this post was submitted on 08 Apr 2024
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I can imagine how crazy that would be if they saw one.

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[–] [email protected] 34 points 7 months ago

You can literally read up on ancient people's myths, deities, etc. that are build around eclipses, or even just the sun itself.

That being said. A lot of uncontacted tribes are not completely oblivious to the outside world because they are by proxy in contact through other tribes that are contacted, exchanging knowledge.

[–] spittingimage 33 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Unless the tribe was formed this year, they've probably seen them before.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago

Good point. Total eclipses, however, are very rare, occurring at a given location on the Earth only once every 400 years (or so). Given how small a range any modern uncontacted tribe would be, it's unlikely that anyone but their remote ancestors experienced a total eclipse. And there's a massive, inexplicable difference between a 99% eclipse and a total eclipse. A 99% eclipse briefly makes things darker, a total eclipse changes reality; the visual effects of what you see are disorienting, at best.

So: yes, uncontacted tribes may have seen the sun get briefly dimmer. But even in more "modern" cultures, total eclipses have been cause for hysteria and panic. And maybe that's the best answer to OP's question: take a look at recorded history, e.g. Ephraim Miller and the total eclipse that passed over Texas in 1878.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 7 months ago (1 children)

They probably have oral histories about them, as most cultures did before developing or adopting astronomy.

[–] givesomefucks 10 points 7 months ago (2 children)

I'd think they'd at least remember the one from four years ago...

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago

Eh, they have different coverages.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

Are there uncontacted tribes in the US? lol

[–] [email protected] 18 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

They probably do get nervous. One of my favorite eclipse stories to read about is in Guna tradition in indigenous central America, where albinos, who are all said to descend from a single Zoroaster-like sage, are said to be imbued with magic powers from birth because they're seen as being born of the moon. And when a solar eclipse happens, it's up to them to decide if the Earth is worth saving from the dragon that's eating the sun. The tradition lives on enough that almost half the population is albino as their popularity there was self-boosted in ancient times.

I wonder if this is the inspiration of the moon arc from Avatar.

[–] BonesOfTheMoon 7 points 7 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)
[–] BonesOfTheMoon 3 points 7 months ago

Not until yesterday when I went and looked up eclipse mythology.

[–] ShittyBeatlesFCPres 16 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

I’ll go to North Sentinel Island and ask them. They seem chill.

[–] BonesOfTheMoon 3 points 7 months ago

Bring your spear.

[–] HolyDiver 8 points 7 months ago

uncontacted doesn’t mean uneducated

[–] Mickey7 7 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Like anything else that humans don't understand now or didn't understand then..... We create a mythology to explain it.

[–] BonesOfTheMoon 5 points 7 months ago
[–] stanleytweedle 6 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I have no academic basis for this but I kind of imagine any remaining uncontacted tribes are sort of mangled versions of the cultures they descended from. They've been kept small and isolated so their oral traditions may have become severely warped and may essentially be tiny 'cult-of-personalities' of a few people's ideas that have very little similarity to more ancient traditions.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

“Hey look. The sky balls lined up”

[–] Resol 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

As someone who has never ever seen an eclipse, not even a single time in my life, I have no idea how to answer the question.

This is why I hate being in Morocco.

[–] BonesOfTheMoon 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I'll invite you to visit for the next one. I was right in the path of totality!

[–] Resol 2 points 7 months ago

Visas. They're expensive, they're time consuming to get, and there's a chance I'll get rejected.

[–] Hikermick 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

There are still uncontacted tribes?