Friulian mythology

p. 43 non-crucifixion

according to the Muslim-s

"Judas Iscariot whom the Jews crucified thinking he was Jesus"

according to the Friulian

"it is not true that Christ was crucified, but rather it was Simon of Cyrene"

the cheese and the worms

Friulian (pp. 53 & 58)

"in the beginning this world was nothing, and ...

it was thrashed by the water of the sea like foam, and

it curdled like a cheese, from which later

great multitudes of worms were born, and these worms became men ..."

Kalmuck (p. 58)

"at the beginning ...,

the waters of the sea were covered by a solid layer,

similar to that which forms on milk, from which

plants, animals, men, and gods issued."

{cf. "churning of the Sea of Milk" in the Skanda Puran.a}

p. 53 [Friulian] "worms appeared it it, and these were the angels": contrary to [Dante: Divine Comedy, Purgatory 10:125] caterpillars "born to produce the angelic butterfly"

p. 72 the 7 souls

intellect

memory

will

thought

belief

faith

hope

{this is Muslim}

p. 72 the 2 spirits: "our heart has two parts,"

one dark and

the other bright

"in the dark one there is the evil spirit, and

in the bright one the good spirit."

{cf. Zulu 2 spirits (one evil, one good) in each person}

p. 105 the [5] elements

deity

element

"God is"

"Fire"

"the Father is

air;

the Son is

earth, and

the Holy Spirit is

water."

"those spirits that are in the air fight among themselves, and that

the lightning flashes are their anger."

p. 107 [according to the Muslims, not to the Friulian] the 7 skies

#

its composition

1st

"green water"

2nd

"clear water"

3rd

emeralds

4th

"purest gold"

5th

hyacinth

6th

"a shining cloud"

7th

"the splendor of fire" {cf. Zohar "splendor"}

[according to Scolio in the Lucchese country,] "God ... is

an androgynous divinity, a "donnhoma" with "its hands open and fingers raised."

From every finger, symbolizing one of the Ten Commandments, a river gushes forth" (p. 116):

p.

#

its composition

116

1st

honey


2nd

"liquid sugar"


3rd

ambrosia


4th

nectar

117

5th

manna


6th

"bread that ... causes the dead to return"


7th

"precious waters"


8th

butter [melted?]


9th

"Partridges" [? their liquid eggs]


10th

milk

Carlo Ginzburg (translated from the Italian by John & Anne Tedeschi): The Cheese and the Worms. The John Hopkins U. Pr, Baltimore, 1980.