by Burpleberry

Created on: July 27, 2007

From when mankind first looked up at the night sky, he would of wondered where the Moon fitted in with his world and why it appeared in the heavens. Consequently there are legends about the Moon from across the world. Just a selection of these include:

Native American Moon Legends

The Menomini

The Sun and Moon are brother and sister. The Sun goes out hunting and when he is late returning the Moon goes out to look for him. The Sun then returns from his hunting trip.

The Tsimshiam

In a time when the sky was completely dark, a chief had two sons. The younger son, called 'One who walks all over the sky' was sad to see the sky so dark, so he made a mask out of wood and pitch and set fire to it. The younger brother now traveled across the sky each day as the sun and at night he sleeps just below the horizon, his snore sending sparks of fire that turn into stars in the night sky. The older brother, Walking about early, was jealous of this and so smeared his face with fat and charcoal and so crossed the sky each night as the Moon.

The Zuni

In another version where the sky is completely dark, there is a coyote who is a bad hunter, the coyote is watching the eagle hunt some rabbits and the eagle's catches are making him hungry. So, the coyote said to the eagle "Friend, we should hunt together. Two can catch more than one" but when thinking about it further the coyote realized he would hunt even better with some light, so the eagle and the coyote go in search for some light.

Eagle and coyote journey to the Pueblo where the Kachinas were dancing. The Kachinas had two boxes; a large one which contained a large light, the Sun plus a small box which contained a small light, the Moon. Eagle and coyote decide to steal the large box, so the eagle flies away with the box with the coyote following.

After a while the coyote persuades the eagle to let him carry the box, which the eagle reluctantly agrees to on the condition that he does not open the box. But the coyote opens the box and finds, the small box inside to. The coyote opens the lid and the Moon escapes, shriveling the plants, turning them brown and bring winter. Whilst the coyote is chasing the Moon, the Sun escapes and drifts far far away. The eagle sees what has happened and admonishes the coyote, if it was not for the coyotes curiosity we would have summer all the time!

Chinese Moon Festival

There are many Chinese Moon legends, some of which include:

The Lady (Chang Er)

The Earth once had ten suns orbiting around it, each taking

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>