Parallel Myths

by J. F. Bierlein

  Before Savitri turned back, Yama told her, “Just one more thing—my blessing goes with you always. You have learned the wisdom of the gods. No woman could ever have followed me alive to the very door of my kingdom if the gods were not on her side. Your wish and more will be granted you, for you know that love is stronger than death; love is the power that Yama cannot defy. Return to where you left Satyavant and live well.”

  She walked back to the glade where Satyavant lay, not dead, but sleeping as Yama had promised. She kissed him and his eyes opened. He told Savitri that he had a strange dream wherein Yama had carried his soul away, but Savitri’s love had rescued it. Savitri laughed and told him to forget this silly dream. It was not until many years later that she told him that this story was no dream; it had actually happened.

  As they left the deep forest, messengers came to Satyavant with wonderful news: His father was restored to the throne. In fact, the old king had regained his sight as soon as he sat on his rightful throne! The young couple ran to the palace and Satyavant’s father was delighted to see his son for the first time in years, and to lay eyes on his beautiful daughter-in-law. Something inside the heart of the old king told him that Savitri had brought this reversal of fortune to pass.

  Satyavant and Savitri passed many more years in the forest, living a simple life as hermits, raising their children in poverty, humility, honesty, and wisdom. Later, when Satyavant’s father died at a goodly age, Satyavant and Savitri ruled the land of both Satyavant’s father and Savitri’s father, Ashvapati, with equity.

  When it was time to die, Yama greeted them as old friends and told them that their souls were only with him for a visit, as they were to go to the highest heaven. When they left this earth, they had over one hundred descendants.

  PARE AND HUTU

  (New Zealand)

  Pare was a beautiful girl who flirted with a boy named Hutu, but then refused him her favors. Deeply hurt by the rejection, Hutu ran away in anger. Confused and guilty, Pare hanged herself and descended to Po, the land of night where the dead dwell, which is governed by Hina, the first woman. Hutu still longed for Pare and, with Hina’s help, Hutu followed Pare to the Underworld. Why did Hina help him? You will recall that she too knows the pains of love.

  There Hutu did all he could to attract Pare’s attention and affections. But Pare was lost among the multitudes of the spirits of the dead and he still could not find her. Hutu finally got her attention by bending down a young tree and then swinging high into the air. Pare saw Hutu do this and joined him in the game. They swung higher and higher until they were able to grasp the roots of plants poking through from the Ao world above. Then they were able to pull themselves up out of the land of the dead.

  No one can live in the Ao world of the living without a soul, except during twilight and dusk, when Ao meets Po. So Hutu forced Pare’s soul up through the soles of her feet. With her body revived, Pare and Hutu married and became the ancestors of a great tribe. How did Hutu have the magic to force Pare’s soul into her body? Love is stronger than death.

  SAYADIO IN THE LAND OF THE DEAD

  (Iroquois)

  Sayadio was a warrior who had a younger sister who died. He grieved for her so much that he resolved to find her and bring her back to life from the land of the spirits. The search took him years, and just when he was about to give up he encountered a wise old man who knew the secrets of the spirit world. This old man gave him a magic gourd in which he might catch the spirit of his sister. Upon further conversation, Sayadio learned that this old man was the guide on the path to the part of the spirit world where his sister now was.

  When Sayadio arrived in the land of the spirits, the spirits fled from him in fear. He recognized Tarenyawagon, who had lived on earth as Hiawatha, the great teacher of the Five Nations. Tarenyawagon now was the spirit master of ceremonies, and he was as compassionate as he was when he was on earth. Tarenyawagon told Sayadio that the spirits of the dead were about to have a great dance festival, in which his sister would take part. As soon as the spirits formed the dance line, Sayadio recognized the spirit of his sister. When he went to embrace her, however, she disappeared.

  He turned again to Tarenyawagon for advice. The teacher gave him a magic rattle. His sister was so entranced by the dance music and the magic sound of the rattle that Sayadio captured her spirit with ease, placing it in the magic gourd.

