The Rabbit Thrown at the Moon
An Aztec story says the Moon once shone as brightly as the Sun, until the gods threw a rabbit in its face.
What was reported
In the Aztec story of the creation of the present world, recorded by Spanish friars in the 16th century, the gods gathered at Teotihuacan in the darkness and asked who would leap into a great fire to become the Sun. Humble Nanahuatzin jumped first and became the Sun; proud Tecciztecatl hesitated, then followed, and rose as a second Sun just as bright.
To dim him, one of the gods threw a rabbit into his face. He became the Moon, and the rabbit's shape is still printed on it.
Explanations offered
It's a creation myth, told in several versions. The rabbit in the Moon appears in traditions from Mexico to China, Japan and India, a striking case of different peoples seeing the same shape in the Moon's dark patches.
- When
- Recorded in the 1500s from older tradition
- Where
- The Moon, as told in ancient Mexico
- Witnesses
- Aztec tradition
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.