The Moon and the Sun in Kalmyk Mythology

Introduction

Folklore works are able to preserve not only the early forms of human relationship with nature, but also the artistic components of subsequent generations. Gorky said that mythology "in general is a reflection of the phenomena of nature, the struggle with nature and the reflection of social life in broad artistic generalizations" ^{[1, pp. 102-103]}. The origin and development of Kalmyk myths are connected with the history and culture of the Kalmyks.

The Kalmyks' worldview was especially influenced by the nomadic lifestyle. Kalmyks from childhood knew the names of the stars, understood the phenomena of nature, because their lives depended on this knowledge. If one or another natural phenomenon was incorrectly guessed, livestock, which was the main source of vital activity of the Kalmyks, could suffer. The sun, moon and stars served as a guide for the nomadic Kalmyks, indicating their location or serving as a guide for the direction of movement. The heavenly bodies also served as a reference point for calculating time.

Cosmogonic myths are quite common in Kalmyk mythology. Myths about the creation of the Earth, the appearance of the Sun, Moon and stars are found in the collections of D.E. Basayev "Seven Stars", myths are collected in the "Code of Kalmyk folklore" in the volume "Myths, legends and legends of the Kalmyks". Kalmyk solar and lunar myths were not the object of separate study, the author tried to analyze the myths in the above collections, to find similar points or differences. 

Myths about the moon and the sun in the collection "Seven Stars"

The collection of myths and legends "Seven Stars" presents several versions of myths about the creation of heavenly bodies, including the creation of the sun and moon.

The myth "About the creation of the Earth, the Sun, the Moon and man" was recorded by E.K. Lidzhiev from his mother D.K. Lidzhieva and published under the title "Arakha" in the collection of fairy tales "Altn zun-temn" in 1995. This myth tells about the creation of the world. Initially, when the world did not exist yet, the Earth was created by deities. Khan Tengriev Tengir Khan and Khan Asurov Esrin Khan, traveling through the sky and looking down, saw the ocean and nothing else. Agreeing with all the deities, Burhan-Bakshi let the turtle sail on the ocean. Burkhan-Bakshi, shooting from above, turned the turtle upside down. The Earth was created on the turtle's belly. The moon appeared out of the water on a silver chariot drawn by a white horse when Esrin Khan and Tengir Khan descended to the Ground and saw that darkness reigned around and there was no life. In order to catch something for the Earth, they began to rummage around the ocean. Then the moon appeared. Tengir Khan said that the moonlight can dispel the darkness of the night, and the deities sent the Moon to travel around the Earth and not to leave this path. After a while, the Sun appeared from the ocean on a golden chariot drawn by three nightingale horses, which radiated daylight and could give warmth to all living things. At the behest of the deities, it illuminated the Earth, moving along its path. In addition to the Moon and the Sun, a jug of arza (strong Kalmyk vodka) and a jug of living water – arshan were fished out of the ocean. The jug with arshan kidnaps Arakh. Arakha drinks arshan and replaces him by urinating in a jug. Ochir-Vani-geghyan goes in search of Arahi. The Sun and the Moon help him in his search, pointing the way to where Arakha ran away. Having thrown the ochir (his scepter) into the Arakha, Ochir-Vani-geghyan cut it in two: he attached one half to the chariot of the Moon, the other to the chariot of the Sun. For his help in catching Arakha, he swore to torment the Moon once every three months, and the Sun once every three years. This is how lunar and solar eclipses were explained ^{[2, pp. 35-37]}.

The myth illustrates the appearance of the Moon and Sun from the ocean on chariots drawn by horses. The chariots have the same color as the Moon and Sun appear: silver and gold. The horses harnessed to the chariots also correspond to the color shades: the white horse of the Moon and the nightingale horse of the Sun. It is noteworthy how Tengir Khan defines that moonlight "can dispel the darkness of the night," and "The sun emits daylight and can give warmth to all living things. Let it illuminate the Earth, moving along its path" ^{[2, p. 36]}. 