  Sayadio returned to the village with his sister’s spirit in the gourd. Just when the ceremony to reunite the spirit with her body had begun, a foolish curious girl opened the gourd and the sister’s spirit vanished.

  THE SPIRIT BRIDE

  (Algonquin)

  There was once a young warrior whose bride died on the eve of their wedding. Although he had distinguished himself by his bravery and goodness, the death left the young man inconsolable, unable to eat or sleep. Instead of hunting with the others, he just spent time at the grave of his bride, staring into the air.

  However, one day he happened to overhear some elders speaking about the path to the spirit world. He listened intently and memorized the directions to the most minute detail. He had heard that the spirit world was far to the south. He immediately set out on his journey. After two weeks, he still saw no change in the landscape to indicate that the spirit world was near.

  Then he emerged from the forest and saw the most beautiful plain he had ever seen. In the distance was a small hut where an ancient wise man lived. He asked the wise man for directions.

  The old man knew exactly who the warrior was and whom he sought. He told the lad that the bride had passed by only a day before. In order to follow her, the warrior would have to leave his body behind and press on in his spirit. The spirit world itself is an island in a large lake that can be reached only by canoes waiting on this shore. However, the old man warned him not to speak to his bride until they were both safely on the island of the spirits.

  Soon the old man recited some magic chants and the warrior felt his spirit leave his body. Now a spirit, he walked along the shore and saw a birchbark canoe. Not a stone’s throw away was his bride, entering her own canoe. As he made his way across the water and looked at her, he saw that she duplicated his every stroke. Why didn’t they travel together? One can only enter the spirit world alone and be judged only on one’s individual merits.

  Midway through the journey, a tempest arose. It was more terrible than any he had ever seen. Some of the spirits in canoes were swept away by the storm—these were those who had been evil in life. Since both the warrior and his bride were good, they made it through the tempest without incident and soon the water was as smooth as glass beneath a cloudless sky.

  The island of the blessed was a beautiful place where it was always late spring, with blooming flowers and cloudless skies, never too warm or too cold. He met his bride on the shore and took her hand. They had not walked ten steps together when a soft sweet voice spoke to them—it was the Master of Life.

  The Master told them that the young warrior must return as he came; it wasn’t his time yet. He was to carefully trace his steps back to his body, put it on, and return home. He did this and became a great chief, happy in the assurance that he would see his bride once again.

  OSIRIS AND ISIS

  (Egypt)

  Osiris was a god who once ruled Egypt as a king during the time when death had not yet entered the world. In fact, the people knew nothing of sin; there was neither violence nor greed, envy, hatred, nor any other division among humans. People spoke sweetly to each other in poetry; they were always honest and gentle. Osiris himself loved the people and taught them the arts of raising crops, irrigation, wisdom, and the laws of the gods.

  Geb (earth) and Nut (sky) were the parents of both Osiris and his wife, Isis. As they were gods, there was no sin in their being husband and wife as well as brother and sister. They ruled the land together in prosperity, causing the Nile to overflow its banks, leaving moist, rich silt that produced bread. Their faithful companion was the god
of wisdom, Thoth, who invented writing and numbers, teaching these arts to the first people.

  However, the gods also had a wicked brother, Set, who ruled the lifeless desert. Even as Osiris was the author of creativity and life, Set was destructive. He was so violent by nature that he ripped a hole in his mother’s side when he was born. As the people reclaimed land through irrigation, he was angered that Osiris was diminishing his desert kingdom. He grew to envy his brother more day by day.

  Set looked out over his kingdom and saw only dunes, scorpions, and rocks. He had plenty of time to think, as nothing ever happened in his realm. Once he measured Osiris by observing his brother’s shadow, and then built a beautiful casket of fragrant wood for Osiris.

