This myth originated from the primitive clan and tribe period. At that time, the primitive ancestors of Tibetans were in the childhood of human development. Ideology or ignorance. Know little about natural phenomena; I don't understand the phenomenon of social life; The production tools are very simple and the production level is very low; The ability to understand and judge objective things is also very underdeveloped, and it is still in its infancy. Natural phenomena, such as the formation of mountains and rivers, the generation of wind, rain, thunder and electricity, the appearance of birds, animals, insects and fish, the rise and fall of the sun, the moon and stars, the changes in spring, summer, autumn and winter, the disasters of water, fire, drought and waterlogging, and the birth, old age, illness and disaster of human beings. These phenomena are closely related to the production, life and even life safety of Tibetan primitive ancestors, and have a great influence. Therefore, they are eager to know and understand these phenomena, and further control and use them, so as to achieve the purpose of reducing labor, increasing harvest and improving life. However, under the circumstances at that time, they lacked the ability to scientifically explain and judge these phenomena and could not get correct conclusions and answers. They can only infer that all kinds of objective things are alive and conscious, just like people, based on themselves and human society. People think that their emergence, development, change and extinction are all controlled and dominated by an external and supernatural force-God. This kind of understanding and explanation is full of naive fantasies of Tibetan primitive humans, but they think it is true. This has become the finished product of their unconscious artistic processing, which is a myth about nature.
How did the sky, the earth, the mountains, the rivers and everything in nature first come into being? The primitive ancestors of the Tibetan people gave their answers in a set of ancient quiz songs, which formed a hot spring:
Q: When Sri Lanka was first established,
Heaven and earth are mixed together,
Who divides heaven and earth?
Initially, when silicon was formed,
Yin and yang are mixed together,
Excuse me, who divides yin and yang?
……
Q: When the Spa was first established,
Heaven and earth are mixed together,
Separate heaven and earth is Dapeng,
What is on Dapeng's head?
When the first place is formed,
Yin and yang are mixed together,
It is the sun that separates yin and yang,
What's on the top of the sun?
(Translated from Selected Tibetan Folk Songs B) 4 15)
In another group of different songs, he said: "Dapeng holds the sky high"; "The giant turtle is divided into yin and yang." The Tibetan word "siba" in the song obviously means "universe" and "world". In the traditional Tibetan ideology, Dapeng bird has always been regarded as the sacred and noble king of birds, and it is a divine bird to subdue dragons and demons. The myth of Dapeng's creation is widely circulated among Tibetans, but the detailed plot has yet to be discovered. The myth that "giant turtles divide yin and yang" is even more unclear.
It is also said in the ancient legend of Benbo religion, a primitive Tibetan religion: at first, heaven and earth merged, and then the sky rose and the earth fell, and the two phases separated, resulting in human beings. This is consistent with what Song Li said in Q&A..
Similar myths have been circulated and recorded in the Han nationality. For example, during the Three Kingdoms period, Xú Zhēng's "May 35 Calendar" recorded that at the beginning of Tai Chi, heaven and earth were originally chaotic. Later, the heavens and the earth opened, and the sky was ten feet high and the ground was ten feet thick. So the celestial pole is extremely high and low, forming the earth.
This myth is a naive fantasy that human beings are still in infancy. It is their hazy thoughts' conjecture and understanding of the formation process of the world. It is their world outlook and cosmology, which can be called "chaos theory".
Judging from the meter of the question-and-answer song, it is a neat seven-tone sentence and a late product of the development of Tibetan poetry. Therefore, this group of question-and-answer songs is likely to be created and sung by later generations according to primitive myths.
On the formation of heaven, earth, mountains and rivers. , in another group of question and answer songs "Song of Slaughtering Cattle" said:
Q: When Spa slaughtered the calf,
Cut off the cow's head and put it where?
I don't know to ask the singer;
When Spa slaughtered the calf,
Cut off the oxtail and put it where?
I don't know to ask the singer;
When Spa slaughtered the calf,
Where do you put the cowhide?
I don't know. Ask the singer.
A: When Spa slaughtered the calf,
Cut off the cow's head and hold it high,
So the mountain peaks soar into the sky,
When Spa slaughtered the calf,
Cut the oxtail and plant it in the shade.
The forest is rich and gloomy;
When Spa slaughtered the calf,
Peel the cowhide flat,
So the earth is flat, flat.
(Translated from Selected Tibetan and Chinese Folk Songs) Page 4 18.
