Dagur society, shamanism, and folklore

[1. (pp. 1-57) "society"; 2. (pp. 58-70) "shamanism"; 3. (pp. 71-166) "folktales"]

1.7.2b (p. 23) aequivalent names to the deity-group Holier Barken (worshipped by the Mokon tribe of the Dagur nation)

tribe of Dagur

name of the deity-group : __ Barken

Hailar

Da

Aihui

Maluo

1.7.2b (p. 25) the 58 deities, in 17 sets, of the deity-group Holier Barken

ord. #

set

__ deities in set

1

Mangie

9

2

9-headed Ildengir Mangie

1

3

Delgeedii

9

4

Takiigar

2

5

Bukuiger (camel back)

2

6

Karaanii Kaqoonii

2

7

Koltogdii-Kaltagdii

2

8

Kuli (leg)

1

9

Altanxu Kabil (gold tortoise)

2

10

Mungunxu Kabil (silver tortoise)

2

11

Semerken-Kentel

2

12

Birgii-Biqwu-Biqieqin

1

13

Nariin-Gekuu-Quaangaalan

2

14

Iserhorie (deer antler)

9

15

Miaoqaan (fowling-piece)

1

16

Tere mudur Tele Jur Mudur Jugtelgen

2

17

Yesenkokormarsilan Yesenwuginlurgel (9 children dancing – 9 girls)

9

1.7.2g (pp. 29-30) the 24 tege (seats) of deity-group Bogol Barken

p.

ord. #

tege

29

1

tribal chiefs

 

2

blacksmiths

 

3

laiqin (eagle figure on yadgan hats)

 

4

yadgan

 

5

"

 

6

fishermen

 

7

hunters

30

8

peddlers

 

9

3 coffins

 

10

fox spirits

 

11

monsters

 

12

grain-grinders

 

13

infants

 

14

tuoruo

 

15

wulie (crows)

 

16

cuckoos

 

17

2 deer (1 male, 1 female)

 

18

lizards

 

19

Aoli Barken

 

20

Niannian

 

21

9 goddesses

 

22

earthworms

 

23

2 hounds

 

24

snakes

1.7.2n (p. 32) Womie Barken group of goddesses of child-protection

9 yurts

9-step stairway

"Gold and silver trees of heaven"

"encircled by three layers of walls."

"a pair of phoenixes (male and female)."

"Children were conceived in nine springs. Fetuses were taken out ..."

"The goddesses had large breasts which hung to her sleeve ends and could be tossed over her shoulders."

1.7.2r (p. 33) Sum Barken group of deities

"a 1,000-year-old black fox and

a 10,000-year-old white fox. It had

12 tierong (small white mouse-like animals) {shrews?} and

a single-legged tuoyun (small black spotted animals)."

1.7.4e (p. 42) the 12 dualen (12 ‘life-trees’, each having an perched on it)

ord. #

plant

animal

1

willow

galierte

2

poplar

owl

3

thick-willow

ximuku

4

carob

tree-mouse

5

plum tree

marten

6

white-trunked red-branched willow

ties^ihan

7

bush-willow

20 crows

8

fir tree

20 angula

9

white-birch

s^uomuha

10

trifoliate-orange

52 millet-birds

11

elm

cuckoo

12

camphor tree

gigantic serpent

1.7.4i (pp. 43-44) garments etc. of yadgan

p.

article of apparel

its significance

43

magal (magical hat)

metal frame with round copper plate on top, with pair of antlers

years wearing

prongs on each antler

3

(no antlers, red turban instead)

3 wuminan (of 3 years each)

3

thereafter

6

44

jawaa (magical garments)

tanned elk tunic with jacket

part of jawaa

its signification

8 copper buttons

8 city-gates

60 small copper mirrors on front

town-walls

5 copper mirrors on back

(protective)

12 black strips

4 limbs + their 8 sections

60 copper bells

wooden city-walls [ramparts]

 

z^ahalt (magical shawl)

worn over jawaa

part of z^ahalt

its signification

360 small shells

days of year

(on each shoulder) cloth bird-figure (male & female)

bul-z^aokul messengers

 

halbagtu (magical skirt)

attached to lower section of back part of jawaa

24 embroidered strips, repraesenting

12 months + 12 dualen

 

asalan (on sides of jawaa)

9 thin leather strips, each having a bujiledai (metal scoop-handle shape) tied to it : 4 on right side + 5 on left side

 

wenturu (magical drum)

strip of wood bent into circle, and covered with animal-hide

 

jisuru (magical drumsticks)

made of rattan, bound with hide; wrapped in fur-bearing animal’s leg-skin

 

necklace

of 108 beads

 

musical instruments

little cymbals, bells, swinging drums

1.7.5a-f (pp. 44-45) other religious practitioners

1.7.5

p.

practitioner

details

a

44

otox

mostly women. cured children’s disease. divined the future.

b

45

barxi

women. set broken bones. cured by blowing saliva.

c

 

qiyanqi

men. masters of spirits of foxes, pheasants, rabbit, raccoons, and badgers. acupuncturists.

d

 

bagaq

men only. assistant to yadgan. chanted.

e

 

balieqin

old women experienced in birthing.

f

 

z^alie

assisted yadgan for communication.

