Editing Crocodile (section)

===In religion and mythology===
{{Further|Crocodilia#Cultural depictions}}
[[File:Sobek Oxford.jpg|thumb|right|Statue of [[Sobek]] from the mortuary temple of [[Amenemhat III]] {{circa}} 1810 BC. [[Ashmolean Museum]], Oxford.]]
[[File:Plaque with Crocodile Deity, ca. 700-900.,33.448.12.jpg|thumb|Brooklyn Museum – Plaque from Cocle, Panama, with Crocodile Deity, ca. 700–900.,33.448.12]]
Crocodiles have appeared in various forms in religions across the world. [[Ancient Egypt]] had [[Sobek]], the crocodile-headed god, with his cult-city [[Crocodilopolis]], as well as [[Taweret]], the goddess of childbirth and fertility, with the back and tail of a crocodile.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/sobek.htm|title=Egypt: The Crocodile God, Sobek|publisher=Tour Egypt|author=Catherine C. Harris}}</ref> The [[Wukari Federation#Religion|Jukun shrine in the Wukari Federation]], Nigeria is dedicated to crocodiles in thanks for their aid during migration.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/200906240052.html|title=Nigeria: How Giant Crocodiles Guided Jukun to Kwararafa|work=All Africa|author=Fidelis Mac-Leva}} 24 June 2009</ref> In [[Madagascar]] various peoples such as the [[Sakalava people|Sakalava]] and [[Antandroy]] see crocodiles as ancestor spirits and under local ''[[Fady (taboo)|fady]]'' often offer them food;<ref name="Campbell, Gwyn 2012">Campbell, Gwyn (2012). David Griffiths and the Missionary "History of Madagascar". Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. {{ISBN|978-90-04-19518-9}}.</ref><ref>Marty Crump, Livros no Google Play
Eye of Newt and Toe of Frog, Adder's Fork and Lizard's Leg: The Lore and Mythology of Amphibians and Reptiles, University of Chicago Press, 16 November 2015</ref> in the case of the latter at least a crocodile features prominently as an ancestor deity.<ref name="Campbell, Gwyn 2012"/><ref>An ''[[The Athenaeum (British magazine)|Athenæum]]'' article [https://books.google.com/books?id=-t8RAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA247 makes a claim] of a specific crocodile deity named textually as "Jacaret", but less biased sources do not mention this theonym in any capacity.</ref>

Crocodiles appear in different forms in [[Hinduism]]. [[Varuna]], a [[Historical Vedic religion|Vedic]] and Hindu god, rides a part-crocodile [[Makara (Hindu mythology)|makara]]; his consort [[Varuni]] rides a crocodile.<ref name="One" /> Similarly the goddess personifications of the [[Ganges|Ganga]] and [[Yamuna]] rivers are often depicted as riding crocodiles.<ref>{{cite web | title = Holy Rivers, Lakes, and Oceans | work = Heart of Hinduism | publisher = ISKCON Educational Services | year = 2004 | url = http://hinduism.iskcon.org/practice/504.htm | quote = Most rivers are considered female and are personified as goddesses. Ganga, who features in the Mahabharata, is usually shown riding on a crocodile (see right). | access-date = 16 September 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141014184216/http://hinduism.iskcon.org/practice/504.htm | archive-date = 14 October 2014 | url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Ganga The River Goddess – Tales in Art and Mythology | date = August 2003 | first = Nitin | last = Kumar | url = http://www.exoticindiaart.com/article/ganga/ | quote = The second distinguishing aspect of Ganga's iconography is her animal mount, which is often shown serving as a pedestal for her. This is the makara, a hybrid creature having the body of a crocodile and the tail of a fish. The makara in Hindu thought corresponds to the star sign of Capricorn in western astrology. The crocodile is a unique animal in that it can live on both land and sea. It thus denotes the wisdom of both the earth and waters.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Hindu gods and their holy mounts | publisher = Sri.Venkateswara Zoological Park | url = http://svzoo.org/html/anicult2.htm | quote = The river goddesses, Ganga and Yamuna, were appropriately mounted on a tortoise and a crocodile respectively. | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140623165912/http://svzoo.org/html/anicult2.htm | archive-date = 23 June 2014}}</ref> Also in India, in [[Goa]], crocodile worship is practised, including the annual ''Mannge Thapnee'' ceremony.<ref>{{cite journal |author=<!--unclear. possibly L. Rattanani because blurb may be except from India Today Magazine, 15 January 1995, page 23--> |title=The Crocodile is God in Goa |journal=Crocodile Specialist Group Newsletter |date=January–March 1995 |volume=14 |issue=1 |page=8 |url=http://www.iucncsg.org/365_docs/attachments/protarea/CSG%20-96e3654b.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.iucncsg.org/365_docs/attachments/protarea/CSG%20-96e3654b.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Sikh]] warriors known as [[nihang]] also have connections with crocodiles. ''Nihang'' may come from the Persian word for a mythical sea creature ({{langx|fa|نهنگ}}).<ref>{{cite book | last=Taba| first= David| year=2011| title= Iranian Character of The Armenian Language | page=9}}</ref> The term owes its origin to [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] historians, who compared the ferocity of the Akali with that of crocodiles.<ref>{{cite web  | title=Explainer Nihang Sikh sect in spotlight again after Singhu killing | website=The Federal | date=15 October 2021 | url=https://thefederal.com/videos/explainers/explainer-nihang-sikh-sect-in-spotlight-again-after-singhu-killing/ | access-date=29 August 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=The Nihang | website=Sikh Heritage | url=http://www.sikh-heritage.co.uk/movements/Nihangs/Nihangs.htm | access-date=29 August 2023}}</ref> In [[Sikhism]] however, ''Akali'' refers to the immortal army of Akal (god).<ref>{{cite book | last=Singh | first=Khushwant | year=1999 | title=A History of the Sikhs Voghzlume I:1469–1839 | publisher=Oxford University Press  | location=India | isbn = 0-19-562643-5 | page=215}}</ref>

