Thar Be Dragons Over China?

Dragons are the stuff of ancient legends, myths, and modern Hollywood special effects, or are they? In June 2004, a Chinese man reportedly produced a picture of what looks to be two dragons flying about the skies over the Himalayas. The story goes that he had been to Tibet’s Amdo region and had then taken a plane from Lhasa back to inland China when he snapped the picture. In addition, at about 6 p.m., August 6, 2005, a student named Li was walking out of the Jilin University library, in the Julin province of China, when he and his girlfriend reportedly saw something unusual in the sky.

“I saw a bright, animal-shaped object flying in the sky, heading southeast,” Li recalled. “It was incredibly dazzling, just like a gigantic dragon. I immediately took a picture of this unusual event on my cellphone.”

Hoaxes? Many in China still believe in dragons. There’s even a story that back in 1944 reports came out of Weizi Village, along the Mudan River, that a black dragon with a scale covered body, a horn on its head, and a powerfully fishy smell that attracted flies, crash landed there and was near death. (1)

And some of you still think a flying saucer crashing at Roswell, New Mexico in 1947 was an extraordinary event!

More on those Jinn’s

In my book Visitors From Hidden Realms, I quoted UFO researcher Ann Druffel’s remarks on the similarities between the mythical beings of the Muslim religion called Jinns and the modern “greys” of UFO abduction lore. Just out in Sacred Hoop magazine (No. 51, 2006) an excellent article on the subject of the Jinn has appeared. (2) Entitled “Tales of the Djinn: The Spirit beings of Islam,” author (and editor) Nicholas Breeze Wood explores what Islamic teachings and the Qur’an had to say on this matter, and describes modern eyewitness reports of the Jinn (djinn). The article also contains reproductions of illustrations portraying the djinn from 16th century Persian Miniatures.

The word djinn, the article explains, comes from the Arabic word junna, meaning “hidden from sight,” and according to Muslim folklore these beings are often perceived as disruptive spirits who leave illness, insanity, and accidents in their wake. However, sometimes they may be of service to humans, although this reportedly often seems to be due to certain human’s knowing various magic procedures by which to bind and control the djinn. According to Islamic tradition djinn are made from a smokeless fire (as opposed to us humans who are made from clay). In addition, Islamic scholars teach that the Christian devil was actually a djinn named Iblis (Despair) and they make a big difference between the devil and a djinn. Whereas Christianity depicts the Devil as a fallen angel, the djinn is seen as a being with devilishness in his actions but is nonetheless perceived as a being of free will with a shot at redemption just like us humans.

I emailed Nicholas about how some believed that the Jinn/djinn were seen by some as similar to reports of the abducting “greys” of modern UFO lore. I wondered if he had any thoughts on this matter. He wrote: “I don’t know much about alien matters as it is not a subject that interests me very much. It also seems to be a much more American fixation than here in the UK where it is a very minority interest.

“But I do think something is around...but the question is what?

“If I was pinned down I would have to go with the theory that they are spirit beings (Djinn, fairies, etc.) rather than little green men from distant planets, but as I have never met one (little green man that is) I have no experience to draw upon. Certainly there are lots of experiences in shamanism and stories from shamanic cultures that have similarities to modern day UFO stories.

“Maybe from outside of a cultural view that believes in spirits our culture puts a different slant on them and calls them space visitors or time travelers.

“Or, maybe in a culture that has no technological framework like a shamanic culture, the people put a different slant on them...and calls them spirits.

“We all perceive the world in different ways anyway so who is to say who is right.”

References:

1. World Explorer magazine, Vol. 4, No. 3, 2006. Pg. 13. Kempton, IL. Also here’s a website that posted the photo with details: http://www.foolishpeople.com/foolishpeople/fortean/index.html

2. Sacred Hoop magazine, issue 51, 2006. London, England. ISSN: 1364-2219. Website: www.sacredhoop.org