  Before the arrival of the dry season (Set’s favorite, of course), Set called a great feast of all the gods, placing the casket in the center of the entrance hall. All of the gods admired the box: It smelled of balsam, cedar, and incense woods. They played, taking turns lying in it. Osiris was late in arriving at the feast; all of the other gods were already in the dining hall. So Set and Osiris were alone in the entrance hall with the casket. Set persuaded his brother, who was honest and trusting, to try out the casket. As soon as Osiris was in the casket, Set’s attendants came out, nailed the box shut, and sealed it with hot lead.

  The sound of the hammers roused the other gods from their feasting. As they entered the entrance hall, Set and his minions had already fled with the casket into the desert night. The gods tried to pursue them, realizing that Osiris was inside the box, but it was too late. Finally, the evil ones flung the casket into the Nile, by which time Osiris had died of suffocation.

  From the moment of the death of Osiris, Egypt suffered miseries hitherto unknown. Set’s deserts encroached upon and parched fertile farmlands, causing famine. The people began to fight and steal for the meager remaining food. Mothers did not sleep at night, as the cries of their hungry children kept them awake. With the disruption of agriculture and irrigation, Set’s kingdom of sand grew until it nearly reached the banks of the Nile. The despair was so great that the people envied the dead.

  Isis, her sister Nephthys (who was Set’s wife), and the wise god Thoth went in search of Osiris throughout the land of Egypt, following the course of the Nile. The casket had drifted down the river through the delta and into the Mediterranean Sea. Finally it arrived in the land of Byblos,* which was ruled by King Melkart and Queen Astarte.†

  Meanwhile, a small tree had sprung up near the casket. Over time, it became a great tree that swallowed the casket in its trunk. The sweet-smelling woods it now enveloped caused the tree to give off a pleasant fragrance that made it famous throughout the world. Isis heard of this phenomenon and the description of the scent sounded like that of the casket.

  While following the casket to Byblos, Isis had cut off a lock of her hair as a sign of mourning. Thoth advised her to regain her strength by resting on an island in the papyrus swamps of the Nile delta. Seven scorpions accompanied Isis on her journey. While she was resting at the home of a pious woman, one of the scorpions bit the woman’s child, killing him. Moved by the cries of the mother, the goddess brought the child back to life.

  Before Isis reached Byblos, King Melkart and Queen Astarte decided that the famous tree was one of the treasures of their kingdom and ordered it cut down. It was then fashioned into a pillar in their palace. Thus, when Isis arrived at Byblos, there was only a fragrant stump left. She remained seated on this stump for many months, saying nothing.

  When Melkart and Astarte learned of the beautiful stranger, probably a goddess, they immediately sent for her. When Isis came to the palace, she placed her hand on the queen’s head; immediately a sweet fragrance emanated from Astarte’s body. Isis nursed the queen’s child upon her finger as other women nurse by the breast. As the nurse of the royal child, Isis lived in the palace.

  At night, by stealth, Isis chipped away at the pillar that contained Osiris, throwing the wood chips into the fire. The wood had been transformed magically by contact with her husband so that, when it burned, one could pass through the flames without harm. Isis placed the royal child right into the flames to keep it warm, and the baby remained safe.

  Queen Astarte walked into the hall and, terrified to see her child in the fire, pulled it out of the heat. Isis now took the form of a swallow and flew around the pillar. She spoke to the heart of Astarte, explaining that the child would have gained immortality by remaining in the flames just a little while longer; as it was, the baby was assured of a long life. Isis then reassumed human form and told Astarte the entire story of Osiris. In the morning, King Melkart ordered that the pillar be split and the casket removed.

  Isis returned to Egypt with the casket. When she opened it, she found that Osiris had not decomposed; his body was perfectly preserved. She took the lifeless body of her husband into her arms and kissed him, breathing life into him, and he revived. Still afraid of his evil brother, they remained in hiding.

