Yen-chung, The Fire God

The Chinese tell a story that is really interesting.  It goes as follows:



Yen-chung Hsien the priest did not divert from his Toaist ways.  He resided on the island of Huo-Lung, which is called the "Island of the Fire Dragon."  He had a long red beard, and his red hair was shaped into the image of a fish tail.  His ruddy complexion and round face made him an amiable-looking priest, and the villagers crossed the waters to the island just to see him.

One day, a terrible war came to the land, and the son of the Emperor called all men to his service.  In the midst of the battle, Yen-chung suddenly grew larger.  He grew two extra heads, and four extra arms.  His horse stamped its feet and flames flew from its nostrils.  In each of his six arms, the terrible giant held weapons and magical devices.  In one hand, he held the great wheel of the five fire-dragons.  In two hands, he held two great swords, which floated above his outstretched palms.  In another hand, he held the powerful discus, engraved with the images of earth and the heavens.  In his fifth hand he held a gourd in which rustled the ten-thousand fire-crows.  In his sixth hand was a column of smoke, and in the smoke were great and terrible swords of fire.

From this moment, Yen-chung Hsien was known as Lo Hsuan.



One of the most beloved of stories in Hindu mythology is that of The Great Goddess.  The summary of the story is that the gods were at war with a great host of demons and were unable to defeat them.  So, in the midst of battle, they combined all of their life forces and created the Great Goddess.  Endowed with three eyes and numerous hands, she held such things as swords, lightning, a conch shell, and a discus.  She rode a lion, given to her by the Himalayan Mountains, and towered above all. 


Sounds like a Hindu version of what we just read, doesn't it?  But how can this be?  How can unrelated and unconnected cultures have the same mythology?  They do so because cultures in the ancient world spread.  It's the essence of Telephone Mythology - that a central culture spread throughout the world, and that each new culture gives birth to subcultures.  In turn, many of these subcultures develop into entirely new cultures. 


Each new culture, naturally, creates its own history (either real or imaginary), but it also carries with it portions of its parent history.  I believe what we are witnessing here is the direct result of one culture developing out of a different culture. 
This idea has been around for ages, of course.  In fact, any student of (or even anyone with a passing interest in) anthropology and history knows this.  What interests me, however, is whether or not this phenomenon has ever happened on a broader scale and, if so, what caused it.  What would cause a group of people - people who have the same stories and mythology, the same religious beliefs, the same worldviews - to begin changing and altering those views, giving rise to entirely new and completely different cultures?  In other words, what prompted the very first village to evolve into two completely opposite villages? 

This is an idea that we'll explore more in the future.  For now, what do you think?