#jewish mythology
WE WILL OUTLIVE THEM
© 2019
haven’t been on tumblr in a long time (find me here) but i’m proud enough of this to come back & share it here too. thinking about making prints - if/when i do, they’ll be available on Six of Hands. sending strength & solidarity to my Jewish community, especially my fellow queer & trans Jews, & love to anti-fascists of all kinds fighting for our lives.
ETA: fixed a wrong letter in the Yiddish - thanks twitter folk! people are asking for shirts so i’ll see what my options are - i’d love to do real screen printing but if i can’t get that worked out i can always put it on my redbubble.
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I got a couple of asks regarding the Ziz Bird as a potential relative of the griffin, so here’s my 2 cents:
(Also please keep in mind that none of the original descriptions actually specify a griffin-like creature; I’m not even sure where that came about)
The Ziz, also known as the roc (and some have argued the Thunderbird, but this is highly debatable) is the largest of all flying dragons, with a wingspan averaging at around 45 feet, but large individuals reaching upwards of 50. Almost nothing was known of their distribution, habits, or reproduction for millennia; for, understandably, this is a creature adapted so completely to life on the wing that it has lost the ability to take off from level ground entirely. Even today they are difficult to find and study, as most of their near-endless flight is spent over open ocean.
They are primarily piscivores, and follow the movements of schooling fish, which they skim from the surface of the water. Interestingly, certain individuals have also been observed to target large bird colonies, where they pick out birds from the massive flocks as if hunting fish. One of the most famous places to observe this incredible sight is in Israel, a massive stopover for migrating birds and a Mecca for birdwatchers and dragonologists alike.
Every summer they converge from all over the world at their breeding ground in the mountains of Northern Pakistan, though other roosting sites (of subspecies) are known at the Faroe Islands and in parts of Canada.
What do these places have in common? Only among the tallest, sheerest cliffs in the world. Only at such steep inclines do these creatures ever roost, hooking onto the rock with strong claws to wait for their mate. Research suggests that they are monogamous; though they only meet once a year, mated pairs find each other with distinctive calls. They may also renew their mating ritual, which consists of a tandem dance of circling and divebombs. The male then clambers over the female as she hangs from the vertical rock face for intercourse.
The mated pair remain at their roost for about a month, wherein they take leave shortly after the female gives birth. Ziz are among the only viviparous dragons, wherein the female carefully deposits her single chick on the back of the male and takes off. It is the male’s duty to carry the chick safely to the sea, so it may set out on its own from a safe altitude and close to food. Chicks will remain at sea until they are grown at 6 years. They can live as long as 50 years.
As with many of earth’s wonders, the Ziz has experienced a steady decline over recent decades due to overfishing and climate change.
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WE WILL OUTLIVE THEM
© 2019
haven’t been on tumblr in a long time (find me here) but i’m proud enough of this to come back & share it here too. thinking about making prints - if/when i do, they’ll be available on Six of Hands. sending strength & solidarity to my Jewish community, especially my fellow queer & trans Jews, & love to anti-fascists of all kinds fighting for our lives.
ETA: fixed a wrong letter in the Yiddish - thanks twitter folk! people are asking for shirts so i’ll see what my options are - i’d love to do real screen printing but if i can’t get that worked out i can always put it on my redbubble.reblogging to add some context for folks asking: “mir veln zey iberlebn” (we will outlive them) is a Yiddish protest song from 1939 that has become a modern Jewish anti-fascist rallying cry. the creatures pictured here are the Leviathan & the Ziz, two mythical monsters from Jewish tradition that i’m using to represent the enduring survival & power of the Jewish people & our stories.
this image is now available on shirts, stickers & prints here!
hello friends - reblogging again to add that currently VERY LIMITED signed prints are available in my shop, & directly benefit me (a queer & trans Jewish educator) & my queer/trans family on our tiny farm where we’re trying to grow food & create a safe haven for friends & strangers in increasingly scary times. all your reblogs are SO appreciated!
- Ezra
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WE WILL OUTLIVE THEM
© 2019
haven’t been on tumblr in a long time (find me here) but i’m proud enough of this to come back & share it here too. thinking about making prints - if/when i do, they’ll be available on Six of Hands. sending strength & solidarity to my Jewish community, especially my fellow queer & trans Jews, & love to anti-fascists of all kinds fighting for our lives.
ETA: fixed a wrong letter in the Yiddish - thanks twitter folk! people are asking for shirts so i’ll see what my options are - i’d love to do real screen printing but if i can’t get that worked out i can always put it on my redbubble.reblogging to add some context for folks asking: “mir veln zey iberlebn” (we will outlive them) is a Yiddish protest song from 1939 that has become a modern Jewish anti-fascist rallying cry. the creatures pictured here are the Leviathan & the Ziz, two mythical monsters from Jewish tradition that i’m using to represent the enduring survival & power of the Jewish people & our stories.
this image is now available on shirts, stickers & prints here!
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Lilith (לִילִית, meaning ‘nocturnal’) was a figure in Jewish mythology that was believed to derive from a class of female demons known as the Lilitu found in the religions of Mesopotamia. The Lilitu were malicious, winged spirits which had the tendency to prey on pregnant women and infants. Amulets and incantations were used as protection against such evil spirits. The earliest recordings of Lilith’s story are from the Medieval period. The story states that GodcreatedAdam and Lilith at the same time on the seventh day. Trouble soon started when Lilith wanted to be the dominant partner sexually, which Adam refused. In anger she uttered a forbidden name of God and left the Garden, becoming a type of demon. Adam begged God to bring her back, but when his angels tracked her down, she refused. Lilith became known as a demon of lust and death. She was known to cause miscarriages and sudden infant death, but it was said that talismans with the names of the three angels responsible for tracking Lilith could protect people from her harm. She was also known as the ‘Mother of Demons’ and the ‘Goddess of the Night.’
(Georges Hobeika Fall 2018 Haute Couture Collection)
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