Eclipse traditions vary between communities and across time. The accounts below describe particular stories rather than a single explanation shared by everyone. Cultural practice and astronomical observation can coexist.

Navajo knowledge of the cosmos

Navajo teachings in this video describe a particular tradition, not all Indigenous beliefs.

Dragons eating the Sun

Britannica: One of the best-known eclipse themes is a creature swallowing the Sun. In some Chinese traditions, a dragon was said to devour the Sun during an eclipse. People made noise with drums, pots, and shouting to scare the dragon away and bring daylight back.

Wolves, dogs, and sky chasers

Britannica: In Norse mythology, the Sun and Moon were pursued by wolves. An eclipse could be understood as one of those wolves catching its target for a moment.

Rahu, Ketu, and severed shadows

Britannica: In Hindu mythology, eclipses are often connected with Rahu and Ketu, shadowy figures associated with the points where the Moon's orbit crosses the Sun's path. That connection is striking because modern eclipse prediction also depends on the lunar nodes, even though it explains them with orbital geometry rather than myth.