Stuff Ya Didn't Know Friday-Alklha

Welcome to another new weekly feature- Stuff Ya Didn't Know Friday!

Stuff Ya Didn't Know Friday is a weekly look at weirdness...creatures, places, people, myths, whatever I happen to come across that makes me say, "Hmmmmm?" The idea is that maybe some of the weirdness will rub off in an idea for a story, snippet, character- whatever! Happy Week-end!

Our first one will be the Alklha (aka Alicha)

Alklha was the great dragon of the cosmos for the Buryat people of ancient Siberia. Its wings were black and said to be so huge they could cover the entire sky. If it was cloudy, you could bet that Alklha had opened its wings.

This dragon lived high above the earth as it made regular attacks upon both the sun and the moon. Even now it is said that the faint marks we see on the moon are said to be the work of the teeth and claws of Alklha. When one of the Buryat people saw the sun or moon obscured, such as in an eclipse, they were certain the Alklha was attacking. To fend it off they threw rocks at the sky to try to discourage it.

Legends say the gods finally found a solution by cutting the difficult creature in half- one half stayed on earth, the other in the heavens. This was so that when the Alklha tried to consume either the sun or the moon- the heavenly sphere would pass through and return to the sky unharmed.

Alas no photos could be found for this creature.