FIRST ANCESTOR

FIRST ANCESTOR is a progenitor of mankind, the ancestor of an ethnos, clan or tribe in mythology. Activity of the F.a. took place in mythical (“first”) times. F.a. often takes the function of demiurge, cultural hero. According to the Bashkir mythology, the first human appears from fire and (or) water: when lightning strikes a stone or when sunlight slips into a hole in the ground full of water (myths about alps – giants). In “Ural-batyr” epic old-man Yanbirde (from Bashkir – who gave a life) and his wife Yanbike (from Bashkir yen – soul and bike – mistress) are the progenitors of the mankind: “The way they appeared on the land, / Native place of their father, mother / They forgot, they used to say. / Truth it or not, in the sea lands/ They planted the seed of life...”. Their sons Ural-batyr and Shulgan represent Space and Chaos, Good and Evil in the epic. Ural-batyr is the first man (mortal) whose death is the end of the mythical time. His sons and grandsons give rise to the human race.

Ethnogonic myths and legends consider that F.a. is a totemic animal (see Totemism) or demonological creature (shaytan, shuralye, etc.) E.g., Belarusians considered a bison and a stork to be sacred; Russians considered a bear and a waterfowl to be their progenitors. Keremet is a special deity among many others for Finno-Ugrian peoples. He is the antagonist of the demiurges Inmar, Kugu-Yumo; Erzyans considers Tyushtya as their cultural hero, etc.