Longwood's foo dog
I read this morning in the newspaper how some local people have had their foo-dog stolen. They are understandably upset because they have had their dog for many years and it is very dear to them. Not only that, but it brings them luck. Somebody or bodies snuck onto their front porch in the middle of the night and carted their dog right off. Foo dog statues are part of a long tradition in Asia where they were originally assigned to guard temples. They are called "dogs," but are actually meant to depict lions and can be made of marble, concrete, bronze, iron, or granite. Regardless, they are pretty heavy fellows.
According to Wikipedia, the lions are always presented in pairs, with the female on the left and the male on the right. The male lion has his right paw on a ball, which represents the "Flower of life" The female is essentially identical, but has a single cub under her left paw, representing the cycle of life. Symbolically, the female fu lion protects those dwelling inside, while the male guards the structure. Sometimes the female has her mouth closed, and the male open. This symbolizes the enunciation of the sacred word om. However, Japanese adaptions state that the male is inhaling, representing life, while the female exhales, representing death. Other styles have both lions with a single large pearl in each of their partially opened mouths. The pearl is carved so that it can roll about in the lion's mouth but sized just large enough so that it can never be removed.
According to feng shui, when facing the entrance the male lion with the globe should be placed on the right with the female on the left. The article doesn't mention if these people had a pair. Maybe the male lion is off looking for his mate. So if you happen to see a stray foo-dog wandering around, call the Southwest Detective Division at 215-686-3183.
The victims of this theft are mourning its loss as well as the bad luck that seems to have befallen them. I hope they get it back. Who wouldn't love this face?
2 comments:
That is so interesting. I love learning something new!
That is interesting. I think the bad guys who stole it are going to have more bad luck then the people who got it stolen. That's just awful. I hope they get their dog back.
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