天地从此才固定下来。天和地是稳住了，可是不分白天和黑夜，也没有四季寒暑的变化，人们无法生产、生活。接着，英叭神又造了一个象首人身的神捧麻远冉来划分季节，区分白天和黑夜。从此，人们才能有规律地生产、生活。 　　在傣族群众心目中，白神象是最值得崇拜的，因为白神象是风调雨顺，五谷丰登、和平安宁的象征，据说，白神象和谷魂住在一起，有密切的姻缘关系，所以白神象出现在哪里，哪里就消灾除难、风调雨顺，谷物丰收。 　　白象除了消灾除难，带来风调雨顺，谷物丰收外，还是傣族和平安宁的守护神，因为从游猎时期，到农耕时期，各氏族部落为争夺猎区，争夺水源和土地，经常发生争战。而白象就是威力无比的守护神象。