Visiting Deities of the Hopi, Newar and Marind-anim: A Comparative Study of Seasonal Myths and Rituals in Horticultural Societies

Abstract

The mythologies and rituals of the three populations show a remarkable amount of overlap, in spite of their distant locations: in northern Arizona, the Kathmandu Valley, and southern New Guinea. They exhibit the mytheme of a large number of visiting deities that appear at certain periods during the year. These ritually undertake a number of actions, usually related to the agricultural cycle, and then return to their respective homes. Usually violent sacrifice is involved as well. It will be suggested how these myths and sacrifices evolved in Neolithic horticultural societies, by pathway dependency, from earlier Palaeolithic beliefs.