Mongol creation stories: man, Mongol tribes, the natural world,
and Mongol deities. (brief analyses of several stories)
Nassen-Bayer; Kevin Stuart
Asian Folklore Studies
Vol.51 No.2 (Oct 1992)
pp.323-334
COPYRIGHT Asian Folklore Studies (Japan) 1992
The translators introduce a loosely connected series of Mongol
stories about the creation and the beginning of the world. The
interest of the stories lies in particular with the parallels they
offer to stories that are widely known in East Asia such as that of
the Swan Maiden, the Heavenly Archer, and the victory over the
devilish black Dragon King. Key words: creation stories -- Sakyamuni
-- creation from a frog -- Swan Maiden -- Ursa Major -- Heavenly
Archer -- deified humans -- Dragon King
Full Text: COPYRIGHT Asian Folklore Studies (Japan) 1992
AMONG the folklore accounts collected in recent years by scholars in
Inner Mongolia have been a number of stories that portray the Mongol
view of creation. This paper presents several of the published
folklore accounts pertaining to the origins of man, the Mongols, the
natural world, and various Mongol deities.
THE ORIGIN OF MAN, THE MONGOLS, AND MONGOL TRIBES
In one tale the creation of the world is attributed to a lama named
Udan:
Long ago there lived a lama named Udan who created everything
in the world. When he was five hundred years old, heaven, earth,
and everything else had yet to appear. When he reached the age
of one thousand Udan divided heaven and earth into separate
entities,
creating a nine-story heaven, a nine-story earth, and nine rivers.
Finally the lama made a man and a woman out of clay. They
married and had children, and the entire human race descends
from them. (BAJAR 1988, 27)
The foreign influence of Lamaism is at work here. The word lama, for
example, was probably added to the tale after the spread of Buddhism
to Mongol regions. It should be noted, however, that many Buddhists
and Lamaists consider the Buddha to have been the creator of the
world, so that this account is somewhat at odds with this Buddhist
belief.
Another creation story, "Why Man Has No Hair," explains why man is
not hirsute and also hints at why he became mortal. The creator god
in this story is Burqan Tenger.
Long long ago God descended to earth and made a man and a
woman out of clay. Before returning to heaven to get some holy
water with the power to animate anything, he ordered his dog and
cat to protect the clay people from the devil. After God ascended
to heaven, the devil came to harm the people. The dog and the
cat protected them, though, thwarting the devil's plan. Finally,
the devil deceived them by giving a piece of meat to the dog and
a bowl of milk to the cat. While the dog ate the flesh and the cat
lapped the milk, the devil urinated on the people and fled.
When God returned with the holy water and discovered what
had happened, he was enraged. Scolding the dog and cat for
neglecting their duty, he forced the cat to lick the hair off the
bodies
of the people whom the devil had defiled (God created humans
with hair all over their bodies). The cat licked off the hair
everywhere
except their heads, armpits, and crotches, since the former
had not been dirtied and the latter two were hard for the cat to
reach. God then put the hair that had been licked away by the
cat onto the body of the dog, so that humans are now naked and
dogs have hair. The Mongol saying that the tongue of the cat
and the hair of the dog are dirty has its origin here. Man and
woman, who were animated by drinking the holy water, should
have been immortal but became mortal instead because of their
defilement by the devil. (GADAMBA and CERENSODNOM 1984, 742)
In this account, everything made by Burqan Tenger has both positive
and negative aspects. There is duality in all that is created:
beauty is tempered by ugliness, joy with suffering.
The following account offers an explanation for why the Chinese
population is so much larger than the Mongolian:
God made many people from clay and placed some in the north and
some in the south. After many years God, thinking that man
must have multiplied, came down to take a look. When he found
that the population had not increased, he recalled that he had made
males but no females. He therefore put many hens in the south
and seven ewes in the north. The men and hens of the south are
the ancestors of the Chinese. Seven men in the north received the
seven ewes. One of the men, out of greed, killed his sheep to eat
at once. But after seven days the remaining ewes turned into
beautiful girls and married the men. These are the ancestors of
the Mongols. The Mongols' population growth is very slow because
they are descended from ewes, and the Chinese multiply
rapidly because they are descended from hens. (MANDAQU 1981,
105)
This tale probably springs from nomadic culture, since the nomadic
Mongols commonly keep sheep but not chickens, which are raised by
farmers and are used in the story to symbolize the Han Chinese.