1.9.1b (pp. 53-54) natural pairs (as sung by a pair of women)

p.

pair, in __

1st of pair

2nd of pair

53

animals’ hunting

pheasant flying

eagle following

rabbit fleeing

hound following

sparrow chirping

cat staring

crow in black shirt

magpie in black vest

red-crowned crane

golden eagle

53-4

animals working & utensils

p. 53 rooster crowing at dawn

wife rising with the crowing to cook

breeze whizzing

wooden mill swishing

donkey moving around grinding-platform

p. 54 grinding-roller following behind

sieve swishing

flour rustling

54

songs

song for husband’s brother is quail-song

song of loneliness is mandarin-song

3.3 (pp. 79-84) beginnings

3.3.

p.

myth

{comparative}

.1

79

why Endur (God) withdrew from the world : origin of snow & rain – "At the time of the world’s beginning, people dared not raise their heads for if they did, they bumped against the sky. ... it snowed wheat flour and rained cooking oil. ... One time, Endur saw a woman mix flour with oil, roll a thin slice, wipe her baby’s dirty bottom with it, and then throw it away. It struck Endur in the face. ... Then he flew upwards, and the sky became very high, like today."

{other in myths of faeces as responsible sky-exiles include, e.g., [Hawai'ian] the woman Hina-hana-ia-ka-malama, whose "children made so much excrement she fled away and lived in the moon" HM, p. 242}

.2

 

man-eating turtle : why Dagur have no written language – Tan Sen "came to a sea that he could not cross ... and got on the turtle, which carried him ... to the middle of the sea ... and thew him off. ... The turtle ate Tang Seng, which extended the turtle’s life 1,000 – 10,000 years."

{cf. man-eating sea-turtle of Skiron (GM 96.f)}

.3

80

feather-clothing : the female fairies and the hunters – "A mother and her two sons, Kurugure and Karegure, lived ... One day as the two sons were hunting, two female celestials flew to the top of the home ... The next day the two sons pretended to go out to hunt, but ... they rushed back and burned the fairies’ feather clothing. The fairies were then forced to marry the two brothers. ... Dagur are descended from these two fairies."

{this theme is common in the Philippines & in Indonesia} [see also p. 105 "man cliff" : involving 7 female fairies whom heaven , of whom 2 remain on earth after having been transformed into stone]

.5

81

antlered divine deer : how rule, to kill all persons upon their reaching the age of 60, was abrogated – To the south, "The young man ... found a deer with antlers that reached heaven. He begged the deer to let him climb up. ... At the top, ... the guard gave him two boxes. ... The young man returned ... to earth. ... Immediately, the antlers fell to earth ....

{[Kartwel] After woman Svetlana climbed via stag’s antlers to heaven, when she returned "his antlers snapped off" (ShS); somewhat similar tale in ShThGF}.

   

As the young man proceeded homeward ... he went to the place to wait for the ghost. ... a donkey-like thing appeared. The young man opened the box and a cat jumped out and yowled. The donkey began shrinking, and finally became a rat. ... After cats appeared on earth, rats never became rat-ghosts again."

{Cats have 9 electrical lives = thunderbolt of Zeus, who overcame the ass-headed (GM 36.a) god Tuphon : rats devour grain, hence "an image of the donkey form, made of rice paste" [according to Jayabhadra] (CST, p. 218, fn. 3).}

.8

82

widow in service to her dead husband’s mother : origin of the bell-flower – "Blossom clusters hung downward. People said this was because the daughter-in-law had become a flower. While alive, she had always kept her head lowered in fear of her mother-in-law."

{the banana-flower is likewise downward-blooming; down-blooming flowers often figure in descriptions of cakra-s in yoga}

.10

83

"Once a Dagur hunter lost his dog while he was hunting. He ran everywhere calling "Choke! Choke!" ... His soul became a bird which flew about calling, "Choke! Choke!""

 

HM = http://sacred-texts.com/pac/hm/hm19.htm

GM = Robert Graves : The Greek Myths. 1955.

ShS = http://www.thestoryteller.org.uk/article.htm

ShThGF = www.c-s-p.org/Flyers/9781847185860-sample.pdf

CST = David B. Gray (tr.) : The Cakrasamvara Tantra. Columbia U, NY, 2007.