  But Set had certainly found out that Osiris was alive once more, because the desert immediately retreated and began to produce crops again. People resumed living in peace with their neighbors. Of course, Set again began to plot the murder of his brother. One day, under the pretext of hunting gazelles, Set came upon the sleeping Osiris and cut his body into fourteen pieces, scattering them throughout the land. To this day, there are fourteen places in Egypt known as “tombs” of Osiris. With the death of Osiris, evil again swept the land, but to a lesser degree than before.

  Isis traveled throughout Egypt to gather the fourteen dismembered pieces of Osiris’s body. She reassembled her husband on an island in the Nile. When the pieces were all together, peace returned to Egypt. But a voice spoke to Isis, saying this peace would not last: Set had poisoned the hearts of men. Still, there would never again be a period completely devoid of goodness. Osiris’s soul had now gone to the land of the dead, where he was King of the Dead and the Great Judge, and now mortal men and women could gain immortality of the soul at death, their bodies and souls to be reunited by resurrection. Although Set had brought sin into the world, Osiris brought hope.

  Soon after Osiris went to the Underworld as king, to Isis was born his child, whom she named Horus. Nephthys and Thoth protected and instructed the boy. Horus was ordained to be the great avenger of his father, the champion of the gods and mankind against Set. With the birth of Horus, Set would never again rule uncontested. But Set caused a scorpion to bite Horus, killing him.

  Isis prayed to Ra, the sun-god, who sent Thoth to teach her the incantations that would revive the boy. It was well, however, that Horus spent a little time in the land of the dead—it enabled him to meet his father, Osiris, and learn his wisdom: Horus is considered the patron of the reigning pharaoh and the guardian of the prosperity of Egypt.

  The Laws of Osiris

  Osiris established the laws that govern the land of the dead. There are three parts to a human being—his body, his “ka” spirit, and his “ba” spirit. At death, it is the ka that continues to live, and the human body is preserved by mummification, as it is the property and home of the ka. When Osiris calls the dead to live in the resurrection, the ka can take full possession of the body.

  At the moment of death, the ka leaves the body and proceeds to its judgment. The soul wanders through the halls of the palace of Osiris where forty-two assessors initially consider the evidence of the life of the soul. These assessors are entirely impartial; one’s station in life makes no difference to their judgment in death. The ultimate judgment of the soul, however, is in the hands of the three judges of the dead in the Hall of the Two Truths.

  These judges are the gods Horus, Anubis, and Thoth. Thoth, the god of wisdom, places a pure white feather symbolizing Ma’at, or “truth,” on one side of a scale balanced against the evidence of the individual’s life. If the soul honestly declares that it has not committed any of the forty-two sins, then Thoth takes the soul by the hand to the throne of Osiris, who then rules o
ver the soul in everlasting bliss, and who will someday resurrect the body and reunite it with the soul.

  If a person committed less than half of the forty-two sins, then Thoth makes the recommendation to Osiris that the soul be allowed to enjoy everlasting bliss. For such individuals, the crucial evidence is the evidence of the heart—the intentions. Some say that the hearts of the warmhearted and the coldhearted are even weighed on different scales.

  On the other hand, if the soul has committed over half of the forty-two sins, and it is coldhearted, Osiris either orders it to be reincarnated and to pay for its sins through labor on earth, or he sends it to one of the hells to be purged of its sins and then retried.

  In Egyptian tombs, one finds food and personal possessions interred along with the body. This is to provide for the sustenance of the ka spirit, which doesn’t eat much, and also for the day when Osiris resurrects the body. The body is mummified in imitation of the preservation of the body of Osiris.

  The Egyptian commonly referred to the recently deceased as “the Osiris ——” much as modern people say “the late ——.”

  BLUE JAY IN THE LAND OF THE DEAD

  (Chinook)

  BLUE JAY FINDS A WIFE

  Blue Jay was a trickster who enjoyed playing clever tricks on everyone, especially his sister Ioi. As she was the eldest sister, Blue Jay was supposed to obey her. But he deliberately misinterpreted what she said, excusing himself by saying, “Ioi always tells lies.”