Southern Tungusic origin myths in Chinese and Manchu sources

This article analyses and compares two sets of Tungusic origin myths for the first time: two versions of the origin narrative of the earlier Jurchen »Golden Khanate« (also Jin, 1115-1234 CE) and six variations of the origin myth of the later Jurchen »Golden Khanate« (also Later Jin, 1616-1636) and its successor, the Manchu »Great Warrior Khanate« (also Great Qing, 1636-1912). Although the textual sources that document these myths date from far-apart periods (the twelfth to thirteenth centuries and the seventeenth to twentieth centuries, respectively), the origin myths are related. While they are linked to other Asian myths, they share several motifs and elements of thematic structure that confirm their particularly close relation to each other. Such shared motifs are the miraculous birth, the stranger-king as progenitor, his integration into an existing clan, the prophecy of the birth of the king, three siblings as an ancestral set, and waters, rivers, and mountains as sacred places of origin and dwelling places of the clans. Furthermore, I identify five essential elements that connect the two sets of narratives, »Introduction of a Holy Mountain«, »Conception and Birth/Arrival of the Ancestor«, »Marriage between Ancestor and Woman from the Tribe (Ancestress)«, »Stating the Place of Residence of the Tribe« and finally, »Establishment of the People«/«Ancestor Is Admitted to the Tribe«. These commonalities suggest that the Jurchen-Manchus did not distance themselves from their Jurchen forefathers, as has been previously argued, but rather retained important connecting features in their origin myth. This implies that the relation between the earlier Jurchen and the later Jurchen-Manchus remained close even beyond the decline of the latter in 1912

China · Mythology · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies · Mineralogy and Gemology Studies · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies