A36. The Moon and Immortality.

.10.-.13.18.-.22.24.-.26.38.43.48.57.59.61.66.68.70.72.

The moon (month) is opposed to people as immortal to mortals; it decides whether people will be mortal; those who live on the moon are immortal. (Cf. Latvians, Dolgans).

Bushmen, Hottentots, Congo, Wili, Upoto, Luba, Bemba, Kaonde, Yaka, Soko, Nyoro, Chokwe, Ambo, Kuta, Chagga, Mandingo, Fon, Ewe, Hausa, Tangale, Bulsa, Diola(?), Bongo, Zande, Gbaya, Mbai, Joluo, Maasai, Arusha, Nandi, Sanye, Uduk, Malgashi, Jinang (central Arnhem Land), Tiwi, Millingimbi (Arnhem Land), Wotjobaluk (Victoria), Wurajeri (New South Wales),Kulin, Yarra (near Wurjarri), Nungaburra (=Yualarai, New South Wales), Bibbulmum (Perth area; also another unidentified group there), Arunta, Wilman (Perth area), Murngin (NE Arnhem Land), Yirkalla (SW Yorke Peninsula), Maung (N Arnhem Land), Wonguri and Woolkara (Arnhem Land), Fiji, Society Islands, Maori, Mortlock, Woleai, Niue, Ifaluk, Lamotrek, Merire (SW Carolines), Hrusso, Kachin, Burmese, Karen, Thai, Cham, Khmu, Temuan (Mantra), Kenya, southern Palawan, Toraja, Timor, Tboli, Ancient China, Chinese (Hebei, Jiangsu, Sichuan), Lisu, Lahu, Ancient Japan, Miyako Islands, Okinawa Islands, (Latvians, Dolgans), quarry, Nisenan, Yanomami, Hishkaryana, Ashaninka, Iranshe, Ramkokamekra, Kayapo (Shikrin), Ayoreo, Chamakoko.

Southwest Africa. Bushmen : Kotlyar 1983, no. 12 [The Hare scorched her kaross, threw it in the Moon's face; Moon: people should not die, Hare: they should; Moon smashed the Hare's mouth with an axe], 13 [~12; The Hare cursed the Moon, said that she must die], 14 [~12; the kaross left dark spots on the Moon; Hare: the polygamous man must be killed; Moon: this man must not die, let every woman bear children], 15 [Moon: let the dead soon return to life; Hare: the dead smells bad, let him never rise again; Moon: and you? Hare: me too; Moon hit the Hare on the upper lip with her sandal; became the moon, the Hare became a hare], 16 [Moon: let people like me die and be reborn; Hare: the dead smell bad, let them die forever; Moon split the Hare's lip with an axe, the Hare scratched her face, the marks remained], 17 [~16], 18 [old man Moon died; the women persuaded the Hare to pick unripe white berries; seeing what she had picked, the Hare went to pick again, the women left their urine to answer for itself, went away; the Hare saw a grave from which the Moon was climbing out; he dragged the Hare to himself, told her to go to the people and tell them that the dead must be reborn; the Hare tells the people that they will die forever, decompose and smell bad; for this the Moon split her lip with an axe; The Hare took off her kaross, stained it with soot, covered the Moon's face, the stains remained], 19 [the Hare's mother died; the Moon said that she would be reborn; the Hare did not agree, the Moon cut his lip with her fist, cursed him, ordering him to be a hare], 20 [(Dornan 1925: 172); the Moon tells the Tortoise to tell the people that they must, like her, be resurrected after death; the Tortoise moved slowly, forgot the Moon's words, returned to ask again; the Moon became angry, sent the Hare; he began to eat grass, also forgot the Moon's words, ordered the people to die forever; at this time the Tortoise approached with the true news; the people broke the Hare's lip with a stone; sent messengers to the Moon to ask again, but the decision remained unchanged], 106 (kung) [The Moon insists that people be reborn, the Hare that they die forever, for the dead smell bad; Tsue beats the Hare, the Hare's wife beats Tsue, the Moon beats Tsue, he is reborn each time; the Moon's wife beats him, he is reborn first as a small child, then again becomes an adult Moon]: 32, 32, 33, 33, 33-34, 34-35, 35-39, 39-40, 41, 220-227; Abrahamsson 1951 [(many versions)]: 30-32; Scheub 2000 (Botswana) [The Moon sent an insect to tell people that they should be reborn like her; the Hare suggested that the messenger run instead of him, it would be faster, said that one should die forever; the Moon cut the Hare's nose]: 107; Bushmen(San, more accurately Xam): Bleek, Lloyd 1911 [A hare began to cry because his mother was dead; The Moon told him not to cry, for his mother would come back to life as he came back to life; The hare insisted on his own; The Moon struck him, breaking his lip, turning him into a hare; The hare still had a piece of flesh from when he was a man, which could not be eaten; it was a certain muscle on his thigh; The Moon punished the hare, that from now on he should sleep not in the bushes, but in the open; the fur on his head was full of parasites]: 56-65; Lewis-Williams 2000, #47 [The Moon sent the hare to tell people that when they died, they should be reborn like him; The hare specifically told people not to be reborn; The Moon heated a stone and burned the hare's mouth, leaving a scar; so our bodies remain in the ground and our thoughts leave us]: 253; !ko Bushmen (western Botswana) [Millipede told Moon that humans must die finally; Moon agreed]: Heinz 1975: 32; Bushmen [a female hare lies dead, Moon punches the baby hare in the face with her fist, telling him to cry loudly because she will not come back to life as Moon does; ever since then the hares have had a split lip; there are many versions; according to some, Moon gets angry with humans if they laugh at her and hides or disappears for a time, then returns again]: Dornan 1921: 431; Hottentots [(many versions among different groups); main: 1) Moon sends Chameleon to say that as she is reborn, so humans will come back to life after death; Chameleon forgets what to say, returns; The Moon sent the Hare; he also forgot and said that people must die; The Moon cut the Hare's lip; 2) The Moon sent an insect to say that people must be reborn like her; The Hare intercepted the message, told people that they must die like himself; The Hare scratched the Moon's face, leaving marks; 3) Zoekoab sent the Hare to say that people will be reborn like the Moon; The Hare tried to send the Tick with a distorted message; it refused, so he himself ran and said that people must die forever]: Abrahamsson 1951: 28-30; Maingard 1962 (nama, subgroup of the Qur'an, Kimberley) [Moon: let people die like me (i.e., after dying, be reborn); Hare: let them die forever; The Moon broke the Hare's lip]: 47-48.

Bantu-speaking Africa. Upoto [the god Libanza summoned the moon people and the earth people; the moon people came at once, God said that they would only disappear for two days to rest and then appear again; the earth people who came later were commanded by God to die and rise again only to appear before him]: Lindeman 1906: 23f in Baumann 1936: 279, in Frazer 1926: 149; Kongo [Nzambi told the first couple that if their child died, the body should be left under a pile of brushwood; but when the father and mother smelled the corpse, they buried the dead body; N. said that now all people would die; look at the moon, I bring it back to life every month!]: Knappert 1997: 51; Vili [The moon was as bright as the sun, people did not sleep or die; then something happened to the Moon, people lost their immortality; the Sun threw ashes at the Moon, it went dark]: Pechuel-Lösche in Baumann 1936: 296; yaka [Nzambi sent a Dog and a Goat to tell people that the Moon, when it grew old, would disappear forever, and people would be reborn after death; the Goat started eating grass on the way; the Dog arrived first, said that people would die forever, and the Moon would be reborn; then the Goat came, reported correctly, but they no longer believed her]: Abrahamsson 1951: 12; yaka (Cameroon, Baja-Kaka) [A Frog was carrying a Moon on its back, and a Toad a man; when the Frog reached the valley of death, he jumped over it, and the Toad fell into it; therefore the moon is reborn, but man dies forever]: Tessmann 1937: 8 (paraphrased in Abrahamsson 1951: 8); soko [in the beginning the earth was covered with water; the water dried up, plants appeared; in the sky only the Moon, on the earth only the Toad; the Moon said that he wanted to create man and woman; the Toad replied that the Moon belonged to the sky, therefore he, the Toad, should create people on earth; the Moon said that his people would be eternal, but the Toad's people would die and the Toad himself would also die; the people created by the Toad were supposed to live only a month, but the Moon gave them a longer life and more intelligence; the Moon swallowed the Toad, made the man Bateta and the woman Hanna as a potter makes a vessel; gave them an axe, fire, pottery, himself returned to the sky]: Scheub 2000: 24-25; Nyoro [people did not die, did not sacrifice to God ("great Magician"), he brought down the sky on them; in order to repopulate the earth, he sent there from heaven a man and a woman; they had tails; they gave birth to a son and two daughters; one daughter gave birth to a disgusting chameleon, the other - a giant-Moon; God took him to heaven, but as a memory of his earthly origin, ordered him to die monthly, but then be reborn; the Sun did not like his rival, it burned him, traces of the burn are visible; the chameleons left offspring on earth]: Emin Pasha in Central Africa 1888: 92f in Frazer 1926: 235-236; luba[Mvidi Mukulu created man and woman, the sun, the moon; another suggested that he test the obedience of the creatures by giving them forbidden bananas; the Sun and Moon were sleeping, but the guard dog drove away the newcomers; the dog that guarded the people was sleeping; the people were given bananas, they ate; MM made them mortal, ordered them to work, and sent the Sun and Moon to the sky; every month the Moon dies for three days, but is then reborn]: Abrahamsson 1951: 39; lunda [Naambi slid down the rainbow to the earth, created animals and plants, then man and woman, they gave birth to people; N. ordered not to sleep when the moon rose; at that time people were awake; one grew old, began to see poorly, the old man did not see the shine of the moon in the clouds, fell asleep; since then people are mortal]: Feldman 1963, no. 37 in Zhukov, Kotlyar 1975, no. 16: 60-61; Chokwe [Kalunga shouted to the people, Kalunga ! ("life"), they did not answer; shouted, Muaffu -affa ("die"); they answered, Yes ; he gave food to the dead, he did not eat; gave to the living, they ate; said that people would die, and women would give birth to new ones (p. 105: Kalunga – "moon")]: Frobenius 1983: 115 (retold in Abrahamsson 1951: 40); Ambo [The Sun gave the Moon liver to boil in two cauldrons - for him and for the people; while the Moon went for firewood, the water in the cauldron where the food for the people was being boiled away, the liver burned; The Sun said that now only the Moon would be reborn and people would die forever; as punishment he burned his face, leaving marks]: Pettinen in Baumann 1936: 296; Kuta : Andersson 1974 (Mbamba, Pangala district) [Nziame sent a Dog and a Goat to the people; the Goat stopped to graze, the Dog came running, said that man would die forever and the Moon would be reborn; then the Goat came and said the opposite, but it was too late; (in variants of other Kuta groups the Moon is not mentioned)]: 61 (=Abrahamsson 1951: 11-12); pare [God sent a Chameleon to tell the people that they would be reborn like the Moon; changing his mind, he sent a Frog to tell the people that they would die forever like a broken jug; when Chameleon began to speak, Frog finished with his message]: Abrahamsson 1951: 20; bemba (or lala ) [Nzambi told Chameleon to tell people that they would be reborn, and the Moon would die forever; Chameleon walked slowly, and Dog heard, ran, said the opposite; Chameleon brought the right message, but it was too late]: Andersson in Abrahamsson 1951: 12; kaonde [Nzambi descended to earth on a rainbow, created trees, animals, told them to multiply; told them not to sleep when the moon was in the sky; one day the moon was behind the clouds, man fell asleep, since then people are mortal; it is impossible to stay awake when the moon is in the sky]: Melland 1967: 164-165; chagga: Abrahamsson 1951 [a child died, the mother asked another woman to carry him into the bush, saying, Go and return like the moon ; another, out of jealousy of the first, said, Disappear and do not return, and let the moon return ; since then the moon is reborn, people die]: 57; Millroth 1965 [a youth Morile ascended to the moon, where the local people sowed grain, raised cattle, but had no fire; when they reach old age they do not die, but become children again; if they need something, they ask Ruwa (the supreme god), he grants the wish; learning that M. had ascended to meet R., they directed him to the sun, and the Sun sent him to R.; M. taught the moon people to use fire, brought from them wealth and cattle to earth]: 26-27.

West Africa. Background [Mawu placed an empty calabash on the water; As the calabash remains on the water, so will people live forever on earth ; Spider threw a stone; As the stone sank to the bottom, so will people die forever ; Spider's mother died, he began to ask M. to revive her and make people immortal; M. refused; if Spider had not angered M. before, people would have come back to life after death like the moon, which dies every morning and returns in the evening]: Müller 1908: 277 (cited in Abrahamsson 1951: 5; translation in Zhukov, Kotlyar 1986, no. 18: 62); Ewe : Spieth, p. 52 in Briffault 1927(2): 652 [The moon is covered with scales like a snake, shedding them monthly; such scales can be found]; Spieth 1906 [The Moon dies and is reborn because it has completed the work assigned to it by God; man refused to do it, so he dies forever]: 557; Mandingo [there was no death and no Moon, a chain hung from the sky, when people got tired of life, they climbed up it beyond the clouds; the blacksmith Fazogo Ba Si was unhappy that he only had daughters; he heated up a piece of iron, climbed into the sky, followed by his two daughters; after that, people lost the chain, began to die; when the moon was crescent – ​​the Blacksmith heated the iron ; when the moon was full – the Blacksmith had finished his work ; two stars next to the moon – the blacksmith's daughters]: Olderogge 1959: 202-203; Hausa [The Moon sent the Hare to say that man should be like the Moon, dying in the morning and being reborn again in the evening; the Hare said that people should die forever; The Moon wanted to hit him on the head with an axe, but only cut his upper lip; The hare scratched the Moon's face, the marks are still visible; he ran away and is still running]: Abrahamsson 1951: 7-8; tangalē [{poorly understood, but the reborn Moon is clearly opposed to the dead man}; during an eclipse, hunters asked for water; people with large navels were found, they brought it; the hunters said that they themselves had a child with a large navel; they came to him; on the way back one was bitten by a snake, he died; they were told that the eclipse would last 7 days; on the seventh day they began to pray, beat the drum; the Moon shone again, she returned; the Moon rose]: Jungraithmayr 2002: 225-229; bulsa [people sent a dog to God to ask that they die and be reborn, and that the moon die forever; the dog hesitated, seeing food on the way; then a goat went and said that people wanted to die forever, and that the moon should be reborn; when the dog brought the true request, God replied that it was too late]: Schott 1989: 262; diola(?; in any case Senegal; informant Jacklyn Ndiaye, recorded in France; a note to one of the texts recorded from her states that "probably Diola"; in any case, the Diola are Christians, like the informant) [God sent a hare to tell people that the moon must die forever, and people must be reborn after death; a hyena met the hare and, having learned why and where it was running, took it upon herself to convey the message; said that the moon must be reborn, and people must die forever; God began to regenerate, but it was impossible to change the instruction]: Reuss-Nliba, Reuss-Nliba 2018: 14.

Sudan - East Africa. Bongo : Andersson in Abrahamsson 1951: 13 [1) Nzambi asked the people whether they wanted themselves or the moon to be reborn when they died; the people sent a Goat and a Dog to say that they wanted to be reborn; the Goat stopped grazing; the Dog said that the people wanted to die and let the moon be reborn; when the Goat arrived, it was too late; 2) Nzama created the world and people; sent a Goat and a Dog to say that people should not die; the Goat stopped grazing and the Dog said that people should die and the moon be reborn; the Goat brought the right message, but it was too late; N. punished them both by turning them into animals; 3) Nzama created heaven, earth and everything on it; brought down the first human couple to earth; sent the Goat with a message from the Sun and the Dog with a message from the Moon (what exactly this meant the informant did not explain); the Dog said that men would die forever and the Moon would be reborn; the Goat said the opposite, but it was too late], 13-14 [Nzami created men; Muloghi insisted that some of them would die; N. sent the Goat and the Dog; the Goat stopped grazing, the Dog told men to die forever and the Moon would be reborn; then the Goat said the opposite, but the men did not believe her]; gbaya [A Frog (Rana longirostris) carried the Moon on its back, and a Toad (Bufo regularis) carried men; they came to the Valley of Death; the Frog jumped over it, and the Toad tried to jump after it and fell down; therefore the Moon is reborn and men die forever]: Tessmann 1937: 8-9; mbai [Sou sent a chameleon to tell Death: let the moon die forever, and man be reborn; a lizard overheard, came running first and delivered the order: let the moon be reborn in three days, and man die forever; when the chameleon came, Death did not listen to him]: Fortier 1967: 125; zande [an old man saw the corpse of a man and the Moon on it; he asked the animals who would carry them across the river; the long-legged Turtle carried the Moon, but the short-legged one, taking the man, drowned; therefore the Moon is reborn, and men die forever]: Basset 1903: 147 (=Abrahamsson 1951: 15, =Baumann 1936: 279); zande [the corpses of a man and the Moon lay next to a grave; it was said that a frog and a toad should jump over a grave, carrying corpses, they will come to life; the frog jumped over with the Moon, it came to life, the toad dropped a man into a grave; therefore man is mortal, and the moon is reborn; E.-P. comment: in connection with the myth of the origin of death I have never heard the name of Mbori (the supreme deity) mentioned]: Evans-Prichard 1936: 33-34 (=Scheub 2000: 145); Joluo[the creator Juok asked the Moon and the Sun if there were many people on earth; the Moon replied that there were many, and the Sun that there were few, they die and it is necessary to make it so that people are reborn, like the Moon; the Sun envied him, because he knew more about people; the Sun was so hot that people hid from its rays; the Sun began to fight with the Moon, marks remained on the face of the Moon; J. took pity on the Sun, decided to give him a sister or brother; the Spider said that if there were two suns, people would die; the Sun cursed the Spider, let the spiders come out only at night]: Scheub 2000: 88-89; Maasai [Naitery-kop placed the first man Leeyio on earth; ordered to say at the funeral "Man dies and returns, the moon dies and remains (dead"; the neighbor's child died; L. got it wrong, said the opposite; then L.'s own child died; this time he said it correctly, but N. replied that it was too late now, death had become final with the death of the neighbor's child]: Hollis 1905: 271-272 (=Kipury 1983, no. 1: 27; paraphrased in Abrahamsson 1951: 57); arusha [the little woman's child died; she gave it to the big woman Naiterukop to bury it with the words, Man - die and be reborn, Moon - die and remain (dead) ; N. said the opposite; in the morning the earth over the grave began to rise, but she trampled it down and said again that Man should die and the Moon should be reborn; then her own child N. died; she buried it, saying thus, as the little woman had wanted at first, but it was of no use]: Abrahamsson 1951: 57; nandi [The Dog told the people that they would die like the moon, but would be reborn like the moon only if they gave her, the Dog, milk and beer from the same vessels from which they themselves drank; the people gave the Dog something to drink, pouring it on a stool (as they give to boys undergoing initiation, circumcision); the Dog commanded that only the Moon should be reborn, but the people should die]: Hollis 1909: 98 (retold in Abrahamsson 1951: 18; in Shaube 2000: 18); uduk [The Moon spat, the Lizard refused to swallow the spittle; for this the Moon cursed her - neither she nor the people would be reborn after death; if the Lizard had swallowed the spittle, we would reborn like the moon]: Scheub 2000: 16; Sanye [A lizard told the people that they would die forever and the moon would be reborn; from then on people began to die]: Barett 1911: 37 (paraphrased in Abrahamsson 1951: 19); Malagasy (Tanala) [God created man and woman; offered the choice of being like the moon (being reborn but not having children) or like a banana (having descendants but dying); the people chose the latter]: Richardson, v.2: 100 in Briffault 1927(2): 655, in Abrahamsson 1951: 120-121; Malagasy (all of Magadascar) [God asked the people whether they wanted to be like the moon or like a banana, they chose the latter; therefore people die and are replaced by their children]: Renel in Abrahamsson 1951: 121; Malagasy(Betsimisaraka) [the first man and woman lived in the sky; Zanahary asked them if they wanted to die like the moon or like a banana; they said like a banana; he sent them to earth, forbidding them to take rice with them, but they hid some grains]: Vig in Abrahamsson 1951: 121; Malagasy [the divine couple Zanaharindahy and Zanaharimbavy created the sky and the earth; made the Sun lord of the sky and the first human couple lords of the earth; asked which kind of death they preferred; humans wanted to be like a banana and the Sun like the moon]: Abrahamsson 1951: 121; Malagasy (Betsileo) [the first man Andriambahomanana and his wife have many children; the god Andriananahary decided that death was necessary; asked if humans wanted to die like the moon or like a banana; companion of the first man Andriamahilala (this is the name of the first woman, but in this case it is a male character) chose to die like the moon; was sent to the moon, where he dies and is reborn every month; is visible on the lunar disk at the full moon; the first man chose the banana, which has children]: Abrahamsson 1951: 121; Malagasy (Bara) [people chose to die like a banana, leaving offspring, and not like the moon]: Abrahamsson 1951: 122; Malagasy (Sakalava, Tsimihety) [God created man and woman, they chose to die like a banana, leaving offspring, and not like the moon]: Abrahamsson 1951: 122.

