G8g. The big oak tree and its inhabitants .27.29.31.

There is a one-of-a-kind tree that needs to be bent or felled. Its parts are inhabited by different creatures and/or its wood is used to make items of particular importance.

Sumer, Babylonia, Romanians, Seto, Finns.

The Ancient East. Sumer, Babylonia [The story begins in a traditional Sumerian manner about creating everything on earth and moves on to a story about the history of the Huluppu tree (the most common translation is "willow " or "poplar"), whose roots damage the waters of the Euphrates, on the bank of which it grows. The Euphrates, on the other hand, is excited by the gusts of the South Wind and perhaps by the stormy voyage of god Enka, rushing in a boat into the underworld (or going around the underworld). The tree is saved by a wife walking along the coast. She pulls out a tree and transplants it into "Inanna's Blooming Garden" in Uruk. From the rest, it turns out that this wife is Inanna. She takes care of the tree, intending to make it a sacred throne (throne) and a sacred bed. But there are creatures in the tree that are hostile to its intentions: in the roots there is a "snake that does not know a spell", in the middle is the virgin Lilith, and in the branches an eagle-like bird Anzud breeds a chick. Inanna weeps and asks her brother, sun god Utu, for help. He doesn't respond. Then she turns to Gilgamesh, an Uruk hero. Dressed in a travel attire and armed, he kills the snake, and Lilith and Anzud disappear on their own - Lilith runs into the desert, the eagle grabs the chick and flies to the mountains. Gilgamesh, with the help of his fellow citizens, cuts down a tree, gives the trunk to Inanna, and makes fart and micca from the roots (according to Afanasyeva, a drum and sticks). Cursed by the women of Uruk, they fall into the underworld. All attempts by Gilgamesh to get to them are in vain, and then his servant Enkidu is called upon to get them. Gilgamesh teaches Enkida how he should behave in the underworld in order to return unscathed. Enkidu does just the opposite and stays in the underworld. At Gilgamesh's pleas and requests, Enlil orders God Utu to open a hole in the underworld so that Enkidu's spirit can testify to a friend. Gilgamesh asks him questions about the fate of those who died under the ground (this part of the story is the most fragmented)]: Afanasyeva 2000, Dyakonov 1961:112-113.

The Balkans. Romanians [lament: the spruce is asked to bend over the sea so that the deceased can walk through it; the spruce does not want to, says that there is a live pike at its top, an otter in the trunk, in the roots of a snake; then they threaten to call A brother herding sheep who will cut down a spruce tree and make a bridge; the spruce bends, the soul of the deceased goes to heaven]: Toivonen 1947 in Sarv, Sarv 1979a: 32.

Baltoscandia. Setu [in Estonian and Karelian songs, Bolshoy Oak is often knocked down by the girl's brother; in the song, a girl sits in the trunk; a chair is made for her from the trunk, a bench for God from the roots, and a children's bench from the branches cradles]: Sarv, Sarv 1979a: 32; Finns: Abercromby 1892, No. 35a [an oak tree grew, began to hold the clouds, covered the sun and moon; no one could cut it down; a man as tall as a thumb came out of the sea hands in a stone hat and shoes, hit the oak tree three times with his ornamented ax, the oak fell, the butt remained in the east, the trunk fell west across the Pokhyely River, forming an eternal bridge along it they go to gloomy Pokhyela; one of the chips fell into the sea, Hiisi's daughter gave it to a blacksmith, who made her blunt arrows that bring pleurisy and stab to her side, as well as horse disease; make arrows - Hiishi's daughter's hair, the plumage is from the swallow's tail, the tips are smeared with snake venom, the horsehair bowstring; he (Aijo's son) fired the first arrow into the sky, it trembled, the second into the ground, she almost went to Mana, cracked, the third hit man (causing illness), it can be extracted by the word of God], 35b [an oak tree has grown, blocked the sun and moon, began to prevent the stars from moving, the Ursa Major to turn around; no one he could cut it down; a man a quarter of ale (112 cm) came out of the sea, with a beard to his knees, hair to his toes, in iron clothes, shoes, and an iron hat; he sharpened an ax at night, made an axe during the day, he himself grew to the clouds; knocked down the tree with a butt on the SV, the top to the south; whoever took branches, chips, gained witchcraft power; some chips sailed to Hiisi's daughter, she split them; H. sent his son to the blacksmith to make arrows; H. sends these arrows at humans and animals, causing disease], 35c [the oak tree grew, blocking the sun, the moon, the Ursa Major; no one could cut it down; an old man with a golden ax came down from the sky, knocked down an oak butt on the NW, top to the east; the chips turned into water lilies; a dog picked up a branch on the shore, brought it to the terrible dwarf blacksmith Keito, who made arrows out of it; the Evil has three sons, two lame ( cripple, lame) and blind, they pull a bow and shoot together], 35d [an oak tree grew; a guy came from Pohela, split an oak tree, chips sailed to Manala, from which the sorcerer made arrows]: 50-53, 53-56, 56-58, 58.