Summoning Monsters and the secret meaning of words

[@Crowhag]

Thank you for the shoutout, Jon! Adding to the conversation in the comments, the Romanian folk calendar observes certain animals several times throughout the year, overlapping them with Orthodox feasts. On each of their feasts, those animals are referred to using euphemisms, ranging from saintly titles to descriptors. And so, for example, on the Night of the Wolf (30 Nov) you don't mention the beast, on the Day of the Snake (14 September/17 March) you call it "the crawler", and on the Day of the Bear (Feb 2nd), you call it Saint Martin or "the Elder" for fear of not summoning them your way and out of reverence for some of them, like the Wolf and Bear, are also considered divine ancestors. According to some scholars, these customs have survived from the practices of "the wood civilization", the Neolithic sylvan culture most prevalent in the Carpathian region. But, of course, the dispersion of similar beliefs points to an older and perhaps untraceable animistic ethos.

[@Crecganford]

Thank you for explaining all of that, its very interesting.

[@raulpetrascu2696]

Hey Crowhag what would you say is the "national animal" of Romania, if we had to choose one? I've heard the lynx but I've never seen a Romanian say so and I don't know of it having any presence in our folklore, I think it was just made up on the internet maybe. I was thinking the wolf or Dacian draco (also partly a wolf) would be a likelier answer

[@Crowhag]

@@raulpetrascu2696 That is an interesting question to ponder! It depends on the criteria we follow. The lynx has been made an unofficial national symbol over the past three decades or so to bring awareness to the fact that we have the largest population of this endangered species in Europe, after Russia. But our largest population of predators are wolves and bears, followed by the lynx. Then we have the animals on the coats of arms of each Romanian region, such as the Transylvanian black eagle and the Moldavian aurochs, the former being a vulnerable species while the latter is extinct. Of course, we also have the wolf-dragon Draco, the military standard of our Dacian ancestors to whom the wolf was an important religious totem. Although today we still have a large wolf population, the species has become endangered and it is protected. Out of all mentioned so far, the wolf has the greatest folkloric presence ranging from myths and tales to observances and traditions. But there is also great reverence in our folklore for the bear, snake, stag, hedgehog, and birds like corvids or accipitriformes (the black kite, for example, has a very special presence in songs, tales, and traditional games, and it is often a personification of death). Considering the population in Romanian fauna, vulnerability status, history, mythical symbolism, and folkloric meaning, I would choose the wolf if I really had to choose just one. 😊🐺

[@raulpetrascu2696]

@@Crowhag great answer, mersi frumos

[@Crowhag]

@@raulpetrascu2696 Cu drag!

[@danielmalinen6337]

In Finland, it has been important not to whistle on the boat because you can accidentally call a storm (because whistling was believed to be able to control the weather) and not to argue in the sauna because then the noise activates the murder mode of the silence-loving sauna spirit (and same with water spirits, forest spirits and field spirits). The only forbidden words that were not allowed to be said were "bear" and "swan" because they were considered very sacred animals, for example, hunters had to apologize for killing the bear in the forest and organize funeral parties, bear weddings, while swan hunting was prohibited under threat of death because humans were believed to be descended from swans and vice versa

[@KIL0]

Probably why Tom Bombadil whistles so much. He is Arda in the Flesh

[@Egilhelmson]

I thought that Finns whistled up the storms on other types of ships, especially other Scandinavian’s.

[@brendaharris1228]

Wow! Swan lake movie

[@berningid]

Fucking love Finland

[@mickeylazzlo8833]

@@danielmalinen6337 you ain't supposeta whistle in the holler, either, fer fear of calling somethin shan't be mentioned, in no regular polite conversatin at least.

[@IkhtionikosVDS]

Hungarians also currently use the slavic word for bear, the old name is lost, as far as I know. However, we too have a few interesting taboo animal names. Farkas (wolf) means "the tailed one", szarvas (stag) is "the one with horns", and an old name for fox is ravasz, "the sly one"

[@kaitnip]

That's really surprising. I mean I don't speak any Hungarian, so of course I'm surprised and also pleased to learn. But to apply this naming convention to so many creatures?

[@IkhtionikosVDS]

@@kaitnip ancient Hungarians were steppe nomads, so they had a totemic respect for a lot of animals

[@damenwhelan3236]

​@@kaitnip There is power in names.