There are at least two popular accounts concerning the origin of the
Mongolian tribes, one involving the Dorbed tribe and the other the
Buryat tribe.
Long long ago the Dorbed tribe lived near Nidu Mountain. The
mountain towered so tall that its snow-covered top was perpetually
lost in clouds. A spring of water gushed forth and flowed into a
lake near the mountaintop. The lake was surrounded by forests.
One day a young hunter went up the mountain and reached
the lake. There, to his great astonishment, he heard the sound of
laughing voices. Curious, the young hunter approached and
found four goddesses playing and dancing. He watched them,
spellbound, as they frolicked in the lake one moment and rested
in the sky the next. Returning to his senses, the hunter hurriedly
descended the mountain to his home. Taking his catch-pole, he
returned to the lake and hid behind a bush. As the unsuspecting
goddesses played he tossed his pole and caught one. The other
goddesses flew up into the sky. The young hunter voiced his love
to the goddess he had captured, and with great pleasure she accepted
it.
They led a happy life, but because goddesses cannot live long
on earth she eventually returned to heaven. Once there, however,
she realized that she was pregnant, for her body grew heavier and
heavier. Flying down to the side of the lake, she gave birth to
a boy. She made a cradle and hung it from a tree branch, then
placed the baby boy inside. She then put some of her own milk
into a pot and hung the pot from a branch above the cradle, all the
while missing the young hunter. The goddess found a small yellow
bird that lived in Tang[gamma]ud and had it perch in the tree to
sing
day and night and look after the baby. Having prepared everything,
the goddess returned to heaven.
At that time the Dorbed tribe, being without a good leader,
asked a fortune-teller how to find one. The fortune-teller told
them that if they looked in the bushes by the lake on Nidu Mountain
they would surely discover what they sought. Delighted, the
Dorbed expressed their appreciation to the fortune-teller and, on
a good day, went up the mountain. There, drawn by the yellow
bird's song, they found the baby. The Dorbed took the infant
home, believing him to be from heaven and the one destined to
be their future leader. The small yellow bird flew around the
cradle, unwilling to leave, but at last was forced to fly away into
the blue sky.
When the boy grew up, he achieved great deeds and became
an outstanding hero. He was the forefather of the present Dorbed
tribe. (OBOR MONG[gamma]OL-YIN KELE UTQA JOQIJAL SUDULQU [gamma]AJAR
1963, 10)
Many years ago, Bar[gamma]utai, hunting around Lake Baikal, found
seven beautiful girls playing in the lake. Bar[gamma]utai silently
approached
the lake and stole the clothing one of the girls had removed
and placed there. After swimming in the lake, the girls
went to get their clothes as Bar[gamma]utai watched stealthily from
behind
a tree. All of the girls but the youngest, whose clothing had
been stolen by Bar[gamma]utai, put on their clothes, became swans,
and
soared up into the sky. Bar[gamma]utai then grasped the sobbing
girl.
They married and had eleven children, but the woman was unable
to reclaim her clothes from the hunter no matter how often she
begged him. One day, the woman found her clothing and put
it on. She then became a swan and flew away through the yurt
skylight. The children were the Buryat's ancestors. (GADAMBA
and CERENSODNOM 1984, 1023)
The above two stories trace the origins of these two tribes to
goddesses and hunters, both of which were venerated in ancient
times. These two accounts likely originated in ancient times because
of the role played by the swan and the yellow bird. Among ancient
Mongol tribes the swan was a totem, and the Buryat and Bar[gamma]a
tribes sacrificed to it (ZHAO 1988, 32).
ON NATURAL PHENOMENA
Some folklore accounts are concerned with the sun, moon, stars,
wind, and earth. This suggests the interest the ancient Mongols had
in the origins, transformation, and development of natural
phenomena. Let us first examine accounts dealing with the earth.
