Mysteries of the Mother Moon

After thousands of years of lunar myths, we’re still transfixed today by the ...

Why are we so fascinated by the Moon? Part of its mystery is that it seems to change all the time. As the Moon travels around the Earth, the Sun lights up different parts of it. The ‘lit-up’ part we can see changes a little every day.

Sometimes the Moon glows red because about twice a year, something quite special occurs.

The Earth and the Moon line up with the Sun. When this happens, the Earth blocks the Sun’s light, casting a long, dark shadow on the Moon. This event is called a lunar eclipse. Because the Moon looks red during an eclipse, it is sometimes called a blood Moon.

In ancient times, our ancestors created stories to explain this strange and wondrous event and wove them i nto the f abric of their lives.

In China, Chang’e is the goddess of the Moon. One story goes that Chang’e’s husband gave her a potion to look after. This potion would make whoever drank it live for ever.

One day, when her husband was away, a student of his tried to steal the potion. To stop him, Chang’e drank it herself.

She floated all the way to the Moon, where she still lives today, watching over the world.

The Inca people of South America lived more than 500 years ago. They believed i n Mama Quilla, Mother Moon.

The Inca thought that when a lunar eclipse happened, Mama Quilla was being attacked by a fierce creature.

The Inca shook their spears and made their dogs howl at the Moon, to scare away the creature.

Togo and Benin are countries i n West Africa where the Batammaliba people live.

They tell a story of how angry vil l agers f ought with one another. The first two mothers, Puka Puka and Kuiyecoke, tried to stop the f i ghting, but the villagers refused to listen. So the mothers darkened the Sun and the Moon and caused an eclipse.

This frightened the villagers so much that they f i nally stopped fighting and decided to make up.