Message #19169

[Bianca]

                             


It is important to note that on the eve of the flight of the negative hero Tong Duurai, there appeared in the sky the messenger of the heavenly Dyesegei—the champion Kiun Erbiie who crossed the firmament as a "falling star" or "dashing lightning" so as to warn Niurgun Bootur of the coming battle.
The most significant event in the legends was Tong Duurai bursting forth from the underground depths and doing battle with Niurgun Bootur. This took place roughly as follows: firstly, a snake-like, branching, fiery whirlwind burst forth from the "orifice", on the top of which there again appeared a fireball of gigantic size which, after several peals of thunder, shot high into the air. He was accompanied in flight by his retinue—"a swarm of fatally bloody whirlwinds" that wrought havoc in the vicinity.
But there were occasions when Tong Duurai encountered Niurgun Bootur above the place where he took off; and following these, the area remained lifeless for a long time. The picture painted of these events varies quite considerably: several "fiery champions" might emerge from the opening at once, fly some distance and explode in one place. This happened with the flight of Tong Duurai. A study of the soil layers indicates that the interval between explosions does not exceed 600–700 years.
The legends vividly reflect these events, but the absence of a written tradition means that they have not been registered in documentary form. It seems, though, that this lacuna is compensated for by the historical chronicles of other peoples.