[@MarcusAgrippa390]

I was outside on the back porch (my house is surrounded by woods) watching the video on my phone and in a loud voice I said the forbidden word when all of a sudden the largest, most horrifying Bear jumped on to the railing of the porch and I was so terrified for a split second that I just froze, and I think I peed a little... Okay it was actually a squirrel... Well, what can I say I was really immersed in the video...

[@gltrjp]

It actually makes sense. Albania is famous for the cult of the snake. Even though the snake is depicted as a duality and a protector, it can also bring misfortune and death. For this reason, when referring to the snake, many people say "ai I tokës" meaning "the one of the ground" or "the one who belongs to the ground", from the fear that if you use the word for snake, you may summon it. But on the other hand, we are told that if we find a snake inside the house, we should not bother it as it protects the home. We call it "gjarpri I shtëpise", meaning "the snake of the house". If the snake is bothered, bad things will happen to the house; either it will be destroyed by natural disasters, or people may get destructive diseases and die.

[@Crecganford]

Thank you, I know about house snakes as I made a video with @Crowhag about this, it is all very interesting stuff.

[@EmL-kg5gn]

That’s so interesting!! In some parts of Australia some people will let non-venomous snakes live in their house in the hope that it will kill any venomous ones. The same thing is done with spiders much more commonly and in many more places! Even in cities it’s common practice to treat spiders like this. As far as I know the reason is entirely practical but I think it’s very cute and they’re often given nicknames if they stay 😊

[@gltrjp]

@@EmL-kg5gn regarding spiders we believe that if we spot a spider on our body we must not kill it as we believe that spiders bring good news. We should either let it get away by itself or gently place it somewhere safe. Now that I think, we have many beliefs like this. Some other beliefs connected with animals are as follows: Dog howling like a wolf -> dogs howls like wolves when somebody from the family dies (including extended family), and it howls in the direction of the deceased person. Owl coming hooting on the roof of the house at night - somebody in the house will die soon. Ladybug - brings lick Moth - spirits of deceased people, must not be killed

[@gltrjp]

@@Crecganford I must have missed it, gonna take a look!

[@gabork5055]

@@EmL-kg5gnThe superstition about spiders might be actually universal across a multitude of countries at least.

[@sannaqvick3837]

7:15 In Finnish language, there are also other names for bear than karhu. For example otso and mesikämmen (the latter when translated to English means honey palm). These other names were invented so that people could speak about the beast without repeating the name and be heard by the bear…

[@tippikuppi]

"Ohto", "Osma" or "Otso", as you said it, derives most likely from a word meaning "A hair" - so those could be translated "The hairy one" And then there is a frase "Metsän omena" - "The Apple of the Woods"

[@AbhiN_1289]

Bear in Sanskrit is called RkSa. The Brahmanas texts mentions how the Seven Sages (Big Dipper) were formerly called "the bears". The modern Indian languages use some form of Sanskrit "bhallUka" (Hindi: baloo) meaning "brown" as well, but I don't think this is taboo as opposed to simple word preference. The word RkSa survives in Hindi as "rIc".

[@Crecganford]

Yes, Sanskrit is definitely taking the PIE root.

[@lessweet3093]

The 13th warrior: A terror that has no name. A terror that must not be named. Look at them. What thing would affect them so ? "The name cannot be said. "

[@thehairywoodsman5644]

if you have not, read EATERS OF THE DEAD much better than the movie adaptation 13th warrior

[@lessweet3093]

Thanks, I'll check that out. Books are like that...usually superior.@@thehairywoodsman5644

[@yau6666]

Bears also appear in Korean mythology. The Sky-God had sons, one of whom came down to earth. He married a bear-woman and had a son, who was said to be Dangun, the first king in Korean. I guess Korea also had a lot of bear-related folklore in ancient times. However, perhaps because tigers were more threatening than bears on the Korean Peninsula, tigers appear more important than bears in the legends and folklore that have been passed down in Korea to this day.

[@AuroraBlue01]

I’ve heard somewhere that Bear is what Arthur meant as in King Arthur and that’s why it’s hard to determine who he was because it was more of a title than a name.

[@jayabee]

Stefan Milo released a video yesterday that is mainly focused on structures built of mammoth bones and thoughts on why, but in it he mentions practices of "sending the bear off" still used by Evenki people.

[@Crecganford]

I shall have a watch, I like his work... it'll be interesting if we've used the same sources.

