2. AURORAL LEGENDS

2. AURORAL LEGENDS
An Eskimo soapstone sculpture	Every northern culture has oral legends about the aurora, passed down for generations. The Eskimos, Athabaskan Indians, Lapps, Greenlanders, and even the Northwest Indian tribes were familiar with this mysterious light in the sky. Ancient Eskimo stories often are associated with notions of life after death. Some thought that the aurora was a narrow and dangerous pathway for the departed souls to heaven. Others thought that the aurora was the collective image of spirits playing football with the skull of a walrus. Many feared whistling toward the aurora, because they believed that a whistle would cause the aurora to come down and fetch them.	Aurora behind a totem pole