몽골계 민족의 “잠수신화” 연구

Abstract

This research examines the types, composition and features of Earth-diver myth of Mongolian peoples and observes why the myth holds the certain types, composition and features. A long time ago, Mongolians told multiple versions of how the world was created. The most common story is that the world was covered with primal waters. Mongolian explanation of how the earth was created from the primordial seas also varies. They say the earth was created in various ways; from a nest made by a sacred bird, Kalavinka which was sent by Khormast Tenger; from the particles of the earth sprinkled by Buddha Or Shakyamuni; by a sacred horse, on which the goddess Maidar rode, burnt the surface of the waters; by Sakyamuni who scattered the particles of the earth on a turtle; by a group of Buddhist monks who prayed to Buddha or stirred the sea. Like this, different stories are told. Although there are so many kinds of stories told the research conducted on the mythology is very little. Hence, the author of this paper investigated the patterns, composition and features of the Earth-diver myths in Mongolia to reveal the structure of Mongolian creation myth. Followings are discussed in this thesis. First, through the collected materials from the places where Mongolian peoples lived, it was identified that there are many different kinds of the Earth-diver myth. The types of Mongolian mythology is so diverse that some stories of the Earth-diver myth throughout Eastern Europe, Siberia and North America, which are discussed in the world’s mythological academia, can also be identified in Mongolia, except rare cases which the creator or multiple divers personally dive into the sea. Second, Mongolian protagonists are diverse as much as its Earth-diver myth types. Multiple creators, which are hardly seen in other regional myth, appear and in case of assistant, they are friendly, conflictual and even workload sharing. Besides conventional antagonists who attempt to spoil or take the control over the created world, there appears a third party antagonist who does not play a role in creating the world and an antagonist who obstructs collection of soil, a source of the earth. The narrative structure is also complex and multi-layered. For example, in a single story, a turtle plays diverse roles such as a primitive possessor of soil, an antagonist of creation, a supporter of the earth, and the origin of the fifth element to construct the world. Third, in binary opposition in Mongolian Earth-diver myth, there are conflicts between the creator and the assistant (the diver), between the creator and the third party antagonist, between the creators to take over the world, and between the diver and another antagonist (gold turtle, scissors-fish), which take on various and unique aspects unlike other regions. Lastly, the reasons why the Earth-diver myth types vary, the narrative structure is complex, and they have unique binary oppositions are related to Mongolian habitat. Geographically, Mongolia spreads from a forest land (Buryat) in Siberia through a steppe zone in Mongolia and Inner Mongolia to an agricultural and stock farming zone (Eastern Inner Mongolia). Moreover, its geographical location, where cultures exchange and its world domination during 13–14th century also contributed to such complexity.