Sun and the Cultures Around the World
Sun plays a significant role in the cultures all over the world
Dawn of the Sinhala and Hindu New Year was just few days ago and all the Sinhala and Hindu Sri Lankans celebrated the day according to their rituals. Sun plays a major role in these rituals. Hence, it is the perfect time to talk about, the huge fire ball above us, the Sun.
Sun, the biggest star in the sky visible to the human eye, has been a fascinating object in the universe since the inception. Basically, it is the main source of energy of the entire world. Without it, there wouldn’t be any life in the world. Starting from the lowest link of the food chain, every link depend on solar energy for their survival. Everyday rising from the east and setting from the west, Sun, brings a new beginning and a new life to every human being on Earth.
Sun and the Woman
Many ancient civilizations saw the Sun as a strong woman who wanders across the sky spreading light and warmth, taking a long road in summer and a much shorter one in winter. The warmth of the Sun was compared to a comforting feel of a mother and thought its rays showed them the paths to follow on the mainland.
Divine Sun
It was not recently people used to associate Sun as a major influence on the lives. During the 17th century, the development of tarot cards for fortune telling included a card that represents the Sun’s influence on the life of man. Even before that, many civilizations considered Sun as a god and worshiped. For them, a Solar eclipse was an indication of Sun god’s anger. They chanted and prayed until the eclipse is over.
Mostly, it was Egyptians and South American tribes; Aztec, Mayans and Incas, who worshiped Sun as a god. Especially the Inca culture was totally based on worship of the sun. In these cultures Sun god was known in different names. Yhi, Liza, The Ten Suns, Apollo and Utu are just a few.
In religious literature of Hindu, the sun has notable mentions as being the visible form of God. There are many versus to chant looking at the rising sun. In Hinduism, Surya is the chief Solar deity, son of Dyus Pitar. The ritual of Sandhyavandanam, performed by some Hindus, is a worshiping the Sun. Many Hindu scripts referred to Sun as a King, who rides on a chariot with seven horses, that resembles seven colors of the sun rays.
When Sun lost its divinity
In the Qur’an, the Sun like other celestial objects is not endowed with any particular religious significance or symbolic meaning. Due to the widespread presence of Sun-worshiping cults in Pre-Islamic Arabia,Muslim doctrine, the Shariah forbade all prayers during the rising and setting of the Sun, to symbolically refute its divinity. Pre-Islamic Arab ethnics considered solar eclipses and other celestial occurrences as omens signaling the passing of an important figure or other earthly events. However, this belief was refuted explicitly by the Prophet Muhammad in the year 632 C.E, when the death of his son coincided with a solar eclipse: “The Sun and the Moon are from among the evidences of God. They do not eclipse because of someone’s death or life.”
Sri Lankan culture
The Sun plays a major role in our Sri Lankan culture too. When the Sun transit from Pisces to Aries, we say a New Year has dawned. Combined with many auspicious times, it is one of most celebrated events in the Sinhala and Hindu culture.
Sun plays a significant role in the cultures all over the world. Looking at the important role sun plays to keep the Earth alive, we sure can justify the respect it gets, can’t we?!
