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The Milky Way: River, Path, and Bridge · Faithfully Explore!

0:00
Laura: Explorers, imagine the sky is dark, really dark.
0:05
Laura: You look up, and stretched across the sky is a pale, glowing band of light.
0:13
Laura: It looks like someone spilled a trail of powdered sugar from one side of the sky to the other.
0:20
Laura: That glowing band is called the Milky Way, and here's the amazing thing.
0:26
Laura: People all over the world have looked at that same glowing band and wondered, where did we come from?
0:35
Laura: Where are we going?
0:37
Laura: I'm Laura, and today in our Faithfully Explore series, Sky Stories: Wonder Written in the Stars, we are exploring the Milky Way.
0:49
Laura: Let's faithfully explore.
0:51
Faithfully Explore! Intro: Faithfully Explore!
0:52
Faithfully Explore! Intro: is the name.
0:55
Faithfully Explore! Intro: Learning together is our aim.
0:59
Faithfully Explore! Intro: Beliefs around the globe we'll track, filling up our Belief Backpack.
1:07
Laura: Before we jump into the stories, let’s answer one big science question.
1:13
Laura: What is the Milky Way?
1:15
Laura: The Milky Way is our galaxy.
1:18
Laura: A galaxy is a gigantic family of stars, gas, dust, and planets, all held together by gravity.
1:28
Laura: Our Sun is one star in the Milky Way.
1:32
Laura: Earth is inside the Milky Way, too.
1:35
Laura: So when you look up and see that hazy band of light, you are actually looking at part of our own galaxy from the inside.
1:45
Laura: That is a little like being inside a huge, glittery pancake.
1:49
Laura: Imagine you are standing inside a huge, flat swirl of stars.
1:54
Laura: When you look through the thickest part of that swirl, you see so many faraway stars that they blur together into a glowing river of light.
2:05
Laura: That's the Milky Way.
2:07
Laura: Isn't that incredible?
2:08
Laura: You live in a galaxy.
2:11
Laura: You are not just sitting in a chair in a classroom or in a blanket fort.
2:15
Laura: You are riding on Earth, circling the sun inside a giant galaxy of stars.
2:23
Laura: For thousands of years, people looked up at the Milky Way without telescopes, without spaceships, without apps telling them where to look.
2:33
Laura: They just used their eyes, their questions, and their stories.
2:39
Laura: Let's travel to India and Hindu traditions.
2:47
Laura: In Hindi and some Indian languages, the Milky Way is called Akash Ganga.
2:55
Laura: Akash means sky.
2:58
Laura: Ganga is the sacred river known in English as the Ganges.
3:03
Laura: So Akash Ganga can mean the Ganga of the sky.
3:07
Laura: Try saying it with me.
3:09
Laura: Akash Ganga.
3:12
Laura: Beautiful.
3:13
Laura: In Hindu tradition, the River Ganga is not just water.
3:18
Laura: She is also honored as a goddess.
3:21
Laura: There is a famous Hindu story about how Ganga came down from heaven to Earth.
3:26
Laura: Long ago, a king named Bhagiratha wanted to help his ancestors.
3:32
Laura: He prayed and worked hard so that the heavenly river Ganga would come down to Earth and bring blessings to them.
3:39
Laura: Ganga agreed to come down, but there was a problem.
3:44
Laura: She was powerful, very powerful.
3:48
Laura: If she crashed straight down from heaven to Earth, her rushing waters could smash everything like a giant waterfall with no off switch.
3:58
Laura: Imagine someone turning on a fire hose in your kitchen.
4:01
Laura: So Lord Shiva, one of the great deities in Hinduism, helped.
4:06
Laura: He caught Ganga in his matted hair, slowing her powerful fall so she could flow gently down to Earth.
4:14
Laura: Instead of destroying the world, Ganga became a life-giving river.
4:19
Laura: Now, when people call the Milky Way Akash Ganga, the glowing band in the sky can feel like a heavenly river, a river above us, a river of light, a reminder that the sky and Earth are connected.
4:37
Laura: In this story, the Milky Way can help us wonder, how are Earth and heaven connected?
4:44
Laura: How do blessings travel?
4:46
Laura: How do we care for those who came before us?
4:49
Laura: And that brings us to another way people have seen the Milky Way, as a path for spirits and souls.
5:01
Laura: Now we're gonna talk about some Indigenous traditions.
5:04
Laura: Before we do, we need our respectful explorer reminder.
5:09
Laura: Indigenous traditions does not mean one single story.
5:13
Laura: Indigenous people all around the world have many nations, languages, histories, and beliefs, so we do not want to mash them all together like mashed potatoes.
5:23
Laura: A respectful explorer asks, "Which people?
5:27
Laura: Which place?
5:28
Laura: Which story?"
5:30
Laura: Today, we'll talk about an example from Indigenous North American star knowledge.
5:37
Laura: In Ojibwe sky knowledge, the Milky Way is known in some teachings as Jiibay Ziibi, which means River of Souls, or Jiibaykona, meaning Spirit Path.
5:51
Laura: Can you hear that?
5:53
Laura: River of Souls.
5:55
Laura: Spirit Path.
