Mitos y Leyendas: The Eskimos and the Aurora Borealis

• Genny de Bernardo shares a story about what the aurora borealis is.
• The aurora borealis has been the subject of hundreds of stories from different cultures around the world.
• Here we share one that comes from the Eskimos.

Surely you have heard of the aurora borealis, but you may not know that it has several stories about its origin.

During the turbulent Middle Ages, in which there were fights and epic battles, artists and observers painted scenes that represented great conflicts in the sky.

Divine armies waging colossal battles and the appearance of troops on horseback amid a spectacle that instilled fear and awe.

In those times, the northern lights were considered omens of imminent catastrophes and disasters that could befall humanity.

The Aurora Borealis in Cultures

However, fascination with the aurora borealis was not limited to Europe; in distant lands and various cultures of the world, they were also familiar with this mysterious celestial phenomenon.

For example, the Eskimos, the Athabascan Indians, the Lapps, the inhabitants of Greenland, and even the tribes of northwest India.

Each of these peoples wove their own legends and myths around the aurora borealis, always rooted in their beliefs about life in the hereafter and the mystery of the heavens.

For example, among the Eskimos, a legend was shared that spoke of the limits between the land and the sea, which were bordered by an immense endless abyss.

The Northern Lights

Over this abyss stretched a narrow and dangerous path that led to the unexplored celestial regions.

The sky was described as a great solid vault that arched majestically over the earth, with a single hole through which the spirits of the deceased passed to the true heavens.

In this Eskimo story, only the spirits of those who had experienced a voluntary or violent death, along with the raven, had the honor of traversing this perilous path.

When the spirits reached the other side, they were tasked with lighting torches that illuminated the path of the newcomers.

The Feast of the Aurora Borealis

These torches were the source of the light we know as the aurora borealis.

The spirits celebrated, played ball using a walrus skull as a ball, and shared stories and experiences from their earthly life.

Sometimes, the whistling and pleasant sounds that accompanied the northern lights were interpreted as the voices of these spirits trying to communicate with the people of the earth.

It was essential, according to Eskimo beliefs, to always respond to these celestial spirits with whispering voices.

A Door to Another World

In this way, due respect is shown to the inhabitants of the sky and to the connection between the earthly and celestial worlds that the aurora borealis symbolized.

The aurora borealis transcended the merely visual, being a door to a spiritual realm and a bridge between earth and eternity in the heavens.

Today, many people delight in the hues that are generated in the sky when it can be seen. More than one has said that it is something worth seeing before dying.

Mitos y Leyendas says goodbye for now and hopes that this story of the aurora borealis has been to your liking. See you next time!