The Cultural Significance of Bees
Bees are one of the most important creatures that we live around nearly every day. Bees provide a variety of important services to humankind. Bees are perhaps most famous for producing honey. But they also act as pollinators, allowing other plants to thrive, pollination by bees helps farms to grow more food, for more people.
Likely because of their importance in more ways than one, bees hold cultural significance in different ways across a wide variety of groups and peoples the world over. Read on to learn more about how bees are represented and seen in a range of cultures.
China
Anna Frodesiak, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beekeeping_in_Hainan_-_06.jpg
In the earliest Chinese texts regarding bees, dating from the third-century BCE, bees and wasps are called the same thing. They are both grouped together as feng. This is most likely because they are both stinging insects, because of this association, it wasn’t until later that bees were regarded positively. These early texts show a negative association with bees. It was only when beekeeping was first being understood, and the value that bees offered in the late third century CE, around 500 years later, that bees were represented positively.
Before this time, bees were considered a bad omen, and feared. They were frequently referenced by their stings and venom. Comparisons to the scorpion were made. There exists one reference to a military group that made use of a banner with a feng upon it. Whether this is a bee or wasp is unclear, however, it seems to have been meant to represent fearsomeness, a feeling often associated with bees during this time. Another text regarded a potential heir to a throne as having “The eyes of a feng,” going on to describe him as cruel. These associations of bees as terrifying and powerful are not usual depictions that are seen today.
Even after beekeeping took hold in China, bees continued to be regarded as feared, and weaponlike. This however slowly changed with time. People noticed the relationship between bees and their queen, then thought to be a king. This dutifulness was widespread in the minds of people. One instance of a swarm of bees staying by their dead queen’s side was met with praise by officials. The bees being offered a proper burial for their service until death. Bees became an example of loyalty and order, something that the empire of the time desired of its citizenry.
The positive feeling associated with bees increased with time. At some time around the 6th or 7th century CE, bees began to be regarded as auspicious. It was said that if bees visit one’s home, them and their family will prosper. People would burn incense and cut ribbons to welcome the bees. It was reported that people lacking reliable calendars and timekeeping methods in certain mountainous regions used bees to tell the time, deciding when they should hold weddings, or act in various parts of the farming season.
The many different cultures across the continent of Africa all regard bees differently, with different practices and customs in place surrounding the insects. Bees are regarded positively and given a great deal of respect.
Xhosa
Xhosa people, Eastern Cape, South Africa (South African Tourism) via Flickr https://flic.kr/p/wXWtV9
In the Xhosa Culture, or Madiba Clan, if a swarm of bees visits, it is taken as a message from deceased ancestors. This is often seen as a request to brew umqombothi, a traditional beer, as well as the slaughtering of a goat.
Additional practices are in place if the bees produce any honey during their visit, of which they are not guaranteed to do. It is placed on branches after being removed from the bees. Words of respect are given to the bees while they are persuaded to leave the area as the honey is consumed.
Pedi
South African Tourism from South Africa, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
In the Pedi Culture, bee swarms are also taken as symbolic of ancestors bringing luck to the family. In the Pedi Culture, the arrival of a swarm of bees is also taken as a sign to brew a traditional beer, however, it is different than the umqombothi of the Xhosa Culture. This beer is called mashifa, notably different in the fact that it is unfermented, with the sorghum still strong and prevalent in the finished product. The ancestors are acknowledged and thanked as the group anticipates their good wishes and blessings. The bees are not urged to leave, they are left to leave as they see fit.
In the Pedi Culture, the queen bee has special significance, being used for traditional strengthening. She is ritually killed by the healer, being offered the utmost respect in her death. She is mixed in with other ingredients to create a substance that is applied to the face in regular intervals. It is said that this subdues one’s enemies and brings the respect of those around you. In effect, it emulates the nature of the queen bee within the colony.
Greece
Engraving of Aristaeus, The Greek God of Bees, by Dutch engraver Cornelis Cort (1565) via Picryl https://picryl.com/media/aristaeus-3ebd8c
Aristaeus is the Ancient Greek God of bees, among many other things. His name is derived from a Greek word meaning best, his name translating roughly to ‘the best,’ a title taken by many rulers. He was the son of Apollo and Cyrene. He is what’s called a culture hero, someone who provided people with the art of beekeeping, among many other things, such as the cultivation of olives and the making of olive oil. He was also the protector of hunters and animal herders.
Aristaeus was punished with the near death of his beehives. This occurred shortly after the death of Eurydice, who was bitten by a snake in her haste as she was pursued by Aristaeus. She succumbed to her wounds. The myth varies, with Aristaeus’ bees sometimes dying out, and him only being able to practice apiculture once he made the requisite sacrifices. Other accounts have the hives be in danger or close to death, but never eradicated.
