세계 창세신화(創世神話)에 나타나는 잠수모티프 비교 연구 - 핀-우그르족과 그 주변 민족들을 중심으로

Abstract

Mircea Eliade referred to the motifs of submergence in Creation myths for the first time of its kind in his book "From Primitives to Zen: A Thematic Sourcebook of the History of Religions." Thereafter, the studies of such kind have focused their targets on Romania and Bulgaria in the Balkan region. In the Republic of Korea, Park Jong-sung and Lee Ho-chang published the papers that revolved around the both countries as well. The present study was not limited to the Creation myths in the two countries, but addressed all the ones available in the world on a comparative basis. Its results are as follows: first, the myths were seen in the following five groups of peoples: 1. the Finno-Ugric tribes, i.e. Vogul, Vod, etc. in Siberia; 2. the Finno-Ugric people in northern Europe, i.e. Finns; 3. the Finno-Ugric people in middle Europe, i.e. Hungarians; 4. the Mongolians in Asia; 5. the Bulgarians and Romanians in the Balkan area. Second, Groups 1, 2 and 3 dwelled together in the east of the Ural Mountains. However, climate changes caused Group 1 to move to the north and settle in Siberia, Group 2 to move to the northwest across the Ural Mountains and settle in northern Europe and Group 3 to move to the west across the Ural Mountains and settle in middle Europe. Groups 1, 2 and 3 are of the same origin, Group 4 refers to Asian natives and Group 5 refers to European natives. Hence, the motifs of submergence are mostly found in Finno-Ugric myths. The possibility is that they spread among the Mongolians in Asia through the contacts with Finno-Ugric peoples and among Bulgarians and Romanians under the influence of the Hungarians who had migrated from Asia to Europe. Third, the Creation, a source of life and form, begins with water and uses soil as material. Forth, recent studies argue in terms of diffusionism that the dualism of Bogomilianism affected the motifs of Co-Creation by a good god and a bad god in Hungarian and Romanian submergence myths. However, the explanations based on human sub-consciousness, represented by C.G.Jung and M. Eliade, seem to be more convincing in that the same motifs are shown by the Finno-Ugric peoples who dwell in Siberia without contact with Hungarians and Romanians.