Reading Notes: "Origin Stories: The Moon"

This week I read two stories about the origin of the moon.

The Moon captures attention, provoking the question: where did it come from? (Photo: Max Pixel)

First, I read the Laos story “The Man in the Moon” as written by Katherine Neville Fleeson.
What struck me most about this story was how similar the message is to other fables. I feel like I’ve read more than a couple stories of people with the power to change their situation and are never happy with the outcome. It was interesting that in this story, that message was tied up in the creation of the moon.

The second story was an Indian Jataka tale “The Hare that Was not Afraid to Die” as written by Marie L. Shedlock.

The structure of this story is what stood out to me most. It followed a cadence, with the otter, jackal, monkey, and hare having their parts of the story told in repeating sequence. It’s a little like goldilocks in that structural respect (papa bear, baby bear, mama bear, ad infinitum).

The characters were very minimal, which might be a feature of oral tradition. It wasn’t explained why the hare valued himself equally for the meat he could provide as for the knowledge he shared. It might be that the story is better understood as part of a wider buddhist tradition.