Wildfires are some of the most intimidating sights in nature, so it's no surprise they've entered folklore as well. Let's take a look at...
- Agni and the Khandava Forest
- The Wrath of Hephaestus, the Greek God of Fire
- The "Lightning-Proof" Beech
- Phaethon, Son of Helios and Terrible Chariot Driver
- Uguns Māte, the Latvian Mother of Fire
- The Red Rooster of Poland
- The Determination of the Hummingbird
- The Firehawks of Australia
- Surt and the Flames of Ragnarök
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| The fire god Agni is said to have consumed Khandava Forest... (Picture & Poet) |
Agni and the Khandava ForestThe two-faced Hindu god Agni exemplifies the dual nature of fire. Capable both of benevolence and malevolence, he could be a purifying divine messenger... or the destructive source of forest fires.
Agni is the protagonist in the tale of Khandava Forest found in the Mahābhārata. The story goes that a Brahmana (priest) approached the heroes Arjuna and Vasudeva asked them for help in acquiring food, and, once the pair had acquiesced, revealed that he was Agni and wished to devour the Khandava Forest.
The problem facing Agni was that the forest was protected by Indra and a naga known as Takshaka, with Indra calling rain to put out Agni's blaze. By recruiting the two warriors and equipping them with divine weapons (including quivers that would never run dry of arrows) he hoped that they could keep Indra, Takasha and the other denizens of the forest occupied while he engulfed it.
During the battle, Indra summoned a massive deluge of rain to drown the flames... but Arjuna filled the sky with arrows, preventing the rain from reaching the ground. Ultimately Agni burned the forest to the ground - and the city of Indraprastha was built on the ashes.
You might be wondering why Agni was so dead-set on consuming Khandava Forest - it turns out that the fire god had been sickened by receiving too many sacrifices (a little like divine indigestion, I suppose) and had been told by the deity Brahman that devouring the forest would cure him!
The Wrath of Hephaestus, the Greek God of Fire
The Greek god Hephaestus (also known as Hephaistos or Vulcan) had dominion over craftsmen, the forge... and fire. He plays a role in many Greek legends (for example, he forged armor for Achilles and created Pandora) but for our purposes we'll be focusing on his actions in the Iliad.
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| Beech trees can be struck by lightning - but tend to shrug off the effects! (Anastasia Clark) |
The "Lightning-Proof" Beech
One major non-human cause of forest fires is the lightning strike. A bolt of electricity earthing through the trunk of a tall tree does a lot of damage on the way through, boiling fluids, splitting bark and setting dry wood on fire.
Enter the beech tree. There's an old folk belief found in both Europe and America that beeches are never struck by lightning... which isn't actually correct. They do tend to fare better in thunderstorms than other trees though - one theory is that their smooth trunks tend to get thoroughly drenched by rain funneled inwards by their branches (a process called stemflow) and as a result, the water on the outside of the trunk acts like a lightning rod and shields the actual tree from serious harm!
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| The Sun getting too close would be a bad thing... (Andrey Grinkevich) |
Phaethon, Son of Helios and Terrible Chariot Driver
Delving once more into Greek mythology, we have the cautionary tale of Phaethon, a young god who desperately wanted to emulate his father, Helios. Helios spent his days driving a chariot across the sky, pulled by four (sometimes winged) steeds - and this chariot was effectively the Sun. One day, Phaethon begged for the chance to drive the chariot and (wracked by guilt over Phaethon's illegitimate birth) Helios agreed.
Of course, Phaethon lacked the skills or experience to control the solar steeds. Soon the chariot was careening wildly off course, with it's presence setting the Earth ablaze - he's even blamed for scorching the vegetation of Africa and producing the deserts of today.
Seeing the devastation being inflicted on Earth, Zeus chose a brutal but effective solution - he struck Phaethon with lightning, with his burning body falling into the River Eridanos!
Uguns Māte, the Latvian Mother of Fire
Latvia has Uguns Māte or the Mother of Fire. Like fire itself, disrespecting her was a swift path to ruin. Throwing liquid or spitting into a fire could draw her ire, and if she appeared to someone, it was best not to speak at all.
There's also a belief in ugunsceļi (fire paths) that belong to the Mother of Fire. They could be identified by a rush of warm air passing through after sunset... which sounds fairly harmless, but build on the site and the structure would burn down!
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| Polish folklore uses "red rooster" as a euphemism for fire... (Alberto Rodríguez Santana) |
The Red Rooster of Poland
From the folklore of Poland comes the phrases "czerwony kur" or "czerwona kura" (the "red rooster" or "red hen" respectively) and rather than refer to a bird, they're a euphemism for destructive fires!
It actually makes a fair bit of sense if you think about it. The bird flits from roof-to-roof carrying its red comb or crest as it goes, much like a fire or its embers spread from building-to-building. Even the hue and cry of the village being roused by those seeing the flames could be likened to the bird's crowing.
There's actually another, more sinister term - to "let out the red rooster/hen" is another way of saying that a fire was set deliberately.
The Determination of the Hummingbird
There's a tale originating from the Quechua people of Peru that deals with a hummingbird's attempts to quell a forest fire.
The story goes that a raging wildfire was tearing through the forest, with every animal reduced to stunned inaction... well, almost every animal. A hummingbird called Dukdukdiya flitted between a stream and the blazing trees, carrying a drop of water in her beak each time.
When asked why she was continuing with this obviously hopeless task by the other animals, she replied that she was doing what she could.
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| Black kites take prey from the edge of wildfires - and may help spread them! (Jonathan Walters) |
The Firehawks of Australia
Aboriginal legend speaks of birds that use fire - for example, one story in particular speaks of the black kite Kerrk (an onomatopoeia of his call) stealing burning sticks so that he could cook a yam. Lore also speaks of firehawks (certain birds of prey) deliberately picking up burning sticks and dropping them elsewhere to help propagate wildfires - and while it sounds crazy, researchers believe that fire-spreading is a real behavior carried out by black kites, whistling kites and brown falcons.
These birds practice fire-foraging, waiting near the edge of the flames for small, singed and panicked animals to run from the blaze - and all the birds need to do is snatch dinner and fly to safety, possibly using the thermals of the fire for some easy lift!
It's unsurprising then, that the birds wouldn't want this situation to end. Researchers found accounts of the birds deliberately spreading fire in everything from aboriginal legend to the accounts of modern-day fire-fighters tackling a blaze... only to see the firehawks attempting to undo their work!
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| Ragnarök will see fire giants setting the Earth ablaze... (Clark Wilson) |
Surt and the Flames of Ragnarök
From Nordic mythology comes the jötunn Surt (or Surtr) who plays a pivotal role in Ragnarök.
The Prose Edda tells that Surt will lead his fellow fire giants from the bright, hot lands of Muspelheim as the world begins to end. Not content with weaponry, Surt will cover the land in flames as he advances, finally burning the Earth and Yggdrasil, the tree of life.
Of course, this isn't the end of everything. Some of the gods live through the conflict, others return from Hel (the underworld) and two humans called Lif and Lifthraser escape the flames by hiding in Hodmimer’s-holt, a magical glade. From this collection of survivors, life returns to the Earth!
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