Alba Regia. Annales Musei Stephani Regis. – Alba Regia. Az István Király Múzeum Évkönyve. 6.-7. 1965-1966 – Szent István Király Múzeum közleményei: C sorozat (1966)

Tanulmányok – Abhandlungen - Makkay János: Some ancient sources to the Shamanism. VI–VII, 1965–66. p. 27–42. t. XV.

and served to the father.

123 Finally we quote the fate of Pentheus who forbade the celebration of the Dionysian mysteries and was torn to pieces by her mother, Agaue as a punishment.

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* Of all these dismemberments the following phenomena are especially worth our attention: cutting into pieces or tearing asunder because the victim refuses to serve the cult of Dionysos;

125 instances which let the dismemberment be followed by rejoining the remains, leading to rejuvenation or embellishment eventually. This is connected with boiling in a cauldron in some cases;

126 te act of Medeia, rejuvenating Aesonby spraying the body of the killed old man with the spilt blood, is an especially outstanding feature. This is a detail which has an exceptionally fitting analogy in the orbit of Shamanism.

127 These are the three essential motives, reminding one of shamanistic ideas very strongly. In our judgment Greek data of the last three types cannot be explained by a fragmentary survival or the reminiscence of the custom of human sacrifice. The number of cases of dismemberment occurring in the family of Atreus are especially conspicuous. Shall we suspect that Mycenaean society and mainly Mycenaean mythology played an exceedingly important role in preserving the traditions connected to dismemberment?! Further it is known of Pelops that he carved the body of his rival up and scattered it over the fields.

128 The significance of this source is enhanced by the recent opinion of A

. Brelich.

12B The author states that the fate or death, respectively, of Osiris, Mot, Yima, Dionysos, Soma was equally the dismemberment, though effected in various ways. He adds that "the mythical motive of dismemberment was the given fact for polytheistic religions, endeavouring to adapt themselves to this given fact in all cases by the help of secondary, more or less successful explanations." He continues: "If this is valid, then we have to look for the historical origin of at least a part of the dying gods at a place where the motive of dimemberment has a full and consequent meaning yet. As 123. Herodot I. 119. 124. Eurip. 125. Consequently the shaman is tortured by the shamanancestors if he does not want to join the profession. 126. The disjointing of the shaman and the data regarding it are dealt with in detail by V. DIÓSZEGI: A sámánhit emiéikei pp. 104 seqq., 89, 102—

доз and Néprajzi Közlemények 4 (1ЭШ) pp. 2;2i6—

2217. H. Nachtigall analyzes the ancient components of the idea and state», very aptly in our judgment, that the dismemberment of the shaman is a motive entirely different from human sacrifice, occurring in the rites of agrarian societies: ZfE 77 (1952) p. 193. We have to note here the portrayals a matter of fact, we should tread on a territory of unpredictable extent at present. So far the ethnology of religion did not deal with the collection and systematizing of the myths of dismemberment and of the ritual acts often connected to them." Further he illustrates the extension of disjointing by an example taken from the so-called pure hunters' culture and by another of the shamanistic world. Then he selects the cultures in which the myth of dismemberment is at home, regarding only those as relevant for his purpose which attach this myth to beings connected to some vegetal product. Sohe establishes three criteria: the myth of dismemberment, the connection with plants and the setting outside the high cultures. His statement as regards the coincidence with A. E. J e n s e n's theory is most ingenious. In the view of the latter, the so-called „dema-religion" belongs to the primitive cultures of low level, based on agriculture without the knowledge of the plough and the corns, i. e. those addicted to hoeing, cultivating tuberous plants and fruit-trees. As proved by ethnologic analogies, it was in the body of beliefs of recent peoples living by this kind of agriculture that the socalled ,,dema-s", i. e. mythical primeval beings, the ancestors of the clans, the founders of human institutions, suffered a violent death by dismemberment extremely often А. В r e 1 i с h raises the question: „Why are so numerous dema-s subject to disjointing and. . . not all of them: because tuberous plants, as we know, are grown by the dismemberment of the tubers, while many other vegetal products belonging to the same economic horizon, e. g. some fruittrees, may be grown out of seeds, without any dismemberment."

130 And another conclusion: ,,The dying god, or rather any point of the line of development leading from the dema to the dying god, is older than official state polytheism in the orbit of each high culture . . ."

131 We are bound to indicate some vulnerable points of this attractive theory. The first is perhaps that the author chooses just a few of the ancient, mainly Greek statements regarding dismemberment arbitrarily, dealing with those which corroborate his opinion only. Further he accepts the otherwise most ingenious conclusions of A. E. Jensen without any criticism. Following the usually trodden path of religious of the generally known Siberian rock drawings which represent certain persons, stirring something in metal cauldrons. In all probability, we may connect these drawings with the disimemibenment of the shaman and the fitting together of his limbs again. In this problem the enumerated statements of Greek authors, may serve as connecting links. 1:27. V. DIÓSZEGI: A sámánhit emlékei pp. 104 seq. 128. Apollód. Bibi. in 169. 129. A BRELICH: A meghaló istenek problémájához .... 130. Ibid. p. 244. 131. Ibid. p. 245. 40