Australia. Jinang [a young man climbed a tall tree; his mother and her sister tried to pull him down, but he climbed into the sky, his belly burst and he became the Moon; he declared that he would die for only three days, while others would die forever]: Waterman 1987, #23:22; millingimbi [when the Moon's sons secretly killed and ate a whistling duck, he put them in a bag and drowned them; his wives set fire to his hut and watched him burn; taking the form first of a sickle, then of a sphere, he climbed up a pine tree, declaring that he would become immortal, while all others would be mortal; the Moon shows burn marks]: Waterman 1987, #26:22; Wotjobaluk (SE Australia) [when the animals were men, the Moon said, Arise , and the dead came to life; the old man said, Let them remain dead ; since then only the Moon rises]: Howitt 1904: 428-429 (cited in Waterman 1987, no. 2830: 84); Wurjareee [when the old and sick first appeared, the Moon announced that they would rise again in three days; Turkey bade them die forever (he wanted to have their women); the Moon climbed into the sky from a small hill - the home of the creator of Baime ]: Waterman 1987, no. 2855: 84; kulin [the Moon lived on earth, decided to give old people a sip of water that would bring the dead back to life; the Dove disagreed, the Moon became angry with him]: Howitt 1904: 428 (quoted in Waterman 1987, no. 2860(1): 84); jarra [if a man dies because his kidney fat was stolen, he goes to the Creator ( Bundjel ); there he either drinks the water of the Moon and is revived, or the water of the Dove and dies forever]: Waterman 1987, no. 2860(2): 84; nungaburra (=ualarai) [the Moon asked the people to carry his three dogs (i.e. snakes) across a river; he threw bark into the water; if the people carried the "dogs" they would be reborn after death just as bark floats in water; threw a stone, it drowned; if people refused, they would die like a stone thrown into water; he had to carry the dogs himself; he said that now people would not be reborn like him, but would die forever; people kill snakes, but the Moon sends others]: Parker 1965: 85-88 (=Waterman 1987, no. 2870: 84); Tiwi : Mountford 1958, no. 3 [The Moon was the lover of Bima, the wife of Purukupali; distracting her, he forced her to leave her boy Djinini in the sun, he died; this was the first death; the Moon asked to give him the boy's body, promising to bring him back to life in three days; but P. began to fight with the Moon, both wounded each other's face and body; taking the child's body, P. walked backwards to the seashore and, hiding in the waves, said that now everyone would die finally; The Moon, too, but unlike the others, comes back to life after three days; the scars on his face are still visible]: 29-30 (quoted in Waterman 1987, no. 2880: 84); Venbrux 2010 [The Moon Tapara seduced Bima, the wife of his elder maternal brother Purukupali; while they were copulating in the bushes, Bima's child Djinani, left in the sun, died of thirst or hunger; B., in her grief, turned into a curlew, whose piteous cry is still heard; T. and P. began to fight, T. injured P.'s leg, and P. injured his eye, who became the Moon; T. offered to bring P.'s son back to life in three days, but P. refused and decided that people should die]: 30; Victoria River Downs [The Moon said he would die and be reborn in four days; Dingo said he would die forever; people began to do like Dingo]: Rose 1992: 104 in Venbrux 2010: 31; bibbulmum (+ unidentified group) [The Moon told the Marsupial Cat that people would be reborn after death like him, the Moon; the Cat disagreed and ran away; the Moon asked the Kangaroo what would happen after death; the Kangaroo evaded the answer until the Moon tickled him; then said that people would die forever; the Moon replied that he himself would be reborn, but people would not]: Waterman 1987, no. 2885(1): 84; Kimberley Plateau(group not specified) [The Moon tried to get together with his mother-in-law, but she and her men began to beat him; he said that he would die, but in 5 days he would be reborn, and they, i.e. all people, would begin to die forever]: Kaberry 2004: 128 in Venbrux 2010: 32; wilman [The Moon got tired of listening to Kangaroo boasting that he ran and jumped better than others; they ran a race, Kangaroo fell behind and got tired; The Moon asked him what would happen to him after death; Kangaroo answered that his bones would turn white; The Moon declared that he would live forever; Kangaroo corrected that although the Moon would die, he would be reborn each time]: Hassell 1934, no. 5: 240–242 (summary in Waterman 1987, no. 2885(2): 85); murngin [The Moon decided that after death only bones would remain of him, but he would then be reborn; insisted that the Parrot Fish do the same; she refused, so people are not reborn]: Warner 1937: 524–524, paraphrased in Waterman 1987, no. 2890(1): 85, cited in Venbrux 2010: 32–33; yirkalla [The Moon and the Parrot Fish fought and killed each other; the spirit of the Moon announced that he would rise to the sky and be reborn regularly, but the Parrot Fish would live in the sea and die forever]: Waterman 1987, no. 2890(2): 85; maung [Moon and Possum had a fight, Possum was mortally wounded; says that all people will die too; Moon says that he, the Moon, should have spoken first, since he would die for several days and be reborn each time; then people would not die]: Berndt, Berndt 1964: 336 (retold in Kudinov 1980: 103; cited in Berndt, Berndt 1988: 397 in Venbrux 2010: 31); arunta [a man from the Possum clan died, was buried, returned; people ran in terror, he asked them to stop, otherwise they would die forever; he would die and rise to the sky; he became the Moon, dies and is reborn; people became mortal]: Spencer, Gillen 1938: 564 (=1899: 564 in Dixon 1916: 278; in Venbrux 2010: 32); Vulkara , Wonguri (NE Arnhem Land) [the Moon has two wives, Malarei and Gudjiringu, each has a son by him; while the women dig yams, the boys eat the fish, the goose, the birds' eggs, and give nothing to their father; he weaves a net, throws it over the sons, and throws the net with them into the water; the women bend down to drink, pull out the drowned; they leave the corpses on a wooden platform, beat the husband with sticks; he climbs up the tree to the sky, he has a big belly, he turns into the Moon; he shouts that all men – the husbands of women – will die, and he, the Moon, will be reborn]: Berndt, Berndt 1964: 336-338 (translated in Kudinov 1980: 103-106).

Melanesia. Fiji [The moon wanted people to be immortal like her; the mouse wanted people to die but have children like her; therefore people hate rats]: Waterhouse 1866: 342 (translated in Polinskaya 1989, no. 12: 88).

