The celestial chase: the calendrical aspect of the myth

This paper examines the Eurasian myth of the “celestial chase” (CC). The relevance and novelty of this work lies in its identification of the calendar aspects of the genesis and development of various versions of the CC myth. The aim and objective of the study comparatively examine various versions of the CC myth in Northern Asia. The methodology employed was a comparative analysis of CC folklore texts among the peoples of Northern Eurasia and an analysis of the semantics of rock art themes. The analysis of the texts was correlated with the species (elk, musk deer, etc.) and ecology of the “prey”. Various versions of the CC myth known in Northern Eurasia were analyzed. It was revealed that the beginning of the CC is “timed” to coincide with the autumnal equinox, and its end is no later than the “month of crust”, which begins with the spring equinox. The absence of wild boar as prey is due to the peculiarities of boar hunting. It is shown that the image of the “multi-legged” prey in the celestial chase myth is known only among the Ob Ugrians, and is absent in the Tungusic texts. The purpose of the celestial chase varies across traditions: it is the harvesting of an animal (Ob Ugrians), or the first creation (Tungus). The direction of the celestial chase, from south to north explicitly preserved only in “taiga” mythological models (Ob Ugrians, Evenks). The mythological texts correlated with the seasonal behavior of the main calendrical actors of the sky (stars, constellations). The calendrical foundations of the genesis of the “celestial chase” myth, the areas of existence of different versions, and cases of their mutual “flowing” (inversion) were revealed. The influence of the characteristics of the hunter's image (old/young, friend/foe) on the achievability of the celestial chase wereidentified. The celestial chase myth is associated with the motif of the “super-lucky/unlucky” hunter. The positions of hunters and prey in rock art identified. The direction of the actors in chase scenes correlated with the direction of the sun's movement across the sky during the winter and summer solstices. The iconography of the “sun abduction” motif – depicts of ungulates (deer, elk, boar, etc.) with solar rosettes on their horns, explored in petroglyphs from Southern Siberia.

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