[@sirseigan]

The Evenki practice resembels greatly the practices of the Sami and the Finnish rituals regarding bearhunting. One very common thing in bear myths (you see it both in norther europe and among native americans, is a woman that spends a winter with a male bear (sometimes voluntarly somtimes not) and she becones pregnant. The offspring then becomes the start of a certain tribe who the have the bear as their ancestor. In Sami and Finnish mythology he is a heavinly prince. So when the bear is killed his bones gets a human burial in order to come back again (compare to Thors goats in Norse mythllogy who have a similar ability as long as the bones are not broken or missing).

[@skinnycartman99]

Came here to reference Stephan Milo's video too!

[@aariley2]

I love your video angle. It looks like you are wearing a tea cup on your head!!😂😂😂❤❤❤❤

[@oakstrong1]

I can't under it now. 😅

[@dafyddthomas6897]

Arktos = summoning name of bear. Bear, Brown, Bruin, Honey-eater, Bee-wolf etc are the safe words. This is how the Romans won the battle of Mons Badonicus: As we faced the English hoardes, Owain ab Urien said "What do we do now, Arthur pen Dragon?" A bear appeared and ate 1,000 Jutes. Then, Peredur ab Evrog said "What do we do now, Arthur Emperor?" A second bear appeared and ate 2,000 Angles. Then Lancelot the Irishman said "What do we do now, Arthur dux Bellorum?" A third bear appeared and ate 3,000 Saxons. Then the whole host of the Britons yelled "Arthur! Arthur! Arthur!"

[@littlebird619]

The weirdest thing happened.... I was listening to this video with my headphones on whilst sitting on my verandah. When I said 'rtkos' aloud, both my dogs , which were a few metres away, surveying the fence line, pricked up their ears and turned to me... Gosh, wishing us all good luck with such dangers about! Plus when I was in Sweden some 30 years ago, I ate smoked bear on a camping trip!

[@VonAggelby]

Like mentioned in this video, in Finnish, even today the bear has multiple nicknames ("mesikämmen" honey paw, "kontio" something-walking-on-all-fours etc). The modern name for bear, "karhu" is etymologically derived from the word "coarse" as to describe the feeling of the fur, so again an euphemism. It seems our ancestors kept the real name so tightly secret that nobody knows anymore what the damn thing is actually called! ... But then again.. to be on the safe side maybe some words are better leave unsaid...

[@richarddegener]

I bear witness to this great episode.

[@chrisd2051]

So I said *rktos and suddenly I hear rumbling outside the house.

[@benjohnston3678]

I practiced the pronunciation and my dog started growling! Let me tell you, this old rationalist loves feeling irrationally superstitious! It gives me a sense of connection to our ancestors: a small tinge of what it must have felt like to be them, then. We really are the same people we were 20k years ago. Let us all say the good word of knowledge (and hopefully protection!): Crecganford

[@johnsteiner3417]

I'm reminded of the bear cult in the movie, "The 13th Warrior" based on "Eaters of the Dead" by Michael Crichton. He was rewriting Beowulf, but in that he considered the possible origins of berserkers and a variation of the Tree of Odin.

[@DneilB007]

Beowulf means “bear” as well. “Bee-wolf”, because bears love honey.

[@johnsteiner3417]

@@DneilB007 Yes, I remember that from the computer animated movie with Ray Winston as the voice of Beowulf. Crichton wrote Grendel, his mother, and the dragon as all part of a bearskin wearing headhunter culture who attack at night under heavy fog to maintain the illusion of being supernatural..

[@animula6908]

I don’t think it’s from fear. I think it’s from humility, remembering some things, such as death, are more powerful than you.

[@sciptick]

I like that King Arthur is named for the Old English word that would have literally meant "bear". So, King Bear. I guess it would have been audacious to have such a name, daring the bear to try to eat you. After the real word for bear was forgotten, people began to be named "Bjorn" or "Barney" for maybe related reasons. Very incidentally, bears' brains were once the right thing to use to cure leather for shoe soles. North America used to have a bear much bigger than the grizzly, called now the "short-faced" bear. They were wiped out in the aftermath of the end-Pleistocene comet strike / air burst that set the whole continent on fire, and also did in North American horses, camels, giant sloths, mastodons, mammoths, dire wolves, saber-tooth cats, cheetahs, giant beavers, and many more of what are called "megafauna". Clovis point industry ended then, too, although production of smaller points more suitable for the smaller game that remained continued. People have asked why dogs don't have a mega-dog, the way cats have tigers. Answer seems to be that bears are dogs' counterpart.

