The Moon

The Moon is the personified ruler of the night sky in Khmu celestial storytelling, counterpart to the Sun. Its phases and its periodic disappearance are explained through narrative: at an eclipse the Moon is seized and swallowed, and people raise a din of shouting and beating to compel its release, a practice the Khmu share with their upland and lowland neighbours. Romanization of the name follows the Kammu Yuan system and varies across recordings. The Moon is attested through etiological and eclipse lore rather than an organized cult.

Domains

• sky

Powers

• lights the night sky

Relations

• sibling: The SunMoon and Sun are paired luminaries in Khmu celestial narrative.Kristina Lindell, Jan-Ojvind Swahn & Damrong Tayanin, Folk Tales from Kammu, Vols. I-VI (London: Curzon Press, 1977-1998). (primary)
• enemy: The ToadIn eclipse belief the Moon is seized and swallowed by the toad, and must be freed by human clamour.Kristina Lindell, Hakan Lundstrom, Jan-Ojvind Swahn & Damrong Tayanin, The Kammu Year: Its Lore and Music (London: Curzon Press, 1982). (secondary)

Sources

• The Moon is a personified celestial being in Khmu narrative, paired with the Sun and subject to the eclipse in which it is swallowed.: Kristina Lindell, Jan-Ojvind Swahn & Damrong Tayanin, Folk Tales from Kammu, Vols. I-VI (London: Curzon Press, 1977-1998). (primary)