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Splendour in the sky How to watch Effects of Aurora Borealis Beliefs of indigenous people The Northern Lights in HistoryRelated sites
Beliefs on indigenous people |
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walrus. The Eskimo word "aksarnirq" can be translated as ball player. Some Eskimos in
Greenland claim in their folklore that the aurora makes sounds. These are caused when
the souls step on icy, packed snow in the heavens.
The Eskimos in the northernmost parts of Canada believe that the northern lights are created by spirits, which, dressed in the mystical light, are having fun because the sun is missing. Rapidly moving aurora were called the dance of death. In the folklore of the Eskimos of eastern Greenland, the auroras are the souls of killed new-born babies or stillborn babies. The northern lights can be called by the name "alugsukat", which means a secret birth. Many Eskimos believed they were able to hear the northern lights. One can imitate the sound by whistling. This |
way you can make the aurora come nearer, then you can whisper messages to it to be
sent to the dead. Americans Indians used a whistle to make the northern lights come
closer. A corresponding belief is still strongly alive in Finnish Lapland. Among the Saami
people there, whistling was believed to be dangerous. The northern lights caused fear
and they were respected.
American Indians knew the Northern LightsAmrimen Fox Indians were afraid of the northern lights because they believed them to be the avenging souls of enemies they had killed. The Eskimos were not generally afraid of the northern lights. However, in some Eskimo regions, people carried a knife just to be on the safe side. |
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