3.4.1 (p. 85) dialogue between old elm & small aspen : luck of young hunter

"elms, pines, and white aspens become gods when they grow old. Nobody dares chop them down."

3.4.2 (pp. 85-86) ghost-woman as wife : uncle’s death

p.

legend

{comparative}

85

"A poor man ... travelling ... saw a girl sitting on a kang. ... She suggested that they sleep together that night. ... he agreed. When he awoke at dawn, he found himself lying in a graveyard. {this episode is Kemetian & Zun~i} He was so terrified that he hurried back toward his home. Soon the girl caught up with his, ... and holding a hairpin demanded, "... live with me ... If you don’t agree, I’ll kill you.""

{"During the wedding-feast" Danaos "secretly doled out sharp pins which his daughters were to conceal in their hair; and at midnight each stabbed her husband through the heart." (GM 60.k)}

86

"the uncle shot three arrows at her. None found their mark. The uncle told her it was her turn. The young wife took a short sword and cut off the uncle’s head. But he ... took ashes, sprinkled then on the wound, and put his head back on. The young wife again cut his head off and he repeated this. But the third time ... his head would not join his neck."

{"the head of Vis.n.u is severed", the goddess "fixing again the head on Vis.n.u's body." (DBh, book 1, chapter 5)}

DBh = Devi Bhagavata-m http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/db/bk01ch05.htm

"Vis.n.u had been resting his head on the end of a bow and ... the string snapped and sprang upwards, ‘the head of Vis.n.u became severed from his body and the head fell with the sound of ghr.n. ...’ " (RT, p. 72). RT = By Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya : Reflections on the Tantras. Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1978.

(quoting the S`ata-patha Brahman.a)

3.4.3 (pp. 86-87) the daimon & the boy

p.

legend

{comparative}

86

boy sold his own shape-shifting ghost-wife as mare and

{Erusi-khthon’s daughter, Mestra, "who possessed the gift of metamorphosis, ... One she was sold she ... escaped, and then sold herself again to procure funds for her father." (CDCM, s.v. "Erysichthon 1")}

87

as ewe; each time she escaped from her purchaser, returning to the boy who had sold her

{"When her father saw his daughter had this changeability, he often sold her and away she went a mare, a cow, a bird, a deer, and brought her glutton father food, unfairly gained." (OM 8. 739 ff -- E)}

 

this ghost-wife, as headless donkey-ghost, became living woman after having been cooked with many needles in a 9-handled cauldron (p. 87)

{cf. resuscitating of persons by witch-woman Medea’s cooking them in a cauldron (according to the Nostoi, as well as Pherekudes & Simonides – LA, n. 217 = NA1b)}

CDCM = Pierre Grimal (tr. by Maxwell-Hyslop) : A Concise Dictionary of Classical Mythology. Basil Blackwell, 1986.

OM = Ovidius : Metamorphoses. (trans. by Melville)

E = http://www.theoi.com/Heros/Erysikhthon.html

LA = James Frazer : Library of Apollodoros.

NA1b = http://www.theoi.com/Text/Ap1b.html

3.4.7 (pp. 89-102) Nisan the shamaness

p.

legend

89-90

Bardubayin son Feiyangu died (p. 89) while hunting at the age of 15; as did (p. 90) his later son Sergudi Feiyangu, likewise while hunting at the age of 15.

91

catch 2 each horses of

color

born the __ month

iron-black

 

sea-blue

9th

yellow

5th

(1 blood-red & 1 black-mouthed)

2nd

92

"The old man said, "South of this village is the Nisahai River. On is banks lives a yadgan called Nisang. She has magical power and can revive the dead! ..." After saying this, the old man ... flew up in the sky, sat on colored clouds, and vanished. ... "It must have been Endur.""

94

"Her 90 joints began moving ...

Her 80 bones began trembling. ...

[She instructed :] "... When the god enters my body, drop 20 drops of water around my nose, 40 drops of water around my face, and tie the gray and black god and colored spotted cock at my feet.""

95

[in the spirit-world :-] "Then they reached a junction of three roads. ... The monsters said,

"The east road leads to those who died of weapon wounds.

The middle road leads to those who died from diseases and old age.

The west one is the road leading to those whose lives should not have ended. ..."

... she went down the west road. Quite soon, they reached a big river. ...

Nisang yadgan rang her copper bell and ...

a wooden [ferry-boat] came over from the other side of the river. ... the ferryman ... was a grey-haired toothless man with a bent back and only one eye. ...

96

After they crossed the river, Nisang Yadgan took out ... three pieces of paper money, and gave them to the old man in payment.

