Common Myths about Tarantula Spiders

Tarantulas, or Theraphosids have recently become relatively familiar creatures in Europe and the North America. However, despite our familiarity with these large relatively harmless spiders, they are not really a sufficient apart of our history for us to have included them in our myths.

Tarantism as it occurred in Europe during the Middle ages had nothing to do with what we call 'Tarantulas' today. Nevertheless the word 'Tarantula' stems from Europe and was given to the Theraphosids of America, and other places by Europeans because these spiders reminded them of their own 'Tarantula' about which a strong body of folklore and mythology exists.

This folklore arose in the 14th century around the Lycosa Tarantula spider in the area of Taranto in Southern Italy. It started with peasants who were working in the fields and who thought they had been bittern by a spider dancing a wild and frenzied dance to exhaust themselves in order to survive the bite. Later on this dancing evolved into a cult and there is much controversy over the social forces which were involved in its expression in the following centuries. Apart from this modern thought also casts doubt on the role of the 'Tarantula'.

Suggesting that most genuine cases were the result of bites by the European Black Widow (Latrodectus Tredecimguttatus) which lives low in the vegetation rather than of bites by Lycosa Tarantula, which like its Theraphosid cousins lives in a hole in the ground and is quite shy.

However the local people of the various parts of the world, where Tarantulas occur naturally have made them a part of their mythology. One of these groups of peoples are the Indians of Southern USA and Mexico. These mythologies may not all relate specifically to 'Tarantulas' as the terminology is often just translated as spider, however in many cases it is referring to a ground dwelling Theraphosid, particularly Old Mother Tarantula.

A very old belief that is part of several different Indian cultures, is the Pima myth that the world was created by Chiowotmahke the Earth Prophet. He took the form of a Spider and spun a huge web across the void creating the Earth in the process, he then changed form again to become a butterfly.

As the butterfly he flew down to the Earth and created mankind. Cave paintings can be found in California depicting this scene. Also in California, Chumash Indian mythology states that the Sun God Kaqunupenawa rests by day in a hole in the ground created for him by 'Spider Woman' while his rays warm the Earth.

The Navajo used to live in what is now known as the Canyon de Chelly National Park, this contains an amazing monolith of rock 800 feet high known as 'Spider Rock'. This rock according to Navajo legends was the home of 'Old Mother Tarantula' or 'Spider Woman'.

Mixed up with this are stories of a spider who would climb down from the rock to catch children and carry them back to the top to eat. Navajo mothers apparently told their children that the outcroppings of white quartz at the top of the monolith were the bones of disobedient children who were more likely to be caught by the spider.

Another Navajo legend recounts how a Pueblo Indian girl who was living with the Navajo was so lonely she just wandered off into the desert. Here she saw a thin wisp of smoke arising from a hole in the ground, on looking inside she saw 'Spider Woman' spinning a blanket.

It goes on to tell how Spider Woman befriends the girl and teachers her how to spin cloth. With this new and valuable skill she returns to the village, where she teaches the other woman to spin with the condition that they must leave a small hole in each blanket to remind them that it was Spider Woman that taught them how to spin. Needless to say she is now accepted by everybody and is much happier.

Another myth shared in various forms by several Indian peoples is that 'Old Mother Tarantula' saved the first man and first woman from the wrath of Kukumat. The story goes that the first man and first woman spent so much time bickering and arguing that Kukumat sent a flood to get rid of them because he was tired of listening to the racket they were making.

As the flood waters rose the first man and first woman were eventually saved by Old Mother Tarantula who spun a raft for them to escape the flood.

Another legend explains how Spider Woman helps the 12 brothers, who were the children of the first man and first woman hunt down Coyote who, in not becoming a domestic dog has disobeyed the hunters.

When they eventually catch and kill Coyote with Spider woman's help she takes the skin as a trophy, which she wears on her abdomen. From this time on all Tarantulas have a patch of rough hairs on their abdomens.

Another group of Indians called the Zuni have a legend which states that after Winter Thunder (a bad guy) blew Rainbow boy to bits Spider Woman sent her Spider Girls to rescue Rainbow Boy who by spinning and weaving all his nerves and blood vessels back together again were able to bring him back to life.
After which Rainbow Boy was able to prevent the other Thunder Beings, Black Whirlwind and Black Metal from destroying all the tribes.

In Mexico it was believed that the creation of the world was assisted by Tocotl a Spider God, who spins a huge hammock to hold the world up. The Mayans believed that after death of the body the soul was destined to wander through the many dark passages of the underworld until they met a great river which they could not cross on their own.

Each soul can only get to the other side of this river with the help of a spider person. The spider people spin a web rafts and then one spider person and one soul journey across the underground river linked in a sort of spiritual bond so that each is totally dependant on the other until they reach safety on the other side.