In the myth "About the Creation of the heavenly bodies" (recorded by priest A. Lebedev and published in 1886 in the section "Kalmyk folk tales" of the Astrakhan Diocesan Gazette), the gods decided to create the Sun, Moon and stars so that there would be day and night on earth. The gods began to pump water from the ocean with a huge pump. From the first time the Sun flew out, from the second – the Moon and stars, from the third – arshan. Then it became light and warm on earth. But arshan was kidnapped by the fierce beast Arakh, who drank it, became immortal. And he left a black liquid in the vessel. The gods couldn't leave it in the sky, it's bad and the smell is fetid, you can't pour it on the ground either – people will die. Then Ochir-Vani-geghyan decided to drink this liquid. As soon as he did that, he turned black all over. Ochir-Vani-geghyan decided to take revenge on Arakha, set off in search of him. When he caught the Arahu, he cut it in two. The lower half fell into the sea, where it produces frequent storms, the upper half flew to the sky to destroy the Sun, Moon and stars – the creation of the gods. Since then, Arakha has been trying to swallow the heavenly bodies, and this causes solar and lunar eclipses ^{[2, pp. 37-38]}.

The Sun and Moon in this myth do not appear as majestically as in the above: putting a huge pump in the ocean, the gods began to pump water. The sun and the Moon flew out of the ocean, while the Moon flew out of the ocean along with the stars. In the myth "About the creation of the heavenly bodies", chariots or horses are not mentioned, the right of primacy is also transferred to the Sun, and the Moon is given second place along with the rest of the stars.

The myth "The Evil Arakha" (published by S. Badashev to the newspaper "Krasnaya Steppe" in 1927) is the third version of one plot. In the myth, after the prayer service, the gods struck the ocean with a sharp spear. From the first blow came the Sun, from the second – the Moon, and from the third – the evil spirit of Arakh. The gods did not invite Arakha to the prayer service in honor of the heavenly bodies. At the prayer service, they consecrated the arshan, poured it into a jug and left it in the temple under the supervision of the disciples, so that later with the help of the arshan they could purify the whole world from the evil spirit. But Arakha drank arshan in revenge, then urinating into a jug. The gods, having learned about Arahi's trick, did not know what to do. Then Ochir-Vani-geghyan decided to drink urine. After drinking, his face immediately turned yellow, and his heart hardened. Ochir-Vani-geghyan decided to punish Arakha and went in pursuit of him. The Sun and the Moon helped him in catching Arakhi. Having caught up with Arakha, Ochir-Vani-geghyan cut him in two with a pointed staff. The lower part has gone into the ground and manifests itself in the form of various reptiles, insects and diseases. The upper Ochir-Vani-geghyan was chained to the moon. Araha decided to take revenge on the Sun and the Moon for helping by swallowing the Sun once every three years, and the Moon once a year. According to the beliefs of the Kalmyks, eclipses of these heavenly bodies happen like this ^{[2, pp. 38-40]}.

In the above-mentioned myth "The Evil Araha" as well as in the myth "About the creation of the heavenly bodies", the Moon appears after the Sun, only on its own, without the other stars. In this myth, both the Sun and the Moon appear by striking a sharp spear into the world ocean.

The myth "The Moon and the Sun" (published in the magazine "Krasnaya Nov" in 1927) does not mention how the Sun and the Moon appeared. They are the main assistants of Otching-geghyan, the Dalai Lama's disciple in capturing the evil spirit of Arahi, who drank the remedy found by the Dalai Lama, called "ukl uga monkin arshan" (living water). The Dalai Lama decided to find a means for humanity, such that people never die. Moving mountains from their place, he found this remedy at the bottom of the ocean – living water. He left arshan under the supervision of his students, and in his absence, the students also decided to find such a remedy, but only woke up and angered Arakha. Arakha left his urine in a vessel, instead of drinking arshan. In order not to harm the Kalmyk people, the Dalai Lama decided to leave urine in this vessel. But the students decided to drink it, and Otching-geghyan got the most, he immediately turned black. The Dalai Lama and his disciples went in search of Arahi. The disciple of Otching-geghyan met the Sun and the Moon, which showed the way where Arakha ran away. Otching-geghyan, throwing his scepter at him, cut Arakha in two. The lower part went into the ground, forming various diseases, insects and reptiles. The upper one went to heaven, was caught by the gods and tied to the moon. The angry Araha swore to cover the face of the Moon three times a year, and once every three years the face of the Sun. After that, the Dalai Lama warned the Kalmyks, when an eclipse occurs, to gather near huruls (Buddhist temples) and scare away the Arahu so that he would not break away from the Moon and come to earth ^{[2, pp. 40-41]}.