In ancient times, the earth was submerged in water and formed a
boundless ocean. When the lord of the universe, Buddha Sakyamuni,
was flying over the ocean to find a way to create the earth,
he saw a frog swimming from north to south. Observing the
golden-bodied frog, Buddha used his fingers to divine that the
earth would be created on the back of the golden frog. Buddha
unslung his bow and arrows and shot the golden frog's east side,
turning the frog in a northerly direction. Fire gushed from its
mouth and water spouted from its rump. Buddha threw golden
sand on the frog, which became the earth where we now live. The
part of the arrow protruding from the frog's east side became a
forest, while the arrowhead that had passed through the frog to the
west became a metal area. Because of the fire which gushed from
the frog's mouth, the north became an area of fire. Because of the
water spouting from the frog's rump, the south became a watery
area. So our earth consists of the above five elements (fire, wood,
water, metal, sand) and exists on the body of the frog. When the
frog moves its legs or shakes its head, earthquakes result. (SECEN
1987, 119)
In Mongol folklore there are also descriptions of how the world came
to have form. A few examples: the edges of sky and earth came
together in the way two pots are set against one another; there are
ninety-nine golden columns holding apart the sky and earth; the
world has three stories, the upper one being heaven where gods and
goddesses live, the middle one being earth where man dwells, and the
lower one being the place where man goes after death; heaven (sky)
is the father and earth is the mother of man, animals, etc.
Some scholars have argued that the ancient Mongols created simple
stories because of a lack of a broad explanatory base of knowledge,
while other scholars argue that they were longer and more
complicated when initially created and subsequently lost various
elements under the influence of Buddhism and other philosophies
(SECEN 1987, 116). Other stories lost various parts in the process
of being retold from generation to generation over a long historical
period. The following are two brief examples dealing with the origin
of the earth.
In the beginning the world was covered with roiling gas. The
temperature increased and dampness was generated from the
warm gas, causing it to rain heavily. The world became a vast
ocean, and at last dust and sand rose to cover the ocean surface and
become earth.
The primordial world was dark gas with no separation between
earth and sky. After many years, brightness and darkness separated,
with brightness becoming the sky and darkness becoming
the earth. After many more years, fourty-four tenger (gods or
buddhas) appeared in the east and fifty-five tenger appeared in
the west, south, and north, and the Great Bear was taken as the
standard. Thus there were ninety-nine tenger in heaven. At that
time the earth was floating and had not stabilized, and there were
neither animals nor vegetation. The tenger then created man and
had them descend to earth to plant vegetation. At last the earth
stabilized. (SECEN 1987, 120)
From the foregoing we infer that ancient Mongolian thought saw the
world as generated from dark gas. There were also explanations
concerning the origin of wind, stars, the sun, and the moon. The
following stories explain how the wind, Ursa Major, and the sun took
form.
There is an old woman in heaven who has a skin sack containing
the wind. If she is angry, she opens her sack and the wind blows
on earth. If she is furious, she opens the sack wider and wider
and the wind becomes stronger. When she is in good spirits, she
closes the sack and the wind stops. Thus, people shouldn't willfully
offend the old woman. (ANONYMOUS 1984, 16)
Long ago two brothers met a man as they set out hunting one
morning. "What are you doing?" they asked him. The man
answered, "I am waiting for a bird I just now shot to fall from
the sky." When noon came, the bird dropped from the sky, impaled
by an arrow. The three then became (sworn) brothers.
They went on and met four persons in succession, the first a man
who could hear any sound on earth and in heaven, the second a
strong man who could pile mountains on top of each other, the
third a runner who could catch antelopes, and the fourth a magician
who could drink up the sea. These seven men became (sworn)
brothers and defeated Magpie Khan by employing their skills.
In the end they became Ursa Major. (GADAMBA and CERENSODNOM
1984, 735)
Long ago an old man's cow gave birth to a calf, the front part of
which resembled a man and the rear part of which resembled a
cow. Its name was Ama-ca[gamma]an. The calf grew up and performed
many good deeds on man's behalf and so went to heaven and met
Ca[gamma]an (White) Khan. The khan told the calf, "You did many
good deeds for man but they dealt with you in an ill manner. I
struggle with the khan of the devils every day and am going to
defeat him with the (fighting) style of bulls, so please aid me."
