Fire Beliefs Across Cultures

Many of us have memories of sitting by a campfire with our families, watching the flames lap at wood as it cracks and sizzles. Fire, in our collective human history, was once a force of chaos that could burn the land and leave desolation in its wake. Eventually we learned how to tame small amounts of this wildfire and nurture it for our own use, but if the fire went out, we couldn’t relight it on our own. Over thousands of years since that time, humans have lit their own fires to make it through cold nights, cook meals, and light their way forward.

Unable to pull our eyes away from the light, humans have been developing new ways of making fire and taming its wildness to improve our daily lives. Fire has been used to fuel many of humanity’s great leaps forward. In the ancient world, we learned to forge new metals and make new tools. By the Industrial Revolution, we had learned how to harness fire wholesale and utilize new fuel sources such as coal to change life for ourselves and the rest of the planet forever.

The importance of fire to humanity is unquestionable, but the exact story of how fire-making became ours varies from culture to culture. Many stories show connections that allow us to compare the similarities and differences between them. Most of these legends have been preserved through oral tradition for generations. Each tale is dynamic, and the details may continue to evolve with each new telling. There are many different fire creation legends, all with countless variations. Here we will focus on the most common types of legend and provide a few culture-specific examples for reference.

Fire Stealing

One of the more common cultural beliefs about how humans came to possess the knowledge of fire is through a person, animal, or deity stealing it from a higher being who refuses to share it. These are some cultural examples of the theft of fire.

Greek

One of the most well known tales in this category is the Ancient Greek legend of the titan Prometheus, who smuggled fire in a fennel stock from Olympus to give to human beings. For this act of defiance, among others, Zeus bound him to a rock to have his liver devoured every day by an eagle. Each night his liver would regrow so his torment could begin anew.

Maori

In Maori tradition, fire was originally given to humanity by Maui, a demigod shared by many Polynesian cultures. According to one telling, Maui once extinguished all the fires in the world in a fit of anger. This left only his grandmother Mahuika, the mother of fire, in possession of it. He tricked her into giving him the fire, which existed in the form of her fingers. Maui then “accidentally” extinguished them in the water, until she had only one finger left. Mahuika threw her last finger down to the world and caught it on fire. Mahuika was eventually killed by the rain and floods, but only after hiding her finger in the hollow of a Kai-Komaki tree. The wood of this tree is rubbed together to create fire by the Maori, and each time, Mahuika’s finger ignites again. In this way, Maui stole fire for the humans and left them a lasting gift.

Fire Deities

Other cultures explain the existence of fire by tying it to a specific deity. Sometimes a god is depicted as the master of fire, usually among other attributes. At other times they are considered to be a very powerful form of personified fire.

Girru, Gish Bar, Gibil, and Nusku (Babylonian)

The multiple fire gods of ancient Babylon were worshipped at various times through its history. Fire had important religious significance for the Babylonians. They used fire to destroy demons and scare away the demons of disease. Nusku also took on the role of messenger of the gods. Like the Greeks, the Babylonians used burning as a way to purify sacrifices and convey offerings to their gods.

Mixcoatl (Aztec)

Mixcoatl is an Aztec god of the hunt and god of war. He became the god of fire by being the first to master percussion lighting and inventing the fire drill. He did this by spinning the heavens around their axes to create the fire drill. By these stories, the Aztecs believed that he gave fire to humanity.

Utgard-Logi (Norse)

Not to be confused with Loki, Utgard-Logi was referred to as wildfire and once took part in an eating contest with Loki. For the contest, they filled a trough with meat and ate towards the center. They reached the center at the same time. Loki ate all the meat on his side, but Utgard-Logi had eaten his meat, the bones, and the trough. This symbolized how fire can consume everything in its path. In Norse mythology, Utgard-Logi is not a god but one of the Jotnar, who are depicted as giants.