The myth "Gods are Stars and Arakha" was written down by S. Vaskin from his mother B.M. Vaskina in 1886 and published in the newspaper Izvestia Kalmykia in 1998. Once upon a time, the star gods gathered, then still living on earth. They gathered to get arshan from the depths of the ocean. Then there was no Sun and Moon on earth, the light was given by the star gods: the Big Dipper, the Polar Star and others. Sun and Moon were the youngest of them. Scooping a fragrant liquid from the ocean into his palm, one of the gods exclaimed that this was arshan. At the same moment, a huge black monster appeared, which dipped its finger into the arshan, began to lick it on the move, quickly retreating. It happened so quickly and suddenly that when the archers appeared, Araha was already far away. The Sun was the first to point at the departing Arahu, followed by the Moon pointed at him. The archers shot arrows from their bows so thickly that they broke the Arach in half. The lower part went into the ground, forming a large mountain. The upper one flew up, as Arakha tried arshan and became immortal. Cursing the Sun and the Moon, he swore to swallow the Moon once a year, and the Sun once every three years. After a while, the star gods settled all over the universe. The grown-up Sun and Moon illuminated the earth day and night. The gods caught and chained Araha to an iron cart on the moon, these are the dark spots on the moon. Eclipses occur when the Araha swallows the moon and the Sun. When eclipses occur, Kalmyks say: "Araha sarig umkana" ("Araha swallows the moon"), "Araha narig umkana" ("Araha swallows the sun") ^{[2, pp. 41-43]}.

This myth is notable for the fact that the Sun and Moon are represented in it as children who are not yet independent enough to rule in the firmament. The source of light is the star gods, such as the Big Dipper, the Polar Star, who live on earth. Despite the fact that at the beginning of the myth it is mentioned that there were no stars, no Sun, no Moon in the Universe, further on the text still mentions the stars-gods, as well as the children of the Sun and the Moon. The author suggests that such a discrepancy is not accidental: the heavenly bodies are still immature children, living at the beginning of time on earth, and not in the firmament, so the myth mentions the phrase that "it was a time when there were no stars, no Sun, no Moon in the whole universe."

Myths about the moon and the sun in the collection "Code of Kalmyk folklore. Myths, legends and legends of the Kalmyks"

Araha appears to be an evil spirit swallowing the Sun and Moon. In some myths of the collection "The Code of Kalmyk folklore. Myths, legends and legends of the Kalmyks" he appears to be the khan of all Asuras (i.e., the lord of demonic beings). Vajrapani (kalm. Ochrvani). Vajrapani is a bodhisattva of the Buddhist pantheon, presented with a scepter (Skt. "vajra", kalm. "ochr"), which helps him in the fight against Peanuts.

In the "Myths, legends and Legends of the Kalmyks", the myth of "Arakha" is first presented, similar in content to the myth "About the creation of the Earth, the Sun, the Moon and man". As noted above, this myth was written down by E.K. Lidzhiev from D.K. Lidzhieva's mother and published under the title "Arakha" in the collection of fairy tales "Altn zun-temn" in 1995. Comparing the two versions of the recorded myth, some differences can be traced. The myth of the "Arakh" of the collection "Myths, legends and legends of the Kalmyks" does not mention the names of the khan of the Tengri and the Khan of the Asuras. In both versions, the Moon appears first, on a silver cart drawn by a white horse. The second golden Sun appears in a cart drawn by a trio of salt horses. But in this version of the myth there is a description of the color not of the cart, as in the myth "About the creation of the Earth, the Sun, the Moon and man", but of the Sun itself. In the "Arakha" myth, the instruction of the Tengri Khan to the Sun is more capacious: "Illuminate the Earth with your thin rays" ^{[3, pp. 33, 35]}.

