Article

Name: The Sky Shooter image in solar myths of the Tungus-Manchu peoples

Authors: A. N. Varlamov , G. I. Varlamova

The Institute for Humanities Research and Indigenous Studies of the North of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yakutsk, Russian Federation

In the section Study of folklore

Abstract: The paper is devoted to the solar myths of the Tungus-Manchu peoples about the sky hunter- shooter. The most ancient mythological basis of the sky hunter is found in the Evenki myths about Manga, where he appears as the fairy-tale hero reaching the upper world on his magical skis. The most famous Manga myth is about saving the sun in pursuit of moose. These myths tell about the reason for the change of day and night and also the origin of constellations. The main character in the Evenki solar myths is the moose figure which the authors believe to be connected with the cult of moose that existed in antiquity in the late Neolithic period. The key motif in the solar myths of Chinese Evenki and the Tungus-Manchu peoples in the Amur region is the “plurality of suns.” Also, the nature of heroic deeds is seen to change – the sky shooter saves people from the heat of the suns. Herewith, the etiological basis of the myths re- mains unchanged, with the origin of celestial objects and constellations and the reason for the night and day change being explained. In the folklore of the Amur peoples, the image of cultural hero Khadau reveals the correlation with the Evenki mythology. The analysis made allows the authors to identify the evolution of the sky shooter image from “the sun’s savior” to “the people’s savior.” The authors believe the transformation of character and motives in solar myths to be in- fluenced by eastern mythology and to be connected with ethnogenesis of the Manchu-Tungus peoples in the Amur region.

Keywords: myths of the Tungus-Manchu people, solar myths, image of a sky shooter, myths of Evenks

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