Vulcan/Hephaestus (Roman/Greek)

Vulcan is the Roman god of fire and crafting, whose Greek equivalent was Hephaestus. Unlike Hephaestus, Vulcan was associated more strongly with the destructive tendencies of fire. Many of his rites of worship were to appease Vulcan and discourage destruction by fire. Like other urbanites across history, the people of Rome feared sweeping fires. Vulcanalia, a festival in Vulcan’s honor, was held in August due to the high chance of crops and grain stores catching fire. During this festival, citizens lit large bonfires and threw small animals such as fish into them as offerings.

Hearth Gods and Goddesses

Similar to fire gods and goddesses, but not necessarily the source of fire, are hearth goddesses. The hearth had tremendous spiritual importance as it was the center of many religious ceremonies, and often the way of conveying offerings to the gods.

Sarakkha (Sami)

Among Sami peoples, the hearth goddess Sarakkha was worshiped by both men and women. Sarakkha was thought to reside in the central hearth of every Sami home, a constant companion during long, dark winters. She was also closely associated with pregnancy and childbirth.

Kamuy Fuchi (Ainu)

In Ainu culture, the hearth goddess Kamuy Fuchi shepherded souls from life to the afterlife. Because of this, the dead and dying were always laid next to her hearth. Deceased people were referred to as “abe-ra-un kamuy,” or "those who dwell beneath the hearth." She acted as a teacher and guardian for the home, and also brought new life into the world. Ainu families were careful to keep her fire lit at all times and free of contamination.

Hestia, Vesta (Greek/Roman)

Hestia is one of the Olympians and tends the sacred hearth of Olympus, sister to Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, and Demeter. She was the first of Rhea’s children to be swallowed by Kronos. Hestia is a virgin goddess, often considered the anti-Aphrodite, and every hearth was also a temple to her. More information is given in the 1838 Mythology of Greece and Italy by Thomas Keightley:

“An idea of the sanctity of the domestic hearth, the point of assembly of the family, and the symbol of the social union, gave the Greeks occasion to fancy it to be under the guardianship of a peculiar deity, whom they named from it, Hestia. This goddess does not appear in the poem of Homer, though he had abundant opportunities of noticing her. By Hesiod she is said to have been the daughter of Kronos and Rhea.

“The hymn to Aphrodite relates that Hestia, Artemis, and Athena were the only goddesses who escaped the power of the queen of love. When wooed by Poseidon and Apollo, placing her hand on the head of Zeus, vowed perpetual virginity. Zeus, in place of marriage, gave her to sit in the middle of the house ‘receiving fat,’ and to be honoured in all the temples of the gods.

“In the Prytaneion of every Grecian city stood the hearth, on which the sacred fire flamed, and where the offerings were made to Hestia. In that of Athens there was a statue of the goddess.”

It is difficult to summarize or even list all of the belief systems that incorporated fire, as almost all of humanity has done so. What can be agreed upon, whether it be roasting marshmallows around the campfire or burning offerings to the gods, is that fire has played an essential role in our shared history. We have come a long way, and now modern fire-lighting methods and research into the chemical processes of fire have added even more to our understanding, myths, and legends of fire. Flame still has the power to hypnotize and enchant us and new stories are still being uncovered in the archaeological record. How does fire play into your family’s beliefs? See below and comment to share your stories and read about the beliefs and traditions of other TOTA users.

References

Prometheus Steals Fire: https://www.tota.world/article/1363/

Babylonian Fire Gods: https://www.tota.world/article/1367/

Maui Steals Fire: https://www.tota.world/article/556/

Hestia, Vesta: https://www.tota.world/article/305/

Sami Beliefs https://www.tota.world/article/796/

Burial Practices of the Ainu: https://www.tota.world/article/65/

Litchfield, Mary E. The Nine Worlds: Stories from Norse Mythology. Ginn and Company Publishers, 1897.

Miller, Mary Ellen., and Karl A. Taube. An Illustrated Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya. Thames and Hudson, 2007.

Oliver Price

Traditions of the Ancestors

This group is for articles produced or approved by TOTA staff, covering a wide variety of cultures and topics.

View Group