Category Archives: Myths

Sacred narratives

Lake Victoria’s Guardian Spirit – Myth

Text: Long ago lake Victoria was a barren land devoid of life. A god was relaxing one day recognized the humans and animals of the land needed an oasis to survive. Taking such pity on the creatures the god began to cry and his tears formed a beautiful. Humans and animals from all over came to the lake and the god swore it would bless them for generations to come.

Context: “This is another story I heard growing up in Kenya. A woman who used to take care of me would tell me this story as a bed time story. A lot of older people where I’m from believe that the lake is a blessing from heaven so there’s a lot of similar stories.”

Analysis: The myth of Lake Victoria’s origin and its guardian are an interesting example of how natural phenomena can become divine. Since so many people and animals rely on lake Victoria it makes sense that its impact could be akin to a gods blessing. Oftentimes people will make something holy or a divine figure to give it a more physical form to give thanks to. The divinity of nature is typically humanity’s way of showing thanks.

Glacial Lake Origins

Text: “The story basically goes that long ago when the earth was being made by the gods, when they – “

“Is it a specific god or gods?”

“I’m not sure, I think it’s just whatever god you believe in. But basically when the earth was being created, the gods were painting the sky. They were using different hues and shades of blue and green to color the sky, and while they were doing that, they accidentally spilled some of the sky’s coloring from the sky onto the mountain tops. This then trickled down from the mountain peaks and through the valleys until it collected into small lakes scattered around. These became the glacial lakes that are known today for having a beautiful deep blue green color to their water.

“Is there a specific lake this refers to?

“No, I’m pretty sure it’s just a story of glacial lakes in general, because it’s told when a kid asks why the glacial lakes have their unique color.”

Context: My informant is my younger brother who heard of this tale of how glacial lakes get their bright blue-green color from his trip leader on a backpacking trip in the French alps. He says that while on a hike, he asked his trip leader what gave the glacial lakes their blue-green color. His trip leader provided the real explanation, but also this story, which he would tell on day trips with young children who were curious about the unusual but beautiful color of glacial lakes.

Analysis: I found it really interesting that my brother got to hear the story of how glacial lakes get their color that is meant for young children. This is because I think the simplistic/creation based explanation for how the color is formed is great to both entertain, but also spark curiosity in young children while hearing it. However, when my brother heard it, who was old enough to know the story was not true, the story gained a comedic aspect, as it is funny how the story plays on the children’s innocent curiosity, making it fun for the child hearing it and the teller.

Mid Autumn Festival

My informant usually celebrates this with family, and the date depends on the lunar calendar, but is typically in the autumn and is always the night of a full moon.

During this festival you typically gaze at and appreciate the moon and eat mooncakes. Mooncakes are typically sweet pastries but they can be savory with a variety of different fillings from date to a sweet nut paste to lotus paste and salted egg yolk.

This festival is celebrated because of a Chinese myth with many variations. The basic story is that a woman ended up drinking an immortality elixir that would have brought her to heaven, but her husband was still on earth. Because of this she chose to live on the moon instead so in the mid autumn festival, moon gazing is like how every year the husband would eat mooncakes and look for his wife on the moon. Due to this, the festival is generally a family activity.

The story itself can depend but in a few variations my informant is pretty sure that they were once gods, but the husband had to shoot down several suns (which were the children of the emperor of the sky) and as punishment the couple were turned into humans. However, they received the elixir at some point and wanted to split it to be together, but they had to wait until the full moon for the effect to work, but one month the husband was away and someone attacked the wife for the elixir so she drank it so the attacker wouldn’t get it.

This festival is based on a myth based on the cycles of the moon. Not only is the meaning based on the moon, but the food eaten is also moon based

A Nat’s Malevolent Dream

Nationality: Burmese

Primary Language: Burmese

Other Language(s): English

Age: 19

Occupation: Student

Residence: Baltimore, WA

Performance Date: 03/19/2024

Y.Y. has been my friend since Kindergarten, and is also a Burmese person who is originally from Yangon, Myanmar. He recounts the time P, his grandma told him a horror story about Burmese spirits. Their relationship is very close knit, as his grandma would regularly tell him Burmese legends and superstitions that she has learned about. 

“In Pyi Oo Lwin, there are a lot of cave pagodas and this one family went on a vacation there. They visited a cave pagoda one morning during their trip and later that night, their son had a dream. In the dream, he was in the exact same cave pagoda they were at earlier that day. In caves like these, there are usually ponds that are created since water would drop and seep through from the top of the caves due to humidity. There was a pond in that cave pagoda and it just so happens that there was a lot of treasure in that pond. Somehow, he ended up in the cave in real life the next day, to search for the treasure in the pond. Days later they found his corpse floating with chains tied around his body on top of the pond. P. Told me that sometimes Nats (god-like spirits) try to seduce people into the areas that they are chained to, because they are finding a replacement. Nats are usually found in sacred places like those ponds and they attract humans using dreams and hallucinations so they can leave the place once a replacement has been found. I interpret the story my grandma told me as a way for her to make me respect or at least fear the Nat. This is because my family usually doesn’t believe in spirits like the Nat but she does, so she says that although we don’t have to worship them, at the very least we should respect and acknowledge them when we visit pagodas so they don’t harm us. 

I personally found this story really terrifying, and interpret it as an unrealistic legend made to incite fear in us. I think these stories usually have a motive that is trying to push a certain narrative or lesson on to us. For this story, I think it teaches us to not wander off and be greedy. Since P. told Y.Y. this when he was quite young, it might be her way of protecting and warning him from danger whenever they visit sacred places like temples. In Myanmar, it is very important that we are respectful when we visit sacred places like pagodas and temples. We would have to be dressed a certain way, and not do much else other than pray and walk around there. This type of story makes sure people are not doing anything that can be considered greedy or sinful, when they are at sacred places.

Nga Ka Pwe Taung (Dragon’s Lake)

Nationality: Burmese

Primary Language: Burmese

Other Language(s): English, Chinese

Age: 19

Occupation: Student

Residence: Hanover, N.H

Performance Date: 03/17/2024

P.P has been my friend since middle school and is also a Burmese person who is originally from Yangon, Myanmar. When I asked her of any legends, myths or tales she knows of, she recounts a myth that she learned of when traveling with her family and friends. Her family went on regular trips along with other family friends, to different places all over Myanmar. This included a lot of superstitious tourist spots. 

“I went to the Nga Ka Pwe Taung, also known as Dragon’s Lake, at Min Bu. This was when I was in middle school and me and my family visited a lot of these mythical places. This place has bubbling pools on top of four weirdly shaped mounds. The people at the village said that place is called a Dragon’s lake because it is where a dragon died with his significant other. They say that the pool keeps bubbling almost like an active volcano but doesn’t erupt, because the dragon’s love for his partner was so passionate. I think the tourist guides made this story up to attract more visitors but nonetheless it was still a fun place to visit.”

The myth of the Dragon’s Lake was probably made to explain a natural phenomenon like the bubbling pools that don’t erupt, since people who don’t understand the scientific reasons for that, might want an explanation. Since people at Min Bu are also really religious, this story would be a great “explanation” and also serves to reinforce their existing beliefs in mythical beings like dragons. It also shows that dragons are capable of enduring love, adding another layer to why the creature should be worshiped / respected.