A37A. The Hidden Shooter .21.26.34.38.49.

A small animal (marmot, rabbit, mole, toad, frog, earthworm) or a person who eventually becomes such an animal tries to hit the heavenly body with arrows or the arrow helps. Since then, this animal has been hiding in burrows and water.

Lepcha, Minyong, (Panggi), Chinese (Henan), Tuvans, Altaians, Trans-Baikal Buryats, Mongols, Oirats, Darhats, Japanese, Southern Utah.

Tibet is the Northeast of India. Lepcha [two Sun Brothers took turns, the heat was unbearable; the Toad (an edible species) volunteered to kill the Sun, made an arrow out of a scallop (Celosia L., amaranth), killed it older brother; the youngest was covered with a black blanket, it became dark; black pestles turned into snakes, wooden mortars into tigers; fireflies and a tree with white leaves tried to illuminate the world, it turned them outside; but that was not enough; half of the people died from snakes and tigers; humans, animals, and the supreme god Rum himself unsuccessfully asked the Sun to return; only when the Bat hung himself up against at the ends of the bow by the legs and nose, shouted through his nose that the world would die from the cold, the Sun looked out because no one had yet spoken to him through his nose; when he saw the Bat hanging on the bow, he smiled; immediately it became hot and The bat fell, breaking his bones; therefore, his legs look neither bird nor animal, and his nose was twisted; they decided to punish the Toad, otherwise the Sun would not shine; his thumbs were cut off, placed in a cold place; the dead Sun has become the Month; in the seventh, eighth and ninth months, the current Sun sets earlier, says it is tired; but in fact, the red rooster scallop grows to its fullest at this time height and the Sun fears being shot]: Stocks 1925, No. IX: 363-365 (quoted in Yamada 2009a: 34-36; retelling in Kühn 1936:82, brief in Elwin 1949:54); miniong: Elwin 1958a, No. 13 [two The Sun Brothers took turns shining 12 hours a day; the frog shot one arrow, its lights went out, it became the Month, the fragments from the impact became stars; out of revenge, both brothers send their arrows to the ground bringing death to human children; a frog hides from the Sun in water], 14 [Kayum-Sedi-Sedi-Irkong-Komi-Manne died, his body decayed but his eyes remained; Sedi-Digir-Irkong-Komong-Yongmo threw them into the sky, they became two suns, burned the earth; Wiyus (gods, first ancestors) gathered, decided to destroy one sun; rainbow maker Silling-Pai hit him with a poisoned arrow; his light faded, he became a month Pollo; Silling-Pai was frightened of what he had done, hid in Siang River, became a frog; the owner of the waters gave his bow and arrows to the insect Go-Eng; he shoots at people when they start clearing the forest for crops, in this time people get sick]: 47, 47-48; (cf. panggies [were Doini (sun) and Dopo, Pollo (month) and Poyo, eternal day; Wiyus (gods, ancestors) had no eyes or limbs, then appeared but had no food; decided it took night, Frog Doiney killed, it's dark; Wiyus asked humans and animals to revive the Sun; she agreed to return on the condition that she could eat whatever she wanted; when a person dies during the day, the Sun eats him, when at night - Month]: Elwin 1958a, No. 21:52-53).

China - Korea. The Chinese (Henan) [there were 10 suns in the sky - the grandchildren of the Lord of Heaven (Tien Di); the harvest was dying, the rivers were drying up; Houyi shot nine suns to save people; the tenth hid, it became completely dark; One day H. heard someone calling him in a weak voice; Earthworm pointed out where the tenth Sun was hiding; H. went to kill him, but could not find him in the dark; realizing that they could not survive in the darkness, people began to ask the surviving sun would return; it came out and was greeted; the leaves of the purslane (Portulacea oleracea) covered the Sun; returning to heaven, the Sun, out of gratitude, decided not to dry up the purslane; earthworms punished and they dry up barely on the surface] Tao, Yang & Xiu Zhong eds., Zhongguo shenhua. Chinese Mythology. Shanghai: Shanghai wenyi chubanshe, 1990, pp. 395-396 (Yamada Hitoshi).