In a short time they neared the Red River, but found no boat to cross. ... Nisang Yadgan ... threw her drum sticks into the river ... Then she led the spirits and monsters across the Red River. {cf. the leading by Mos^eh, by means of his magical rod, the people across the Red Sea.} ...

Soon, they arrived at the Netherworld town’s first pass, but the ghosts who guarded the gate wouldn’t let them through. ... the monsters lifted her and flew over the pass.

In a short time, they arrived at a second pass. The ghost guards were named Selegeta and Sejiletu. ... Nisang Yadgan ... pleaded : I’ll ... Give you soybean jam [tofu] ...! Selegeta and Sejiletu smiled ... and allowed Nisang Yadgan to pass. ...

Not long afterwards she reached Uncle Mongordi’s gate and should loudly at the spirits in three rings surrounding the house ...

97

Uncle Mongordi laughed and said, ... "... Our ka[han, Lord of the Netherworld, said that Sergudi was clever and resourceful and asked him to wrestle Lama Buku and Lion Buku. He defeated them both. ..." ...

They then went to the Netherworld Lord’s castle where they found the gate tightly shut. ... Then all the spirits flew up and saw Sergudi Feiyanggu playing an animal anklebone game using golden anklebones with a group of children. ... The biggest spirit swooped down, caught Sergudi Feiyanggu and flew out of the castle. ...

Mongordi said ..., "Nisang Yadgan! ... You want to take Sergudi Feiyanggu back without paying anything. ... When our Lord of the Netherworld hunts, he has no hunting dogs. At night, we have no cock to report the time. If you leave your cock

98

and dog, I can appease the Lord of the Netherworld. ..." ... Nisang Yadgan said ... "Uncle Mogordi, ... I’ll tell you the truth! Call mo-mo to the dog and gu-gu to the cock!" Mongordi called as she told him, and sure enough, the dog and cock followed him. ...

They passed one place and met Nisang Yadgan’s husband. He had boiled a pot of oil by burning wormwood {absinthe, a psychedelic} and was waiting for her. ...

99

Nisang Yadgan ... walked ahead and her man followed. They came to his coffin, opened it, ... and found that the nose bone had dropped off. ... Nisang Yadgan called big spirits to take her husband and locked him in Fengdu Town. ...

Suddenly, they found a golden light ahead and also a bridge. To the left of this bridge there was a building made from diamonds and glinting with five colored rays. ... The monster said, "Goddess Womie lives here. It is she who allows humans to reproduce themselves like roots and grow luxuriantly like branches and leaves." ...

100

Nisang Yadgan said, "... My husband died when I was 17. I served my mother-in-law ..., but one day a mirror fell from the roof and dropped beside me. I could see nothing and fell ill for three years. I recovered after I promised to be a yadgan. ..."

...

102

Afterwards, Nisang Yadgan’s ... husband accused her before the Netherworld Lord everyday ... The Netherworld Lord discussed this with the emperor. ... The emperor then ordered Nisang Yadgan to come to his palace to cure his mother. But she didn’t cure the disease {The implication is that the emperor’s mother was so wicked, like the emperor himself, that the shamaness’s helping-spirits refused to cure her.} On this pretext, the emperor arrested her ..., tied her with a thick iron chain, and threw her under the Nine Springs. It was said that as she was sinking, she held her hair up by her magic arts and ... it showed on the surface of the water. ... Because of this Dagur yadgans still exist today".

3.4.9 (p. 103) Gahuc^a

"his copper rear mirror fell to the ground and rolled to a tomb near Guandi temple. ... The soldiers then dug out a coffin. When they opened the lid, they saw many files and a man wearing dark glasses inside, reading."

3.4.12 (p. 104) Har Barken (black group of deities)

"He was survived by his wife who was more than 70. One day, as she worked in her garden, a dark cloud full of thunder and lightning circled around her nine times. ... Three years later, the old woman gave birth to a son who could speak and walk at birth."

3.6.1 (pp. 114-116) the bear’s son

p. 114

young man was son of woman and of male bear.

"Tigers sleep for 3 days and nights. ... he found the tiger asleep. He cut off its head". {cf. tigre-head as Na-hsi hieroglyph for ‘time’}

p. 115

"Dragons sleep 7 days and nights. When they wake, they weep for a moment, laugh for a moment, and then blow out air for a moment.

When it weeps, there is a flood.

When it laughs, there is fire. When it blows, there is a strong wind."

"Finally, the dragon decided to inhale."

 

The young man (son of woman and of male bear) then slew that dragon,

{cf. [Danish legend of] Bern (‘Bear’, son of a woman and a male bear) whose son "Siward entered into a combat with the dragon and drove it from the island." (SRD, vol. III – RHS)}

while it was inhaling him toward it.

