Animal Guidance Series: Hyena Medicine

I have enjoyed Disney movies as far back as I can remember. And the Lion King is no exception. This episode isn't about the hero lion, but rather the hyena, the villain. After studying the hyenas' various attributes, I think that the movie is based on ancient African folklore. When they picked the hyena as the villain, the hyena is strong, clever, fierce and powerful in reality, their voice sounds like a laugh, especially when communicating during hunting. The movie portrays them as ugly, cowardly, brutish, and dangerous. The ancient African myths also show them as stupid, ugly, and powerful. In reality, they are actually wise, strong, community minded, have great stamina, and are good at escaping predators. So perhaps the movie gives them a bad rap! Hyenas are found in Asia and Europe, but mostly in Africa. Within the animal kingdom, they challenge the norm. They are very unusual animals that look and act a little like dogs, but they aren't canines. Nor are they members of any cat family or other family either. They are unique to themselves, and they come in spotted, striped or brown varieties. 

So call on the hyena energy for strength, stamina, and to finish that project you've been procrastinating on! Call on the uniqueness of the hyena to boost your self-confidence. Call on the unusual medicine of the hyena to be your authentic self! Call on the hyena, “Call IT in With Dar!”

Transcript

I have enjoyed Disney movies as far back as I can remember. And the Lion King is no exception. This episode isn't about the hero lion, but rather the hyena, the villain. After studying the hyenas' various attributes, I think that the movie is based on ancient African folklore. When they picked the hyena as the villain, the hyena is strong, clever, fierce and powerful in reality, their voice sounds like a laugh, especially when communicating during hunting. The movie portrays them as ugly, cowardly, brutish, and dangerous. The ancient African myths also show them as stupid, ugly, and powerful. In reality, they are actually wise, strong, community minded, have great stamina, and are good at escaping predators. So perhaps the movie gives them a bad rap! Hyenas are found in Asia and Europe, but mostly in Africa. Within the animal kingdom, they challenge the norm. They are very unusual animals that look and act a little like dogs, but they aren't canines. Nor are they members of any cat family or other family either. They are unique to themselves, and they come in spotted, striped or brown varieties. Clarity of communication is one of their strengths, not just with their voice, but also with their tails. A straight-out tail is a sign that it is ready to attack. If the tail is more straight up, and slightly forward over the back, it shows excitement. If feeling comfortable, the tail hangs freely down. And fear is indicated by a tucked in tail. Sounds similar to a dog, right? They are very intelligent and highly social. Their cubs are raised in the center of their community meeting place in the middle of a complex system of underground tunnels. They have enduring friendships and close family ties. Similar to human communities. The female is usually the leader of the clan. They average around 80 members that she's in charge of. Unlike other species, the female is larger and heavier than the males. Cubs are born with their eyes open ready to hunt and will eat almost anything to expand their digestive system. They will hunt, walk, trot and run with ease. Hyenas are unusual in that they have long front legs and short back legs, which is also a unique characteristic. Unlike other species. People who have the hyena as their personal power animal prefer to live in an area with a lot of land around them. They are strong survivors. And even though they might have had a difficult childhood, they now thrive and shine. They usually have an extended network of family and friends that they prefer doing things with rather than doing things on their own. They also have a clear concept of who can be trusted and who cannot. As you probably guessed, they enjoy having a good laugh! In West and South Asia, the hyenas' organs are used as magic spells, charms and tails men. In Afghanistan and Pakistan, the hyena's hair is used to treat disease and in love charms, and this would be the striped hyena. Several ancient cultures believe that witches can turn themselves into the hyenas, and that hyenas are part of a clan with witches. The spotted hyena can be traced back to the Ice Age, with depictions in Paleolithic Rock.     Because the Ice Age Hunter had several rivals, like the cave lion and the cave bear, and more impressive animals like the mammoth or wooly Rhino, their art contained only a few hyenas but they were present. Early writings about the hyena can be traced back to Aristotle's “Historia Animalium” text, which describe the species as cowardly, and a potentially dangerous animal. Later, historians of the 18th and 19th century focused on the species' scavenging habits, their perceived cowardness and their potential to rob graves. Overall, the 20th century has a more accurate and respectful view of the hyena as clearing leftovers to keep the planet physically clean as a scavenger, and not cowardly, but rather clever and great at escaping from predators. Social, intelligent, and good at communicating is also mentioned. As I previously stated, the hyena was a popular subject in African folklore, often portrayed as abnormal, Sly, a brute and dangerous in their tales. The hyena embodies physical power, ugliness, excessiveness, but also sacredness. Specifically in East African mythology, the spotted hyena is portrayed as a solar animal that first brought the sun to warm the cold earth. West African tales however, see the hyena’s negative traits symbolizing dirty habits and immortality. Ancient Egyptians trained striped hyenas to be used while hunting, though they never considered them to be sacred. Now I'd like to come full circle, oh, kind of a play on the circle of life and refer back to the Disney movie The Lion King with a little-known fact that a group of hyena biologists sued Disney Studios for defamation of character and they suggested boycotting the film for depicting hyenas is ugly, cowardly, gluttonous and stupid. When in all actuality, they are almost the opposite. Hyenas instead symbolize uniqueness, stamina, cleverness, escapism, community mindedness, keeping the planet clean and communication. So call on the hyena energy for strength, stamina, and to finish that project you've been procrastinating on! Call on the uniqueness of the hyena to boost your self-confidence. Call on the unusual medicine of the hyena to be your authentic self! Call on the hyena, “Call IT in With Dar!”

Transcribed by https://otter.ai