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Whales are a part of the folklore of virtually every seafaring civilization, and many myths and legends associated with whales have originated from many cultures throughout the world. These stories reflect some of the beliefs, myths and legends that different cultures have about whales.
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 National Marine Mammal Laboratory conducts research on marine mammals worldwide, primarily coastal California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska.
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 Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society is the world's most active charity dedicated to the conservation and welfare of whales, dolphins & porpoises.
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VN Illustrated Database of Mexican Biodiversity is focused on understanding and conservation of nature. Recognizing general lack of knowledge of importance and beauty of life on the Earth, VN aspires to form part in united action to protect the world's biodiversity.
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 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species is an international agreement between Governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
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 The Conservation Organization is a global organization acting locally through a network of family offices. All these offices do all they can to halt the accelerating destruction of our natural world.
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 Cousteau Society is educating people to understand, to love and to protect the waters systems of the planet, marine and fresh water, for the well-being of future generations.
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 American Cetacean Society is the oldest whale conservation group in the world. Founded in 1967, it is a non-profit, volunteer membership organization with regional U.S. chapters and members in 22 countries.
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 National Geographic Society was founded in 1888 for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge, and has become the world's largest nonprofit scientific and educational institution.
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In Scandinavian countries, people believed that there were good whales and evil whales. It was considered very dangerous to mention the names of evil whales while at sea, so they were referred to as Great Fish. Sailors thought that if an evil whale's name was mentioned, the whale would appear and try to destroy the boat; anyone who used the name of an evil whale was deprived of his food.
Though coastal aboriginal people of British Columbia hunted some species of whales, they always revered and respected the spirit and majesty of the whale. British Columbia's First People never hunted Killer Whales, believing that the souls of departed noble chiefs and great hunters resided in them. But some mythic Killer Whales were malicious - they were changed into reefs and their dorsal fins, now hardened to rock, continue to threaten sea-faring folk.
Vietnamese fishermen believed that whales were sent by the God of the Waters to protect sailors and to carry shipwrecked mariners on their backs to safety. They believed that every time a whale died, the rain would pour and the winds would howl for three days.
During the Middle Ages, most stories and pictures of whales were not based on visual observations but on second-hand descriptions of creatures that took on monstrous proportions. Many people believed that whales had huge teeth and that their blow holes were like chimneys that expelled torrents of water. Artists moved the baleen from the mouth of the whale to the side of its neck, where it formed a bristly fringe or mane. Many also believed that cetaceans enjoyed the sound of music, especially the pipes. There are numerous drawings and stories of sailors attempting to calm fierce whales with musical instruments.
The oral histories of British Columbia's northwest coast First People tell of magic ancestors, some of whom were once whales. Magic whales traveled effortlessly through the oceans, often in the form of canoes, until they came ashore at a favored spot. There they transformed into humans and founded villages. The human descendants of these magic whales pay tribute to them by depicting them in story, song, dance and art.
On the east coast of New Zealand, the Whangara people – or Whangara iwi – believe their presence there dates back a thousand years or more to a single ancestor, Paikea, who escaped death when his canoe capsized by riding to shore on the back of a whale. From then on, Whangara chiefs – always the first-born, always male – have been considered Paikea’s direct descendants.
On the northwest coast of North America, Thunderbird, the most powerful of the supernatural animal beings, killed whales for food. Under the wings of Thunderbird were lightning-snakes that flashed out to kill a whale, which the Thunderbird then carried away and ate. A few people have seen Thunderbird's lofty eyrie, surrounded by piles of whale bones.
The Nuxalk (Bella Coola) people have a story of a giant Killer Whale saving people from a great flood. When the world was young the Nuxalk people were driven from their houses by a great flood. Some of the people fled to high ground on a hilltop near Bella Coola village to escape the flood, but the water kept rising and was soon threatening to overtake them. As the waters rose to the place where the people had taken refuge, a giant Killer Whale appeared. The people climbed inside the Killer Whale, which was as big as a house inside, and were cared for until the waters subsided. When the waters retreated, the Killer Whale returned the people to their homes. |
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