The sky over Bulgaria

Eclipses in Bulgarian Folklore: the Zmey, Kutsalan and Science

In some Bulgarian folk beliefs, a zmey (dragon) or a wolf-like creature “swallows” the Sun or Moon. Astronomy explains eclipses through the shadows of Earth and the Moon. The two views complement each other: one is cultural memory, the other is science.

When the sky goes dark

A suddenly darkened Sun, or a Moon sinking into shadow, is among the most striking sights in the sky. People have always looked for words to describe it. Here we set out the beliefs we could verify in sources and place them next to the scientific explanation. Where we found no reliable source, we chose to stay silent.

The zmey that swallows the lights

In Bulgarian folk culture the zmey (a dragon-like being) is one of the most popular mythical figures. An article from Radio Bulgaria says that, according to folk belief, zmeys appear in spring and summer. They are linked with droughts, torrential rain and thunderstorms. The same article says the image comes from Slavic mythology, and that a zmey can cause a solar or lunar eclipse by swallowing the heavenly bodies.

The zmey here is not just a “monster”. It is an explanation of what people see: something large and nameless bites the light, then gives it back. We do not claim details about particular villages or recordings, because we did not check them in primary sources. For those, the ethnographic collections and archives of the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences are the best place to look.

Kutsalan and the varkolak

In folk imagination the wolf is a symbol of winter, darkness and wild nature. According to the same circle of beliefs, Kutsalan is the oldest wolf, the shepherd of the wolves, and is given human traits. He is said not to be quite a wolf, but a varkolak (a werewolf-like being). In Western Bulgaria there is a belief that a solar eclipse is caused by Kutsalan, because he can swallow the sun.

The word varkolak leads to a wider Slavic theme. A scholarly article on the wolf and dog in Balkan folklore interpretation cites Natko Nodilo and Milan Janković. According to that article, Nodilo regards explaining eclipses through werewolves as a Slavic belief. Janković notes that the Romanian word verkolači means a lunar eclipse. These are the views of the two authors, not proof of a single ancient system.

Neighbouring stories and related motifs

Our neighbours have similar figures. Wikipedia, as a supplementary source, describes how in eastern and southern Serbia people believed the hala (a greedy demon) attacked the Sun and the Moon and gradually ate them. They explained the Sun’s red colour as blood from the bites. To drive the attackers away, men fired guns or rang bells, and women recited spells. This is a Serbian tradition, not a Bulgarian one, and we give it only for comparison. The motif of a beast eating a heavenly light also appears in distant cultures around the world, so we should not see it as the invention of any single community.

What astronomy shows

According to NASA, Earth, the Moon and the Sun line up to produce an eclipse anywhere from four to seven times a year. The Moon’s orbit is tilted relative to Earth’s orbit around the Sun. That is why there is not an eclipse every month.

In a solar eclipse the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun and casts a shadow on Earth. It happens only at new Moon. The Moon’s shadow on Earth’s surface is only about 480 km (300 miles) wide, so a total eclipse is visible from a small area. More in /bg/slanchevo-zatamnenie.

In a lunar eclipse Earth lies between the Sun and the Moon, and its shadow falls on the Moon. It happens only at full Moon and is visible from half of Earth, as long as the Moon is above the horizon. The Moon often looks red or orange, because some sunlight passes through Earth’s atmosphere and is filtered. NASA puts it vividly: it is as if all the world’s sunrises and sunsets were projected onto the Moon. Details are in /bg/lunno-zatamnenie.

A bridge between two languages

This is our own reflection, not a claim by the authors cited. Folk images are not “mistakes” but observation dressed as story. The light really does get “eaten” gradually and then returns. The Moon really can turn red. The image of a beast that bites and then lets go of its prey describes exactly that rhythm. Science adds the cause: shadows and geometry, not the will of a creature.

At the same time, the beliefs show how a community stayed together in an uneasy moment. Noise, song and story were ways of getting through a strange experience. For more on folk ideas about the Moon see /bg/lunata-v-bulgarskite-vyarvania and /bg/slanceto-v-bulgarskite-obichai.

An astrological note

In the astrological tradition, eclipses are read as symbolic moments for reflection and new beginnings. This is a cultural interpretation, not a causal link: celestial bodies do not determine events. The eclipse calendar is at /en/calendar/eclipses, and how to watch them safely is in /en/kak-da-snimash-zatamnenie. Останалите вътрешни връзки в EN текста също трябва да са с /en/. Never look directly at the Sun without proper protection.

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