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Wednesday 22 July 2009

Beliefs of Solar Eclipses



Total solar eclipse was not observed in Africa due to geographical position and time of eclipse.
In India, Japan and China it was total darkness for a period of about 4 minutes.


Solar eclipse has been associated with so many beliefs especially in Asian countries and partly in African countries.

In Asia, sometimes is associated with violence, ocean turmoir, disasters and so many beliefs.
In some African countries, they believe solar system is just gods roaming around the universe, and sun is one of the gods, and when eclipse come, it was assumed that the god was angry with the world, and people were preparing themselves for the disaster which will follow as punishment from the god.


In India, there are some people who still believe that on the day of eclipse, pregnant women should not be exposed to the sun, as they have belief that the unborn child will have physical defects.

But for foreigners who were exposed to the sunlight on the day of eclipse had never experience any abnormality to their newborns, which proves that this is just a false belief.

2 comments:

Fadhy Mtanga said...

I do remember the eclipse in Africa sometimes in June 2001.
I was in Zambia by the time being. A lot of foreigners from all over the world came to Zambia to witness the eclipse.
To me, it was an experience of a lifetime.

Thom said...

I wish I will get a chance of witnessing a solar eclipse. I have never had such an opportunity