The Nuberu, Lord of the Storm Clouds
Farmers in northern Spain once blamed hailstorms on a dark man in a wide hat who rode the clouds. Oddly, they said he lived in Egypt.
What was reported
The nuberu is a spirit of the weather in the folklore of Asturias and nearby regions: an ugly, bearded man dressed in animal skins and a broad hat, who rides on the clouds and sends storms, lightning and hail to ruin the crops.
Stories say he lived far away, in Egypt, and once fell from his cloud and was taken in by a kind farmer. Years later, the farmer travelled to Egypt, met the nuberu there, and was carried home on a cloud. After that, the nuberu always spared his fields.
Explanations offered
The nuberu is a folk explanation for the violent storms that sweep the Cantabrian mountains. Church bells were rung to drive him away, a practice also used in other parts of Europe against storms.
- When
- Told for centuries
- Where
- Asturias, Spain
- Witnesses
- Asturian folklore
- 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.
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