Micronesia – Polynesia. Carolines {island not specified} [at first people fell asleep when the old moon disappeared, woke up young when the new one appeared; an evil spirit made it so that the dead were no longer reborn]: Frazer 1913: 67; Ifaluk [two women Legubrielnialel (Leg.) and Ligesges (Lig.) lived in the sky; when the soul of a dead person appeared there, Leg. said, "he dies like the moon," i.e. temporarily, and the person revived; but Lig. said, "he dies really," and since then people have not been reborn]: Burrow, Spiro 1957: 212; Lamotrek [a Nigereger man quarreled with the Moon; the latter finally said that he, the Moon, would die and live again, but N. would die forever]: Krämer 1937: 151; Woleai [the goddess Ligéreger argued with the Moon - "when I die, everyone must die"; the Moon replied that it would be better if it were like hers: young at the new moon, old when she grows old]: Krämer 1937: 279; Merir (SW Carolina) [the Rat and the Moon decide to create a man; the Moon wants him to be immortal like himself, the Rat wants him to die; the Rat brings a dog, threatening that if the Moon insists, he himself will become mortal; the Moon leaves, the man becomes mortal]: Anell 1964: 20; Mortlock Island (Truk County) [the god Luk wanted a man to grow old, die and be reborn; asked the Rat, who replied that men must die forever, and that only the gods should be immortal]: Anell 1964: 20; Niue [proverb: to die like the moon is to be reborn, to die like a rat is to die forever]: Smith (JPS 11: 217) in Williamson 1933(2): 152; Maori : Beckwith 1970 [every woman's true husband is the Moon; when it wanes it bathes in the living water of Lake Aiwa (Aewa) and is reborn]: 74; Best 1899 [by copulating with the goddess of the dark world Hine, Maui attempted to make men immortal; he said: 'Let death be brief, and man die and be reborn as the moon dies and is reborn'; Hine refused: 'Let death be eternal. "The lamentations and wailings will be heard throughout the world at all times" {Maui's interlocutor Hine and the moon (Te Marama) are described as two different characters in this article}: 96; J.White, The Ancient History of the Maori, v.1 [Maui wants people to be reborn soon after death like his mother the moon-Hina; she wants people to die forever, and their loved ones to grieve; M. suggests that people die and be reborn like her, the Moon; H. says that people should die and become like the earth, never to be reborn again; and so it happened]: 142 in Briffault 1927(2): 657, in Dixon 1916: 54; Society Islands[Hina (Moon) asked Fatu (Earth) for the dead to be reborn; she refused, saying that the earth, vegetation, and sun must also die; Hina had to agree, but she promised to regenerate what was in her power – the moon; what belongs to Hina is regularly reborn, what belongs to Fatu, including people, dies forever]: Moerenhout 1837(1): 428 in Williamson 1933(2): 148-149; Society Islands [Tangaroa created the first man Ti'i (Tiki) and his wife Hina; wars began between the gods and between people; Tangaroa and his assistant Tu cursed the creation, but Hina softened the curse each time; 1) let the stars flicker – but continue to shine; 2) the moon grows old, disappears – but is reborn; 3) rivers go into the sand – but water flows again from springs; 4) leaves on trees turn yellow, the fruiting season ends – but new leaves and fruits appear; Hina would have made people reborn, but Tiki ordered them to die; he himself died (approximately the same in London missionaries)]: Henry (JPS 10: 52) in Williamson 1933(2): 149.

Tibet - Northeast India. Aka (khrusso) [there were two suns (husband and wife) and two moons (also husband and wife); the wife of the Sun became the lover of the husband of the Moon, they came down to earth to make love; everything around began to burn, people killed them with arrows; the corpse of the wife of the Sun remained on the earth, but the husband of the Moon managed to rise to the sky, died in the arms of the Moon; the Sun warned that if the Moon threw the corpse of her husband on the earth, people and animals would also die; ordered people not to answer if his sister the Moon called them, but to answer if he, the Sun, called; the Moon came out, carrying the body of her husband, and began to cry; everyone was sleeping, but the Barking Deer and the Peacock were not sleeping, they also began to cry, the Moon threw the body of her husband on the earth; the Rooster heard, began to call the Sun, who came out, said that he was now unable to help]: Elwin 1958a, no. 7: 288-290; kachin (jinpo) [people did not die, old people all grew decrepit; a kite killed a squirrel, a man picked it up, wrapped it in a shroud, called the Moon and Stars to mourn, telling them that a man had died; they became angry when they saw that it was an animal; the man replied that people would also like to die; the Moon and Stars cut the squirrel into pieces, told all people to eat the meat; people became mortal]: Elwin 1958a, no. 13: 294-295; (cf. midzi (Dhammai) [at first people did not die, but the children of the Sun and the Moon died every time; the Sun-woman asked the Moon-man to cover his face more and more every day, and she would cry as if he were dying; on earth a man wrapped a dog in a shroud, began to cry as if someone had died; the Sun sent a bird, a chicken, a pig, a bee, but only a hornet pierced the shroud and discovered that there was a dog underneath; when another child of the Sun died, she threw his body on the ground, it became the carcass of a deer; people ate it and became mortal]: Elwin 1958a, no. 3: 284-285).

Burma - Indochina. Burmese [a widow bequeaths a mortar to her eldest grandson, and a pestle to her younger; the eldest, without taking the mortar, leaves for another village; the younger carries the pestle with him; a snake asks to revive a dead snake with a pestle; the pestle will retain its ability to revive until the young man tells others about it; the young man revives a dead dog; revives a princess, marries her, becomes heir to the throne; guesses that the smell of the pestle gives eternal youth, he and his wife do not age; the Moon stole the pestle when the owner left it to dry, ordering the dog to guard it; the dog rushed in pursuit; sometimes it grabs the Moon (eclipse), but he begins to feel sick and the Moon slips away; this dog does not grow old because it inhales the smell of the pestle from time to time]: Aung 1957: 96-98 (=Coyaud 2002, no. 8: 29-33); Karen [in the beginning, people had the elixir of life and the elixir of death; the Moon stole the elixir of life; the elixir could not be returned and everyone on earth became mortal]: Obayashi 1964b: 113 [a man had the elixir of immortality and four dogs; the moon came down to earth and stole the elixir; a man built a ladder from rice straw to the moon; but at the last moment it collapsed; the man and one dog fell and were killed; the other three remained on the moon; cause eclipses; when a black dog attacks the moon, it cannot swallow it whole; but the yellow dog swallows it and the moon shines through its body; then comes out from behind]: Marshall 1922: 54, 231; Thai [two poor brothers received a remedy from Phrá In to revive the dead; they revived a princess, the elder one married her; against the law, the wife opened the box with the magic remedy, the Moon promptly stole the remedy; the husband sent a hen to return it; it asked people to beat gongs and drums to help it fight the Moon; but it disappeared and became the Pleiades; the same with the elephant (it turned into the seven stars of the constellation Daawcháaŋ), the pig (the constellation Daawmǔu), and the tortoise (the constellation Daawphég); the last one - a frog, it fights the Moon, and the people make noise to help]: Plenge 1976: 121-122; Cham : Cabaton 1901 [the goddess Pajå Yan revived the dead; the sky god Po Jata moved her to the moon, from where she is unable to revive them as before, but grants health to people]: 19; Landes 1887, No. 15 [working in the forest, people leave a shepherd to guard the buffalo; he kills a snake; sees how the mother of the snake revives her son with the bark of a tree; the young man takes a supply of the same bark; revives the dead girl, gets her as a wife; plants the tree, warns his wife not to relieve herself on it, otherwise the tree will fly away to the sky; she violates the ban; the husband managed to grab it by the roots, flew away to the moon together with the tree and the black dog]: 105-107; khmu[seven brothers are discussing what is the most delicious; the elders talk about food, the youngest - about a girl; the elders beat him; having heard his explanation, his mother and father beat him too; he goes into the forest, kills the piglets of a wild boar, climbs a tree; sees how the pig revived those killed by a plant; takes a part of the plant, revives a dead bird; the ruler's daughter died, the ruler promises her to the one who revives her; the young man revives her, but does not take her as a wife, but asks the ruler for a rooster; if you press it, it creates everything you want; creates a village; the ruler comes, asks to show what he revived his daughter with; the young man opens his palm, the Moon descends and takes away the remedy; during an eclipse, the Moon is attacked by a Frog, trying to take possession of it (the remedy is here called a "piece of wood"); the young man's brothers come, ask for a rooster to create a village for themselves too; frightened by a storm that has begun, they press too hard, the rooster dies; the youth makes a comb out of the rooster's bones; while combing his hair, gold and silver fall out; the brothers ask to borrow the comb, comb their hair, their hair falls out, they burn the comb; a little is left, the youth makes a toothpick out of it, gold and silver fall out again; the brothers and parents ask for a toothpick, their teeth fall out, they burn the toothpick; a piece remains, the youth swallows it, his intestinal gases become fragrant; one of the brothers asks what he should eat; the youth advises eating some plants; the brother soils himself, dies]: Lindell et al. 1978, no. 14: 112-117.

