By Katrina Miller, Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Ana Ionova
New York Times
The journalists reported from Chicago, Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro.
On Oct. 14, an annular eclipse will make its way across the Western Hemisphere. The moon, farther from Earth than during a total eclipse, will block much of our view of the sun, leaving only a fiery halo of light in a darkened sky.
In the United States, the show begins in Oregon, then cuts through the Southwest before exiting through the Texas coastline. It will then cut across the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico and through Central America, before dipping down into Colombia, passing through the Amazon basin and concluding along Brazil’s eastern coast.
Thousands of tourists are flocking to the path of annularity to catch this astronomical marvel, which will last about four minutes at any given point along the path. Many describe eclipses as siritual experiences.
But there’s at least one place where people can’t venture to watch: the sprawling desert lands of Navajo Nation, whose tribal parks in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah might have made a beautiful backdrop for the public to view a celestial “ring of fire.” On Sept. 15, Navajo Nation Parks & Recreation announced that all parks would be closed during the eclipse to accommodate traditional beliefs.
“Navajo look at the universe as holistic,” said David Begay, a cultural astronomer and vice president of the Indigenous Education Institute. The alignment of the planet, moon and sun during eclipses is understood as one cycle within an interconnected cosmic order, said Dr. Begay, who is Diné (which Navajo people call themselves).
The park closures are a reminder that for Indigenous peoples across the Americas, eclipses and other astronomical phenomena have been experienced for millenniums and have played important roles in different cultures. Traditions like those in Navajo Nation represent a call for non-Native tourists to be respectful when visiting sacred Indigenous lands and sites.
And those encountering the eclipse in other parts of the Americas may also pause and consider peoples who made their homes among the canyons of the Southwest, around the pyramids of Mexico and Central America and in the rainforests of Brazil; and how the stars, planets and other heavenly bodies manifest in the lives of Indigenous communities.
To read the rest of the post, click on link: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/10/science/annular-eclipse-indigenous-traditions.html?campaign_id=34&emc=edit_sc_20231010&instance_id=104819&nl=science-times®i_id=118696256&segment_id=146964&te=1&user_id=e686a99f0675424fa8b39ab931759509
The journalists reported from Chicago, Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro.
On Oct. 14, an annular eclipse will make its way across the Western Hemisphere. The moon, farther from Earth than during a total eclipse, will block much of our view of the sun, leaving only a fiery halo of light in a darkened sky.
In the United States, the show begins in Oregon, then cuts through the Southwest before exiting through the Texas coastline. It will then cut across the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico and through Central America, before dipping down into Colombia, passing through the Amazon basin and concluding along Brazil’s eastern coast.
Thousands of tourists are flocking to the path of annularity to catch this astronomical marvel, which will last about four minutes at any given point along the path. Many describe eclipses as siritual experiences.
But there’s at least one place where people can’t venture to watch: the sprawling desert lands of Navajo Nation, whose tribal parks in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah might have made a beautiful backdrop for the public to view a celestial “ring of fire.” On Sept. 15, Navajo Nation Parks & Recreation announced that all parks would be closed during the eclipse to accommodate traditional beliefs.
“Navajo look at the universe as holistic,” said David Begay, a cultural astronomer and vice president of the Indigenous Education Institute. The alignment of the planet, moon and sun during eclipses is understood as one cycle within an interconnected cosmic order, said Dr. Begay, who is Diné (which Navajo people call themselves).
The park closures are a reminder that for Indigenous peoples across the Americas, eclipses and other astronomical phenomena have been experienced for millenniums and have played important roles in different cultures. Traditions like those in Navajo Nation represent a call for non-Native tourists to be respectful when visiting sacred Indigenous lands and sites.
And those encountering the eclipse in other parts of the Americas may also pause and consider peoples who made their homes among the canyons of the Southwest, around the pyramids of Mexico and Central America and in the rainforests of Brazil; and how the stars, planets and other heavenly bodies manifest in the lives of Indigenous communities.
3 comments:
Kudos for this respect to the heritage of the Indigenous people.
Juanito: do you have your eclipse glasses? Brownsville will get to see it...well depending on the clouds.
I have several shot glasses, will that help????
cuidense o pierden el ojo
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