Another group of different songs replied: "To answer your singer's first sentence, when the old man slaughtered the cow, the cow's head stood on the top of the hill and there were 100,000 snow-capped mountains." Answer the second sentence of your singer. When the wily old man slaughtered cattle, cowhide was spread on the grass, revealing a beach of 60 thousand square meters. To answer your singer's third sentence, when the experienced old man slaughtered the cow, the blood of the cow fell into the spring and poured into 1000 rivers. "("Gesanghua ",1984, 1,) there is also an answering song in different languages:" Cut off the oxtail and put it on the road, so the road bends. "
The "Spa" in the song is no longer interpreted as "the universe" or "the world", but the image of a tall shepherd or God. Some literally translated as "sophisticated old man". The whole song is full of herdsmen's life breath, showing the heroic spirit created by Tibetan primitive ancestors.
If in the first set of songs, the earth-shattering heroes are the animal Dapeng and the giant turtle, then in the latter set of songs, the earth-shattering heroes are the working people, or the god of labor. It clearly reflects the awakening of primitive Tibetan people to their own strength, and began to worship human beings and gods from animal totem worship.
In a "flower picking ballad" said:
"……
Picking flowers for the supreme god,
Thank you for propping up the sky and making everything have a bright field.
Pick flowers and give them to the most sacred god on earth.
Thank you for pressing the earth so hard that everything can survive.
Picking flowers for the supreme king of water,
Thanks to your wisdom, the world is in good weather.
……"
(quoted from Gansu folk literature series, 1982, 1)
The "God Master" in the ballad. The "land owner" and "water owner" are probably "gods", "year gods" and "dragon kings". This is a creationism related to the concept of the three worlds of the Bonism universe in Tibet. Unfortunately, we haven't seen the complete information yet.
There are three myths about the formation of the earth:
Tibetan historical books, such as Heritage under the Pillar, Tales of Tibetan Kings and mkas-pavi-dgav-ston, all record that Tibet was once the sea of Wang Yang. Later, all the water flowed into the "Gong Ji Qula" cave, and the land was exposed. This myth is widely circulated in Tibet. Especially in Lhasa, people can tell you that a mountain peak is the place where ships were controlled at that time.
A myth circulating in Heihe region of Tibet. The world was originally an ocean. Later, seven suns rose in the sky. Due to the exposure of the sun, all the rocks cracked. Broken gravel, dust and seawater are mixed together and turned into stones after weathering and drying. Soil accumulated on the stone, and grass and flowers slowly grew. Later, the grain grew up. (Literature Section collects information)
There is a myth in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture that people once lived in Wang Yang. Later, it was windy every day, and the dust was blown to the sea surface, accumulating thicker and thicker, and the earth was formed over time. At that time, the sky was stone and there were no clouds. After a long time, the stone cracked and was about to collapse. People who live below are always on tenterhooks. Later, an able man turned the sea water into fog and rose into the air, holding a stone. People can relax and live a peaceful life. The fog slowly turned into a cloud. (Literature Section collects information)
The seven myths of the sun rising to heaven are similar to those of the Han nationality and some ethnic groups in southwest China; The cracks in the Tianshi stone will collapse, and only then can people turn the seawater into clouds, which is similar to the myth that the mother snail fills the sky.
In addition, there are many wonderful and moving myths about the mountains and lakes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Such as talking; Five peaks in the Himalayas, headed by Mount Everest. They are five fairies and five sisters. They are called "Five Longevity Fairies". Myth says: at first, it was the Himalayas, and the lower part was the sea of Wang Yang; There are endless forests, exotic flowers and grasses, and sika deer on the shore. Antelopes and rhinoceroses are in groups, and cuckoos, thrushes and larks sing; The mountains are high and green, and the clouds are lingering, which is a beautiful and quiet picture. However, a huge five dragons appeared in the sea, which stirred up waves, destroyed flowers and trees, harassed birds and animals, and made them have nowhere to escape. At the critical moment, five colorful clouds floated in the sky. Cai Yun became five fairies, surrendered the dragon and saved the birds and animals. After repeated and earnest requests from animals and birds, the five fairies promised to stay and protect them forever. Since then, he has become the land god of the Himalayas. (See Tibetan style). Among them, the fairy Cui Yan is the main god of Mount Everest, who is in charge of the "prophetic power" of the world, and the fairy Jishou is in charge of the happiness and longevity of the world; Fairy Hui Zhen is in charge of human farmland cultivation; The immortal stone man is in charge of human animal husbandry production; The crowned fairy is in charge of human wealth. See Tibetan-Chinese Dictionary). They are five sisters, brave in the storm, standing on the roof of the world for many years, overlooking all beings and caring about the sufferings of the people. They have worked tirelessly for thousands of years and won people's love and admiration. This myth was also described in Melody of Milarepa in 1 1 century, but the role of fairies was different. In the song of Millary Ba, when five fairies reported their names to Millary Ba, they said, "My name is auspicious and longevity girl, and I am in charge of protecting the country, helping the people and carrying on the family line." "My name is green beauty. Bright job indicates bad luck. " "My name is Jade Crown Pearl Throat, and I am in charge of Kuzi and treasure on earth." "My name is Zhenlieshan Huinv, and I am in charge of human welfare and pavilion food." "My name is Shi Xing, and I specialize in four-legged animal husbandry." This kind of myth belongs to the myth of mountain gods, which originated from the worship of mountain gods in Tibet. In addition, there is the myth of the mountain god Arashambu, which is the most distinctive in the snowy mountain plateau.
