• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.35
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• pp.185-214
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• 2014

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.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.29
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• pp.71-100
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• 2017

This study focuses on examining 'the Supreme God and Celestial Worthy of the Ninth Heaven Who Spreads the Sound of the Thunder Corresponding to Primordial Origin', which Daesoon Jinrihoe believes in as the highest divinity. The name of this divinity was first found in Chinese Daoist scriptures. This study starts by considering the global propagation of virtue and then research connected to this topic. There are two alternative names for this divinity in relation to his human avatar, Kang Jeungsan, the subject of faith in Daesoon Jinrihoe. One is 'the Lord God of Great Creation in the Ninth Heaven' meaning the divinity before assuming a human avatar, and the other is 'the Celestial Worthy of Universal Transformation' the same divinity after he discarded his human avatar and returned to his celestial post. To understand how the belief system of Daesoon Jinrihoe differs from that of Daoism, it is necessary to study the divinity's change from being 'the Lord God of Great Creation in the Ninth Heaven' to becoming 'the Celestial Worthy of Universal Transformation'. If this distinction is not made clear, it brings about confusing arguments concerning the term 'Supreme God (Sangje)' as used in Daoism and Daesoon Jinrihoe. In order to offer a specific explanation, this study suggests three possible directions. The first hypothesis is that although these two names, 'the Celestial Worthy of the Ninth Heaven Who Spreads the Sound of the Thunder Corresponding to Primordial Origin' from Daoism and 'the Supreme God of the Ninth Heaven Who Spreads the Sound of the Thunder Corresponding to Primordial Origin' from Daesoon Jinrihoe, are similar, they actually have nothing to do with one another. The second hypothesis is that they are in fact the same divinity. Lastly, the third hypothesis is that they are closely connected, however, the former (the Celestial Worthy of the Ninth Heaven Who Spreads the Sound of the Thunder Corresponding to Primordial Origin) is a position needed to fulfill the mission of Jeungsan, whereas the latter (the Supreme God of the Ninth Heaven Who Spreads the Sound of the Thunder Corresponding to Primordial Origin) is a name received after the human avatar passes and the deity returns to the Noebu, 'the department of lightning'. These hypotheses face certain problems such as arbitrary mixing, the need for the theoretical clarity, and argumental weakness. Therefore, by leaving some unresolved questions, this study encourages future follow-up studies.