Myths eclipsing Eclipses

Was surprised the other day to hear from my friend that a pregnant friend of her had stayed indoors because of lunar eclipse and was also planning to take shower after the eclipse to ward off some evil things that the eclipse can cause to the baby in the womb... I understand that, people do lot of these superstitious things especially related to pregnancy (hey, i did not say "stupid" okay ?!) for "just-in-case" when the risk far outweighs the effort, but still i found it interesting to read about how the mankind has interpreted Eclipses over the centuries...

When I was a kid, I remember reading in Tintin's Prisoners of the Sun story how, Tintin, Captain Haddock and Professor Calculus are about to be sacrificed for the Sun God by the Incas, and how Tintin cleverly escapes from it using a news he read about the Eclipse that was going to happen that day... And interestingly, there is a similar, supposedly "real" story of how Christopher Columbus used a lunar eclipse to threaten and gain respect from some Jamaican tribes!!

And here are some stories about Eclipses from different cultures...

• Chinese : The ancient Chinese believed that solar eclipses were caused by a celestial dragon trying to swallow the Sun. The mandarin word Eclipse is "shi" (pinyin) which means "to eat or nibble" and the word for solar eclipse is "ri shi" or "Sun eat" and for lunar eclipse is "yue shi" . If they knew an eclipse was coming, they would shoot fireworks and bang gongs to scare it away! In fact, the first story of an eclipse in human history is recorded by the Chinese. The story goes that there was this legendary king Chung K'ang who appointed two astronomers named Hsi and Ho (or by some sources Hsi-Ho and another guy) to make sure that the dragon does not eat the sun. Unfortunately Hsi and Ho failed to predict an eclipse and the King and the people were caught unaware and they tried banging gongs and shooting arrows to drive away the dragon and finally the Sun appeared back in the sky... and still, the king had Hsi and Ho's heads chopped off for their failure to warn about the Eclipse! :-(
  

• Vikings : The Vikings tell a tale about two wolves who wish to eat the Sun and Moon. Skoll (repulsion) goes after the Sun and Hati, running ahead of the Sun, goes after the Moon. When either are caught, there is an eclipse. When this happens, the people on Earth rush to rescue the Sun or Moon by making as much noise as they can in hopes of scaring off the wolves.

• Indians : Will Eclipse escape the great minds of the noble land of supersitions ? Hindus in India, have for a long time regarded the (Solar ?) Eclipse as an inauspicious event and they still do believe that eclipse can make the air and food impure and try to thwart it by chanting prayers during the eclipse, fasting, immersing idols of God in water, not going out during the eclipse etc., If you are thinking that I am talking about Hindus in the 17th century, think again... Here is some Swamiji's FAQs regarding Eclipse and what you should do before, during and after an Eclipse :-) It is interesting (don't blame me if you read it as funny ;-)) to read the detailed list of things to do - like fast 12 hours before a solar eclipse (9 hours for lunar), bathe in cold water after the eclipse, and do alms etc., get rid of any cooked food after the eclipse, and not touch any personal things during the eclipse etc., And oh, here is the story of the origin of the Eclipse from Mahabharata written by Ved Vyas, with some of my explanations about some Indian stuff):
  

"After the churning of the ocean by the devas (a gated community of Indian gods - predominantly guys i think - residing somewhere around the same altitude as today's international flights!) and daityas (demons - with uncombed hair, with long canine teeth ?), amrut or soma- the immortalizing nectar (note that this is vegan unlike the sweet honey!) - was produced. It so happened that the demons got the nectar first, but the devas created a apsarã (a beautiful celestial woman or in other words, a hot chick) called Mohini. She tricked the demons (probably with a cabaret or seductive dance number just like in the Indian movies) and took the nectar away from them.

Once the devas received the amrut, they asked Mr. Vishnu (the Protector ?) to distribute the amrut to all the gods equally (guess, the devas did not have a reliable measuring cup). While Vishnu was serving amrut to everyone, a demon, named Rãhu, through yogic powers transformed himself into a deva (probably did some facial bleach, cut his hair, combed it nicely and wore some some formals) and since long time, we dont have the concept of a reliable photo-id for everyone in India, the demon dressed as a deva got into dining hall, and sat in line to receive amrut. He sat between the Sun-god and the Moon-god. They both recognized the demon in the form of a deva. Unlike Sun-God and Moon-God, Vishnu, who was serving the amrut, was not a good observer (or he was just careless - which is not a comforting thought for Hindus as he is their Protector ;-)) and just as He served amrut to Rãhu, both the S and M revealed that it was a demon (talk about great timing!).

Immediately Vishnu sprang into action, and beheaded Rãhu with his Sudarshan Chakra (chakra is basically a wheel but for all the slayings that the Indian Gods usually do, I imagine their chakra looks more like a Circular Saw blade). But by the time Vishnu beheaded Rãhu he had drunk the amrut. The amrut had reached Rãhu’s throat, making his head immortal (don't ask me why his head became immortal when the amrut ran down the throat and not up his brain ?!) . Rãhu’s head thus became a planet (See, this is how planets are born... or chopped...).

Since the S and M told Vishnu about Rãhu, Rãhu was deeply disappointed and nursed a hatred for them. Therefore it is believed that Rahu chases the Sun-God and the Moon-God across the skies and tries to swallow them, and during some times of the year Rãhu succeeds in swallowing the Sun and the Moon by his mouth (grahan), hence the existence of the solar and lunar eclipses. The Shikshãpatri states that one should instantly stop all activities and chant the name of God at the time of an eclipse. The reason for doing so is to chant and pray to God for the release of the sun or the moon from the grasp of Rãhu." also read, [Eclipse in Gujarat]

• Japanese: In Japan, wells were covered to prevent poison from dropping into them from the darkened sky.

• Amazonian tribe: And one touching Amazonian myth describes the Sun and the Moon as lovers. They loved each other so much that the Sun's light scorched the Earth and the Moon's tears drowned it. So it was decided that they should live apart in the sky and only be allowed to touch each other's shadow during an eclipse.

• Ge Amazonnian tribe (Brazil) : The Ge' tribes believe that eclipses are a result of a fight between Sun and Moon. They say that the eye of the Sun or Moon is pierced by a small boy who shoots them with an arrow. The wound bleeds symbolized by the Moon turning reddish and dimming. A shaman removes the arrow and the wound heals.

• Pomo Native American tribe : The Pomo name for a solar eclipse was "sun got bit bear." They tell a story about a bear who goes out for a stroll along the Milky Way. Soon Bear met up with the Sun and the two began to argue about who would move out of the other's path. The argument turned into a fight, which was represented by an eclipse of the Sun. Eventually the Bear continued along his way, but soon met up with the Moon, the Sun's sister. Again, an argument ensue about who would move over and again the argument turned into a fight. Now there was an eclipse of the Moon. After the eclipse Bear continued on his way along the Milky Way and the cycle repeated.

That's all, folks!