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The Moon In Folklore

© Virginia Marin

Folklore Table of Contents

As the SUN sets, the MOON rises - and little people play on every moonbeam, sprinkling their sparkling moon dust down onto humankind.

For centuries, tales and legends of other folk have delighted generation after generation of children and adults alike. No matter what these elusive little people are called--faeries, elves, gnomes, nunus, pixies, tricksters or countless other names, they are said to possess magical powers. The source of their power stems from natural forces, the elements, their own wit, magic in some form-- whether white or dark and, of course, from the moon. The word moon is probaby connected with the Sanskrit root me-, to measure, because time was measured by the moon. It is common to all Teutonic languages and is almost always masculine.

That is not to say that female images of the moon are not to be found. There are many. Some find a woman in the moon difficult to locate, but persistence pays a great dividend when found, for she is truly beautiful, with classic facial features and hair perfectly coiffed, some say, under a stunning Victorian hat.

The moon is represented in folklore in all of its five different phases: (1) new; (2) full; (3) crescent; (4) half and (5) gibbous. In religious folklore, pictures of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary show the moon as a crescent under her feet. In stories which present the Crucifixion, it is eclipsed and placed on one side of the Cross, with the sun being on the other. In Creation stories, and those which deal with the Last Judgment, the moon is also depicted.

The moon is quite prominent in tales of Arabic, Hindu, African, Native American and Inuit lore. The Inuit moon spirit, Tarqeq, is a mighty hunter who, of course, lives on the moon. It is he who may be the proverbial "Man in the Moon." Tarqeq has been given the difficult task of watching over human behavior. Naturally, if he happens to be sleeping--that is, when the moon sets, humankind can then exceed their bounds of propriety and misbehave, often in disgusting ways.

African folklore also has it moon tales. One tale concernes a trickster hare who is responsible for costing humans immortality. As one tale goes, the moon sent a hare to the first people with a simple message: "Just as the moon dies and rises again so shall you." But the hare confused the moon's messsage and said: "Just as the moon dies and perishes so shall you." The moon, upon hearing of this, beat hare on the nose with a stick. Henceforth, he has worn a split nose. It is interesting to note that in hare tales from southern Africa the moon is feminine.

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