Since the dawn of human civilisation, man has always tried to find an association between himself and the less intelligent animals, as reflected in folklore, mythology and religious rituals and ceremonies.
And the hare or rabbit keeps cropping up everywhere.
He ranks fourth in the Chinese zodiac. In the current cycle, he is a White Metal Hare.
Who are you to call me mad if I say that the rabbit is sexier and has more celebrity status than the rat, cow, tiger, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig?
Sensual, furry and flurry, this is a timid but adorable animal despite its association with wild life. It is earthy, and the Chinese indeed regard it as a symbol of the earth because it burrows, furrows and partly lives underground.
What a contradictory – and interesting – character!
In another cycle of the Chinese zodiac, he appears as the Jade Rabbit and his residence is the moon. According to legend, he is there to accompany the lady Chang’r, who was banished from Earth for drinking the elixir of immortality.
Strangely, legends about a moon-bound rabbit exist as well in the folklores of many other nations –in Inner Asia, South Asia, East Asia and even North America and Southern Africa.
As a symbol of the cycle of death and rebirth, it figures in the imaginations of the ancient Syrians, Mesopotamians and Egyptians.
But why does the rabbit so captivate human thought throughout time and across different civilisations?
It must have something to do with sex. This is a creature well known for its hyperactivity when it comes to lovemaking. And it breeds easily. Not surprisingly, it is associated with Dionysus, the Greco-Roman god of fertility, wine and ecstasy. And in many cultures, rabbit meat is taken as an aphrodisiac.
Frisky and playful
All this should be proof enough that the rabbit does come in many guises and has the right to its celebrity status. But that is not yet the end of the story. Not only was the rabbit a hero in ancient lore. He has been coming back over and over again in various disguises up to our own time. Think of the Easter Bunny, Br’er Rabbit, Bugs Bunny, Playboy, Roger Rabbit, et al.
The creator of Playboy magazine’s logo, Art Paul, said: “I selected a rabbit because of the humorous sexual connotation and because he offers an image that is frisky and playful. I put him in a tuxedo to add the idea of sophistication.”
But in addition to its sexy and playful image, the rabbit is also portrayed as an amoral trickster in American oral tradition – but still heroic and lovable.
But let’s not forget the darker side of the coin. The Sufi poet, Jalaluddin Rumi, associates the rabbit with the “base human soul”. And the early Christians used the rabbit symbol on gravestones and other funerary art.
So what is in store for Malaysians in the Year of the Rabbit?
Perhaps we should heed Carl Sandburg, who said: “A politician should have three hats – one for throwing into the ring, one for talking through and the last for pulling rabbits out of, if elected.”
The notion of pulling rabbits out of the hat is suggestive of deception and illusion, with implications of obliterating rivals in the political arena.
The rabid year
Or should Malaysians be on the alert for “careless messengers” bringing a misinterpretation, a message of death instead of immortality, as happened to the Khios and the San of the Kalahari Desert, who saw the rabbit in the moon as the messenger?
Will it be a “trickster” year for Malaysians, as portrayed by Br’er Rabbit of the Uncle Remus stories?
Or will Malaysians end up like Lewis Carroll’s Alice, falling through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world?
But perhaps we will be like Alice’s white rabbit, muttering the unforgettable words, “Oh dear! Oh dear! I’m late! I’m late!
Most Malaysians would probably agree it is already a bit too late. The rabid year has started even before the rabbit has made its entry into the lunar year. -FMT
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