Southern Siberia - Mongolia. Tuvans [The groundhog was a man, a hunter; there were three suns; he shot one of the bow and missed; angry, he cut off his thumb and buried himself in the ground]: Potanin 1883, No. 6d: 179; Trans-Baikal Buryats (Selenginsky: Tabanguts) [shortly after the creation of the world, a man named Hara-Erhe-Myrgen appeared on earth, who was a very good shooter; without hunting animals or animals for birds, he exterminated only evil spirits and sorcerers; firing an arrow from a bow, he told it who to kill; the arrow followed the order exactly and then returned to HAM; Burkhan-Bakshi created in heaven three suns: in the middle it is large and the edges are smaller; seeing that all the earth could dry out from these suns, and strong light would make human life on earth unbearable, God called the arrow and said: "Do you think you're going to destroy everything you've done?" ; HAM: "Not just living things, but even the three suns that are visible. If I don't destroy them, first of all, I'll cut off my thumb and toes, and second, I'll become a beast like you haven't created before; six months a year I'll live under the ground, I won't drink any water no dew, not even come out of the hole after the rain"; when he was ready to fire an arrow, God covered the middle, largest sun from him; when the arrow returned, God opened it; seeing that the arrow destroyed only two suns, and the third remained, and in keeping his oath HAM fulfilled his oath; promised that if anyone killed him with an arrow, he would turn to a person and harm the people; when tarbagans were still being hunted with a bow, it happened that a tarbagan wounded by an arrow hid in a hole; hunters began to dig it up and found a little man with a bow and arrow; since then, hunting with onions for tarbagans are strictly prohibited; the front part of tarbagan is not eaten much, as it is human flesh]: Smolev 1902a: 101-103; Mongols: Neklyudov et al. 2006, zap. 8.20.2006 (Somon Khujirt, Uburhangai aimag) [Shooter Erhii-Mergen, born by a husband, had strength in his thumb, a gallbladder in his liver, was young and hot, he believed in himself, so swore, "If I can't shoot every sun out of seven with one arrow, I'll cut off my thumb, stop being a man, I won't drink clear water, I won't eat last year's grass, I'll live in a small cave where the sun does not penetrate!" Starting from the east, he started shooting at the suns lined up from east to west: he destroyed 6 suns, just got ready to shoot with spells in the 7th, when the swallow flew in front of him and closed { the sun}. He shot and pierced her tail, so the swallow's tail is now split; the last sun was frightened, quickly went beyond the western mountains]; Potanin 1883, No. 6g [(from Bogdoshabin from Urga); The groundhog was a hunter; There were four suns, one on each side of the sky; he shot three suns; Burkhyn-Bakshi was afraid that there would be no light, turned the hunter into a marmot]: 179; 1893, No. 6 (Khalkhas) [Erhe-Mergen decided to shoot at the sun and moon; a burchon hid the seventh star of the Pleiades (Mechit), said that if E. closed his eyes and hit one of the Pleiades stars, he would also fall into the sun and the moon; E. hit, but burkhon put a hidden one in the place of the downed one; E. turned into a groundhog; (=Potanin 1919b: 25)]: 345; Potanin 1893 (Khalkhas) [The Pleiades were the seven sons of Hobudey-Mergen, skillful in various things; one of them, accurate shooter, bet, started shooting at the sun and moon, missed; cut off his thumb, turned into a groundhog; six brothers and groundhogs rose to heaven]: 323; Potanin 1919b, No. 4.1 [there were three suns ; Erhe-Mergen hit two, missed the third, then cut off his thumb, turned into a tarbagan marmot], 4.3 [there were three suns; Erhe-Mergen argued with Burhan that he would destroy them all by shooting a bow, or he will cut off his thumb; Burkhan covered one sun, E. cut off his finger, turned into a groundhog]: 17; the Mongols (Kuytun-Nor Lake) [Michit's seven stars sent cold; Erke-Mergen promised one hit everyone with a shot or turn into a groundhog; shot down only one star, now Michit six; E. became a tarbagan]: Potanin 1919a, No. 4.4:17-18; Mongols (Khalkhas) [Tarbagan promised with one shot hit seven stars by Dolon-Michit; shot down only one star, now Michit six; the same tarbagan wanted to break the sun and moon, but someone prevented him; he was reborn into Tarbagan]: Potanin 1919a, No. 4.4:17-18; Oirats, Altaians [Erhii-Mérgen ("Thumb shooter"), Tarbagan-Mérgen ("Marmot shooter") in the mythology of the Mongols and Oirats, sometimes also Tuvans and Altaians knocks down excess suns, which were originally two, three, four, etc.; without hitting the last one, turns into tarbagan]: Neklyudov 1982d: 669; Mongols (Inner Mongolia) [ Seven suns have appeared in the sky, everything is burning, people asked the Erkei-Mergen shooter for help; he promises that if he can't hit seven suns with seven arrows, he'll cut off his thumbs, stop drinking, will become an animal; he killed 6 suns when he shot at the seventh, just as a swallow was flying by, the arrow hit her tail, now it is split; The sun hid behind the West Mountain; EM rushed on his horse Qarč Agai-Alag chasing the Swallow; he told EM to cut off his legs and throw him into the steppes if he could not catch up with the Swallow before dusk; he didn't catch up, EM cut off his legs, the horse became jerboa, whose front legs are shorter than his hind legs; the swallow has since been flying over the horsemen, asking if they will catch up with her; EM has become a groundhog, comes out of the hole in the morning and evening, wanting to kill the sun; when he comes out in the evening, the sun in fear hides behind the West Mountain, so day and night alternate]: Gadamba, Čerensodnom 1984:735 in Nassen-Bayer, Stuart 1992:330; darhats (Somon Khujirt, Uburhangai aimag) [Shooter Erhii-Mergen, born to a husband, had strength in his thumb, a gallbladder in his liver, was young and hot, he believed in himself, so he swore: "If I can't shoot everyone the sun is seven with one arrow, I will cut off my thumb, stop being a man, I will not drink clear water, I will not eat last year's grass, I will live in a small cave where the sun does not penetrate!" Starting from the east, he started shooting at the suns lined up from east to west: he destroyed 6 suns, just got ready to shoot with spells in the 7th, when the swallow flew in front of him and closed { the sun}. He shot and pierced her tail, so the swallow's tail is now split; the last sun was frightened and quickly went beyond the western mountains]: Mongolian expedition of the Russian State University for the Humanities, Western 8.20.2006.