Once Aristaeus completed the sacrifices required of him to put Eurydice to rest, he had to return to the animal carcasses three days later. Inside one was a new swarm of bees, able to revitalize his hives, which would never again fall victim to disease.
Bees in Ancient Greece were often closely associated to the nymphs, as they inhabited caves and tree trunks, the same places that nymphs were though to reside. It should also be noted that Aristaeus’ mother was a nymph.
Bees were associated with elegance, song, and beauty. They were said to be the “birds of the Muses.” Aphrodite herself was often pictured with a honeycomb.
Ancient Maya
El Comandante, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Prior to Spanish arrival in the Americas, and the bringing with them of European honeybees, Mayan and Aztec societies practiced a different form of beekeeping. There are about 15 different varieties of stingless American bees, some of which were kept for their honey and beeswax by Mayan peoples.
The God of bees in Mayan society was called Ah Muzen Cab. He is often depicted with the wings of a bee, being seen upside down, descending from the heavens. A temple in Tulum seems to depict him and it is thought that this area produced a lot of honey, as such the temple was dedicated to Ah Muzen Cab.
Ah Muzen Cab was also regarded as one of the Creator Gods, stemming from the fact that the Mayan words for ‘honey’ and ‘world’ are the same. He is responsible for the creation of the East and the North. He was also responsible for blindfolding and beating up Oxlahanlun-ti-ku, which allowed the world to be filled with rocks, trees, and seeds. Ah Muzen Cab was an important God, owing to the prominence of honey in the diet of the Mayan people. Some types of honey thought to be produced by Mayan people could illicit psychoactive effects. It is thought that these types of honey may have been used in certain worship rituals for Ah Muzen Cab.
Many types of stingless bees have been kept in the Americas prior to European arrival. However, the most important to Mayan culture was perhaps Melipona Beecheii, native to the Yucatan. The keeping of M. Beecheii has been revered for many centuries. It is an embodiment of Ah Muzen Cab, keeping them was thought to bring one closer to him and other Gods. The harvesting of honey was a religious ceremony, preformed by priests about twice a year. Bees appear in other aspects of culture too. Everyday objects like incense burners have been found in the shape of beehives.
Bees were kept in hollowed logs with holes to allow the bees to enter and exit. Plugs covered the ends of the logs, allowing honey to be recovered when needed. The bees kept by Mayans do not make use of honeycombs, rather they store their homey in round wax sacks. Both the wax, and the honey were used by Mayan peoples.
Egypt
Gathering Honey, Tomb of Rekhmire via Getarchive https://garystockbridge617.getarchive.net/media/gathering-honey-tomb-of-rekhmire-2c0819?
Bees held importance in Egyptian culture as well. They were closely associated with royalty. The symbol of the seal of the Lowe King of Egypt was that of a honeybee. Bees in ancient Egypt begin with the God Ra, who’s tears were thought to be the very first bees.
Beekeeping in Egypt takes a very different form to many other places. Beehives are mobile, being transported on special rafts up and down the Nile River to pollenate different areas. Bees can sometimes travel the entire river some years. Beehives were made of clay or mud pipes, stacked on one another into pyramids. Some people today still practice this ancient form of beekeeping.
Honey was an important commodity in Egypt and it had a wide variety of uses. From being a sweetener to being used to protect wounds from infection. Honey was recorded in many cases as being demanded as tribute from conquered states, or as a part of marriage contracts. Honey had an importance in rituals as well. It was made into cakes that were fed to animals about to be sacrificed and it was left as offerings in tombs. Some mummies were embalmed with honey and sealed with beeswax. It was thought that beeswax effigies of people could have effects on the real person, destroying one could even bring death the individual.
India
Ckvicky1992, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Bramari is the Hindu Goddess of bees. Sometimes she is more specifically regarded as the Goddess of black bees. She is often depicted with bees around and on her or coming from her four hands. She made use of her swarms of bees to defeat Arunasura in a great battle, with the bees violently killing him before returning to Bramari.
Other gods in Hinduism are represented with bees. The bee is seen as a symbol of life; thus, many gods can be represented with different bees. One example is Vishnu, sometimes represented with a blue bee on a lotus flower, symbolizing resurrection, life, and nature. The god of love, Kama, wields a bow with a string of bees. The Twin horsemen wield whips dripping with honey. Honey, like in Egypt was an essential commodity, used as a tax by the government on its people. Swarms also had symbolic meaning, often with negative connotations. Should a swarm enter one’s house, it meant bad luck. Dreaming of swarms in one’s house meant death was nearby.
We hope you enjoyed learning about the importance of bees in various cultures around the world. How are bees significant in your culture?