[myth from Kamiah, ID) "Coyote tricks the Monster into inhaling him, and ...

 

"The young man took the dragons’s liver and heart".

Coyote travels to its heart and begins to cut it away." (KH)

 

"That evening a dusk a giant approached. He was so enormous that he blocked out the sky. But strangely, as he came nearer and nearer the house he became smaller and smaller. ... When the monster [shrunken giant] entered the room, he [the young man] cut off his head, but immediately grew a new one. {cf. Hydra when beheaded by Heraklees} ... Then the monster transformed himself into a tiny person and escaped. They pursued him until they came to a precipice. They searched about and found a cave ... When he reached the cave bottom, ... he found ... two metal balls. They are the monster’s soul. ... But the young man ... broke the balls on the mill. The monster ... died."

The young man "walked back into the cave, and came to another building where he found a bird as tall as a man in one room. In another room

p. 116

he found an old gray-haired man ... and, with the young man mounted on its back, the bird took off. Seventeen days later, they had run out of food ... so the young man began cutting flesh off his leg to feed the bird."

SRD = Langebek : Scriptores Rerum Danicarum.

RHS = Oscar Ludvig Olson (tr. by Richard Francis Burton) : The Relation of the Hrolfs Saga Kraka and the Bjarkarimur to Beowulf. http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/1/4/8/7/14878/14878-8.htm

KH = http://www.nps.gov/archeology/kennewick/Boxberger.htm

3.6.2 (pp. 116-119) Behuoledai & Bekunc^uo

p.

symbol

its signification

118

# of lian of silver received in each region :

20 in Dan-yan

being wounded in # of places in each region :

20 in Dan-yan

 

30 in Nan-yan

30 in Nan-yan

 

70 in Hu-nan

70 in Hu-nan

 

80 in Hu-bei

80 in Hu-bei

 

in season rolled or crawled on satin :

spring black

in season on rolled or crawled on ground :

black earth

 

summer green

green grass

 

autumn yellow

withered grass

 

winter white

snow

 

in season tended :

sheep

in season, was afflicted by :

lice

 

cattle

bugs [ticks]

119

horses

fleas

 

wealth

maggots in wounds

 

pine behind house

father’s grave

 

pot on kang

mother

 

2 elms behind house

ancestor’s graves

 

kurxin eagle in barn

youngest sister

 

yellow horse

wife

 

gold & silver in red chest-drawer

unborn (posthumous) child

 

bei-er words

if child is boy, wife ought not remarry

 

s^ao-er words

if child is girl, wife ought soon to remarry

3.6.3 (p. 120) the 3 brethren

"as the Third brother hid near the beach, 10 fairies came to the beach, took off their clothing, and jumped into the sea. Third Brother quietly stole the clothing of the youngest. ... Finally, the older nine flew away, leaving her behind. ... The two older brothers walked carefully behind and, as they had hoped, Third Brother fell into the pit. ... the fairy and the white horse helped him out."

{Trita Aptya : “fallen into a well he begged aid from the gods [i, 105, 17 ; x, 8, 7] as to this last myth Sāy[ana] on i, 105 relates that 3 Ṛishis, Ekata, Dvita, and Trita, parched with thirst, looked about and found a well, and when Tvāshṭra began to draw water, the other two, desirous of his property, pushed him down and closed up the well with a wheel” (T)}

T = http://students.washington.edu/prem/mw/t.html s.v. "trita"

3.6.4 (pp. 121-122) the 7th son

p. 121

7th Brother rode mounted on a flying hawk. "After some time of flying, the hawk was weak from lack of food ... Seventh Son cut off his thumb to feed the hawk. Some time later, he had cut off all his fingers and toes." "Seventh Son walked on and found a building. He entered and went upstairs where he discovered a three-headed dragon sleeping. Feeling hungry, we went into the kitchen ... and ... ate some of this cooked flesh".

p. 122

"That same night he stopped at an inn ... That night, ... he saw ... the ghost ... [who explained,] "It’s a bag for killing people. I have caught 99 people with it. ...""

3.6.11 (pp. 126-127) Aqinbu

p. 126

"a whirlwind came near them. Aqinbu threw his axe into it. As the wind passed, a red embroidered shoe fell out ... Wosiwenbu lowered Aqinbu down into the underground cavern. ... Aqinbu cut the serpent into nine sections. ... the princess ... gave him a red shoe ... The mouse limped over and licked a white stone. It was immediately healed. Aqinbu licked the stone and was also cured. He walked down the cavern and saw a light shining in the distance. When he got near, he saw a house with an old white-haired lady ... Her breasts resembled two large leather bags flung over her shoulders and hanging down her back. ...

