Hag knots is the term given in the New Forest to tangles in the manes of wild ponies, and so named from the ancient belief that they were used as stirrups by witches (hags). Research Hag Knots
Manichaeism (Manicheism) was a religious system containing elements of Christianity, Gnosticism, and paganism. Manichaeism was founded by Manes, a Persian. in the 3rd century and became widespread through the Roman Empire and Asia until the 5th century when it started to decline, eventually disappearing around the 13th century. Manichaeism was based on a supposed primeval conflict between the forces of light and of darkness, and represented the evil Satan as coeternal with the good God. Research Manichaeism
The Hyena is an African carnivore, of the family Hyaenidae. It has a large head and neck, long, well-developed forelegs, and powerful jaws and premolars adapted for crushing bones. Each foot has four toes with non-retractable claws, well suited for running on the open plains where hyenas feed on hoofed animals. Of the three hyena species, the best known is the spotted, or laughing, hyena (Crocuta crocuta) , the only member of its genus. Ranging south of the Sahara, it is the largest and most robust of the hyenas, with a length of 1.8 m and a height of 90 centimetres at the shoulder. Adults are brown-grey with dark brown or black spots. Named for their cry, which has been compared to hysterical human laughter, they also emit a striking howl that rises in pitch. Spotted hyenas were long thought to be only scavengers (warring African tribes abandoned their dead to the animal). Recently, hyenas have been found to be among the chief predators of herbivores, especially zebra and wildebeest.
The hyenas attack in packs at night, ripping open the flanks of their prey and carrying off the carcasses. Hyenas associate in clans cantered around communal dens occupied by batches of young at varying stages of growth. Females conceive throughout the year, giving birth after 110 days to one or two cubs, which dig their own tunnels. Pair bonding is not evident; the female, larger than the male, selects her mating partners. The female sexual organs have an external resemblance to the male's, a phenomenon probably related to scent identification, which plays a large part when clan members encounter one another.
A clan may consist of ten or twelve females, twenty cubs, and a number of males on the fringe; hyenas are very territorial. Little is known about the genus Hyaena , which comprises the striped hyena, Hyaena Hyaena , and the brown hyena, Hyena brunnea. Both bear manes of coarse, erectile hair and are smaller and far less aggressive than the spotted hyena. The striped hyena, grey-tan with vertical stripes, ranges from East Africa north into Asia. It is largely a scavenger, often eating vulture-picked bones. The brown hyena, found in southern Africa, is dark brown with a grey head and striped legs. It feeds mainly on fish and crabs. Research Hyena
The Manicheans were a sect founded by Manes in Persia around 261. It spread into Egypt, Arabia and Africa. A rich widow to whom Manes had been a servant, left him a lot of money and he assumed the title of an apostle and composed a system of doctrine from Christianity and the dogma of the ancient fire- worshippers. He was burned alive by Bahram or Varanes, King of Persia in 277 and his followers dispersed and several sects sprang from them. Research Manicheans
In classical mythology, Genii were tutelary deities; the ruling and protecting power of men, places, or things; a good or evil spirit supposed to be attached to a person and influence his actions. The Genii of the Romans were the same as the Daimones (Demons) of the Greeks. According to the belief of the Romans, which was common to almost all nations, every person had his own Genius; that is, a spiritual being, which introduced him into life, accompanied him during the course of it, and again conducted him out of the world at the close of his career. The Genii of women were called Junones. The Genii were wholly distinct from the Manes, Lares, and Penates, though they were allied in one important feature - the protection of mortals. Research Genii
In music, do is a syllable attached to the first tone of the major diatonicscale for the purpose of solmization, or solfeggio. It is the first of the seven syllables used by the Italians as manes of musical tones, and replaced, for the sake of euphony, the syllable Ut, applied to the note C. In England and America the same syllables are used by many as a scale pattern, while the tones in respect to absolute pitch are named from the first seven letters of the alphabet.
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Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Hag Knots