Some myths say that Mount Everest is a male god, and he falls in love with the fairy in Mafayu Lake, and so on, which is also very beautiful and touching. Some Tibetan history books believe that Mafayu Lake is the Yaochi in the western paradise that Zhou Muwang visited more than 3,000 years ago. That is, the fairy pool where the Queen Mother lives.
There are many geothermal fields in Yangbajing, Tibet. There are many high hot springs in the geothermal field, spraying silver columns and steaming. Legend has it that a long time ago. The mountain god of nearby Xuegula Mountain has a beautiful wife and a beautiful daughter. Whenever the mist on the hot water lake is veiled with white curtains, mother and daughter will accompany each other to take a bath and play in the water by the lake. People also say: the mountain god has a golden lamp. When he was happy, he held it high on the lake, shining with golden light, illuminating the lake and snow-capped mountains, making the surrounding flowers bloom and birds sing and become a fairyland on earth.
The above-mentioned myths about nature, the ideology they reflect, are mainly the exploration and explanation of various natural things and phenomena, and belong to explanatory myths. At the same time, it also contains the connotation that human beings overcome nature. It seems that they may be the early products of Tibetan mythology.
Second, the myth about the origin of mankind.
With regard to the origin of human beings, there is a widespread myth that macaques evolved into adults in Tibetan areas. Myth says:
For a long time, Shannan region of Tibet was a poverty-stricken area in Yalong River basin, with mild climate, high mountains and dense forests. There is a macaque living on the mountain. Later, this macaque married Yan Rogue and gave birth to six little macaques (some people say there is only one). The old monkey sent them to live in a productive forest. Three years later, when the old monkey went to see it again, it had already multiplied to more than 500. I groaned with hunger because I didn't have enough to eat Seeing the old monkey coming, he came around and shouted, "What can we eat? ! "Hands up, looked at each other, looks terrible. Seeing this scene, the old monkey couldn't bear it. So he took them to a hillside full of wild grains, pointed them out to the monkeys and said, "Eat this!" " "Since then, monkeys have eaten wild food that has not been planted, their hair has gradually become shorter, their tails have gradually disappeared, and they can talk again in the future, thus evolving into humans.
This myth is not only spread orally, but also recorded in different details in many Tibetan historical works, such as Complete Works of Mani, Records of the King of Tibet, mkas-pavi-dgav-ston, and History of the King of Tibet. Until now, when Zedang people tell this myth, they can still identify which cave is where the old monkeys practice, which is the hillside where monkeys eat wild valleys (Sodang Kampot Mountain), which is the dam where monkeys play games (Zedang) and so on. It seems to be true.
The myth that macaques evolved into humans and the scientific conclusion that apes evolved into humans are naturally just accidental coincidences. It is only a reflection of clan totem worship in ancient primitive society. The fundamental difference between the two is the problem of labor and non-labor. However, when the myth tells the story of macaques eating wild fruits and all kinds of wild animals in the forest, it shines with the spark of simple historical materialism to some extent. As for many historical books later, it was said that the macaque was the incarnation of Guanyin Bodhisattva, that it was also the enlightenment of Guanyin Bodhisattva to combine with the rogue Yan, and that the grain was also given by Guanyin Bodhisattva, which was undoubtedly a layer of religious dust cast by some Buddhists later.
In the Tibetan area of Ma Zi, Aba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, there is a myth that "brothers and sisters get married because of floods". Myth says: ancient floods flooded fields, mountains and rivers and human beings. Only two brothers and sisters got into the cowhide tube and floated for seven days and seven nights. When the water receded, they survived. The two brothers and sisters had to become husband and wife and gave birth to the present human beings.