Aqinbu ... looked up and saw a dragon’s head protruding from a cliff. ... As soon as he threw the magic figures away, the mountain split apart and collapsed. When the dragon was released from the mountain, ... the ... dragon ... had Aqinbu mount him, and flew him out of the cave. ...

p. 127

That night Aqinbu’s soul changed into a white mouse. He gripped the red shoe and ran to the princess’s room." {cf. use by prince of Cinderella’s shoe-token}

3.6.16 (pp. 129-130) journey by boy riding talking horse named ‘Gold’

p. 129

dangers encountered by boy traveling in the direction of his arrow-shot (test by his mother), toward the south

 

danger

how overcome

 

2 big red horses

boy said : "I am your master."

 

many black birds

threw meat and bread to them

p. 130

huge scissors :

"but when Gold leapt between the opening and closing scissors, 3 cun of his tail was cut off."

 

swimming 9-headed monster Yelerdengeir

shot the middle head of 9

 

difficulty

success

 

wife of Yelerdengeir : "a hideous black woman ... Her upper eyelid hung down over her face and her lower eyelid hung down over her breasts. ... she pulled up her upper eyelid with a stick". "When the old woman lay down black air came from her nostrils, but when she was asleep, white air came out."

While both were underwater, Gold slew the black old woman; the "Gold came out of the lake", said "If a yellow dog runs out, it is my soul. If a black dog runs out, it is the soul of the old woman"; and died.

 

"The next day they found that the small shed they had constructed with his legs and hide had become a large house with a hole in the northeast corner. ... a yellow dog ran out followed by a black dog."

"The boy killed the black dog with an arrow. When the couple went outside, they found gold standing there."

3.7.4 (p. 133-134) social insects escape the flood

p.

Dagur

{Hellenic}

{1001 Nights – AK&AS}

133

flood, whence escaped

Glaukos, "while ... chasing

 
 

"a mouse".

a mouse" (GM 90.c),

eating of cheese by >abu Kir (932nd).

134

"vat"

fell into a " a great jar used for the storing

hammam ‘public bath’ invented by >abu Sir (935th).

 

"A bee stung one princess on the forehead." {cf. goddess "stung by bees" (Y&TC, p. 311)} {cf. [Nosu myth] goddess who, having been cured of bee-sting,

of honey"; his dead body was found after "frighening away a swarm of bees" (GM 90.d).

depilatory [somewhat stinging] cosmetic (937th).

 

stole for her husband from her parents hemp-seeds (IUCh, p. 263) [for growing hemp for rope to use in attempt at returning to Heaven?]}

clew of thread is given to by Ariadne to her husband Theseus for his finding a way out of the Labyrinth to so to elude his being imprisoned in it by her parents (GM 98.k).

catching fish from the sea with a fishing-net, after eluding by >abu Sir from being entrapped in the net himself, when signaled by the king "at the lattice" (938th).

133

"Younger Brother found a jewel which the emperor had lost."

Theseus recovered the lightning-producing signet-ring for Minos (GM 98.f).

>abu Sir recovered the lightning-producing ring for the king (939th).

134

the emperor had the recidivist brother-defrauder put to death

 

the king had the recidivist friend-defrauder put to death (940th).

AK&AS = http://www.wollamshram.ca/1001/Vol_9/tale162.htm

Y&TM = Elizabeth Reichel : The Eco-Politics ... PhD diss, Cornell U, 1997.

IUCh = S. Pollard : In Unknown China. Philadelphia : Lippincott Co, 1921. http://books.google.com/books?id=8HdCAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA263&lpg=PA263&dq=

{As for the # of fishes, the Ijo (of Biafra) use 17 (for a 17-year cycle, each named after a species of fish), and the sum of 1 to 17 (= triangular number based on 17) = 153, which is the number of fishes caught according to the Euaggelion of Ioannes 21:11 http://www.greatdreams.com/153.htm & http://bibleprobe.com/gematria.htm}

3.8.3 (pp. 140-141) the hunter’s 3 sons

p. 140

"When he had gone three li, he noticed a blue light emanating from lantern eyes. Suddenly the thing opened a huge mouth and flicked out a red tongue."

"An old fortune-telling hunter ... fell deathly ill ... and said, "After I’m dead,. put me in an iron coffin and carry it ..." At last, when they started up a mountain, the coffin was so heavy that they could not continue. ... When the Third Son felt about, he found a gold pea. ... a gold pea is Altan Barken (Gold God [group of gods]) ... He found a total of eight peas in the corners of the cave. ...