The myth "How Arakha covered the Sun and the Moon" was recorded from Manji and published in the book "Ochirov N.O. Living Antiquity" in 2006. In the myth of Vajrapani, Geghyan, together with the khan of the Asuras Arakha and the khan of the Tengri Khormusta, participated in the creation of the Sun and Moon by knocking down water in the World Ocean with a mountain. At the next knock down, a vessel with arshan (sacred drink, holy water) appeared. The vessel was taken by the Khan of the Asuras of Arakh. To prevent the immortality of all pests, asuras, Vajrapani was going to give arshan to all living beings. But Arakha beat him to it, having drunk all arshan and having escaped. The Sun and Moon helped Vajrapani in his search for Arahi. Catching up with Araha, Vajrapani threw a scepter at him and cut him in two. The upper part shot up, the lower part remained. For Vajrapani's help, Araha swore to swallow the moon and the Sun in revenge. But since only half of his body remains, the heavenly bodies come out of his chest ^{[3, pp. 35, 37]}.

In this myth, the Sun and Moon appear by knocking down a mountain of water in the World Ocean. They were taken by Khormusta, Khan Tengriev. Further, their functionality is not indicated, for which they were created. But both the Moon and the Sun appear as Vajrapani geghyan's assistants. The moon pointed to Arakha when he was drinking arshan, and the Sun pointed the way where Arakha escaped. For this, Araha swore to take revenge on them by swallowing the Moon once every six months and the Sun once every six years.

In the "Myth of the Arakh" (published in the book "Ern?í? Ê. Ê. Ê. Ê. Ê. Ê. Ê. Ê.. Ter chilgr edr" in 1977) Vajrapani geghyan appears to be a virtuous character thinking about how to save people from death and other misfortunes. This myth is notable for the fact that it seems that Vajrapani Geghyan became the creator of arshan. He conceived the idea of creating an arshan, after drinking which a person could get rid of death. Further, the plot coincides with the above: Arakha, after drinking arshan, became immortal and disappeared in clouds of black dust. Vajrapani, catching up with him, cut him in half: the upper part flew into the sky, the lower part remained on the Ground and turned into various reptiles, which spread, polluted the Earth. Vajrapani was very upset, because the upper half of Arahi would not leave the celestials alone, and the lower half would not leave people alone. Then the people, turning to their defender, replied that they themselves would be able to escape from the reptiles left on Earth. In the sky, Vajrapani was helped by the Sun and Moon, pointing the way where Araha went. Thanks to the heavenly bodies, Vajrapani was able to catch and chain Araha on the back side of the moon. Since then, Araha has been feuding with the heavenly bodies and swallows them when enraged. But they come out of his gaping chest ^{[3, pp. 39, 41]}.

"Vajrapani geghyan" is a myth written by E.B. Ovalov from A. Kadzhiev, published in the newspaper "Halmg unn" in 1992. In the myth, Arakha is represented by Musa, who hated people and wanted to destroy all living things. One day, Arakha flew up and threw out all the poison accumulated in him on people. At that time, Vajrapani Geghyan was walking along the steppe. Realizing the danger of the poison, he absorbed it into himself. Laughing, Araha shouted that he would swallow the Sun and the Moon alternately. Hearing this, Vajrapani geghyan threw a scepter at him and cut the Araha in two. The lower part went into the ground, and the upper part was chained by Vajrapani Geghyan to an iron cart located between the Sun and the Moon. Since then, a lot of time has passed, an angry Araha alternately swallows the Sun and the Moon. But the Sun and the Moon come out of his gaping belly ^{[3, pp. 41, 43]}.

