I'm pretty sure there's a lot of other stories. President Biden has picked up the gauntlet China threw down, Rana Sanga vs Babur: 5 reasons why Mughals didn’t need any invitation to invade India, Why Cong must lead the charge on abolishing sedition law, The small and the big of it: Initiatives like PM’s Pariksha Pe Charcha set fresh benchmarks for leadership in India, Yes, glaciers are melting but no need for panic, Bengal exposed: Election violence has rendered naked the need for reform of its political culture, The new Cold War and us: India’s strategic conundrums are multiplied in the US-China faceoff, compared to the one with Russia, Copyright © 2021 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved. Back in San Francisco, when Rosy opens the fridge and stands in front of it for five minutes, ignoring her mother’s … There's people who have passed on in a bad way or a hard way. And so those ancestors, because they died in a bad, hard way, their spirits get lonely. Grandma would tell me, "Shhh. To avoid frostbite, they are warned to keep their hats on, or the Northern Lights will snatch off their heads and use them for soccer balls. Neyelle, from Deline, N.W.T., remembers well the story of his grandfather Joe Kenny's kerchief, which he wore around his neck every day. He would warn us not to make too much noise because the sound of the bells on a dog team would attract the northern lights to come closer. 6. Customization has given way to 'one fit all' conveniences. In Alaska, Inuit communities also feared the lights and carried knives to ward themselves against the evil spirits of the aurora. Lapland is part of not only Finland; it extends across Scandinavia, to parts of Sweden, Norway, and northern Russia, too. Pristine pure and startlingly white, the gigantic blanket of snow stretches far into the horizon. Everything in nature is everybody’s to experience, it’s everyone’s right to enjoy — responsibly. Native American Northern Lights Mythology The Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, were considered sacred by many native tribes. Bad luck, no good.". Interested in blogging for timesofindia.com? The Cree Inuit’s, who live near the Quebec area, believed that the lights were the souls of departed loved ones trying to communicate with them. Myth, magic or science, the aurora borealis gives darshan across nations in the region. Others thought they were the wandering souls of unmarried women. And whoever stayed out the longest would be the bravest and win the challenge. When taking that perfect photo of the Northern Lights, … They're just so special and so unique. In northern Russia, they call them Saluny-telmijat. The exhibition, at first tame and quiet, became in the end startling in its brilliancy. But they appear, we are promised, late at night, in … Greenland Inuit legend, according to Rasmussen, said that if you returned the whistle, the light would come near to you, out of curiosity, or even dance for you. Or you go back to the days of the Vikings, when they thought it was the manifestation of their gods. That was his power. No matter that now they’re in Finland, now in Sweden, or even Norway. They want to take somebody from the Earth to come with them. Here is Sharon Shorty's story in her own words. He said that that's his gift. Adventure Starts at Our Doorstep Frobisher Inn is the perfect spot to begin your sightseeing adventure. I was not scared at all. And it has long been known that the best seat on Earth for viewing this spectacular light show is in Greenland. LESS Here is Morris Neyelle's story about his grandfather, in his own words.*. Yours and his, mine and hers — all sense of possession and ego — give way to the overwhelming celebratory spirit of life and living. I've always tried to listen to that crackle that they say that you hear — the myth of the crackling northern lights. In Northern Lights one will find harmonious wall surfaces of maple & granite, Inuit art accents, a fireplace lounge and a 12 foot wall of windows that overlooks the mountain. Views expressed above are the author's own. This kind of awed me. They are the best-preserved homes of the Inuit, … Inuit believed the lights were spirits of their ancestors playing a game with a walrus skull used as the ball. In what may be the result of an ancient game of “telephone,” the people on nearby Nunavik Island believed the lights were walrus spirits … If you’re lucky, you could witness the spectacular northern lights, the Aurora Borealis that fills the night sky with a riot of swaying colours. Hear Jonas Antoine's story about the northern lights in this animation. It's not dirty — just watch me.". There was like a sizzling, like a sifting sand kind of whooshing noise all around me. A former associate editor of The Times of India, leader writer and editor of The Speaking Tree, Narayani Ganesh writes on issues concerning the environment, science and technology, travel and tourism, heritage, philosophy, spirituality and health. As they arrive at the central layer of the earth’s