[@GizzyDillespee]

You'll never see a pack of bears take down a winter elk, in order to eat it. Bear behavior and dog behavior don't overlap much. And you mentioned one of the mega-dogs - the dire wolf.

[@DneilB007]

Arthur is probably not named for the OE word for bear. It’s almost assuredly from the Latin Artorius (which derived from the same PIE word, of course), although it is possible that a similar pre-Roman Celtic word existed that sounded similar. There is an inscription in, I think, Croatia, that names a Lucius Artorius Castus, whose career included prefect of the XX Legio Victrix, which was based in Britain, and may have commanded a vexillio of legionnaires from the British legions in a campaign against the Armenians around 214-217 CE. As his name is on a memorial stone, he likely did not return to his home base in Britain. Between the seniority of his rank and the likelihood of his having an “in-country family”, it’s very easy to see the name carrying forward (whether he indirectly inspired elements of the Arthur story, or a descendant or someone named in his honour did).

[@sciptick]

@@GizzyDillespee I don't think we know how bears behaved when there were serious megafauna about. Certainly today they need to hunt alone, like tigers and lately coyotes, because there is not enough game in a reasonable range to support more than one.

[@laststarfighter5335]

@@sciptick geez.... 3 to 6 grizzly bears charging hungrily seems seriously frightening.

[@Henkums]

It was nice knowing you

[@JCOwens-zq6fd]

Definitely a branch of the mystery school tradition. Similar to the dragon ritual or the Wolf ritual that allows one to channel these otherworldy powers, "shapeshift" etc.

[@hollybyrd6186]

Interesting episode. Sometimes it hard to digest, how wide spread bears, and other large predator were in the past.

[@midtskogen]

There exist several alternative words for "wolf" in the Scandinavian languages. So clearly a taboo word. Yet, in personal names "wolf" has been very popular for at least two thousand years. So, on one hand people feared saying the word "wolf" as if it would be like to summon them, and on the other hand, using "wolf" in a name was believed to give some powers of the wolf to a person. So summoning a wolf by speaking the name could be bad and good.

[@christopherellis2663]

The bears 🐻 are awake. Spring has sprung.

[@anttam117]

Legend says that if you scream *rtkos three times in front of a mirror, while sipping a Bloody Mary and Beetlejuice is playing in the background... an IRS officer with false claims for tax evasion knocks on your door at midnight.

[@just_golds]

Jon,Could i ask where do you get your remarkable replicas from.They look fantastic on book shelves there.👍

[@Crecganford]

Some are original, but the replicas I get from museums, I have a contact who works in a European organisation that produces these. If you go to your national museum they may have some for sale.

[@Tipi_Dan]

Our host is a global pillar of clarity, rational inquiry, and erudite exposition. Indeed, a bolster, buttress, and bulwark of reliable information amiably and generously passed to enthusiasts This channel should be required viewing for all folklorists; mythologists; Stone Age revivalists and fans; and those among us descended from hunter-gatherers, first farmers, and steppe nomads. Kudos!

[@Crecganford]

Wow, thank you, that was quite a list!

[@michaelmartin5177]

I love your channel. And I love your intros, particularly the gabbing a cup of tea - which I’ve recently begun drinking and had a cup poured this time. Thank you for sharing all the knowledge.

[@Crecganford]

And thank you for your kind words.

[@ETIA0]

I find it very intriguing that a shape-shifting entity can still be considered sacred even if it is mischievous and plays tricks on ppl, "oh yea, that fellow over there lured me into a trap but we still be friends even to this day, after so many years. In fact they tought me a few tricks and I am as ancient as the mountains, always be about respect,- oh youngsters those be the good ol'd days." kind of thing. That one always got me at first, in til I learned more that is..now I remember and can never forget..

[@GundarsBojars.]

In baltic languages, at least Latvian, the name for a bear is LĀCIS. We also use a lot of substitutes that are kind of what you are saying, like ķepainis, mežavecis and others. Estonian is not an indo European language.

[@dalestaley5637]

I love this. Thank you again, Jon, for bringing what Tyrion Lannister called a wonderful story that has always enraptured humans.

[@herelt54]

my son's nickname is Bear. This was awesome! thank you for sharing your awesome knowledge!!!