Japan. Japanese: Ikeda 1971, No. 296 [sunlight blinds the Mole, who decides to hit the Sun with an arrow; (1) from the top of the tallest tree, it was a kuroki: (2) his fern stem bow; The toad informs the Sun about the danger, because it cannot survive the winter without the sun; the mole has been living underground ever since; chickens and ferns do not grow long and wither shortly after they reach their largest size; The toad was given a few warm days in winter so that it could sweep eggs (Indian summer); Okayama Prefecture version: there were seven Suns, demoness Ama-no-Yaku shot six while sitting on a pine tree stump; so he didn't shoots]: 68; Yamada 2009b [out of 13 versions, 9 in Kyushu and adjacent islands, three on SW Honshu and only one with a question mark in northcentral Honshu; plot explored by Masao Oka 1935; 4 major episodes : a) The mole shoots at the Sun or is about to do so; b) for this it is forced to live underground and dies under the rays of the Sun; c) the plant from which the bow or arrow is made is also punished; d) The toad reports To the sun about Mole's plans, for which the water is warm during her spawning; Chugoku County (YuZ Honshu): options 1, 3, 4: no episode d; var 2: there were 7 suns, Amanjaki 6 shot while sitting on a pine tree stump, so he does not shoot; Kyushu: there is an option with all motives, but more often not c, d, b and d, c and d]: 27-29.

Big Pool. Southern Utah [The rabbit walked around killing people; he had two cedar cone necklaces (?) ; The bear replies that he is digging a hole to hide from the Rabbit; The rabbit offers to try, puts an arrow in the hole, the Bear attacks it, dies; fills a scarecrow, drags it like a dog; rolls it drops of sweat in two balloons, throws a woman with children on the rock to smell; tells them to throw it back, they fall after them, break; two boys turn to the Rabbit, calling him the Inverted Quiver; that's the name the one he likes, he killed those who called him the Rabbit; the boys say that their mother crushed the Rock; the Rabbit moves the rock; ask them to make a fire; they say that the trees prick them; the rabbit hits cedars, says that now even children and women will be able to use them as fuel; the same applies to water; now the water does not fall in a wave on those who want to take it; the Sun calls the Rabbit Rabbit, who in rabies; the Spider masks it with its web; arrows burn before reaching the Sun; the Rabbit beats off a piece of the Sun with a club, the earth lights up; the tree, the stone, the river respond that it will burn, burst from the heat, it will boil; one grass says it will only burn from above; The rabbit dug a hole under it, only his neck is burned; The rabbit comes out, all its dicks are gradually burning; at night the Sun sent snow, the earth has cooled down; the Sun turned the Rabbit into a rabbit, now even kids will hunt him]: Lowie 1924, No. 33:59-62.