[When they stayed at an inn,] At midnight, the door opened. ...

p. 141

Altan Barken then said, "... they built a pool in their garden and put carp in it for many years. You are one of those. Now you have become a carp demon. ... Tomorrow, I shall have people capture you and take the three books of heaven from your head." ... Then an aide ... opened the box with the key and found three books inside." {cf. Kemetian tale of finding, at the direction by a mummy, a box containing a book enabling its reader to see heaven. (EL, pp. 149sq, BTh)

EL = Epiphanius Wilson : Egyptian Literature. 1901.

BTh = http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/thebookofthoth.htm

3.9.1 (pp. 142-144) 1st Ginseng Girl

p. 142

while "pale woman" was absent, young man unlocked, with keys, directional gates in courtyard :

direct.

scene encountered beyond gate

east

dense primaeval forest

north

birds & beasts

south

"countless skeletons"

west

sea with people on a boat

 

"The sea had vanished and so had the boat and the people. He ... came to a two-stor[e]y building" where "His hostess said "The pale woman ... is actually a spider sprite and intended to eat you ..."

p. 143

... the spider sprite ... fled." Having viewed his home in a magic mirror, travelling onward the young man met a "black-faced inn-keeper" who informed him that his (the young man’s) wife (the hostess who had protected him) "was, in fact, a ginseng spirit." The hostess arrived there and said to the young man "I saved you from that white spider sprite. Now you have brought a black spider sprite ...". "The young man ... could not move. He watched ... as the black spider spite transformed the beautiful young woman [hostess] and her seven lovely [girl] servants into their true forms – one large ginseng root and seven smaller ones."

"One day when the black-faced man was about to leave ..., he gave the young man 100 keys. ... He dug away ... found a door. he unlocked it with the 100th key and found a staircase leading down. He ... found the glow was coming from eight ginseng roots ..., which immediately became women again.

p. 144

... the black spider sprite ... reverted to his true form – a wheel-sized black spider."

3.9.2 (pp. 144-145) 2nd Ginseng Girl

p. 144

"One midnight, as the boy slept, a black monster ... poked its head into the boy’s room. The boy woke up, picked up an axe ..., and cut off the monster’s head. The monster fled ..."

p. 145

places whereunto Ginseng Girl took her husband :

where ginseng grew

the base of a cliff, where "they found a pot ... radiating light. ... Whatever was put inside multiplied."

"a mountain top where three pines grew. ... a little boy dressed in red ... removed gold and silver galoha from a small red wooden box".

3.10.1 (pp. 146-147) snake father-in-law

p. 146

"He stabbed his wife with the needles." {acupuncture}

p. 147

substance

its metamorphosis

result

 

3 trees

3 serpents

{a common theme in South American Indian mythology}

 

cake-crumbs

fleas

"He spit [spat] out several big fleas."

 

noodles

snakes

"His wife made his hang upside down, and he ... vomiting several snakes."

 

eggs

crowing

escape from pursuit by wife’s sister

3.10.5 (pp. 151-152) yearning swans

p. 151

1st dragon (a yellow one) escaped from jar, flying out when it was opened

 

as for 2nd dragon-containing jar, teacher "put a harness over the top. When the dragon inside flew out, it was caught." Boy & girl together rode that dragon as far as "a barren hill with a twisting path leading south."

p. 152

"Suddenly, the grave and coffin opened, she leapt inside, and then the grave and coffin closed. When the tomb was dug up, two yearning swans flew out to heaven."

3.11.1 (pp. 153-154) hunter who understood speech of animals

p. 153

At night, "a hunter fell into a pit ... in a forest. He ... found a light glimmering and approached. ... he found that it was a huge serpent. The next morning he saw many serpents touch their tongues to a white stone ... He touched his tongue to the white stone and ... he could understand the serpents as they conversed.

... 1 day in serpent country was equal to 1 year in man’s world.

 

... he heard two birds talking. One said, "A horse will soon give birth on East Mountain. Let’s fly there and eat the placenta." ... The mare said to the foal, "Climb on my back and I’ll take you home.""

p. 154

"When the wife went near and lifted the cover, she found only her husband’s skeleton inside."

3.11.3 (pp. 154-155) tigre’s gratitude

p. 154

"the tiger came to the tent and stuck his paw inside, which had a thorn in it. After Younger bother extracted it ..., the tiger ... continued to bring prey to Younger Brother."

p. 155

"He collected the dried animal skins ..., tied it into a bale, put it on the tiger’s back, and then set off for elder Brother’s".

3.12.1 (pp. 156-157) brother sent to find his 2 lost sistren

 

Dagur

{comparative}

p. 156

Brother (of 2 vanished sistren) "showed a particular fondness for the pipa, a two-stringed musical instrument." He was sent abroad travelling to find those 2 sistren.

{Agenor "sent his sons in search of their sister, forbidding them to return without her." (GM 58.d)}

 

"After many days of travel, he reached a river where he saw two trees fighting each other.

