At the beginning of the 21st Century monsters still roam the remote, and sometimes not so remote, corners of our planet. It is our job to search for them. The Centre for Fortean Zoology [CFZ] is - we believe - the largest professional, scientific and full-time organisation in the world dedicated to cryptozoology - the study of unknown animals. Since 1992 the CFZ has carried out an unparalleled programme of research and investigation all over the world. Since 2009 we have been running the increasingly popular CFZ Blog Network, and although there has been an American branch of the CFZ for over ten years now, it is only now that it has a dedicated blog.

Tuesday 25 March 2014

DRAGON MAN

There is no point in my putting up a picture of a dragon man, as he is simply a human being with special powers in the folklore of south-eastern Europe; but these powers are said to be the powers of a dragon.

The dragon man is an individual who realizes bad weather is on the way, dangerous to villagers' crops, and that this is caused by a variety of spirit called an ala.  The dragon man then knows what he must do.  He goes into a deathlike sleep.  Then his soul leaves his body and assumes a form serpentine or lacertine and a battle ensues between him and the ala, whom all hope he will finally defeat.  Lest the ala attack his slumbering body, a man with a scythe can be left nearby with the daunting duty of fending it off.  

When the dragon man awakes, his enemy defeated, he feels very tired.

Sometimes, just to cause a little confusion, the word ala means a benevolent spirit.

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