In the two myths above, there is absolutely no mention of the appearance of the Sun, Moon or stars. In the "Myth of the Arakh" it is noteworthy to mention what kind of punishment was prepared for the Arakh who drank arshan. He is chained with a thick chain to the far side of the moon. The Sun and the Moon are Vajrapani geghyan's assistants in capturing the evil spirit of Arahi. In the myth of "Vajrapani Geghyan" they completely fade into the background, judging by the name, the main character is Vajrapani Geghyan. Also, the myth does not mention why Arakha began to swallow the Sun and Moon.

Conclusions

There are several versions of the Arakh myth, which are different versions of the same plot. According to this story, the gods create a magical drink – arshan. Araha drinks it, one of the gods goes after him in pursuit. The Sun and Moon help to find Arahu. God overtakes Arahu and cuts him into two parts. The lower part goes to the earth, bad weather, diseases, various insects and reptiles occur from it; the upper part rises to the top, it is chained to the Moon. For helping to catch him, Arakha swallows the Sun and Moon, but since he has no lower part, they come out of his stomach.

The appearance of the Sun and Moon is mentioned only in the myths "About the creation of the Earth, the Sun, the Moon and man", "About the creation of the heavenly bodies", "Evil Arakha" in the collection "Seven Stars" and in the myths "Arakha", "How Arakha closed the Sun and the Moon" in the collection "Myths, legends and legends kalmyks". In these myths, they appear from the waters of the ocean in different ways: knocking down water with a mountain, with the help of a huge pump, with a blow of a sharp spear.

Kalmyk cosmogonic myths explain not only the birth of the Sun and Moon, but also solar and lunar eclipses. In these myths, lunar and solar eclipses are explained by the fact that when the Moon or the Sun disappears from the firmament, it is the Araha that swallows the heavenly bodies, and not the Moon that covers the Sun or the Sun covers the Moon. Accordingly, when they appear, it means they came out of his chest.

The plot is quite widespread among the Mongolian peoples, it goes back to Indian mythology. In Indian mythology, the dragon Rahu was tricked into receiving a drink of immortality, which only the gods tasted, and took a few sips. The Sun and Moon noticed Rahu among the gods and revealed him. Then the god Vishnu cut off Rahu's head with a disk. But since the head became immortal from drinking the drink, it ascended to heaven. Since then, the head of Rahu swallows the Sun and the Moon, wanting revenge ^{[4, p. 33]}.

In one Khalkha legend, Arach has the power of the thunderer and is called one of the stars of the seven stars, which causes an eclipse. In the Derbet version, Arakhi is the front part of a man–eating mongoose cut in half by a burkhan. The lower part is visible in the sun – these are spots. Arakhi is struggling with the month ^{[5, 861]}.

In all the myths described above, the Sun and Moon help Vajrapani geghyan catch Araha and cut it in two. In the myths "About the creation of the Earth, the Sun, the Moon and man", "Arakh", the dissected parts of Arakh were attached to the chariots of the Sun and the Moon. In other myths, the lower part falls to the ground, forming storms (the myth "About the creation of heavenly bodies") or turning the earth into a mountain ("Gods-stars and Arakha"), or manifests on earth in the form of insects, various reptiles or diseases ("Evil Arakha").

As for the upper part of the dissected Arahi, the myth of the "Evil Araha" mentions that the upper part of the Arahi was chained to the Moon. In the myth "The Moon and the Sun", she is tied to the Moon. In more detail, what happened to the upper part is described in the myth "The Gods are stars and Arakha": the upper part was chained to an iron cart buried on the Moon, and the dark spots on the Moon are Arakha and the cart. Only in the "Myth of the Arakh" does not mention the cutting of the Arakh in two.

The peculiarity of the Kalmyk cosmogonic myths indicates the desire of the ancestors to know the world. Lunar and solar eclipses found a peculiar reflection in the consciousness of the ancestors.