Sun Maiden and the Crescent Moon: Siberian Folk Tales

by James Riordan

Siberia. From this strange and beautiful land comes an oral tradition that has altered little in two thousand years. Here is a true spiritual democracy and purity of folk art rarely found in traditional tales.

Genres: Mythology, Folklore, History, Russia, Folk Tales

224 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1991

About the author

Riōdan, Jeimuzu 1936-2012
Riordan, Dž.
Riordan, Džejms.
Riordan, James
Riordan, James William 1936-2012
Riordan, Jim, 1936-2012

James Riordan (10 October 1936 – 10 February 2012) was an English novelist, broadcaster, sports historian, association football player and Russian scholar.

Well known for his work Sport in Soviet Society, the first academic look at sport in the Soviet Union, and for his children's novels.

Reviews

[Csenge · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly beautiful collection. Not only does it contain stories from indigenous peoples that you rarely ever hear about in school or mainstream media, but it also selects the most enchanting tales from all of them. The book comes with a long and well-written introduction to Siberia, its peoples, their history, languages, and stories. The tales themselves are exciting, colorful, and full of amazing visuals and unexpected plot twists. I read this book deliberately slowly, with only a couple of stories a day, to savor them. It made me want to go and seek out more tales from some of the groups whose stories I enjoyed. The Saami tales that frame the collection (the two opening and the one closing story) are some of the most beautiful I have ever encountered.
Must-read for storytellers.

[Ricardo · Rating 3 out of 5]

These tales take us to the strange world of yurtas and yarangas, hunters in the tundra, the distant Eastern Siberia hunting/fishing populations. Many stories are beautiful, and once you finish the book this world will stay with you, as some sort of distant and exotic narrative. Nice to read slowly, one story at a time.

[Freyja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hidup dan tumbuh besar di negara tropis, rasanya sureal membayangkan sisi lain bumi yang senantiasa diselimuti cuaca ekstrem dan musim dingin panjang. Sekaligus jadi paham sedikit kenapa cerita-cerita yang dituturkan turun-temurun di sini nggak jauh-jauh sama alam. Beberapa cerita ada yang absurd banget kayak makhluk pahatan tanah liat yang tiba-tiba hidup bergerak lalu makan orang-orang desa. Lainnya cukup masuk akal, bisa menjelaskan asal-usul unsur alam di sekitar mereka, kenapa angsa bersuara kayak gitu (ya gitu tau lah ya), kenapa musim dingin di bagian utara Siberia selalu gelap, kenapa orang-orang suku Yukagir katanya keturunan beruang, dst. Paling takjub sama suku Saami yang entah gimana bisa tau kalau fenomena aurora itu terjadi karena benturan partikel matahari dengan atmosfer bumi; di kamus mereka, aurora adalah kelompok kesatria yang pergi melawan serangan matahari setiap malam. Mungkin memang manusia dahulu sebetulnya lebih memahami bumi daripada kita sekarang ini.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories are great and super interesting. Riordan says some somewhat questionable things about “primitive” cultures in the beginning that rubbed me the wrong way, but the stories he just collected and translated were great!

Small side note: the Nanai story labeled as “Mergen and his Friends” in this collection is strikingly similar to the second half of “the White Snake” story from the Brothers Grimm. Like, so similar they certainly have to be related. I would love to know more about that! Unfortunately I can’t find anything online from anyone who may have noticed this before… I’m considering whether it’s worth going down that rabbit hole lol

[S.R. Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of folktales not as well-known as others, but certainly both magical and haunting. It paints a lovely picture of Siberian culture and beliefs. A good read for the onset of the colder seasons.

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Folk tales from various Siberian tribes such as the Koryak, Yakut, and more. My favorite was the folk story of why the raven is all black.

[Eva]

A good introduction to Siberian folk tales.

[Hailey Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved these. so good. some of them made me cry and a lot made me laugh.

[David]

Reading this coincided very appropriately with the onslaught of the Chicago COLD COLD winter. It highlighted the coziness of finding a warm choom (tent) and the need for entertaining and fantastical stories, even if they don't make much logical sense or have a strong moral purpose. Reading these folk tales was like reading the dreams of a tribe of people with which I have no direct contact. I read about the intelligence of a crow, a one eyed snow monster, a love story about a son of the sun (a ray of sunlight), the distant moon, a woman giving birth to a whale, and the perseverance of Siberian tribes.

[Ahmed Hoza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful collection of fascinating tales.