Experience Québec
Mythic Beasts
Is there a monster in our living room?
As you get back to the house with the kids, your dog, Fido, doesn’t come to greet you the way he usually does. There’s no barking. Then, you hear a strange growl coming from the living room, a much louder sound than that of your trusty companion, or so you think. And what if, while you were out, he grew enormous fangs? What if his fur had changed to scales and he now breathes fire? And what if wings had grown on his back and he started to fly throughout the house?
And what if, suddenly, claws sharpened to a half-metre sprung from his paws and he was just waiting for you to get home to leap on you, claws out, infested with venin that would turn you too into a giant Fidontosaur? Don’t take any chances! Protect your children, get out of the house and run with them to the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau to see the special exhibition, Mythic Beasts. Maybe you’ll find out more about Fido’s transformation!
Look under your bed… and in the Museum!
Divided into three large sections (water, earth, air), the exhibition is an exploration into the fascinating world of the mythic beasts that inhabit our imagination. The best known of these creatures, the dragon, is well represented and provides a link between all parts of the exhibition. However, more than just an overview of the strange beast, the exhibition will take you on a voyage of discovery surrounding the origins of these extraordinary creatures. You’ll be fascinated by the cultural similarities and differences between our local monsters and those of other cultures.Brandy and water don’t mix!
During the period of the great discoveries, foreign-going seamen were alarmed by the idea of beasts inhabiting the sea bottom: mermaids, sea unicorns, sea horses, sea serpents and the famous 2.5 kilometre-long (1.55 mile-long) Kraken! The brandy (alcohol) that some of the seamen drank made their imaginations more fertile... and their vision more blurred! An explorer from New France, Jacques Marquette, wrote about Mishepishu in his 1673 tale. The horned sea monster, with the face of a lynx and scaly body, was known to the Ojibwa and Cree. 
Because only the privileged few traveled at sea, the remaining humans accorded some credibility to the tales of seamen who had seen these monsters. The accounts from voyages in the 16th and 17th centuries are riddled by meetings with strange and prodigious creatures. To this day, the Loch Ness Monster remains a subject of discussion, as does Memphré, who hides in Lake Memphremagog. Let it be a warning to all who pass by this lovely area in the Eastern Townships! Magic forest
Disappear into the forests of mountainous regions, that’s where the griffon hides, with the head, torso and talons of an eagle and the body of a lion. Sometimes, it has a serpent’s tail and is covered in spotted fur or even colourful feathers. Compared to a griffon, Fido’s appearance seems quite ordinary! You don’t believe in the griffon? The exhibition will show you real griffon bones, like those of the Greek antiquity! And what about a cranium with just one eye, does it not prove the existence of cyclopes? The proof exists! Furthermore, isn’t it true that in Québec all children have a grandfather or an old aunt who told them about how they once saw the abominable snowman (Sasquatch)?
A little higher, a little further
Man invented the airplane, his imagination also created even more incredible flying creatures. Did you know that the roc can carry an elephant between its legs, which are as big as tree trunks? And the Quetzalcoatl is a winged Aztec serpent that adjusts the speed of the winds, controls rain and even the movement of the planet Venus! But why do these strange creatures still inhabit our universe? Ask a sphinx, the winged lion with the face of a woman guarding the entrance to Greek and Egyptian temples. You’ll surely be answered by an enigma.Full of fire!
Be careful next time you open up one of those so-called “fortune” cookies that are served in Chinese restaurants: a dragon could be hiding inside and hatch out life size! Furthermore, the Chinese emperor was nicknamed “the dragon.” A part of oriental culture for 4000 years, dragons are able to control the seasons, rivers and clouds. They are the legendary kings of the foul and fine weather!
These same dragons, respected in Asia, take on a menacing air once they arrive in Europe: they are related to Satan, craftiness and sin. They live in the bottom of caverns and their breath is deadly. It’s a far cry from Puff, the Magic Dragon! The dragon is the best known of the mythic beasts and can even be found in European scientific works of the 17th century!Does your family feel up to returning home to face up to Fido?
Mythic Beasts will be presented until September 20, 2009 at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau.
Sylvain Lacoursière
Photos: Canadian Museum of Civilization
2009-06-22