[@KeplersDream]

The word is retained in the name Arctic, named after the constellation of the Great Bear, Ursa Major.

[@Crecganford]

It is, the Latin for bear.

[@gryphon37]

Voldemort. There....I said it.

[@Crecganford]

Yes! Exactly the same idea.

[@dan_asd]

Definitely wasn't expecting that word. I was expecting something more along the lines of antagonistic spirits in religions

[@shanegooding4839]

🎶'And the Maiden Fair!'🎶

[@nyrdybyrd1702]

.. less than two minutes in but now I know precisely where this is going. Grrr. 😁

[@DneilB007]

@@nyrdybyrd1702I knew from the moment he said that we don’t know the name of the animal.

[@flingonber]

I guessed what animal you were talking about because I had heard that part before, but there was still a ton of new information and it was a very interesting video, as always!

[@ravensthatflywiththenightm7319]

Funny how I was just writing a scene about a group of Batavi being unnecessarily superstitious 😹😻

[@richern2717]

Same the word for Cannibal in some Cultures...

[@martenlundin]

Ainu people have some strong bear rituals as well.🐻

[@LuDux]

Baltic people use "nosti"? Contemporary Lithuanian words for bear is "lokys" and "meška", Latvian "lacis"

[@Way_loz]

Just in time for tea, thank you as always

[@Crecganford]

And thank you for watching.

[@Larsanator]

I think this is because Human's have long recognized one's influence over the unseen (observer bias).

[@curiositypiqued6573]

When I listen to creepypasta rituals...I always wonder how do they know the rules?? Are they tried and tested over thousands of thousands of years??? Or were they given it by "higher beings"???

[@BaldingClamydia]

I'm not religious, but I tend to be kind of superstitious. I don't like hearing BM's name, whether I'm near a mirror or not, I knock on wood, and I avoid mentioning when things are going well, because that will jinx it :D

[@sh-zn4wm]

Otso - the purported original Finnish name

[@UtahGmaw99]

I enjoy your videos very much. Not anything against you but that cup on the shelf behind you looks like it is on your head.

[@Crecganford]

I've now moved it :) Thank you.

[@PlanetDeLaTourette]

Terms or names are often descriptive. We tend to forget when we use them. Like the fat guy used to be called the fat guy. The etymology of elephant is unknown but my half-educated guess is: big boy. So that the bear is called the brown one does not surprise me. It is a warning. Saying bear! is having a problem on your hands. An ex-gf got attacked by dogs once too often. When a German shepherd charged at her (I was cycling some distance behind her) I only had to say Dog! to trigger her search & destroy instinct, which she perfectly executed in seconds. My gf slams K9's out of the air. How's that for b_tch training? The word has to be short, like curse words. Bear, dog. No breath is wasted in clear communication. I think it might influence preference for a term. You still don't want to hear that the brown one is coming. Also true in politics and after a cup of too strong coffee.

[@doomofthedestiny8065]

Reminds me of the old (relatively) internet superstition about saying candleja-

[@il-ma.le.]

7:51 in italian is "Orso", although "Urso" and variations of it are used as surnames. Funnily enough, Stephen King wrote a book about a little girl fan of Tom Gordon who got lost in the forest. She got stalked by a "something that was not a bear", and during her final confrontation with it she was very tired(maybe even sleep deprived, some time passed and I don't remember the book enough to vouch for things) and got helped by a drunkard that was miraculously sober at that moment but still unreliable as a witness.

[@recursr1892]

You touched the subject of taboos. Older than PIE culture, a weird thing in human culture, believing not naming things but just thinking can keep them off. May be a gesture of respect originally? Interesting anyway how this has led to many different words used for the same thing, here a bear, where we cannot derive anymore all this words having the same root. Taboos make languages differ faster..weird thing this taboos.

[@The_Awakened_Hybrid]

Hilarious this saturn moon matrix manifests videos like this to come around right at the very brink of Ragnarok

[@mersenniusprime]

Honestly slightly disappointed that you didn't end the video with a bear jumpscare. It would have been so uncharacteristic and out-of-place that it would have been incredible.

[@diogoduarte4097]

I sometimes wonder if superstitions like this point to a basic or latent Obsessive-Compulsive pattern in human minds which already were present in pre-history.

[@jayabee]

Bears look like humans in bear suits to me.

[@Ipanophis]

Bear. I came here just to say brown. I mean bear. Yeah. Edit: 😂 Knew you were going there.

