Why the Mantis Became a “Diviner
Why the Mantis Became a “Diviner”
Cowan’s writers called the mantis a diviner or fortune-teller because its name, posture, appearance, and movements invited religious interpretation. Mantis is Greek for “diviner,” while its raised forelegs resemble praying hands, producing names such as “Praying-insects,” “Soothsayers,” “Diviners,” and the French Devin and Prega-diou (“Pray to God”).[1]
Its slender body, long limbs, and slow, restrained movements were read as signs of unusual gravity rather than ordinary insect behaviour. One older claim even held that, because it raised its forelegs like a diviner, the insect could point a child toward the right road.[2] Other period accounts associated mantises with spring, death, famine, Greek soothsaying, and reverence for their movements and flight.[3]
Why Harming It Could Be Taboo
In Cowan’s account, the taboo followed from the mantis’s supposed sacred or prophetic status. When a German tried to kill one, Hottentots reportedly pleaded with him, warning of curses and divine punishment. After he released it, they celebrated and gave it customary divine honours.[4]
The accounts do not agree on whether this was worship, fear, respect, or a good-luck custom. The creature at issue is the mantis; the claims concern what harming it was believed to bring, not what the insect could actually do.
Four Witnesses, Four Levels of Claim
| Witness | Claim type | What the account says |
|---|---|---|
| Kolben | Strong account of worship and supernatural danger | He said Hottentots believed that killing a mantis would expose their cattle to destruction by wild beasts and bring death to every member of the community. He also reported that a settlement where mantises were seldom seen was considered of evil destiny.[5] |
| Sparrman | Cautious denial of worship; acknowledgment of superstition | He denied that the Hottentots worshipped the insect, noting that they gave him mantises to pin and preserve like other insects. He nevertheless described a small species that some considered dangerous and sinful to harm.[6] |
| Thunberg | Respect and luck, but not adoration | He found no evidence of worship. The mantis was held in esteem, people would not willingly hurt it, and someone on whom it settled was considered fortunate.[7] |
| Evan Evans | Vivid intermediate testimony of former worship | A Hottentot driver told Evans that he had worshipped the insect “a thousand times,” though only before coming to Bethelsdorp. This supports the possibility of earlier or personal worship without proving that all Hottentots shared it.[8] |
The resulting picture is contested rather than settled: Kolben and Evans report genuine or former worship, while Sparrman and Thunberg separate worship from fear, respect, sin, or good fortune.[9] These are recorded historical beliefs and travel accounts. They explain why the mantis was interpreted as a diviner, but they are not evidence that a mantis literally foretold events or caused the predicted disasters.
Period Interpretation and Modern Biology
In the period accounts, the mantis’s “prayer” was treated as a meaningful sign: its name, raised forelegs, strange appearance, and deliberate movements were read through religious and prophetic ideas. In modern terms, those interpretations should be kept distinct from the insect’s biology. The sources preserve beliefs about the mantis and disagreements among observers, not verified prophetic powers or a settled ethnographic consensus.
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