Geser Comes Down Earth Essay

Within every myth, there is a task or quest for someone to overcome. Although every myth doesn’t have a villain, who attempts to prevent the completion of the task, there is, however, always a heroic figure in these myths. These quests help portray each culture’s beliefs and values. Therefore, in order to identify the beliefs and values of the Mongolian culture, one must analyze both the hero and the quest in the Mongolian myth “Geser Comes Down Earth.” In the Mongolian myth “Geser Comes Down Earth,” there is a quest presented throughout most of the story, for which only a hero can complete. The hero presented with the quest is Nyuhata, who must compete and win a competition to have a fair maiden’s hand in marriage. According to Andrew F. March, an assistant professor in the department of Political Science at Yale, this myth presents an image that Mongols are the “symbol of order strength, and flowing prosperity” (65). We see this depiction in Nyuhata’s devotion to marry Tumen Jargalan, whose face is as “beautiful as

One in particular seems to be the fact that the Mongolians favor hunting skills over all others. We see this Malevolent Hara Zutan begs his brother to give him Nyuhata simply because he “has so much game” (“Geser Comes Down” 6). In fact, according to Bernard Charlier, an assistant professor in the Anthropology department at the University of Cambridge, there are “many Mongols express an interest in hunting” even though they do not classify them as such (124). Another example of this praising for hunting skills comes when Temeen Ulaan Khan, offers his daughter to whomever can win his “three shooting contests” (Geser Comes Down” 17). Taking this evidence into account, we can infer that while the Mongolians admire other skills, hunting is of the utmost importance to their way of life. Therefore, those who possess such skill, are placed on a higher pedestal than those who do