Big Dipper Legends
By John Cowens

To view John Cowens' article Looking for the Big Dipper click here.

1. In a Cherokee legend, the handle of the Big Dipper represents a team of hunters pursuing the bear from the time he is high in the sky in spring, until he sets on fall evenings. At the start of each evening, the bear and his hunters have moved a little farther west in the sky.
2. The Iroquois of Canada's St. Lawrence River Valley and the Micmacs of Nova Scotia have a more elaborate story. The bear is represented by the Dipper bowl and is hunted by seven warriors. Each spring the hunt begins when the bear leaves his den (Corona Borealis). The bear isn't killed until fall and the skeleton remains in the sky until the following spring. A new bear then emerges from Corona Borealis and the hunt begins again.
3. When you look at the Ursa Major, the stars show the bear with a long, curved tail. According to another Iroquois legend, Fox dug a fishing hole in a pond and tricked Bear into placing his beautiful tail in the icy water in hopes of catching fish. Fox left while Bear waited in position until the next day. The fishing hole froze and locked Bear's tail in the ice. When Bear realized he had been tricked, he became angry and jerked his tail with so much force that it snapped off. To this day, bears have short tails and no love for the fox. If you ever hear a bear moaning, it is probably because he remembers the trick that Fox played on him long ago and still mourns for his lost tail.
4. Instead of a bear, the Sioux of central North America see a long-tailed skunk.
5. According to one Chinese legend, the stars of the Big Dipper form a bushel measure to deliver food in fair amounts to the population in times of famine.
6. The ancient Hebrews also saw a bushel measure.
7. The early Britons saw the Big Dipper forming King Arthur's chariot.
8. The Germans pictured this group of stars as a wagon and three horses.
9. Romans viewed the Big Dipper as a team of seven oxen harnessed to the pole and driven by Arcturus.
10. In Greek legend, Zeus and Callisto, a mortal, had a son called Arcas. Hera, Zeus' jealous wife, turned Callisto into a bear. One day Callisto's son was out hunting and, not knowing that the bear was his mother, almost killed her. Zeus rescued Callisto, turned her son into a bear as well and then placed them in the sky together. Callisto is Ursa Major and Arcas is Ursa Minor.

To view John Cowens' article Looking for the Big Dipper click here.

John Cowens teaches sixth grade at Fleming Middle School in Grants Pass, OR.

May 2007, Vol.37, No.8