[@Samdegraff]

Interesting... If you're still alive, you might be interested that it seems to be the same, or similar root of the word 'Rakshasa'

[@domecrack]

Why does it seem like every other site archeologists discover is for ritual behaviors? Wouldn't they have had some kind of proto-schools?

[@PocketSandMan]

Thanks a lot dude because you said that word through my speakers there's like 80 bearss in my front yard right now! 🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻

[@Crecganford]

Perhaps if you say Godzilla 3 times, it will come along and eat them!

[@therealwildfolk]

idk got a lot of weirdos that are trying to eat coyote meat up here in northern wi, usa. and yeah theyve got issues. wonder if people just didnt want to talk about it cause of the consequences

[@lhadzyan7300]

The *rktos word became on Latin or Greek somehow the arctos word using for both the scientific name of some bear specias as Arctos, and also for related to northern/boreal regions henceforth the Arctic region came to be named for too!

[@soozmomofuku]

Like saying "god" or "Elohim" instead of "YHWH"

[@savannahshepherd2283]

YHVH

[@sciptick]

JHVH-1 is a space alien that still threatens this planet.

[@stevenhuntley8706]

Me: I aint afraid of no words i aint superstitious Also me: oh, the brown ones? 🐻 Yeah they are the brown ones.

[@jennymalmiola324]

Finns put the bear skull up in the tree during the funeral process, so it could go back to heaven and be reborn from the big dipper.

[@Kira-zy2ro]

If you say betelgeuse enough times you get a supernova. May have to say it a LOT of times though ^^

[@henkvandergaast3948]

Oh damn.. My wattle bird that visits is called growl Thanks!

[@0Letten0]

But there are a lot of fairytales in Baltic and Slavic cultures about bears. Latvians have a national hero a man that is half bear, if I am not mistaken.

[@AbhiN_1289]

Looks like you accepted the new paper that put PIE very far back and to the south of the Cuacuses. That paper has several criticisms, namely on using glottochronology or something like that. While, I am enthusiastic about the conclusions of the paper, I am still skeptical. Anyway, I believe Survive the Jive has made a video addressing the southern arc hypothesis. I would love to see a Crecganford and Survive the Jive crossover.

[@Crecganford]

I have, long before the paper you refer, always consider PIE to be at least 8k years old, and was influenced from a number of sources.

[@AbhiN_1289]

@@Crecganford Can a language stay intact that long? Proto Indo European has words for metal (bronze) and silver, and these were first known starting around 7000 years ago, shy of your estimate. Do what do genetics say?

[@erokul]

​@@AbhiN_1289 What does mean "stay intact" ? Every language ever existed has a long history of development, spanning as far back as we can look, some scholars are even tracing languages back before homo. All languages are changing constantly - no natural spoken language can stay intact. They acquire/create/forget words, pronunciations, meanings, grammar - and basically that's what makes new languages to appear as soon as one branch becomes too distinct. It is perfectly fine for a language to exist for 3000 years, acquire new words while being the same language. Greek is a perfect example of that. It may sound different, have a lots of new words, but the language itself is the same.

[@AbhiN_1289]

@@erokul I meant, the reconstructed PIE seems to be younger than 6000 years, how can this culture be 8000 years old. For context the Afro Asiatic language family is 10 k years old and the differences between the languages are a lot. PIE seems to show very closeness in similarities. I am not a linguist, but I am skeptical

[@AbhiN_1289]

@@erokul Also, PIE has references to metal. While the oldest evidence of copper smelting is 8000 years ago, that is the maximum. Crecganford thinks that PiE is older than this.

[@PocketSandMan]

Don't worry about this Beast I took a vacation down there in England and took care of it

[@gaufrid1956]

The PIE word for "bear" survives in the word "Arctic". Interesting too, Jon, that you mentioned that the word for "father" in the language of that tribe in the north of Russia is "ama". The same word has the same meaning in the Tagalog language in the Philippines, and the Bisaya language we speak here in Mindanao has "amahan". It is believed that people migrated eastward of the steppes and some into what is now China, and from there to Taiwan, then on to the Philippines. Many languages in the Philippines, especially those in Luzon, have their roots in the native languages of Taiwan. I'd be interested to know if the words for "mother" and "child" were similar. In Tagalog "mother" is "ina", while child is "bata". The only word I know of in Bisaya that you are not supposed to say is "yawa". That's the word for "demon", and I guess you don't want to attract any of those!

