The strength and power of the African leopard represents the masculine qualities of the hunter. It also symbolizes social order and stability. Wearing the leopard skin was traditionally reserved for royalty and symbolized power and wealth. In some regions, the leopard was a powerful totem animal, most infamously with a cult that believed that by eating the flesh and blood of their victims they could be transformed into leopards. These "leopard men" terrorized villages with ritual killings using a metal-pronged weapon that simulated the leopard's slashing, gashing and mauling.
One of the earliest traces (6,000 B.C.) of leopard worship was discovered in southern Turkey, where an ancient shrine portrayed a fertility goddess riding on the back of a leopard. In ancient Tibet, weaponry was designed with leopard spots and represented female wisdom. Legend tells of the Tibetan poet-saint Milarepa changing into the beautiful snow leopard in front of a great cave. In Ancient Rome, the leopard was feared by gladiators and the enemies of Rome, who were thrown into the amphitheaters to do battle with the leopard.
Today, the leopard remains a prized target for hunters. Its beautiful coat is still in demand for ceremonial robes, fashion coats, fetishes and healing rituals. Powerful, graceful, nocturnal and elusive, the leopard is a master of stealth and survival. The leopard is renowned for its strength and after making a kill, will haul its prey, often weighing as much as itself, high into a tree, where the big cat then lodges its victim in the crook of a branch so that it may feast at its leisure.
See also: Animal Tattoo Index.
