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Sun Bear

Helarctos malayanus

Status: Vulnerable from heavy deforestation, and illegal hunting for food. Sun bears are imporant to their ecosystems because they are planters. Because they consume so much fruit, they disperse seeds and fertilizer throughout their ranges.

In Vietnamese mythology, the ruler of the divine pantheon was Ong Troi, "Old Man of the Sky". In later times and the spread of Taoism, he became identified with the Jade Emperor. Ong Troi created the land and sea and sky, the rivers and the rain, sun and moon. Afterwards he created the animals and people. He crafted each form and face with the love of an artisan. Among his children are the goddesses of the sun and moon. When he was angry with the world, natural calamities occurred: floods, droughts, and storms.

His older daughter, the sun rooster, bears the sun across the sky. She brings light and life to the world. Her moon sister is the moon swan, and she bears the moon across the sky to bring light to the dark hours. The two were the providers of life and warmth to the earth, for all the cycle of hours of a day. The two sisters share their marriage bed with the bear god. He is a lusty husband, and when a solar or lunar eclipse happens, it is said that the god is with one or the other of his wives.

 

References:
Wozniak, Edward. "Twenty Vietnamese Gods and Goddesses". Balladeer's Blog, 2020.

Leeming, D. (2005). The Oxford companion to world mythology. Spain: Oxford University Press, USA. 394-395.

Asian Mythologies. (1993). United Kingdom: University of Chicago Press. 225-226.