Moon

The Moon is the second of the two great luminaries and the complement of the Sun. Sources differ on the Moon's nature: in the exoteric myths told openly the Moon is the wife of the Sun and the maker of women, bound to menstrual blood and female fertility; in the esoteric versions held by the shaman-masters the Moon is instead the Sun's younger brother, a second male power. Cold and wet where the Sun is hot and dry, the Moon governs the damp pole of the cosmos; when it comes too close to the earth the world grows cold and sodden, and the interplay of the two luminaries determines the seasons and the success or failure of the gardens. Women are said to issue from the Moon as men issue from the Sun.

Children

• The First Woman

Domains

• women and menstruation
• cold and wet
• seasonal alternation

Powers

• create women and govern menstruation
• bring cold and wet to the world

Epithets

• the Sun's younger brother — the second and lesser celestial power of the esoteric traditionGodelier, Maurice. 'Bodies, kinship and power(s) in the Baruya culture.' HAU 1(1), 2011. (primary)

Relations

• spouse: SunWife of the Sun in the exoteric myths.Godelier, Maurice. The Making of Great Men. Cambridge University Press, 1986. (primary)
• sibling: SunYounger brother of the Sun in the esoteric myths of the shaman-masters.Godelier, Maurice. 'Bodies, kinship and power(s) in the Baruya culture.' HAU 1(1), 2011. (primary)
• companion: EarthJoined to the Earth in the first age before rising after the Sun.Godelier, Maurice. The Metamorphoses of Kinship. Verso, 2011. (primary)
• parent: The First WomanWomen are said to issue from the Moon.Godelier, Maurice. 'Bodies, kinship and power(s) in the Baruya culture.' HAU 1(1), 2011. (primary)

Sources

• The Moon is the second celestial luminary, paired with the Sun; sources differ on the Moon's identity.: Godelier, Maurice. The Making of Great Men. Cambridge University Press, 1986. (primary); Godelier, Maurice. 'Bodies, kinship and power(s) in the Baruya culture.' HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory 1(1), 2011. (primary)
• The Moon is associated with women, menstruation, cold and damp, and the alternation of the seasons.: Godelier, Maurice. The Making of Great Men. Cambridge University Press, 1986. (primary)