{cf. [Cymry] Cad Goddeu (‘Battle of the Trees’)}

 

After playing the pipa, the two trees stopped fighting and listened.

{Orpheus caused "the trees and rocks move from their places to follow the sound of his music." At Zone in Thraike "a number of ancient mountain oaks are still standing in the pattern of one of his dances, just as he left them." (GM 28.a – O. These are "the trees which, charmed onwards by his lyre, he led down from Pieria." (PA, p. 232)}

 

... they were fighting over three treasures – flying boots that would take the wearer anywhere,

{flying sandals were obtained from the Stugian numphai, who dwelt (P) underground, beneath a waterfall (GM).}

 

a table that would provide any sort of food, and a cap that made the wearer invisible."

{cf. "the dark helmet of invisibility" (GM 73.g) which belonged to Haides}

 

Those 2 trees were sent on an errand of fetching a crow’s egg from its nest in a willow-tree.

 
 

The 1st sister had become wife (?) of a "rat demon" whose human guise was "an old man who is short and fat" having "a long sharp beard."

{cf. Kepheus, who was entrusted "with a lock of Gorgon’s hair in a bronze vase." (CDCM, s.v. "Cepheus 1")}

The 2nd sister had become the wife of the carp-guarded "water ghost" Yece, whose "eyes were like copper balls, he had innumerable feet, and his belly was just like a drum."

{cf. Triton of lake Tritonis, into which lake (GM 73.i) the single eye of the Graiai was tossed}

p. 157

He flew thereafter "to find Queen of Daughter Country ..., which was inhabited only by females."

{cf. the Gorgon females}

O = http://www.jolc.net/orpheus/StoryOfOrpheus.html#anchor32214

PA = R. J. Clare : Path of the Argo. Cambridge U Pr, 2002.

GM = http://www.business-esolutions.com/starmyths/myths/perseus2.htm

P = http://www.dibonsmith.com/per_con.htm

3.12.6 (pp. 162-163) subduer (tamer) of wild beasts

 

Dagur

{comparative}

p. 162

"A nine-headed monster ... ate half the sister," who nevertheless remained alive. Afterwards, that monster vomited up that half, and the half was joined to the other half, so that the woman "was whole again".

{"The observation that weasels ... carry their young from place to place in their mouths, like cats, gave rise to the legend" (GM 118.5) of semi-cannibalism.}

 

As tasks set for him by his mother’s brother,

{As tasks set for him by Euru-stheus,

 

the woman’s son tamed a boar and

Heraklees subdued the Erumanthian boar (GM 126.a);

p. 163

a lion,

the Kithaironian, Keleonaian, or Nemean lion (GM 123.a, 1); and

 

and 10,000 birds carrying chili powder.

the Stumphalian birds "muting a poisonous excrement" (GM 128.a).}

3.12.9 (pp. 164-165) Kaikuo stone tablet

p. 164

"a yellow dragon appeared and flew above him. Seven colored clouds rose about the dragon. ... Then a colored current of air rose to the sky, shaking the emperor’s palace. ...

p. 165

"When they reached Kaikuo Village, they dug a very deep hole in the mountain just northeast of the village. In the hole, they placed a crown, an imperial robe, ... and covered it with dirt. They put a stone tablet on top of this, and placed a large stone tortoise at the base of the tablet inscribed ... : These characters suppress this region for 200 li around."

"At midnight, when the dog-star ..., arose, the dog jumped on the roof of the home and slept. ... Then a new star, blazing with color, rose in the sky. The imperial astrologer noted this, and tracked the star to above the old man’s coffin. When it was opened, they found that the corpse had gone eastward down an underground river. When the corpse was found at the juncture of the underground river and the Nenjiang River, most of it had become a dragon. It had many dragon scales. ... but ... his feet could not become those of a dragon."

3.12.10 (pp. 165-166) open, cucumber!

p. 165

"he approached a vegetable garden where an old Dagur woman was picking peapods. The man said, "... I ... want to eat a cucumber." ... A hunter ... followed him as he made off with the cucumber. When he reached Kaikuo Mountain, he

p. 166

pointed the cucumber at a cliff and murmured something. Suddenly, with a boom, a hole appeared and the man walked inside, followed by the hunter. After walking a long distance, a glimmer appeared. As they approached closer, the light became brighter, and then they came upon a mill wheeling by itself, milling a white substance. When the man from inland China saw this, he said ..., "... The gold is still raw. I came too early!" Then he turned and left, followed by the hunter."

SINO-PLATONIC PAPERS, No. 60 = Kevin Stuart; Li Xuewei; Shelear : China’s Dagur Minority. Philadelphia, Dec. 1994.