In Latin America, [[Cipactli]] was the giant earth crocodile of the [[Aztec]] and other [[Nahua peoples]].{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}
[[File:City of Surabaya Logo.svg|thumb|upright|Fighting shark and crocodile, the emblem of Surabaya]]
The name of [[Surabaya]], Indonesia, is locally believed to be derived from the words "''suro"'' ([[shark]]) and "''boyo"'' (crocodile), two creatures which, in a local [[mythology|myth]], fought each other in order to gain the title of "the strongest and most powerful animal" in the area. It was said that the two powerful animals agreed for a truce and set boundaries; that the shark's domain would be in the sea while the crocodile's domain would be on the land. However one day the shark swam into the river estuary to hunt; this angered the crocodile, who declared it his territory. The Shark argued that the river was a water-realm which meant that it was shark territory, while the crocodile argued that the river flowed deep inland, so it was therefore crocodile territory. The two animals bit each other and a ferocious fight ensued. Finally the shark, badly bitten, fled to the open sea, and in the end the crocodile ruled the estuarine area that today is the city.<ref name="Irwan Rouf & Shenia Ananda 60">{{cite book|author1=Irwan Rouf|author2=Shenia Ananda|title=Rangkuman 100 Cerita Rakyat Indonesia: Dari Sabang Sampai Merauke|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cPJqcwuSOUkC&pg=PA64| year=2013| publisher=AnakKita |isbn=978-602-9003-82-6 |page=60}}</ref> Another source alludes to a [[Jayabaya]] prophecy—a 12th-century psychic king of [[Kediri Kingdom]]—as he foresaw a fight between a giant [[white shark]] and a giant white crocodile taking place in the area. This is sometimes interpreted as a foretelling of the [[Mongol invasion of Java]], a major conflict between the forces of the [[Kublai Khan]], [[Mongol Empire|Mongol]] ruler of [[China]], and those of [[Raden Wijaya]]'s [[Majapahit]] in 1293.<ref name="EastJava">{{cite web|title=Welcome to Surabaya City, East Java|publisher=Surabaya Tourism, EastJava.com| url=http://www.eastjava.com/tourism/surabaya/|access-date=17 November 2014}}</ref> The two animals are now used as the city's symbol, with the two facing and circling each other, as depicted in a statue appropriately located near the entrance to the [[Surabaya Zoo|city zoo]] (see photo on the [[Surabaya]] page).{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}