Bakunawa & Haliya

One of the most prominent mythological stories that explains the phenomenon of eclipses. The Bakunawa is the most popular Moon eating deity. And the other mythological being here is Haliya, the Moon goddess I depicted as the opponent of the Bakunawa. There are multiple accounts of Moon eaters from different regions and groups. Interpretations differ from one region to another, having different descriptions of the deity that consumes the Moon and at some accounts even the Sun, just like the Minokawa. However, most versions of Moon eating deities all have one thing in common, the causation of eclipses. Most depictions explain eclipses as the result of a Moon eater consuming the Moon or Sun and sometimes the after-effect of the consumption, the releasing of the Sun or Moon through defecation.