Other Ethnic Versions of the Ram Legend

By Fred Hámori
Reproduced by permission

Finnic Version

In the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic, the stag is the favorite animal of the queen of the underworld (Yumala), which leads the hero to his doom. Kaleva is the mythical kingdom where much of the epic takes place. It could be equated with Kalama of the Sumerians, the name of their country.

Ugrian Version

In the legend of the Ostjak, the hunting pair, with their whole tribe are hunting for a raindeer. The animal baited them on towards the north, where finally it turned into fog. In the age, when the first ice-rain (snow) began to fall. (The coming of the ice age trapped the hunting nation?)

In northern Siberia, the heavenly raindeer, symbolized by the big dipper, steals the sun, and that is why there is no sun for half a year in the arctic. When the mythical hunter, who is often symbolized by a bear, kills the female reindeer, it starts the new days.

This is an important key to the stories, for the chase after the stag is a hunt for the return of the sun, which during winter is taken away by the stag. The hunters are searching for it's light and heat. Perhaps a southern migration from northern pastures with the coming of winter? The recapturing of it (the sighting of the southern constellation?) then brings back summer. The girls of the legend are the does, the daughters of light (Leukepius in Greek), who return the light and fertility of the sun. For that reason they have names which indicate "light, white, burning.." Dula=Gyula,Gyul..., Sar=gold,light, stag. Bular or Bugur=stag in Turkic.

Japanese version

The twin brothers chase the stag. They get into an argument, probably about which way the stag disappeared, and one brother goes east and finds Japan, while the other goes west.

Maya Indian version

The sons of Hun Hun-apu, the god of the hunt, are the heavenly twins [GEMINI],known as Hunapu (HUNOR) who is warlike like his father and Ixbalenque (MAGOR), who is more peaceful. Their adventures, with their 400 warriors includes the kidnapping the women. Their jealous half brothers chased them, but they turned them into monkeys (i.e. make monkeys of them?).