Bet you don’t know this about tigers
The lion may be the king of the jungle, but it's the tiger that holds mystique and charisma.
Things you may not have known about the Tiger
In China, the tiger is considered the king of all beasts and represents powerful energy.
Further, the tiger is associated with Tsai Shen Yeh, the Chinese God of Wealth, and this god is usually seen sitting on a tiger in Asian art.
Asian lore considers the tiger the protector of the dead, and will often be seen in graves as a mark of protection, assuring peace for those who have passed.
Chinese animal symbolism of the tiger deals with (but is not limited to): Power, Energy, Royalty, Protection, Generosity, Illumination and Unpredictability.
Tigers are considered a yang energy, and are also a solar animal which associates them with symbolisms of the sun, summer and fire.
In ancient Chinese myth there are five tigers that hold the balance of cosmic forces in place and prevent chaos from collapsing into the universe.
The White Tiger is the ruler of the Fall season and governor of the Metal elementals, the Black Tiger is the ruler of the Winter season and governor of the Water elementals, the Blue Tiger is the ruler of the Spring season and governor of the Earth elementals, the Red Tiger is the ruler of the Summer season and governor of the Fire elementals and the Yellow Tiger: the supreme ruler of all these tigers and symbolic of the Sun.
In Chinese myth and culture the tiger is one of the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac. In Chinese art it is depicted as an earth symbol and equal rival of the Chinese dragon – the two representing matter and spirit respectively.
The Southern Chinese martial art Hung Ga is based on the movements of the tiger and the crane.
There are six subspecies of Tiger currently in the world:
Unfortunately, the survival of these majestic beasts is in danger. Today, there are only 3,200 tigers living in the wild globally; and very recently it was announced that there are only 100 tigers left in Bangladesh’s largest mangrove forest. In Indonesia, there remain as few as 400 Sumatran tigers, while both Bali and Javan Tigers are already extinct.
Want to get up close and personal with these animals? Click here for the Jugomaro braai day.
