WEBVTT - The Monstrefact: Thiuime, the Black Squirrel 

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio.

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<v Speaker 2>Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and this is The

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<v Speaker 2>Monster Fact, a short form series from Stuff to Blow

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<v Speaker 2>Your Mind, focusing on mythical creatures, ideas, and monsters in time.

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<v Speaker 2>In the Stuff to Blow Your Mind Core episodes, we

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<v Speaker 2>recently returned to a favorite topic of listeners, that is

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<v Speaker 2>the topic of squirrels, which prompted me to finally cover

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<v Speaker 2>a mythic squirrel from Meso American traditions here on the

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<v Speaker 2>Monster Fact. This entity stems from the traditions of the

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<v Speaker 2>Tabasco people of southeast Mexico, whose roots go back thousands

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<v Speaker 2>of years to the old Mech civilization. To you, it

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<v Speaker 2>may is described in the Encyclopedia of Religion, second Edition

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<v Speaker 2>as a goddess presiding over women who died in childbirth

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<v Speaker 2>within the region of Uruchao or place of women. In

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<v Speaker 2>contrast to some of the emaciated death entities of the

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<v Speaker 2>Mayans and the Aztecs, to Um takes on the form

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<v Speaker 2>of a black squirrel. You'll find a captivating modern interpretation

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<v Speaker 2>of this goddess by Mexican engraver and painter Echo in

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<v Speaker 2>the twenty twenty book, a pre Columbian bestiary by Elon Stevens,

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<v Speaker 2>a black squirrel perched upon a human skull, a traditional

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<v Speaker 2>Makwait weapon toothed with obsidian teeth in its forepots. Stevens

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<v Speaker 2>describes to Uma as a goddess of war who roams

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<v Speaker 2>the battlefields, and includes a contemporary account from a veteran

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<v Speaker 2>of Mexican descent who claimed to have experienced a visitation

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<v Speaker 2>of to Uma during the Iraq War following an experience

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<v Speaker 2>with a land mine. The black squirrel appeared to him,

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<v Speaker 2>but the soldier pleaded with to Uma to let him

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<v Speaker 2>live in The goddess indeed moved on. Does the tradition

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<v Speaker 2>of to Um at all connect with Objuru of squirrels

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<v Speaker 2>as occasional scavengers or even hunters of flesh. It's hard

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<v Speaker 2>to say, but surely not impossible. Black squirrels certainly do

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<v Speaker 2>exist as a rare melanistic subgroup in various squirrel species,

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<v Speaker 2>with possible advantages for thermoregulation in northern climates or camouflage

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<v Speaker 2>in dense forests, and some researchers think this adaptation may

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<v Speaker 2>also aid squirrels in urban environments as well, And of

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<v Speaker 2>course even in places where black squirrel morphs are not

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<v Speaker 2>found or in the absence of their observation, humans are

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<v Speaker 2>still certainly capable of dreaming up black squirrels. After all,

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<v Speaker 2>Black Swan theory ties directly into such considerations, either in

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<v Speaker 2>reality or within the imagination, and indeed, in the realm

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<v Speaker 2>of the imagination, black squirrels have been associated with magic,

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<v Speaker 2>such as in a Celtic folklore, and indeed, in the

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<v Speaker 2>writings of J. R. R. Tolkien, we are told that

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<v Speaker 2>the squirrels of the haunted Forest of Mirkwood are in

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<v Speaker 2>fact black furred and not good to eat, to say

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<v Speaker 2>nothing of the various traditions concerning black dogs, black cats,

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<v Speaker 2>and other such animals. To you and may would seem

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<v Speaker 2>to be another example in human traditions of the dark

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<v Speaker 2>furred animal being positioned as a unique entity, an avatar

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<v Speaker 2>of the night and mysteries of the other world. Tune

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<v Speaker 2>in for additional episodes of the Monster Fact each week.

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<v Speaker 2>As always, you can email us at contact It's Stuff

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<v Speaker 2>to Blow Your Mind dot com.

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