[@Titancameraman64]

interesting I also noticed that the word for child "bata" is similer to the nepali for child "bacha" and the word for mother "ina" is similer to "Ama" the nepali word for mother. it is oddly simlar to "ama" in that language of that tribe in the north of Russia.

[@gaufrid1956]

@@Titancameraman64 It is possible that there are links. There were influences on culture in what is now the Philippines from contact with people from the Indian subcontinent. There was, for example, a Rajah in Cebu prior to the Spanish conquest. The languages in the Philippines are Austronesian, and it is believed languages in this group originated in Taiwan, but Malay was the lingua franca in the archipelago prior to Spanish colonial times. There is another word for "child", "anak", which is the same as the word for "son" in Bahasa Indonesia. In the Tausug language, spoken in the south of Mindanao, "bahasa" means "language", as it does in Bahasa Indonesia. I'm sure that similar or identical words for family members point to language travelling as people migrated. While I was in Australia last year, I met a person who was Nepalese, and I mentioned that I was able to speak Bisaya and a bit of Tagalog. When I thanked her for her service (she was a bank employee) and said in Bisaya "Daghang salamat", she understood I had said "Thanks very much". I don't remember the exact Nepali equivalent, but obviously something was similar. Namaste!

[@SpaceMonkey15]

Is this your way of hinting that you're about to do the Bear's Son tales?

[@Robert-gc9gc]

I thought you might make it the whole video without actually saying it ,

[@joyousmonkey6085]

Your videos are always fascinating, but this one is utterly transfixing.

[@Crecganford]

Thank you so much.

[@bostonbilly7725]

Can it be ursa?

[@dalestaley5637]

I've a friend from Transylvania, Romania. She's very superstitious. She spits on her fingers if someone mentions the devil. 😂

[@moonpearl4736]

Dog Garn H e double matchsticks! It's Crecganford again!

[@altonlg24]

Lol around 1 min from looking over the shoulder

[@DneilB007]

5:53 If this particular 700 kg beast is running at me, moaning and harrumphing and I yell out, “bear”, I’m not describing the beast, I’m describing the seat of my trousers.

[@japspeedgirl6216]

generic comment for the use of the yt algorithm.

[@jefflippman2925]

I say grrrr a lot. That explains my bad times

[@artistpoet5253]

Dude! With so many KZbinrs 'retiring' lately, was this your way of saying 'thank you and goodbye'? I do hope not.

[@Crecganford]

No, I have many videos I want to share, and many topics I still wish to teach. I will be around until you all get tired of me.

[@Matlacha_Painter]

Don’t you dare say it! Don’t dare!!!

[@beckyosborne]

In canada we fight a polar bear at age 18. When we win we earn our Bear hands. that's why we say :I did this or that with my BEAR HANDS.

[@Crecganford]

*sigh* :)

[@Xune2000]

Have you seen the movie Annihilation? Bears can be pretty terrifying!

[@delamr1]

BEATILEJUICE BEATILEJUICE BEATILJUICE

[@SuperBjanka]

I saw a similar ritual around the killing and eating of a bear, in a documentary about Canadian indians.

[@gcanaday1]

So Arctos seems closest

[@DneilB007]

*rtkik - with bears anti-*rtkik - without bears 😁

[@ilikeitidont]

Absolutely love your videos, and your voice fits the theme SO WELL!!

[@Crecganford]

Thank you.

[@marjoe32]

Mind blown 🤯. Good video

[@jefflippman2925]

Bears are still kosher. I think

[@MatthewCaunsfield]

As soon as you said "bear" I suddenly remembered your earlier vid! 😅 Happy to revisit this subject though

[@Crecganford]

i hope you liked it, I added some additional information on ritual and origin of the ritual’s story.

[@MatthewCaunsfield]

@@Crecganford Indeed I did! Curiously I was watching a Stefan Milo vid earlier today when he mentioned the bear burial ritual - coincidence??? Yeah, probably 😉

[@Bjorn_Algiz]

Ah interesting video brother! 🤔 lovely indeed! ❤

[@Crecganford]

Thank you.

[@Bjorn_Algiz]

@@Crecganford I will most likely use this word over and over again today! ☺️ In a chance to connect with my spirit animal! ✨️

[@Z3roX-56k]

I love the female icons.