In order to help the khan, Ama-ca[gamma]an disguised himself as a
doctor,
went to the palace of Devil Khan, and slew him. But the wife
of Devil Khan, a mangrus (monster), realized what had happened
and threw an iron scraper at Ama-ca[gamma]an's back as he was
ascending
to heaven. Am-ca[gamma]an was cut into seven pieces, and these
pieces
later became Ursa Major. (CERENSODNOM 1987, 40)
Long long ago, seven suns rose in the sky so that the rivers and
vegetation on earth dried up and men and animals had great
difficulty
surviving. At that time, there lived a famous archer named
Erkei-Mergen. People went to his home and said, "Please shoot
the suns in the sky and let us live in happiness."
Erkei-Mergen was a brave, young, and proud man. He
promised, "I want to shoot the seven suns using only seven arrows.
If I can't accomplish this I will cut off my thumbs, never
drink again, and live as an animal rather than as a man." The
archer then began to shoot the suns from east to west. He shot
down six, but while he was taking aim at the seventh a martin flew
in front of the sun and was shot in the tail. From then on, the
martin's tail has pointed in two different directions. The last sun
was frightened of the archer and fled behind West Mountain.
Angry at the martin, the archer decided to catch it using his fast
horse, Qarcagai-Alag. The horse vowed, "If I can not catch the
martin before dusk, you can cut off my four limbs and abandon
me on the open steppe. I will not live as a horse any longer."
But when dusk came, the horse had still not caught up with the
martin. Erkei-Mergen, angry at his horse, cut off its front feet
and left it on the steppe. The horse then became a jerboa,
explaining
why the jerboa's forelegs are shorter than its hind legs.
This also explains why the martin always flies around those who
ride horses with a chirping sound that translates as "Can you
catch me?" Erkei-Mergen cut off his thumbs as he had promised
and became a marmot, living in a dark hole. This explains why
the marmot has only four claws. Marmots exit their holes in the
morning and the evening because Erkei-Mergen still remembers
his vow and desires to shoot the sun. And man does not eat the
flesh of marmots because they evolved from Erkei-Mergen. From
then on day and night have appeared in turn, since the sun flies
behind West Mountain in fear [when the marmot exits its hole at
dusk]. (GADAMBA and CERENSODNOM 1984, 735)
God decided to punish the crafty monster, Raqu, but could not
find him because Raqu had gone into hiding. God ordered the
sun to find Raqu, but the sun could not do so. The moon found
the place where Raqu was hiding and told God. Raqu was thus
arrested and punished. From that time on, Raqu has been feuding
with the sun and moon and always chases them. Solar and
lunar eclipses occur just as the sun and moon are about to be
caught.
And when this happens, people shout and play musical instruments
in order to frighten Raqu away. (SECEN 1987, 121) DEIFIED
PERSONALITIES Deified personalities are human in appearance but
divine in ability and power. The following three examples
demonstrate this.
Long ago a herdsman tending a herd of horses for a prince lost the
animals. He couldn't find them no matter where he looked.
Later, an old man named Jayaci, a horse breeder for the prince,
told the herdsman, "Your lost horses ran to Altan-Bumbai Mountain
and Erdeni-Bumbai Mountain located twenty kilometers southwest
of here." The herdsman went there and found the horses just
as Jayaci had said. Even when Jayaci was on the verge of death
he still would not leave his horses. One day the prince asked him,
"Why are you unwilling to leave?" Jayaci replied, "I hope that
after I die, you will bury me between Altan-Bumbai and Erdeni-Bumbai
mountains dressed in the clothing I wore when herding,
and put my catch-pole beside my head. I also wish to be carried
to my burial on my yellow horse." When the prince agreed to
this, Jayaci stopped breathing. He was buried in accordance with
his last request. After a few months had passed, some of the
prince's herds of horses were stolen and driven to Altan-Bumbai
and Erdeni-Bumbai at midnight. A pestilence then spread among
the horses and they began to die. The prince went to Jayaci's
grave, offered sacrifices to him, and said, "You have gone away
and must be tired. The children in our home place are frightened
of you. I suggest that you not leave here again. I will draw
your image on a cattle skin and put it in my yurt to worship. This
way you can see the horses and other domestic animals every day
and you will feel very happy." Returning to his home, the prince
drew an image of Jayaci on a cattle skin and worshipped him.
From the following day horses were never stolen or taken ill again.
And Jayaci, who had been seen at night, never appeared again.
