中国多民族谷种起源神话的保护和考验母题研究

Motif of Protection and Test in the Seed Origin Myth of Chinese Multi Ethnics

在谷种起源神话中,“保护母题”和“考验母题”与谷种的起源并无直接关联,却间接影响了谷种的传承,神性人物、人和动物在面对神的惩罚和自然灾难的考验时会以各种方式保护谷种,而拥有谷种的神灵也会通过难题的形式对文化英雄进行考验,最终让其获得谷种。神话突显了保护者和被考验者作为文化英雄的业绩,映射了人类在进入农耕文明社会之后所经历的各种磨难,展现了先民在农业文明发展过程中的艰辛历程和独特体验。

In the myth of the origin of seeds,the motif of protection and test of them are not directly related to the origin of seeds,but indirectly affect the inheritance of them.In the face of God’s punishment and the test of natural disasters,divine figures,human beings and animals will protect the seeds in various ways,and the gods who possess the grain seeds will also test the cultural heroes in the form of difficult problems,and finally allow them to obtain them.The myth highlights the achievements of the protectors and those who are tested as cultural heroes,reflects various tribulations experienced by human beings after entering the agricultural civilization society,and shows the hardships and unique experiences of the ancestors in the development of agricultural civilization.