STING OF THE GODS

GLOBAL FOLKLORE OF BEES THROUGHOUT HISTORY.

It’s no secret we all love bees. They’re sunshine. They’re flowers. They’re pollinators and teamwork icons. They’re fuzzy little legends operating inside the most sophisticated society known to science. Female led, by the way.

Today, bees are the poster child for nature positivity. We celebrate them online. We plant wildflowers. We say “save the bees.” But this isn’t new. Humans have been rating bees for thousands of years.

From ancient Egypt to the foothills of India to the heart of the Islamic world, bees have been seen as messengers, guardians, warriors and guides. They weren’t just insects. They were symbols of power, protection and something higher.

Here are five times in history that humans respected the buzz before it was cool:

Bees were believed to be born from the sun god Ra’s tears. Seen as sacred messengers between earth and the divine, tied to death, rebirth and cosmic order.

Parvati, goddess of love, fertility and cosmic feminine energy, transformed into a swarm of bees to destroy a demon that could not be killed by any creature with two or four legs. In this form, she became Bhramari Devi. The sting was sacred.

A monkey brought honey to the Buddha while he meditated. The monkey died in the process. The Buddha granted it spiritual elevation. Honey as offering, bees as bridge.

An entire chapter of the Qur’an (An-Nahl) is dedicated to bees, praising their divine guidance, role in healing and complex social behaviour. It even hints at their female-led society. This is centuries ahead of science.

Folk tradition said you must tell your bees of any major family event. Birth, death or marriage: or they may leave or die. Hives were draped in black at funerals.