Malaysia - Indonesia. Temuan (mantra} [at first people did not die, but grew thin as the moon waned and fat as it grew; To' Entah (the eldest son of the first man Mertang), who was the first chief, reported this to his father, who replied that so be it; the youngest son Belo said that people should die like a banana, leaving shoots; the master of the underworld Tyhan Dibawah agreed with him; since then people die, but leave children behind them]: Hervey 1883: 190 (cited in Skeat, Blagen 1906(2): 337-338, in Frazer 1913: 73, 1919: 72, in Briffault 1927(2): 636); Kenya [Bungan Malam ponders what the life of people should be, each time asking the advice of the Rat; first suggests that like banana; the Rat objects that the banana bears too much fruit, the earth will be overflowing, and parents will die with the birth of children; then - like the moon, but then people will die for a short time and always be reborn; it is decided that like a tree; like man, it grows upward and is mortal]: Elshout 1923: 217 in Fischer 1932: 220-221, 241; southern Palawan: MacDonald 1981: 102-103 [first the sea and rivers dried up, then a flood began; a man is warned of this in a dream, escapes with his wife in a boat; the spirit husband and wife escaped in a tree; one day the man's children filled the spirit's vessel with excrement; then he tells the man to take rice bran in his mouth and say, "The moon grows and grows old, people are born and reborn," but he could only say (a play on words), "The penis grows and shrinks, grows ..."; the spirit, taking sugar cane in his mouth, said this phrase seven times; throwing ashes in the man's face, became invisible], 106 [the ancestor of the people Ampuq and the ancestor of the spirits Säitan must pronounce the phrases, "The moon disappears and appears again, only children will replace their parents"; whoever pronounces it correctly, his descendants will become immortal, and the descendants of his competitor will not live long; S. took sugar cane in his mouth, and A. took rice bran, could not pronounce clearly, therefore people are mortal], 107-108 [the spirit, having taken sugar cane in his mouth, suggested to the man, having taken rice bran in his mouth, to pronounce, "The moon grows and grows old, the shoot of the banana grows again"; he himself pronounced, the man could not say clearly; since then we see spirits only after death], 108-109 [instead of lime for chewing betel, the man gave the spirit excrement; the next day - ashes; the spirit suggested to him to say something, he said, "The banana dies, only the shoot will come to replace it"; the spirit said, "The moon decreases, disappears, and then appears again"; therefore the children of the spirits are reborn at the new moon, and people die forever and are replaced by children], 109-110 [the Sapäd bird asks the Chameleon to repeat after her what she says, taking a sugar cane in her mouth; she says, "The moon dies, disappears and is reborn"; the Chameleon hesitates, "Dies, dies..."; the bird then tells him to say, "The banana dies, only a new shoot comes to replace it"; the Chameleon says this, therefore fathers are reborn only in children]; Western Toraja : Kruyt 1938, no. 8 [1) The Toad asks the Creator to reduce the number of people, for otherwise they will trample the toads; Creator, Let men like the moon die for a month and then be reborn (Ik zal de menschen als de maan een maand laten doodgaan en dan weer doen herleven); Toad, Let them die forever ; the last word is with the Toad; 2) (Banawa, Kaili group); formerly, men were like the moon, periodically growing old and young (dying for a month, then being reborn); the earth became full, men decided to become like a banana, so that old people would die, and children would take their place; 3) two sisters argue; Ralindoe bathes her child, saying that it will have to be reborn like the moon; To'olo bathes hers, saying that it will die forever; she managed to out-argue her sister]: 434-436; Timor[Usif Neno created two people, offered a choice between the month and the stars; if you choose the month, you will die and be reborn, if the stars, you will die forever; UN sent these people to earth, from them the present ones are descended]: Kruyt 1923: 417 in Fischer 1932: 226.

Taiwan - Philippines. T'boli [D'wata, the son of the supreme god, has two wives - Hyu We and Sedek We; D's sons dug holes for the pillars of his house; from this earth D's wives molded figures of people; H. did as it should be, but S.'s nostrils were open upward, her genitals were on her knees; S. began to crush rice, struck the sky with a pestle, it moved away from the earth; S. and H. quarreled, H. struck the figures molded by S., their noses and genitals ended up where they are now; H. wanted to place the figures on the moon so that they would always remain children; S. wanted to place them on a stone so that they would be hard as a stone; H. did not agree, turned away, then S. put them on a banana; that is why people multiply like bananas and die; D. brought the figures to life by blowing on them]: Eugenio 1994, no. 182: 307-308.

