Throughout history, whales have played many roles in various cultures’ and society’s perspectives.
Stories of whales destroying ships and swallowing humans can often be heard in many folklore tales.
Others believe whales are gods, deities, and divine spirits that bring peace, luck, and harmony to their tribes and the world.
In mythology, whales have been revered as Gods and feared as demons depending on the myths that span across the many cultures worldwide. Here are just a few of these stories:
Yu-kiang
In ancient China, it was believed that a mythical creature by the name of Yu-kiang ruled the ocean.
This creature was often described as a large fish (whale) several thousand feet long and had human hands and feet.
When Yu-kiang became angered, it would turn into a giant bird and cause terrible wind storms in the ocean.
Jonah and the whale
In the bibliography, the story of Jonah and the whale depicts a tale of Jonah, a man who chose not to heed God’s warning and decided to do the opposite of what God told him to do.
In the story, God commanded Jonah to preach repentance to the city of Nineveh.
However, Jonah believed the city was terrible and did not listen to god instead went down to the seaport of Joppa and booked passage on a ship to Tar Shish, which headed directly away from Nineveh.
On the way to Tar Shish, the sea began to storm, making the ship uncontrollable in the ocean. Fearful of the situation, the ship members tried their best to level out the ship, but it was no use.
Jonah, upset and guilty for not obeying God’s request, told the crew to throw him overboard as a sacrifice, which they did.
Suddenly the ocean began to calm, allowing the ship members to calm down and continue their journey.
On the other hand, Jonah didn’t drown in the water; instead, he was swallowed up by a giant fish sent by god.
While inside the belly of this giant creature, Jonah prayed and repented for his disobedience to God.
After three days of prayer, God commanded the whale to vomit, causing Jonah to be released from its stomach.
The meaning of whales in Vietnam
In Vietnam, whales are considered sacred creatures and believed to bring luck, safety, and prosperity.
When a whale is found dead, it is buried on land, and in some cases, a shrine may be resurrected at the whale’s burial.
Thousands of Vietnamese may come to the burial and mourn the whale’s death as if it were a part of their family.
Whales that are found are respectfully addressed as “Lord.”
King Sulemani and the Hungry Whale
In east Africa, there is a story about king Sulemani and the hungry whale.
In the story, King Sulemani grew large corn crops to feed the starving people and animals that inhabited the land.
One day, after all the people and animals were fed, King Sulemani asked God to grant him the strength to feed the world.
Unhappy with his request, God resurrected a giant creature from the water that went over to King Sulemani’s crops and ate every last crop of corn.
The whale then turned to King Sulemani and said, “I’m still hungry; feed me.” To this King, Sulemani asked, “Are there more of you?”
The whale looked at King Sulemani and replied, “Yes, there are 70,000 in my tribe.
At that moment, King Sulemani thanked god for teaching him a valuable lesson, repented, and realized that it was neither his responsibility nor place to try to feed all the world’s people and animals.
From that day on, he never attempted to defy god’s rule of taking on the responsibility of feeding the world.
The story of Big Raven
The Inuit people of the Arctic share a story about Big Raven. One day Big Raven (a deity in human form) finds a stranded whale.
Wanting to save the whale, Big Raven asks the Great Spirit for help.
The Great Spirit told Big Raven that if he wanted to help the stranded whale, he must go to a place in the forest where the moonlight fell in a special way.
Once there, he would find special mushrooms that, if eaten, would grant him the strength to carry the whale back to the ocean.
Big Raven agreed, followed the Great Spirit’s advice, went to the forest, and ate the mushrooms.
Once done, he returned to the stranded whale and returned it to the ocean.
Paikea the Whale Rider
In New Zealand, the local Maori tribe from the east coast tells a story of a young man named Paikea, who was considered a favorite son of chief Uenuku.
One day his older brother Ruatapu was offended when his father chose to give his older half-brother Paikea a higher rank, so he devised a plot to kill Paikea along with many of his other high-status brothers.
Ruatapu decided to build a canoe and put a hole in it, which he plugged with his foot to keep it from leaking.
When the canoe was finished, he conned and lured many of his brothers to take a fishing trip to the sea with him.
Once they were far from the shore, Ruatapu removed his heel from the hole, causing the canoe to sink, and went to each brother and downed them.
When Ruatapu got to Paikea, he attempted to drown him.
However, Paikea recited an incarnation that summoned a humpback whale, which saved him and brought him back to land.
Paikea remained the sole survivor of his brother’s plot for revenge and eventually bared his children.
One of his sons, Tahupotiki, eventually migrated south and became the south island tribes’ founder.
Natsilane and the Orca
A long time ago, among the tinglit people of northern Canada, lived a young man named Natsilane.
Natsilane was a great hunter who was also highly intelligent and pleasant.
He was highly respected by the tinglit people and destined to be the next chief.
His brothers, jealous of his achievements, decided to take him on a hunting trip.
Natsilane speared a sea lion during the hunting trip but didn’t kill it.
Disappointed by his missed kill, he turned to his brothers to see their reaction just in time to find them paddling away, leaving Natsilane stranded on a desolate island.
Finding himself left on an island, exhausted with no supplies, Natsilane laid down and took a nap.
The next day when Natsilane awoke, the chief of the sea lions met him.
The chief looked at Natsilane and asked him for a favor.
He said that his son was speared and told Natsilane that if he helped save his son, he would teach Natsilane new skills and guide him back home safely. Natsilane agreed and removed the spear, saving his son’s life.
The chief kept his promise, taught Natsilane new skills and abilities, and eventually brought him home safely.
Once Natsilane arrived back in his village, he carved a giant fish (killer whale) from cedar wood and set it into the ocean where his brothers were hunting.
Singing his most powerful spirit song, the killer whale came to life, and Natsilane ordered it to attack and kill his brothers, which it did without hesitation.
When the killer whale returned, he ordered it never to kill again and that if it found someone stranded in the water, it was to help save that person and bring him or her back to land.
Among the hundreds or possibly thousands of myths or stories told about whales, it is easy to say that they have been an essential part of human culture since the beginning of humanity.
Carvings can be found etched into ancient rocks and totem poles before man even learned how to write.
Songs and stories have also been created to keep these tales from disappearing as time passes.
Please remember that mythology stories often have many different versions, so the version you read here may be told differently depending on who tells it.