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Originally Posted by Ki Jayamalelo
Hello Kerislovers,
there is a nice picture in W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp;
First European Artist in BALI (1997):52
The picture itself is from 1907
There you see two types of insect hilts.
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Ki Jayamelo:
Nice pictures! the one on the left is the adult beetle, whereas the one on the right is the pupa. Different life stages, same critter.
Newsteel:
As for the myth... I've been searching for a while, with limited results. Here is what I have:
In the Wikipedia version of Hinduism, Kasyapa is a primordial creator sage/god, symbolized by a tortoise. He was father of the devas, asuras, nagas, and mankind. He had many wives (mostly daughters of Daksha), including Vinata (Dewi Winata), with whom he had two sons: Garuda (whom we all know) and Aruna, the footless/handicapped charioteer of Surya, the Sun. Part of the Garuda myth concerns a conflict between Vinata and Kadru, mother of the nagas (serpents). Agniya, the "marten" is another name for Agni, the old god of fire, who is sometimes said to be the child of Kasyapa and Aditi (goddess of the boundless sky).
I have yet to find reference to Kowara (the snake=Kadru, the naga mother?) and more importantly, Karpa, our divine beetle/hilt model. I suspect that there is an alternate mythological geneology at play here. I'm having trouble mentally linking Aruna (the charioteer of the sun) and Karpa (the beetle), but he's the obvious choice. The only link that comes to mind is that the ancient Egyptian Khepra, the scarab beetle who pushes the sun across the sky. That link's so far off in left field (mythologically and otherwise) that I'd be really surprised if it's something other than coincidence.
Not much help. The interesting thing is that this isn't a mainstream Hindu story. I'll be interested in how it plays out.
F