[@Way_loz]

By the way, in Italian bear is called Orso Maybe Urso is an older version of the name and Ursidi is the term referred to the animal group

[@sciptick]

Duke Orsino, "little bear".

[@flingonber]

Italian is kind of a odd case because it was really just one of many regional dialects of Latin that were spoken in close proximity in the Italian peninsula, specifically it was the version that was spoken in Tuscany, and more specifically in Florence. But there were (and still are) all of these other versions spoken in other cities and although they're commonly considered "dialects" now, they were never dialects of Italian, they were dialects of Latin exactly like Italian (sister languages, in other words). Italian didn't become standardized as a language until relatively recently and it's still not *really* standardized (for example, Roman Italian, Milanese Italian, and the official Tuscan-derived Italian are all different and all evolved independently from Latin, not from Tuscan Italian). Add on to that the fact that spellings in most languages were not standardized until relatively recently, and there's probably a ton of different ways to spell and pronounce the same words depending on what region you're in 😁

[@Way_loz]

Im actually italian, and orso is the main word to refer to a bear. There are a lot of dialects but from Trentino(North) to Sicily(South) we say and spell bear "orso" Dont confuse the dialects thing, i mean they influence the accents of the regions, methapors and some terms ,but Italian as a main language is really standardized in the penisula

[@flingonber]

@@Way_loz If you're Italian, then you probably already know that modern "Italian" (actually the Florentine dialect of Tuscan) wasn't made the official language of Italy until 1925. Languages like Friulian, Ladin, Occitan, Genoese, Venetian, and Sardinian are just as much "Italian" as the official language, are all independently derived from Latin just like modern Standard Italian, and all vary significantly from each other. They are NOT dialects of Standard Italian in the linguistic sense, even though most people in Italy refer to them that way. Just because you're from Italy doesn't necessarily mean you understand the history or how the many languages native to Italy developed. In fact, the citizens of a country are often exposed to the most distorted versions of history because of government propaganda (just look at how poorly most Americans understand American history).

[@flingonber]

@@Way_loz Follow-up examples: "Bear" is "ursu" in Sardinian and Ligurian, "lors" in Ladin, and "ors" in Venetian, Friulian, and Occitan. Those are all native Italian languages.

[@emom358]

Do you have Native American stories about the same animals?

[@Crecganford]

I know a few, and will tell them later this year when I dive into specific American cultures.

[@peterszeug308]

7:07 Indo-Uralic is a thing, along possibly Proto-Basque and some Caucasian proto-languages, it formed a very early language (family), that must be at least 20.000 years old. That's assumed according to genetic and to a lesser degree archeological findings, when the proposed branches must have split off at the latest, if not up to 10.000 years earlier. A common genetic link is there (Caucasian Hunter-Gatherer and Ancient North Eurasian if I recall correctly) and archeology does not refute this link, so the usual slogan 'language is not ethnicity' doesn't apply in this particular instance for these peoples definitely must have either been one ethnicity that oddly neither spoke Proto-Indoeuropean, nor Proto-Uralic, also no Proto-Basque or Proto-Northwest-Caucasian, but that this ice aged ethnicity somehow was still ancestral to all of them, very implausible, the other more realistic explanation that there really was a language common to them, which would have already had dialects varying greatly in the number of consonants and vowels, with leaves potential mutual intelligibility as highly questionable, if not impossible. To the North and West the language (family) probably had a more balanced ratio reminiscent of Uralic or Basque (and other European tongues), while to the South and East, a phonology as complex and rich in common to super-rare consonants as the modern (unrelated) Caucasian language families have, and only two vowels.

[@MrChristianDT]

With the bear being full of spears image- the main way Native American hunted bears was by a big group sneaking up on them while they had fallen asleep, sunning somewhere & just simultaneously stabbing the fuck out of it with spears. I also did read something about, after killing a bear, some cultures would hang the skulls up in trees where they butchered & prepared the bear.

[@oakstrong1]

Bear in Finland waa indeed a sacred animal that had many names to avoid calling it to your home to kill cattle etc. Apple of The Forest was one of them. A tank you celebration/ funeral for the bear was called "peijaiset" to ensure its kin would not come to take revenge. Swans are also sacret, they were the birds of creation (of people) mentioned in mythology. I suspect the adder, the only poisonous snake, had a similar status, though it is not as important because recovery of healthy adults waa likely.

[@AlecFortescue]

Horses, anyone.