Miao, Yao and other brothers in southwest China all share the same flood myth. This kind of myth records the flood disaster in ancient times and reflects the situation of consanguineous marriage in primitive society.
The myth also mentioned that if it doesn't rain, the crops will suffer from drought; Talking about millstones, dustpans, sieves and other artifacts related to agricultural production shows that this myth originated from the primitive social period when agricultural production has developed. Some different articles say that floods are caused by major earthquakes, mountain collapses and river blockages. This is a reflection of local natural disasters.
Another "egg-laying hero" myth says: At the beginning of Tai Chi, there was an egg made of five treasures. Then the egg broke and a hero was born. The hero has a lion's head, an elephant's nose and a tiger's paw. His feet are as sharp as a knife and his hair is as hard as a sword. There are two horns on his head. Wang Dapeng, a bird, lives in the middle of the horns.
This mythical hero image is probably a mixture of totem worship. It is a sign of clan alliance or clan integration. It belongs to the same type as all kinds of grotesque images such as human head and snake body depicted in Shan Hai Jing of Han nationality. It expresses the strong desire of primitive human beings to arm themselves with all powerful weapons in order to overcome nature and survive.
According to the classic of Bohemia, rain and fog originated from five primitive objects, forming the ocean. The wind blew a bubble on the sea. The bubble jumped on the blue egg and broke. A blue woman named Qu Jiemo appeared from the egg. In addition, from the center of a shiny egg (white egg), Spasambo Ponchi was born. He is a white man with green hair. They combined without touching each other's noses and gave birth to wild animals, livestock and birds. They bowed their heads and touched their noses, got married and gave birth to nine brothers and nine sisters. "Later, they multiplied into gods and people respectively. There is also a black egg, and a man with black light jumps out of the center, named Menbaston Napo, who is the king of the illusory world. He derived Dunxiannamo from his own shadow, and the two of them combined to give birth to eight brothers and eight sisters. They became the ancestors of the demon race. The most interesting thing is that Nanmangamo, the second sister among the nine sisters who are the ancestor of the God-man, is King Gelsall's aunt in The Biography of King Gesar. She always gives King Gelsall useful guidance at critical moments, which enables him to achieve great achievements in the world. (See Tibetan Studies Translation Collection 1)
The myth of human origin shows that in the struggle with nature, human beings have clearly realized their own existence and strength, produced self-awareness and awakening, and are eager to find the mystery of their own emergence and development. God, devil, etc. What is mentioned in the myth is nothing more than the refraction of good and evil, light and darkness in human society. Undoubtedly, it is the most preliminary research on the development history of human society, and it is also a very valuable bud.
Third, the myth of productive labor.
The myth of horse and wild horse says: Once upon a time, outside the cloud nine, there was a male horse and a female horse, and they gave birth to a pony. Because there were not enough weeds in the sky, they fell on the earth. Later, Pony went to Geelong Dangwa, where he married King Ma and gave birth to "Pony Three Brothers, Pony Three Kunji". Because "grass is not enough to eat and water is not enough to drink", the three brothers went to three places respectively.
After a while, Brother Ma met a buffalo who wanted to occupy the grassland. Brother Ma said, "Horses and bison should not fight with each other. Horses eat grass first, bison drink water later, bison eat grass first, and a horse drinks water later. " However, a male bison disagreed and picked Marco to death. -"Birds peck at horse meat, the earth drinks horse blood, wild dogs chew horse bones and jump, and Taihō blows horse hair." Later Marco found out. I want to avenge Marco. Brother Ma said, "Brother Ma is the fastest runner in Mali and the greatest pony. It can't compete with buffalo. Wow, you and I, chasing it, can't catch up; You can't escape, you can't escape, you can't fight, you can't fight. Brother and brother don't report, I don't drink enemy blood! " In this way, one wanted revenge, the other refused, and the two ponies argued and went their separate ways. Finally, the little brother asked someone to help him kill the buffalo and avenge his brother. In order to repay people's kindness, it has become a loyal partner of people. The second brother wandered around and became a wild horse. (According to Tibetan transliteration and translation of ancient Tibetan folk literature in Northeast China)
The description of the bull-shaped horse in this myth is vivid and delicate, and it is particularly vivid and fluent in language by adopting the methods of agreeing to change sentence patterns and overlapping narration. The myth has repeatedly mentioned that "grass is not enough to eat and water is not enough to drink", which reflects the importance of aquatic plants and the migration of nomadic people due to the lack of aquatic plants after the development of animal husbandry. Marco and buffalo fight for grassland, which not only depicts the animal world, but also highlights the reality that herders and tribes fight for lush pastures.