After a few months, Jayaci's wife also died. Soon after, some
children became ill. People understood that this was because she
missed children, since she had loved children very much during
her lifetime. As soon as they drew her image on a clean white
piece of felt and worshipped it the children recovered. Later,
people worshipped Jayaci as the protecting deity of livestock and
his wife as the protecting deity of children. When people came
to use cloth, herdsmen moved the images of Jayaci and his wife
from cattle skin and felt onto white cloth. (OBOR MONG[gamma]OL-YIN
KELE UTQA JOQIJAL SUDULQU [gamma]AJAR 1963, 6)
Qobolta stole a heavenly cow while in paradise and killed it to eat
on
a snowy mountain. The Lord of Heaven noticed this and sent
an emissary to arrest Qobolta. Qobolta told the emissary, "The
fact that I have stolen a heavenly cow is proof of the fact that I
have been in heaven. I killed the cow in order to make a god
image." The emissary replied, "I will not punish you if you
really can make a god image," and returned to heaven. Qobolta
cut the skin of the cattle into strips as wide as a finger, and
wrapped
each cattle bone with one of these strips. Next he distributed the
images to everyone on earth, telling them, "This is the deity Bumal.
If you sincerely believe in him, you will surely be healthy and
happy all year and your domestic animals will breed and multiply."
Qobolta was the first to believe in the deity. From that time on,
Bumal became the embodiment of God for the Mongols. They
always drew his image on cattle horns and put it outside their
yurts to worship. (OBOR MONG[gamma]OL-YIN KELE UTQA JOQIJAL SUDULQU
[gamma]AJAR 1963, 6)
Many years ago, the brutal black Dragon King lived on the land
and not in the sea. His constant attacks made him a dangerous
enemy to man. At that time, there lived an old man who was only
one span high but had a beard two spans long. He had a sack
made from camel-neck skin, a spoon made of wild buck horn,
and a billy goat. One day the old man set off to subdue Dragon
King. On the way, the old man came to the sea. The sea asked,
"Where are you going?" "I am going to vanquish the Dragon
King," replied the old man. "How can you defeat him?" the sea
inquired in an arrogant and contemptuous tone. The old man was
very angry, and drew the entire sea into his spoon with a single
dip, leaving the seabed dry. Putting the sea into his sack, he went
on until he met a fox. "Where are you going?" asked the fox.
"I am going to defeat Dragon King," answered the old man.
"How can you do that?" the fox mockingly inquired. The old
man was furious at this question, scooped up the fox, and put him
in his sack. Next he met a wolf. "Where are you going?" asked
the wolf. "I am going to defeat Dragon King," replied the old
man. "How can you defeat Dragon King?" the wolf asked in a
ridiculing tone. The old man was infuriated at the wolf, beat it
with his spoon, and threw it too into his sack. He then continued
his journey and arrived at the rear of Dragon King's palace.
Climbing a hill behind the palace, he shouted, "I want to vanquish
man's enemy, Dragon King." His voice was so loud that it shook
the hill and Dragon King's heart. The proud Dragon King replied,
"If you offend me so openly, I will release my ten thousand
sheep to raise a dust that will settle upon and kill you." The ten
thousand sheep then ran forth, but the old man set free the wolf
from his sack. The sheep saw the wolf and fled, scattering in all
directions. Then the Dragon King said, "I will send my two dogs
to devour you," and set free Qasar and Qusar, his two dogs. The
old man let the fox out of his sack. The fox fled from the dogs, and
the dogs chased it far away. Dragon King began to be afraid, and
ordered his ten thousand soldiers to attack the old man. But the old
man wasn't worried and waited for the troops to approach. When
they came near he opened his sack, and the sea poured out and
rushed in with powerful waves upon Dragon King, his soldiers, and
his palace. From then on Dragon King never lived on land but
only in the sea. (OBOR MONG[gamma]OL-YIN KELE UTQA JOQIJAL SUDULQU
[gamma]AJAR 1963, 3)
Mongols living in the eastern part of Inner Mongolia made sacrifices
to Jayaci and Bumal until the 1940s. Jayaci was venerated as the god
who guarded livestock and Bumal as the protector of children. In
general, it is thought that the two accounts related to Bumal and
Jayaci are uninfluenced by Buddhism and arose from ancient Mongol
society and culture.
The brutal black Dragon King may be understood as the embodiment of
natural catastrophe. In the defeat of the King, the Mongols express
their desire to surmount the difficulties imposed by Nature.
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