They say that in the Australian outback, if you are lucky, you might see the mysterious Min Min lights far in the evening sky. This phenomenon, described by (Aboriginal) locals and news reports as erratically dancing orbs, has long baffled tourists, scientists and mystery believers alike. Can we explain them rationally, or is it something supernatural? And… does it matter?
Image thanks to Pexels, Ronaldo
Legend has it that sometimes there are mysterious, bright lights dancing in the distant sky of the Australian outback. In western Queensland to be precise. Local people call them Min-Min lights. Some say that stories about these lights can be traced back to Aboriginal ancestors, before European colonisation of Australia. And that since, they have become part of wider Australian folklore.
Only in one part of Australia
There are many tales and reports about the mysterious lights. On Australian Geographic for instance, one author describes how the mysterious Min Min lights always appear after dark. And how they retreat on approach.
People first noticed these strange lights near the now-abandoned western Queensland settlement of Min Min, hence the name, states the author to explain things further. And that they look like a circular fuzzy-edged lightball, often white but sometimes in other colours, dancing erratically from left to right and up and down. Plus that they can suddenly split into more of them.
Land of the Min Min lights
In Queensland itself, states ABC News Australia in a newsreport, the Boulia Shire Council identifies itself to visitors as the land of the Min Min lights. We learn through an interview with a local “Balanggarra” ranger in the news report, Mr James Birch, that pretty much anyone who has lived in the area would have spotted one in their life.
The ranger also said, “as a kid growing up the old people used to tell me, the [Min Min lights] are old people’s spirits looking after the country.” Mr Birch also added that everyone from his own childhood grew up hearing the stories.
“As a kid growing up the old people used to tell me, the Min Min lights are old people’s spirits looking after the country.”
Australian Aboriginal folktales
According to ABC News, the existence of these mysterious lights might go back to times of Aboriginal ancestors. It also reports how the lights have spooked many people in the outback of Australia.
The site itself acknowledges Aboriginal people “as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work,” and it wonders: does this Aboriginal folktale, that has been passed down for generations, have some truth in it: that they are something supernatural? Or could there be a logical explanation, some kind of scientific proof?
This question whether something can be logically explained or not is arguably what most people who encounter a strange phenomenon ask. Perhaps we could also wonder: could it be neither? Or both? And….does it matter?
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