The Jenny Hanivers(Hanovers, Hannovers)
Montag, November 26th, 2007The Jenny Hanivers was first recorded in the fourth book of the Historia Animalium, written by the Swiss Konrad Gesner, a language scientist, doctor and natural scientist of the 16th century.
It is interesting to know that Gesner himself never, in comparision to his contemporaries, saw the Hanivers as mythological creatures. He pointed out directly in his Historia Animalium that they were just dissected animals.
No matter this fact, the most people of his time, which were very superstitious, reputed the Hanivers
as a proof for the existence of little watermonster, devils, fairies, goblins and other mythological creatures. Especially the seamen often used specimens of the Hanivers to proove their stories about their adventures in far countries.
Among others they tried to proove the existence of the so-called Seabishop, not to muddle with the Seamonk.
The origin can be located in Antwerp, where the antwerpian seamen already in the last centuries sold and partly even today (today the Hanivers are usually made of wood) sell the Hanivers to fellows and tourists, together with the right story.
An indice of the origin is for example the name. Jenny Hanivers is probably an English alteration of Jeune de Anvers, which can be translated as Girl from Antwerp.
Probably the first specimens or stories were uttered by a woman or a girl from Antwerp.
This would explain the name, it is not sure, that really a seaman was the originator.
And now, a description of a typical Jenny Hanivers:
The real Hanivers, which are rare today but not gone, are made usually from the Rajidae, the “real rays“ or the Rhinobatidae. The supposed eyes are in reality the nasal orifices, the normal mouths of the animals were cut to be similar to human ones.
To have a better understanding, why rays are used, have a look at these picture of Wikimedia Commons!
The supposed legs of the Hanivers actually are either the dissected sexual organs or the tails of the rays.
A second version of Jenny Haniver is made of painted wood to have something more permanent and to avoid the disgusting dissection.
This classic fake circulate below different variations of the name Jenny Hanivers and independent to that too.
It is easy for newcomers in the cryptozoology to be taken of this fake because it is not as known as for example Nessie.