China - Korea. Ancient China [after Yi struck nine out of ten suns, the Heavenly Ruler became angry and left Yi on earth; Yi continues to fight monsters; Yi goes west, receives the potion of immortality from Xi Wangmu; if two drink it, they will become immortal on earth, if one - they will become a heavenly deity; Yi Chang'e's wife secretly took the potion, flew to the moon, became a toad there (according to another version, she remained a woman); on stone reliefs and bricks of the Han era, Chang'e is depicted as a toad with a pestle in her hands, pounding medicine; on the moon there is also a hare pounding the potion of immortality in a mortar, there is a cinnamon tree and Wu Gang ; he wanted to become immortal, was exiled to the moon for his misdeeds to cut down a cinnamon tree; [he cuts down, but it grows back together]: Yuan Ke 1987: 154-159, 317 (note 94); Chinese (Hebei, Funing County, Lixinzhuang Village, 1984 from a 68-year-old peasant woman) [there was no moon or stars, and it was pitch dark at night; a girl from the Luna (Yueliang) family came to the village; she learned how people suffer when night falls in the mountains; she crossed the mountain and saw an old man; his hair was emitting a silvery light, his eyes were closed, and he was lying unconscious under a large tree, with a white rabbit hopping nearby; Yu gave the old man something to drink, he sat up, took out a silver and blue brush, and asked her to paint the thing that people need most; he and the rabbit turned into a white glow and disappeared; Yu drew a circle emitting light; in a dream at night, the old man told her to go to the west and hang the picture in the sky; Yu walked for so long that she grew old; when she fainted, the white rabbit lifted her onto his back, flew to the edge of the sky; Yu took out the painting; the wind picked up Yu, along with the white rabbit and the painting, and threw them into the sky; the earth became illuminated; Yu and the white hare/rabbit settled in a house on the moon to guard {picture}]: Bai Gengsheng 2007b: 8-9; Chinese(Hebei, Funing County, Tuarshan Mountain Scenic Area, 2005) [Hou Yi ruled the state of Youqiong; while spending time on military campaigns, he lost interest in the concubine Chang E; she became attached to two white rabbits; one day, they bowed to her and ran out of the palace; Chang E followed them into a cave on the mountain, in it there was a stone table and chair, an incense stick was smoking on the table, there was a pot for grinding medicinal herbs, and the herbs themselves lay; an elderly gray-haired man was fanning the hearth with a fan, with each wave eight flashes of fire burst out; the rabbits began to eat the medicinal herbs; the old man replied that the elixir of life was purified in the hearth; whoever ate it did not age and became a deity; Chang E took the rabbits and returned to the palace; Hou Yi returned victorious; learned that Master Lao Tzu had created the elixir of life; he came to that cave and received the elixir; told Chang E to keep it; Chang E opened the box, there was a pill the size of an egg; it gave off a fragrance; Chang E licked it and the elixir immediately appeared in her stomach; her body became light; learning of what had happened, Hou Yi wanted to hack Chang E to death, but she let go of the bed she was holding on to and flew away, with two white rabbits following her; Hou Yi fired, one of the rabbits covered Chang E, the arrow pierced his anus, the rabbit fell from the sky and turned into Mount Tuar ("Hare's Ear"); Chang E flew into the Moon Palace; Hou Yi was about to shoot again, but Laozi's voice was heard: “You have lived your life in campaigns, your burden of killing is heavy, and you cannot become a deity; but Chang E has lived an ordinary life, and therefore now lives in the Moon Palace”; Hou Yi repented and turned into a wild boar; on the northern side of Mount Tuarshan there is a cave called Hare's Anus, and that is where Hou Yi's arrow landed]: Bai Gengsheng 2007b: 16-18; fox: Bystrov et al. 1962 [Asu's husband fell ill, almost paralyzed; to avoid being killed by tax collectors, Asu takes him to the mountains, leaving him some food; the food ran out; he saw a snake reaching for him, killed it; another snake revived the first with leaf juice; the man rubbed himself with this juice, got better; found his wife ill, cured her too; becomes a famous healer; forbids his wife to open the chest with leaves; she opened it, the sun's rays fell on the leaves, ate half of them, therefore the sun is immortal; the moon stole the other half in the evening; the husband wove a ladder out of hemp, climbed to the moon; told Asu to wet the end of the ladder with water; he almost climbed it, his dog had already jumped to the moon; Asu forgot to water the ladder at noon, poured it with cold water in the evening, not warm; it broke, the husband fell and was killed; [a dog was left on the moon, when it gnaws it, there are eclipses]: 226-231; Dessaint, Ngwâma 1994 [a leper was moved to a cave; there he killed a boa constrictor and was about to cook it; the female boa constrictor knocked over the cauldron, glued the body of her husband together with the bark of some tree and revived it, the boa constrictors crawled away; with the same bark the man was cured of leprosy, returned to his family; on the way he revived a long-dead black dog; in the village he revived a dead man; he hid the bark, telling his wife to watch it and beware of the Moon, who comes down from the river to drink and can steal the bark; the wife was distracted, the children saw the Moon take the bark; the man made a giant candle, climbed along it to the moon, telling his wife to pour cold water on the candle three times a day; it turned out that the moon was twice the length of an arm short; the dog jumped on the moon; since then it bites it; during an eclipse you have to make noise; if there is a wedding, then it is canceled]: 230-232; Lahu (SW Yunnan) [an orphan youth grew corn, wild boars ate it; he saw piglets, killed them with a club, noticing their mother, climbed a tree; the female boar pinched off pieces of bark from the trunk, revived the piglets, took them away; the youth took the bark, revived the dead girl, her parents want to see him as a son-in-law; he asks to first let him earn money; he revives people with bark; the revived rich man asks to sell the tree, the youth does not agree; then he killed the poor man's child, the youth ran to the tree for bark, the rich man's people tried to grab him; but he cannot be torn from the trunk, the trunk cannot be cut down; a storm came, the tree with the young man rose into the sky, ended up on the moon; one day people wove a ladder out of straw, sent a white rabbit to the moon for tree bark; but the sky god Esha destroyed the ladder; the rabbit remained on the moon and now crushes medicinal herbs there in a mortar]: Miller 1994: 185-189.

( Cf. Eastern Siberia. Dolgany [God created the sun during the day, therefore it is more important than the moon, which was created later at night; the boy and girl who remained from the first people cried from hunger; the girl turned to God with a prayer to take her to himself, God fulfilled her wish; the boy turned to the moon, it took him to itself; God said that he created the moon pure and did not order it to touch people; now the moon will be like a person, born and die in 4 weeks and suffer like that all his life; before this, the moon was always round and did not disappear]: Tretyakov 1871: 209, 423).

Japan. Miyako Islands [The Moon gives Akariyazagama a tub of living water and a tub of dead water, sends him to earth, and orders him to pour living water on a man and dead water on a snake; upon reaching the earth, A. falls asleep, the snake splashes living water on itself; the frightened A. pours the dead water on the man, returns to heaven; the Moon punishes him, ordering him to stand on the moon with a tub in his hands from now on]: Nevsky 1996: 269-270; Okinawa [the sun and the moon sent a lark to bring living water to people; along the way, it began to peck strawberries, left the water, the snake drank it, shed its skin and became immortal]: Yoko Nano Fukasawa, personal communication 20.09.2015; Japanese (written tradition) [in the Taketori Monogatari (10th century), an old bamboo cutter finds a girl in a bamboo trunk; she is an alien from the moon, where people do not know old age and death; at the end of the story, the lunar inhabitants come for her and take her back with them; before this, she drinks herself and gives the emperor the drink of immortality; he is unable to bear separation from her and orders a courtier to open the drink on a certain mountain and set it on fire; since then, smoke has been visible over Fuji, which at that time was an active volcano]: Ermakova 2017: 19.

( Cf. Baltoscandia. Lithuanians (Samogitians) [God gave all the angels jobs, but two remained idle; there was no death or sleep; these two angels set people at odds with the Moon and the Sun; people began to shout at the Moon that it was mortal and they were immortal, and at the Sun that it could not shine around the clock; the Sun, the Moon, and the angels themselves complained to God; he ordered one angel to bring death to people, and the other sleep; diseases are the messengers of death]: Veckenstedt 1883, No. 55.3: 242-243).

( Cf. Eastern Siberia. Dolgany [God created the sun during the day, therefore it is more important than the moon, which was created later at night; the boy and girl who remained from the first people cried from hunger; the girl turned to God with a prayer to take her to himself, God fulfilled her wish; the boy turned to the moon, it took him to itself; God said that he created the moon pure and did not order it to touch people; now the moon will be like a person, born and die in 4 weeks and suffer like that all his life; before this, the moon was always round and did not disappear]: Tretyakov 1871: 209, 423).

Coast - Plateau. Quarry [after many adventures (see motive H12, K27, M42) a man disappears; one day he appears to his brother; says that he is standing on the moon in a cold wind, his skin is blackened, cracked; he feeds on the flesh of a large crow that lives in the sky; but he is immortal]: Jenness 1934, No. 1: 113.

California. Nisenan : Powell 1877 [Moon wants the dead to be reborn like himself; Coyote wants the dead cremated; Moon creates a rattlesnake, which kills Coyote's son; the decision having been made, the child cannot be revived]: 341 (retold in Boas 1917: 487-488); Voegelin 1942 [Lizard, Moon, and Sun want the dead to be reborn after 4 days; Coyote wants people to perform burial ceremonies; someone breaks off a branch, it becomes a rattlesnake, it bites Coyote's daughter, she dies; Coyote asks to change the decision, Sun and Moon refuse; they ascend to heaven; Moon is reborn after 4 days, but the people, through Coyote's fault, are not]: 236.

Southern Venezuela. Yanomami [in old age, people shed their skin in the river like snakes; this ability was given to them by the lunar deity Poré/Perimbó, who lives in the form of a snake (red zhiboya) in a lake of blood {only Becher believes that the moon is bisexual among the Yanomami; in other sources, the Moon is a man}; a woman Petamí has ​​just shed her skin in the river; her son Karumá, seeing his mother rejuvenated, became excited and raped her; P/P applied the skin shed by his mother to his body, K. himself turned into an old woman; after this, P/P deprived all people of immortality; but their souls, after cremation, rise to the moon with the smoke and later return to the earth]: Becher 1974: 29 in Wilbert, Simoneau 1990b, no. 37: 88-89.

