Garden of the Gods in the Starry Sky

Author: Jean-Pierre Verdet
Translator: Xu Hujin
Country: France
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-06-01
Features: Romanian mythologist Mircea Eliada once pointed out that "any culture is a reflection of history," and thus, every culture has its limitations. Greek culture is no exception. The entire Western world has been influenced by Greek culture to some extent, and therefore, in the eyes of the West, it is often regarded as the universally recognized perfect model. However, "as a historical phenomenon, it is not universally applicable. If you introduce Greek culture to Africans or Indonesians, what may be meaningful to them is not the splendid Greek style you admire, but the familiar images they see in Greek statues or classical literature." The Andamanese are one of the most primitive ethnic groups remaining in Asia, distributed around the Bay of Bengal. Their main deity is Puluga. Puluga lives in the heavens, thunder is his voice, the sound of his breathing, and hurricanes represent his anger. In the mythology of the Andamanese, since humans almost forgot him, he punished them by causing floods, and as a result, only four people survived. Clearly, the power and strength Puluga possesses are similar to those of Zeus in Greek mythology, and his actions resemble those of Yahweh of the Jewish people. If the legendary image of Puluga were to spread to other cultures, it would likely surprise the Greeks of the Homeric era and amaze the Jews who traveled with Moses through Egypt. Both the Indian and Western civilizations have their own flood legends. In both types of flood legends, only one person knows the impending disaster and survives. In the West, this person is Noah; in India, it is Manu. Like Noah, Manu also receives an order from the heavens to build a boat. However, the religious significance of the flood Manu faces differs from that of Noah. The flood in India is not a punishment from the heavens but a normal natural phenomenon. The world will not be completely destroyed but will periodically suffer destruction and then be reborn. The flood in the West, on the other hand, is brought down by God to destroy everything.
In Greek mythology, there is a nymph named Callisto, some say she is the daughter of a king. Zeus fell in love with her and made her pregnant. Later, she was transformed into a bear. Some believe this is the result of Zeus's wife, Hera, seeking revenge on her. Others think it was Zeus's trick to hide his mistress from Hera's jealousy. Whatever the case, in the legend, Callisto was placed by Zeus in the sky as the Big Bear constellation. The Aztecs of Mexico, however, believed this constellation to be Tezcatlipoca, a gloomy god who pointed north and represented death. He had one foot missing, allegedly eaten by a celestial monster. Indeed, in the high-latitude regions of the Northern Hemisphere, none of the stars in the Big Bear constellation ever set below the horizon. But in the highlands of Mexico, where the Aztecs lived, the last star of the Big Bear constellation was always obscured by the horizon.
In Indian legends, the seven brightest stars in the Big Bear constellation are the homes of seven great sages. The Chinese also view these seven stars as seven powerful elders in the heavens or as seven holes in the night sky and seven holes in the heart. The Basques of Western Europe saw these seven bright stars as two bulls followed by two thieves. The oxherd and the maidservants, meanwhile, watched in secret. The eighth star is dimmer and is called Alcor, a small dog. The Alcor star above the second bull is a small mouse gnawing at the leather strap of the yoke. Some believed the Big Bear constellation was a pot, and Alcor was a dwarf watching when the pot boiled, ready to take it off the fire. That day would be the end of the world. Thus, legends turned into myths, myths into stories, and stories back into myths, even discussing the end of the world.
Diderot and d'Alembert, in Encyclopédie, noted that people also make specific noises at the doors of those married to individuals with significant age differences. Van Gennep, in his monumental Manuel du folklore fran?ais, also mentioned this custom and pointed out that this condemnatory noise is called "charivari." When "inappropriate marriages" occur in the village, young people are responsible for making the noise and carrying out the condemnation. The couple labeled as "inappropriate" may have significant differences in age or other conditions, or a bad reputation, and the noise and condemnation during charivari are thus louder. Some folklorists believe that the purpose of charivari is to eliminate the negative impact of inappropriate marriages on society. They argue that this condemnation of inappropriate marriages bears some resemblance to the noisy sounds made during solar and lunar eclipses out of fear. In people's eyes, celestial eclipses are the swallowing of celestial bodies by monsters or dangerous unions of celestial bodies; while the target of charivari is the inappropriate union of married couples due to unsuitable conditions in various aspects.
So, does the noise and clamor condemn "inappropriate or dangerous unions"? French anthropologist Lévi-Strauss proposed a compelling explanation: he believed that the noise and clamor do not condemn the "inappropriate union" itself but the disorder it causes. Solar and lunar eclipses "disrupt the order of day and night, light and darkness," creating a cosmic disorder; while marriages with unsuitable conditions in terms of status, age, or wealth disrupt social norms, causing social disorder. Another phenomenon supporting Lévi-Strauss's theory is that people often associate solar and lunar eclipses with incest as the cause of epidemics. In some parts of South America, solar and lunar eclipses are believed to predict diseases. They believe that a solar eclipse will definitely lead to smallpox outbreaks. In 1918, the Spanish flu killed many indigenous people in South America. People said it was caused by a solar eclipse, that "the fatal saliva of the sun flowed to the earth." Incest is also often seen as a cause of diseases. Sometimes, incest legends are linked to solar and lunar eclipses. The Inuit legend of the origin of the sun and moon is an interesting example: the sun girl ran away because her moon brother fell in love with her and chased her relentlessly. He chased her until he was exhausted and produced the eclipse.
