A Study on the Forms and Character of Huhdai Mergen in Mongolian Mythology through the archery

활쏘기를 통해 본 몽골 신화상의 후흐데이 메르겐의 형상과 성격

This paper presents an investigation into the forms of master archer Huhdai Mergen from Mongolian mythology and his character through archery. In Mongolian mythology, master archer Huhdai Mergen is usually connected to the regulation of the sun, the moon, and the stars in Heaven and the creation of stars. Such a series of acts are conducted through archery, which used to be performed as an incantatory ritual to resolve a disaster in life, dispel an evil spirit, and pray for affluence as well as for hunting. In Mongolian mythology, Huhdai Mergen is a master archer and hunter that rises to Heaven while hunting a deer and becomes Sirius with the deer becoming Orion. The Mongolian have believed that the two constellations protect them since ancient times. While Orion is related to the deer totem, Huhdai Mergen or Sirius is related to the wolf totem faith. Huhdai Mergen takes too much pride in his archery skills and ends up causing damage to himself, which can be understood as a pattern of controlling the power of personified Huhdai Mergen through excessive natural force. He also has something to do with Polaris, which is regarded as the stake to bind his horse to by the Mongolian. They also believe that their ancestral gods reside in the horse stake or column. The stake is the residence of Huhdai Mergen protecting the Mongolian people, which reflects his aspect as an ancestral god. He is also depicted as the god of thunder and lightning born in a cow. The stones he throws and the arrows he shoots in Heaven are the embodiments of thunder and lightning. The Mongolian have understood lightning of dispelling an evil spirit and striking wicked things as the arrow of Huhdai Mergen. The god of thunder and lightning has the attributes of a fertility god such as eliminating bad devils and bringing affluence. Huhdai Mergen is also manifested as the creator to create the earth and the savior to save mankind. Such forms all derive from his archery skills.