5:57
Laura: Those names tell us something important.
6:00
Laura: The Milky Way was not only a pretty band of light, it could be understood as a path connected with the journey after death.
6:10
Laura: Many people around the world believe that when someone dies, their spirit continues a journey.
6:17
Laura: Different cultures and religions describe that journey in different ways.
6:23
Laura: Some talk about heaven, some talk about returning to the stars, and some talk about a spirit path.
6:31
Laura: In some indigenous traditions, the Milky Way can be imagined as a road or path that spirits travel.
6:39
Laura: A glowing path through the dark.
6:42
Laura: That image can feel comforting, like the sky is not empty, like those who came before us are not forgotten, like there is a trail of light connecting this world to another.
6:56
Laura: The Milky Way as a path of souls helps people ask some of the biggest questions humans have ever asked.
7:04
Laura: Where did my loved ones go?
7:06
Laura: Where do we come from?
7:08
Laura: Where are we going?
7:10
Laura: Those questions are big enough to fill the whole sky, and people have answered them with prayers, ceremonies, songs, stories, and starlight.
7:22
Laura: Now let's cross to East Asia, where the Milky Way is often imagined as a river separating two star-crossed lovers.
7:36
Laura: In Chinese, the Milky Way is sometimes called Tianhe, which means Heavenly River or the Silver River.
7:45
Laura: In Japanese, it is called Amanogawa, meaning River of Heaven.
7:51
Laura: In Korean, it is called Eunhasu, often translated as Silver River.
7:58
Laura: River, river, river.
8:01
Laura: Did you notice the pattern?
8:03
Laura: People looked up and saw that glowing band stretching across the sky, and they imagined water flowing through heaven.
8:13
Laura: One famous East Asian story, "The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl," is known in China as the story of Niulang and Zhinü.
8:24
Laura: In Japan, a version is celebrated during Tanabata.
8:29
Laura: In Korea, a related festival is called Chilseok.
8:35
Laura: Long ago, there was a kind cowherd named Niulang.
8:40
Laura: Across the heavens was Zhinü, a talented weaver girl who wove beautiful clouds or colors in the sky.
8:49
Laura: The two loved each other deeply, but their love was not allowed.
8:55
Laura: They were separated by a wide river in the sky, the Milky Way.
9:01
Laura: Niulang became connected with the star Altair.
9:04
Laura: Zhinü became connected with the star Vega.
9:09
Laura: Altair and Vega are real stars on opposite sides of the Milky Way.
9:15
Laura: The story says that once a year, on the seventh night of the seventh lunar month, magpies fly up and form a bridge across the heavenly river so the two can meet.
9:29
Laura: A bridge made of birds.
9:32
Laura: Can you imagine that?
9:33
Laura: This story is remembered in festivals like Qixi in China and Tanabata in Japan.
9:40
Laura: During Tanabata, people often write messages on colorful strips of paper and hang them on bamboo branches.
9:48
Laura: So here, the Milky Way is not just a river, it is a separation.
9:54
Laura: It is longing, but it is also hope, because once a year, a bridge appears.
10:01
Laura: Let's make a magpie bridge.
10:03
Laura: Stretch both arms out like wings.
10:06
Laura: Flap gently.
10:07
Laura: Now cross one arm over the other in front of you like birds linking together.
10:14
Laura: Now lift your crossed arms up to make a bridge.
10:18
Laura: Again, flap your wings, cross your arms, lift the bridge across the river of heaven.
10:28
Laura: Wonderful.
10:29
Laura: In this story, the Milky Way helps people think about love, distance, patience, and hope.
10:37
Laura: Sometimes we cannot be with someone we love right away.
10:40
Laura: Sometimes we have to wait.
10:43
Laura: Sometimes the bridge takes time to build, but hope can still fly.
10:52
Laura: Welcome to River, Road, or Bridge.
10:55
Laura: Here's how it works.
10:57
Laura: I'll give you a clue about one of today's Milky Way stories.
11:01
Laura: You decide if the story mostly imagines the Milky Way as a river, a path, or a bridge.
11:08
Laura: For a river, make wave hands.
11:11
Laura: For a path, march in place.
11:14
Laura: For bridge, lift your arms in front of you like a bridge.
11:18
Laura: Ready?
11:19
Laura: Let's see if your star story memory is glowing.
11:23
Laura: Round one.
11:26
Laura: This story includes two people separated in the sky.
11:30
Laura: They cannot cross whenever they want, but once a year, birds help them meet.
11:36
Laura: River, path, or bridge?
11:39
Laura: Bridge.
11:41
Laura: Lift your arms in front of you like a bridge.
11:44
Laura: In the cowherd and weaver girl story, magpies form a bridge across the heavenly river so the two lovers can meet.
11:53
Laura: Round two.
11:55
Laura: This tradition gives the Milky Way a name that can mean something like Ganga of the sky.
12:03
Laura: River, path, or bridge?
12:08
Laura: River!
12:09
Laura: Move your hands like flowing water.
12:12
Laura: In Hindu tradition, Akash Ganga connects the Milky Way with the sacred Ganges River imagined in the sky.
12:22
Laura: Round three.
