From Udmurt national tales, myths, and legends (Udmurtskie narodnye skazki, mify i legendy), translated, edited and with an introduction by Nadezhda Petrovna Kralina, ISBN : 9785765904701.
| It was so long ago, that nobody can remember it anymore. All around the world was just water; there was no land at all. And in that world lived just Inmar and Shaitan. Inmar ordered Shaitan to dive under water and get some dirt from the bottom. Shaitan obeyed Inmar, dove to the bottom, and with each hand grabbed a fistful of dirt. He gave back to Inmar almost all of the dirt he gathered, but he hid a little bit of it in his mouth. Inmar took the dirt out of Shaitan’s hands, put it in the palm of his own hand, and blew it onto the water. The bit of dirt started growing into land, getting bigger and bigger, and was even and smooth like a frying pan. The dirt hidden in Shaitan’s mouth also started growing. It grew so big, it didn’t fit in his mouth anymore. Shaitan spit it out. Bits of dirt flew into many directions, and formed mountains, swamps, marshes, wetlands, and bogs. If Shaitan didn’t trick Inmar, the Earth would have been even and smooth. |
translated from Russian by Jolanta Davis
I need to research a bit more about Inmar and Shaitan, but have other projects to finish before I get to it.
Some questions to ponder:
- Why is Inmar ordering Shaitan about and why is Shaitan afraid of Inmar?
- The story makes it sound like an even and smooth Earth would have been preferable. Why? Wetlands and bogs are uninhabitable for people but are teeming with life otherwise.
