Yu.E. Berezkin, E.N. Duvakin

Thematic classification and distribution of folklore and mythological motifs by area

Analytical catalogue

Introduction
Bibliography
Ethnicities and habitats

A2D. Suns from different worlds .12.27.35.36.39.52.53.55.60.66.

Other suns illuminate other levels of the universe or will shine consistently in the future.

West Africa. Fulbe [seven suns symbolize seven heavens or seven worlds, each corresponding to one of the seven colors of the rainbow]: Zubko 1987:114.

The Balkans. Hungarians [in the lower world (land of dragons) and in the upper world shine their own sun, moon and stars]: Erdész 196:334-335, 343.

Western Siberia. Eastern Khanty: Shatilov 1931:100 (b. Wah) [a shaman flies a wonderful bird to the place where Torum lives (Alle Ike, Nagi-Ike - Big or White Old Man; eight suns shine there, eight months], 126-128 [same, shaman the tiers of the sky fly by on the bird; six suns shine on the sixth, six months, and the seventh for seven]; (cf. Pelikh 1972 ("Summer Kiev Yurts") [The sun lived on one side of the river, her sister on the other; the man came to marry the Sun, she replies that they cannot get together, for she is the Sun; he goes to her sister, receives the same answer; he goes to look for a real woman (the informant does not remember further)]: 368-369); northern Selkups [Ylynta kota was Nom's wife, quarreled with him, went to live deep underground; at the same time she gave birth to layers of the upper tier of the earth, i.e. the inhabited land of the Middle World; she has two daughters with fiery faces; one, the heavenly Sun, harnesses her into a sledge every morning sky deer, travels around the world; the second daughter lives with her mother in the underworld, her face is blazing with green fire; this is the sun of the dead; when she goes upstairs, you can see the northern lights (retelling in Tuchkova 2004:323)]: Pelikh 1998:29; Kets [there are sun in every sky, and in general "there are a lot of them up there"]: Anuchin 1914:15.

Eastern Siberia. Western (Viluian) Yakuts [there are nine tiers, or heavens (hallān), of different colors; the very last one, where Y rung Ayyi Toyon lives, has three suns, but on earth only one thing can be seen; its light and warmth reach the ground through a hole in the sky]: Popov 1949:259; central Yakuts [shaman tells how Ar Toyen once spread over three heavens two white suns on the sides, created a third; between two suns, winter and summer, a month was born on one silver rock; on the other there was a golden table; on these rocks lived Iryun ai Toyen; Khan created anisytes (angel); he took an angry boy under his right arm, a crying girl under his left arm, brought them to the ground; the Yakuts descended from them]: Ovchinnikov 1912:364-365.

SV Asia. The Chukchi [some of the upper and lower worlds each have several suns-two to eight; when it's winter, it's summer in the neighboring world, and vice versa]: Bogoraz 1939:40-41.

Mesoamerica Lacandons [(by Christian Rätsch, K'ayum Ma'ax 1984:44-46); the world consists of seven disc-shaped tiers; from top to bottom: 1) "Wandering Deities" (planets); 2) the tier where Kak'och lives ("two- monkey"); Hachäkyum put the sun here, but this tier already had the sun that K. made for H., the heat of both is too strong, so the sun that illuminates our world was placed on a special tier; 3) the third tier is suspended from the second, T'uup ("Baby") lives here, an arachnid monkey, master of the sun {there is confusion in the text; apparently, this is the fourth tier - allocated for our sun}; 5) the sky vultures, suspended from the fourth tier; 6) earth; 7) the underworld where Sukunkyum is located is suspended from stone pillars on the ground]: Milbrath 1999:20.

Honduras - Panama. Hikake [Tomam lives in the eastern sky, where four suns and four moons shine; to get there, a shaman, accompanied by messenger T., flies east across a sea of bloody colors; the dead also go there, their younger brother T. takes care of them]: Chapman 1992:138.

Ecuador. Kayapa [the upper world is like ours but waterless; there's a different, motionless sun shining there]: Barrett 1925:344.

The Northern Andes. Kogi [the suns of all nine tiers of the sky are brothers of our sun]: Reichel-Dolmatoff 1985 (1): 226; the tunsky [our sun's four brothers are weaker than he is; they are consistently in the future will replace him]: Marquez 1980:653.

Central Amazon. Mura (piraha) [Igagai made the sun; after passing above the ground, the sun loses its power; so the inhabitants of the lower world decided to make their own sun; this is what Abigoe and his wife did; this sun is made of heavy clay (de uma terra pesada), because the inhabitants of this world themselves are thick and large, they can roll such a sun; the sun, moon, wind and other elements of nature have to be done anew every day; Igagai gives this work to others; Peheai is responsible for the wind, Aitoe for the sun, Apapaiuepe for the stars, Huaohoi for the cold (this one only feeds on fish caught with poison)]: Gonçalves 2001:165.

Montagna - Jurua. Machigenga: Baer 1984:169 [according to various authors, the Month has two to four sons; one or two of them are the suns of the upper and lower worlds], 423 [(No. 1) people ate the earth, there was no cassava; the girl is left alone in the hut on the occasion of her first period; the month comes to her, gives cassava, yams, corn, bananas, plants it all in the garden; she gives birth to her first son; dies giving birth to the second; The month said that his wife would soon come to life, but his mother-in-law angrily told him to eat it, throws her daughter's blood in his face; the corpse turned into a tapir, the Month fried it; the Month with both sons rose to heaven; both sons Suns, but on different levels; at first the Sun almost burned everything, but shamans told him to shine weaker]: 423; García 1942 [the first machigenga eat pottery, have no teeth; a girl is sitting in a hut for menstruation, Month (Kashiri) brings her cooked cassava, teaches her how to chew; parents are happy with her son-in-law; The month does not give cassava to another girl who also has her period; she throws blood and spots in his face still visible; The month leads his wife to swim in the river, she is touched by a fish, she becomes pregnant, gives birth to four sons in succession; these are Pari áchiri (Sun), Sar ípoto ( Venus), Kientiámpa (the sun of the lower world, shines weakly), Kori énti (Ki énti, T ábanti) is the sun of the uppermost world that illuminates and warming celestials; by the birth of each Month he plants pumpkins; at the last pregnancy they dry up; the baby is hot, the wife dies of burns; the mother-in-law in her hearts tells the Month to eat the corpse; he reluctantly agrees; goes with his sons to the appropriate tiers of the world; makes the top on the river to catch the dead; the Toad gives a signal every time a new corpse hits the top; Corn, Cassava and others cultivated plants are daughters of the Month; if people offend them, the Month will take them to heaven, they will have to eat clay again]: 230-233; Pereira 1988a (=1942; see motif A5) [younger brother is too hot, placed on uppermost sky]: 23-24.