12:24
Laura: This teaching imagines the Milky Way as a trail connected with spirits and the journey after life.
12:33
Laura: River, path, or bridge?
12:38
Laura: Path!
12:39
Laura: March softly in place.
12:41
Laura: In Ojibwe teachings, the Milky Way can be understood as the spirit path, a path connected with the journey of spirits.
12:51
Laura: Round four.
12:53
Laura: NASA tells us the Milky Way is our galaxy, and the glowing band we see is made by looking into a thick disk of stars from inside it.
13:04
Laura: So what is the answer?
13:06
Laura: River, path, or bridge?
13:10
Laura: None of these.
13:11
Laura: Science.
13:14
Laura: Push up your pretend glasses and say, "Fascinating."
13:18
Laura: Ready?
13:19
Laura: Fascinating.
13:22
Laura: Excellent scientific thinking.
13:25
Laura: Final bonus round.
13:28
Laura: Why do people around the world tell so many different stories about the Milky Way?
13:34
Laura: A, because the night sky makes people wonder about life, death, love, journeys, and where we belong.
13:42
Laura: B, because stars are secretly trying to give directions to the nearest snack table.
13:48
Laura: Or C, because the Milky Way is actually a spilled jar of glitter.
13:56
Laura: The answer is A.
13:58
Laura: The Milky Way is not just something people saw.
14:01
Laura: It became something people wondered about.
14:04
Laura: A river, a path, a bridge, a galaxy.
14:09
Laura: Different ways of looking up, different ways of finding meaning.
14:13
Laura: Give yourself a gentle star clap.
14:19
Laura: Let's cross our Friendship Bridge.
14:23
Laura: A Friendship Bridge does not mean every person believes the same thing.
14:27
Laura: It means we can walk toward each other with respect.
14:31
Laura: We can say, "Your story matters."
14:34
Laura: We can say, "I want to understand."
14:37
Laura: We can say, That answer is different from mine, but I can still listen with kindness."
14:43
Laura: Because everyone everywhere has stood under the same huge sky and felt small and curious.
14:51
Laura: Maybe your family has a belief about where people go after death.
14:56
Laura: Maybe your family talks about heaven.
14:59
Laura: Maybe your family talks about energy, nature, memories, or love.
15:05
Laura: Maybe your family says, "We don't know for sure, but we wonder."
15:10
Laura: Faithfully Explore is a place where we can learn about all those answers with kindness.
15:17
Laura: What's inside our belief backpack this week?
15:23
Laura: Today, we explored the Milky Way as a river, bridge, and path of souls.
15:29
Laura: We learned that scientifically, the Milky Way is our galaxy, and that glowing band is made from countless stars blending together from our view on Earth.
15:40
Laura: But humans do more than see light.
15:43
Laura: We make meaning.
15:45
Laura: Hindu traditions remember the sacred river Ganga and call the Milky Way Akash Ganga, the Ganga of the sky.
15:54
Laura: Ojibwa star knowledge understands the Milky Way as a spirit path or road of the spirits.
16:02
Laura: East Asian stories imagine the Milky Way as the heavenly river separating the cowherd and weaver girl until magpies form a bridge.
16:14
Laura: People have always wondered where we come from and where we're going.
16:19
Laura: That is a big thought, maybe one of the biggest thoughts.
16:23
Laura: And you do not have to have the answer to it today.
16:27
Laura: You can wonder.
16:28
Laura: You can listen.
16:29
Laura: You can ask questions.
16:31
Laura: You can learn how different people answer those same questions through science, stories, faith, and culture.
16:40
Laura: Today, let's put this in our Belief Backpack.
16:43
Laura: Wonder can open the door.
16:46
Laura: Respect can build the bridge.
16:49
Laura: This week's challenge is called Starlight Questions.
16:53
Laura: With a grown-up, go outside one evening or look out a window.
16:57
Laura: If you can't see the Milky Way, that's okay.
17:00
Laura: Many of us live where city lights hide it.
17:03
Laura: Find one star, the moon, or even just the dark sky.
17:08
Laura: Then ask one wonder question.
17:11
Laura: Here are a few you could try.
17:13
Laura: Where do you think we come from?
17:16
Laura: What do you think happens to love?
17:18
Laura: Who is someone you remember when you look up?
17:22
Laura: Then listen.
17:24
Laura: You don't have to have a perfect answer.
17:26
Laura: Listening is the important part.
17:29
Laura: Thank you for joining me for another episode of Sky Stories: Wonder Written in the Stars.
17:35
Laura: The next time you see a pale glowing band in a dark sky, maybe you'll imagine a sacred river, a spirit path, or a bridge of birds.
17:45
Laura: Or maybe you'll simply whisper, "Wow."
17:49
Laura: That's a good answer, too.
17:52
Laura: I'm Laura, and this has been Faithfully Explore.
17:55
Laura: Until next time, stay curious, stay kind, and keep faithfully exploring that wonderful world around you.
18:02
Faithfully Explore! Outro: Faithfully Explore!
18:05
Faithfully Explore! Outro: is about you.
18:10
Faithfully Explore! Outro: Let's grow kinder together it's true!