Symbolically, solar and lunar eclipses may have similarities with incest. The core of all mythological traditions can be found in the taboo against incest. Incest, as a special form of "inappropriate marriage," symbolizes social chaos. Solar and lunar eclipses are special events representing the abnormal disappearance of the moon or sun, symbolizing cosmic chaos.
Everyone knows that all water is not clean. In the Dagon legend, the seventh ancestor both spat out jewels and washed away filth with water. The dirty water flowed to the ground, turning into ponds and rivers. Then, the sky sheep urinated, turning into rain to purify the dirty water. Like springs, rain also has healing properties. "Rain has healing properties and can cure all diseases," says the ancient Indian classic Atharva Veda. In Finistère, France, whenever it rains heavily, patients with rheumatism take off their clothes and lie flat on the ground, letting the heavy rain pour over their bare backs until it stops. Meanwhile, the raindrops falling on Saint-Laurent are believed to be a remedy for burns. People believe that rain, like groundwater, can make women pregnant. In a Melanesian legend from the Pacific Islands, a girl who got wet in the rain lost her virginity. Another similar legend says that a girl who was dripped on by water droplets from a stalactite turned into a woman.
In Dinan, a town in northwestern France, if it rains on the wedding day, the bride will be happy because the tears she was supposed to shed have already fallen from the sky that day. But in Poitou, a region in western France, if it rains on the wedding day, it means the bride will be beaten, and her tears will be as plentiful as the rain that day. In Marseille, rain on the wedding day guarantees the couple will be wealthy; in Vivarais, it means they will lack money. More interestingly, in Poitou, if it rains on the wedding day, the bride will die first; if the sun shines, the husband will die first.
Life-giving water can heal, rejuvenate, and even grant immortality; death-bringing water, on the other hand, represents the dark side of water. The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, "When the soul dies, it becomes water." In Greece, people believed that the dead would feel thirsty before the spring rain. In certain rituals, water leaking from cracks was poured over the dead. Additionally, the custom of using water at funerals is almost universal.
### Celestial Phenomena
The number of scientific discussions about the sky is as vast as the number of literary works related to it. Sometimes, astronomers were even poets. For example, the Italian astronomer Boscovich (1711–1787) wrote countless poems in Latin praising solar and lunar eclipses.
Sometimes, even judicial authorities were concerned about the sky, at least about things falling from the sky. The unforgettable comet of 1527 On October 11, a terrible comet appeared for a long time in Vuestrie, now part of German-speaking Upper Alsace. The appearance of the comet was a sign of a series of disasters: wars, plague, famine, earthquakes, death, fires, floods, or severe destruction. Some believed that the comet appeared because certain constellations exerted bad influences on celestial bodies under the moon, making the earth barren, causing famine, and leading to death. Others thought that some soot-colored, self-igniting black smoke drifted and gathered in the middle atmosphere, no longer descending but rising to the moon. These substances became denser, causing combustion and forming a comet. After burning, the comet turned into foul-smelling matter, spreading everywhere and causing various harmful effects. Without a doubt, like the divine weapon of lightning, the comet could also deliver a fatal blow. The Bible says, "Signs will appear in the sky," and also that "if a person sees" a comet, they will be punished.
Let's look at the terrifying appearance of a comet: From the burning clouds, a dark, curved thing like an arm extended, holding a drawn sword. The tip of the sword was downward, as if ready to strike at any moment. On its head was a very bright star, with two other stars beside it, one on each side, one slightly higher. In addition, there were many human heads on both sides of the sword, each with long black beards and flowing hair, as if they had been cut off. Even more terrifying was that, apart from this large number of human heads, there were also many blood-red axes, spears, darts, spears, and swords, exuding a fierce aura that sent shivers down one's spine. Indeed, after the appearance of this comet, disasters followed one after another, and almost all of Europe was plunged into blood. The Turks launched large-scale invasions of Poland, Greece, Hungary, Persia, the Arabian Peninsula, and the islands of the Aegean Sea. Italy was not spared from the devastation of war. Many places in Africa, Asia, and the Americas also faced disasters. Southern Europe was first engulfed in flames, and then massive revolutions broke out in various kingdoms and provinces, causing deaths, famine, and epidemics. These disasters were all caused by war. May God forever protect us, so that disasters never come again, and so that Christian rulers live in peace and form eternal alliances. All nations hope that the kingdoms and provinces will enjoy eternal peace.
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The Trésor des Contes offers an interesting explanation of the cause of lightning: Once, a demon tempted Eve, making her trick Adam into falling for her. One day, he played this trick on Adam, something everyone knows. The demon did this out of jealousy. But Adam and Eve, though expelled from Eden, could still atone and become brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. The demon, seeing this, grew even more jealous. God knows, yes, God knows this, knows that the demon made thorns grow in the fields and roses grow thorns. The demon was quite satisfied with what he had done, but he wanted to play some more dangerous tricks. He thought to himself, "Humans are even more fragile than window glass. Window glass is afraid of being hit, not because the sound is loud. But humans are afraid even of loud noises." "I need to create something that can make a loud noise, shatter cliffs, and break oak trees. I can't burn everything to ashes, but at least I can make people tremble with fear. This thing will make a huge noise, and when people hear it, they will tremble with fear!" The demon went to God and said, "I will cause thunder, so that the people you created will be afraid." God immediately thought of a brilliant flash, which could warn people before they felt afraid: "I will emit lightning, so that people can see it first and then ask for my protection."
Henri Pourrat, in Le Trésor des Contes,