Guiana. Hishkarjana [The moon comes to the sister at night, she smears the lover with genipa, he makes a chain of arrows, climbs to the sky; from there he said, Whoever dies will return in a short time ; people did not hear, the crickets heard]: Derbyshire 1965: 26-27.

Western Amazonia. Sekoya [before ascending to heaven, the Month Ñañe tells the people not to sleep; they sleep, do not hear the call, so they do not change their skin and are mortal; the lizards, snakes, trees that change their skin or bark answered; an old woman also heard; she went and changed her skin, came back young, married her nephew; he notices that she makes a fire like his grandmother; finds an old skin ("body"), tries to embrace it, but there is nothing there; he falls ill; the grandmother went, put on her old skin, came back; both died]: Cipolletti 1988, no. 9: 73-75.

Montaña - Jurua. Ashaninka [a girl became pregnant by a white bird; her father knew it was Aroshi; A. began to bring the girl the meat of animals he had killed; little A. (pequeño Arpshi, PA) was born; A. sent him to an ant; he began to laugh: he had such a small arrow (jaws) that it could not kill anyone; the ant shot PA; A. had a stone hanging around his neck with which he revived the dead, and he revived PA; he met someone else's wife, her husband killed him, A. revived him again; PA saw a boulder and began to mock him: he could not move; the boulder rolled after him and crushed him; A. revived him again, and lit a fire around the boulder and it split; The wind was felling trees to make a chakra; when PA approached, he told him to leave quickly, otherwise the tree would fall on him; he did not pay attention and a falling tree killed him; the mother found the body, brought it home, A. revived it again; now PA drowned; this time A.'s reviving stone broke and PA's mother went to the moon (this grandfather A,) to get a piece of it, using it for reviving; but the moon only laughed at her; A. himself went, but the moon swallowed him, that is why there are spots on the moon]: Zolezzi 2014, No. 1: 117-118.

Southern Amazonia. Iranshe [a girl becomes pregnant by a lover who visits her at night; she smears his face with genipa juice; in the morning she recognizes the younger of her two brothers; he marries her; they go to the house of two old women; they bathe, become younger; the brother turns into the Moon, says that he too will become younger by bathing in a certain lake and shedding his old skin]: Pereira 1985, no. 13: 84.

Eastern Brazil. Ramcocamecra [Crocker MS; The Sun ate the fruit of the buriti palm (Maurutua flexuosa), his stool turned red; The Sun said he had eaten the flowers of the pau d'arco tree (Tabebuia inpetiginosa, ant tree); The Moon ate them, but in his stool the flowers were whole; finally the Sun admitted that he had eaten them, but made the ant tree fruit that the Moon ate unripe on one side; The Moon struck the tree, it grew tall from then on; The Sun and the Moon dive, getting girls and boys from under the water; The Moon's people are ugly, the Sun's are beautiful; The Sun threw a stick made of the wood of the Maurutua palm into the water; said that let the dead be reborn like a stick that floats up; The Moon threw a stone, said that they should die like a drowned stone; The Sun ordered the axes and machetes to work on their own; The Moon heard sounds, began to look; the tools stopped and no longer worked on their own; The Sun asked the Woodpecker to throw him a shining fiery headdress; threw it from hand to hand until it cooled down; put it on his head; The Moon wanted the same headdress, dropped it, the earth caught fire; The Sun hid in a wasps' house made of clay, and the Moon in one made of straw; then in a hollow, in an armadillo's hole; almost burned to death; was left without a headdress; The Sun found two capybaras that had died in the fire, The Moon chose a fat male for himself, but when they brought it home, the Sun spat, the female turned out to be fat; they switched again, but the Sun spat again; poured hot fat on the belly of the sleeping Moon, said it was an accident; sent him to cool off in the river, ordered not to touch the turtle at the bottom; touched the Moon, the current carried him away, he clung with difficulty to a tree; the Sun and the Moon agreed that when their children (i.e. people) die, they should be buried; the Sun killed the Moon, laid him at the foot of a tree; the Moon came to life, the Sun said that the same would happen to people; the Moon killed the Sun, buried him in a grave; the Sun got out, but with difficulty; the Moon said that the dead should be buried in the ground so that the Earth could eat them and be satisfied; the Sun agreed; both ascended to the sky, leaving people with axes and machetes]: Wilbert, Simoneau 1984a, No. 1: 17-30; Kayapo (shikrin) [Vidal 1977: 209; previously, the dead were buried, but they rose and were reborn; the woman angered the Moon because she was afraid of him; when her son died, the Moon tamped the grave with his hands and the spirit of the deceased did not come out again]: Wilbert, Simoneau 1984a, no. 181: 520.

Chaco. Ayoreo : Wilbert, Simoneau 1989, no. 69 [The Moon is reborn monthly; the Sorioco tree sheds its bark and grows younger; but people decide to be like the tapir, which is fat, instead of them, and lose their immortality], 70 [The Tapir and the Moon competed to see who could run to the lake faster; if the Moon, then the dead would be reborn, if the Tapir, then they would die forever; the Tapir ran along the shorter path and won], 71 [The Tapir argued with the Moon about who would die first, becoming an example for people; he died first; if the Moon died, people would be reborn like him], 72 [The Moon is reborn monthly, the Toko (rubber) tree sheds its bark and grows younger, but people choose the tapir as an example, and therefore are mortal; the Katade tree (puts out many shoots) advises them to be like it and have many children; the people followed its advice], 73 [The Tapir told the Moon that people would follow its example, and die forever; this happened, and the Moon dies and is reborn], 74 [The Horse challenged the Moon to a race; if the Moon wins, the dead will be reborn; the Horse ran the shortcut, came first], 75 [the Bouliwie animal challenges the Moon to a race, if it wins, the Moon will die; runs the shortcut; the Moon arrives later, cries, but is reborn anyway], 76 [The Moon says that it feeds all living things, but the Day objects, says that it; The moon suggested that people be reborn like him after three days, but they did not listen]: 118-119, 120, 120-121, 121-122, 122, 122-123, 123, 123-124; chamakoko [the sun Deich teaches his younger brother (var.: nephew) of the month Pyne to hunt rhea so that he could then teach people; after eating the wild fruits and flowers that the rhea feed on, he himself became one of them; explains to the distrustful rhea that he is larger than them because he knows where the food is; running up, he spews out gases and digested food - the same as the rhea; the rhea ate their fill, fell asleep, D. wrung their necks; P. repeats the trick, but first eats human food; they recognized him, tore him apart, trampled him to death; D. revives him; looking into the eyes of a wild dog, turns him into a domestic one, hunts with him; P. rushes to pick up the rhea killed by the dog ahead of time, the dog kills him; D. himself teaches people to hunt; goes with P. to the ends of the earth, P. gets tired, D. gives him a white horse; they agree to walk across the sky at different times; they meet during eclipses, when D. corrects P.'s mistakes, teaches him to walk from east to west, and not from north to south; P. suggests making people mortal so that the earth does not overflow; D. throws fruit to the ground; P. says that the fruit will leave seeds, life will return; then D. throws a stone, it falls into a pond and drowns; therefore people are mortal, as the first shaman once wanted]: Escobar 2006: 223-225.