magnetosphere, the electrons collide with oxygen or nitrogen atoms in the atmosphere and energy is given off in the form of visible light. Practice Makes Perfect Northern Lights Pics. Just drop in a mail at toiblogs@timesinternet.in with a brief bio and we will get in touch with you. A dark, cold night on the tundra. Some people say it's the spirits of children who were stillborn. And to me, it looks like people are holding hands and it looks like they're dancing in a circle, and we say that's our ancestors. All rights reserved. I was amazed. In the most northern tribes, they believed the lights were dead spirits mostly of children who were playing with the skull of a walrus like a ball. By continuing to browse this Website, you consent to the use of these cookies. Romantic legends and fables abound among indigenous peoples of the Arctic region where the northern lights are visible. Just the way that they move across the sky, just cover and light up the sky. So that's what grandma told me and I'm not going to argue with grandma. The Inuit believed the lights to be the spirits of the departed, playing a game similar to lacrosse, using a walrus skull for a ball. Many folk tales have been spun to explain the aurora borealis. In middle and southern Europe where the aurora borealis is sighted rarely, the lights evoke awe, even fear. This is especially true for the Inuit, or the indigenous people in the Arctic regions of Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. The Inuit, The Canadian Encyclopedia says, are defined as the indigenous people who live in the northernmost regions of Canada. ", He said, "Why do you call my kerchief dirty? You hear legends about it, what it is, but I have never ever witnessed it. Throw that one away, I just bought two brand-new kerchiefs. While northern lights and cold nights go together (it’s part of what makes our environment spectacular), you don’t have to be uncomfortable! Those tales are almost always connected with the Afterlife and are shaped by the Inuits traditional way of life: indeed, where else could one explain the Aurora as a spirits’ ball game with a walrus skull? And whistling makes them dance. Kenny died in the 1970s, but the magical tale about what happened to that kerchief decades ago lives on. So that could mean a suicide, or it could be a murder, or something in a bad way. European Myths and Legends. And it was the northern lights. I was almost like in a spiritual world when this happened to me. The Inuit languages are part of the Inuit-Yupik-Unangan family. Antoine, who lives in Fort Simpson, was in his cabin one evening when he saw a bright light. Even though it sounds dreary, but in reality it a good time to enjoy the snow coat, dog sledding, and the northern lights. Here is Jonas Antoine's story, in his own words.*. Slowly, a glow emerges from the horizon. The aurora is rich with spiritual traditions, with most involving the spirits of the departed. The northern lights have haunted the imaginations of spectators for centuries. Don't look, don't look. The dance of heavenly lights is visible only for some 100 nights in a year, depending on clear skies and on the intensity of solar winds. *, Growing up, as kids, there's a game that we used to play where we would all go out to whistle to the northern lights. The Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) have enchanted viewers for thousands of years. When you look at the northern lights, it’s easy to understand why many people get inspired by it. Although there are variations among Inuit communities, the most common belief is that the Northern Lights are the spirits of ancestors or others that have passed away playing a sort of game in the sky. We truly believed it, because you know when you whistle, they really do come down. For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service, Sun, Apr 18, 2021 | UPDATED 19:07 PM IST. The inky, endless black sky sparkles with millions of diamond-like stars. However, … We really didn't know how to deal with it, but the elders, like my grandfather, knew how to handle it. It happened several years ago on the Horn Plateau, a prominent landform in the Northwest Territories' South Slave region, known for its abundance of fish and great hunting and trapping. The Inuit, a tribe indigenous to the Arctic region, believed the green lights that haunted the night sky were the spirits of the dead. The northern lights are caused by particles — electrons and protons — blasting out from the sun in all directions and colliding with the Earth's atmosphere. They're so beautiful, right? Across the North, where the phenomena is most widely seen, there are legends and beliefs about the northern lights that may defy reason, but go back generations. Other Inuit beliefs suggest … Thanks to our crystal-clear skies, we’re the best place on Earth to behold this magical phenomenon. But if they're down too low, you know, our parents used to always tell us, "They'll come down and chop your head off.".

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