Is there a connection between Bigfoot in the United States and Canada and the Green Man from medieval Europe? Both feature stories of large, bipedal apes living mysteriously in the woods. Perhaps neither creature actually exists as a physical creature. But both are real in folklore at least and have captured imaginations of people for well over a thousand years.
Many mythical forest creatures are often associated with virility and the terrestrial forces of nature, wearing a mask of foliage on their heads. Folklore and mythology have never ceased to capture men’s attention, particularly when it comes to the descriptions of creatures that are said to lie in wait in the dark woods or on the edges of societies. Perhaps the most captivating among them are the stories of North America’s Bigfoot and Europe’s Green Man, intricately connected to their natural surroundings.
Bigfoot
The popular culture of sasquatch or bigfoot depicts a legendary ape-like hominid roaming the dense forests of North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest region. Numerous eyewitnesses and would-be hunters have extensively studied this large, hairy, bipedal humanoid. It was most probably rooted in the stories and oral history of the Native Americans, who also mentioned these huge, hairy bipeds living in the thick bush of Canada and the Pacific Northwest. The legend of Uttam or Bigfoot, as most of the world now calls him, is centuries old, with roots dating back to the 19th century, when the natives of North America spoke about giant wildmen—a hairy ape-like creature (Meldrum, 2007).
Although the modern-day Bigfoot had been seen for many centuries and has been recorded since the 19th century, the interest towards this phenomenon exploded in the 1950s and 1960s. This was the period when many reported deaths connected to the Bigfoot phenomenon occurred including the Patterson-Gimlin incident which allegedly filmed a Bigfoot in 1967 (Redfern, 2015). Since that time, many groups have been formed devoted to the object of their interests and organized countless expeditions. Bigfoot, although sometimes approaching and chasing after witnesses and investigating their footprints – no conclusive evidence has been prepared yet – there is still a lot of lore around.
Green Man
However, it is the Green Man whose history goes even further back into the ancient European history and legends. The Green Man has surfaced in art, architecture, and sculpture, being exposed in this symbol, which represents a face enclosed within a frame of foliage or vines protruding from the mouth, the nose, and the eyes.
Where did the Green Man come from is a question that is difficult to answer. For some, it represents the natural order of the world, seasons in a way comprehensively depicted in a man—a growing force of nature. The Green Man can be seen in innumerable churches, cathedrals, and ancient buildings on the territory of Europe (Faleer, 2009). It appears as a bond between mankind and the planet and its repetitive change.
The Green Man in history can be traced back to Roman times amongst people of Celtic origin where he was associated with fertility and renaissance as well as the seasons’ shifts. His likeness; which is mainly a mask encapsulating one’s head with leaves, tendrils, and other vegetation was placed on structural features throughout Europe. During Anglo-Saxon and Norman times, the Green Man’s image was incorporated to a considerable extent in the design of the interiors of temples, monuments, castles, and paintings. Such awe-inspiring representations by and large portrayed the oneness of man and the environment as well as birth, death, and rebirth.
Analysis
While the Bigfoot and the Green Man have thoroughly different origins and cultural approaches, they both have something in common: a human obsession with all the mysteries, including those with the strong dominance of nature, such as forests, and the creatures who may live there (Williams, 1990). It is not difficult to understand that the Bigfoot legend stems from the hunger that most of us have—the creativity and yearning for the hidden places in the forest, those with loads of fables and legends wrapping them up. It is like the exploration of nature and making you rather believe in something more unreal in the very core of the people.
Likewise, Matthews (2001) noted the Green Man is an archetype of our respect for nature, our understanding of its forces and rhythms, and our realization of the rich biodiversity around us. Both figures symbolize the endless desire of humans to explore and understand other things that are difficult, if not impossible, to comprehend within the realm of boundaries. In addition, the Bigfoot and Green Man have been constructed as stereotypes and are filling the visual in the art and literature of, as well as mass culture. They left the premise; it evolved into the phantom of people’s creativity and amazement at what lies underneath all that is known.
Conclusion
With the increase of technology and the growth of urban areas, the stories of Sasquatch and the Green Man remind individuals of the primal relationship humans have with nature as well as the impact of traditional stories. They remind us that it is alright to step away from civilization for some time, since there are wonders in the wild that ought to be experienced and even in the modern world, there are mysteries that still remain.
Whether Bigfoot or the Green Man exist is an important question. However, the physical presence of either of these creatures is not required for them to still be culturally significant. Their impact on folklore and popular culture is important and reveals a lot about both the world of the past and the modern age.
References
Faleer, R. A. (2009). Church Woodwork in the British Isles, 1100-1535: an annotated bibliography. Scarecrow Press.
Matthews, J. (2001). The Quest for the Green Man. Quest Books.
Meldrum, J. (2007). Sasquatch: legend meets science. Forge Books.
Redfern, N. (2015). The Bigfoot Book: The Encyclopedia of Sasquatch, Yeti and Cryptid Primates. Visible Ink Press.
William, A. (1990). Green Man: The Archetype of Our Oneness with the Earth. HarperSanFrancisco.