The myth "The Origin of Highland Barley Seeds" says: In ancient times, there was a prince named A Qiu. He is clever, brave and kind. In order to let people eat food, he decided to go to the snake king to get highland barley seeds. He took twenty warriors, climbed ninety-nine mountains and crossed ninety-nine rivers. Some of the warriors around him were killed by poisonous snakes, some were eaten by wild animals, and some were killed by savages. In the end, Prince A Qiu was left alone. However, he did not flinch and moved on. Finally, under the guidance of the mountain god, I finally stole the green naked seeds from the snake king. Unfortunately, however, it was discovered by the snake king. The snake king is mean and vicious. Turn Chu into a dog by magic. Only when the dog is loved by the girl. Restore human form. Later, the dog really got the love of the three girls' toast and came back to life. Because of their hard work and sowing, the earth is covered with green nudes. From then on, people ate the delicious Ciba ground in Huang Cancan's green nude. (See Selected Tibetan Folk Stories)
This myth, full of twists and turns, is vivid and touching. Enthusiastically praised the heroes who made contributions to mankind, and showed the fearless and compromising attitude of Tibetan primitive ancestors in the face of powerful natural forces and their will and behavior to conquer nature. From the core of the story, it is undoubtedly the product of dog totem worship. Among them, the so-called "prince" and "toast" were obviously added in the class society in the process of long-term circulation.
There is another myth about the origin of grain seeds: a pill sun suddenly appeared in the ancient sky, which scorched the vegetation of the earth and made it disappear, and people were roasted to death, leaving only a piece of blood-like land and rocks. Only one teenager, with the help of magpie, made full preparations in advance. Tibetans dug a deep hole in the ground and escaped the disaster. Later, he married the third girl, and with the help of the third girl and the old woman, he completed the difficult tasks such as farm work given by God. Steal the seeds of five grains from the sky and scatter them on the ground without saying goodbye (see Selected Tibetan Folk Stories).
This myth is also beautiful and full of romanticism. It is said that there are nine suns in the sky, which is probably a tortuous reflection of the ancient drought. It is also an artistic portrayal of the struggle between human beings and nature. There are similarities with the myth of killing animals in nine days in Han nationality.
There is an old song that says:
When the Spa was first established,
On the Yangshan slope, it is long and white.
The white dove landed on the top of the white bamboo.
The white dove sent rice seeds,
When the Spa was first formed,
Bamboo grows on a shady hillside.
The green dove landed on the top of the bamboo.
Green pigeons send highland barley seeds;
When the Spa was first formed,
Red bamboo grows in the middle of the canyon.
The red dove landed on the top of the red bamboo.
Red pigeons sent red wheat seeds. "
Judging from the structural rhythm of this poem, it seems to be an integral part of "Spa forms a question and answer song". The song says that all kinds of grain seeds are sent by turtledoves, which is also very intriguing.
In another long question-and-answer song, The Song of Highland Barley, it is told that the seeds of Liugu were given to mankind by the Sea Dragon King.
In addition to the myth of the origin of five-grain seeds, there is also a myth of "choosing tree species" circulating in Lhasa, Tibet. In the myth, there was a girl named Zhuo Ma who got advice from an old man with white hair in her dream. After waking up, she rode a fine horse with loose ears, flying over mountains and rivers, and hot air flowed. After a lot of hardships, I got back the tree species from Ali and covered the bald mountain in my hometown with green trees. (Selected Tibetan Folk Stories).
About architecture, there are two myths in Seven Brothers: Long ago, King Gelsall ruled Tibet, defeated the enemy, wiped out the wild animals and eradicated the devil. Let people live a quiet life. And those defeated monsters gather together and turn into storms, often carrying sand and stones across the grassland. Whether crops or cattle and sheep are rolled up to 1200. People living in tents can hardly resist the storm. Later, the seven brothers built many solid three-story buildings for everyone, so that people could live on the middle floor, put livestock downstairs and dry food for the Buddha on the top floor. Since then, people have lived a peaceful and peaceful life. When the gods heard about the fame of the seven brothers, they invited them to heaven to build a building for them. They are seven big bright water drops that appear in the night sky. These seven stars often change their positions because they were invited to another place after building a house in one place. ("Tibet
Selected Folk Stories).
From the core of this myth, it reflects the process that the primitive residents of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau began to own houses. As for the so-called "King Gelsall" and "three floors", they may have been added when they were circulated later.