*This article is an excerpt from "The Star Money: And a European View of Karma," European Fairy Tales Series Vol IV.
Indo-European migrations from ca. 4000 to 1000 BCE according to the Kurgan hypothesis, image by Joshua Jonathan
| When reading this tale ("The Star Money," in European Fairy Tales Series, Vol IV), the main theme that I was struck with is that it is literally a lesson in Karma. Now, it might be instinctual to recoil at that word in an ancient European context as we consider it a foreign word native to Indian Hinduism. Of course, this is very true. However, an historical truth that many Westerners are oblivious to is that Europeans and Indian Hindus share a common linguistic and mytho-cultural heritage. |  Click to view the series page |
| I am not asserting the two groups are closely related or that they are remotely identical. However, both cultures stem from a Proto-Indo-European source, which is the modern term for what had always previously been referred to as “Aryan” historically. The Aryans were an ancient culture that is thought to have originated in the Eurasian Steppes (the area between Europe and Asia) before spreading outward in many directions. Proto-Indo-European is used to describe the language family as well as the cultures that descended from this group of people. The ancient word “Aryan” meant “noble ones,” as they had been great conquerors and formed the ruling classes in regions as widespread as Europe and India, to Turkey and Iran. |  Click to view this book |
Indo European language branches map by Wikimedia user Hayden120
| Iranian Persians were Aryans and Zoroastrianism is the ancient religion that developed in an Indo-Iranian (Aryan) cultural context. The Yazidi are an indigenous group found among the Kurds who still practice their ancient spirituality, and the Kalash people are a similar group who live in the mountains of Afghanistan. Both groups have Aryan origins, both groups feature a cultural inheritance that stands apart from the Muslim majority in their regions. Both groups have been heavily persecuted by their neighbors. For Europeans, indigenous animistic polytheism (paganism) is our own ancient native religious inheritance which faced similar campaigns of violence during the Conversion Era of Europe (especially in the Wendish, Northern, and Baltic Crusades). |  Click to view this book |
Indo-European language throughout Europe and the Middle East 500 BCE, by Wikimedia user DBachmann
| So, therefore, while our own ancient religion did not have the ability to continue unabated in its full form, with temples, priests, and so forth, much of our ancient Indo-European beliefs were encoded and embedded within the folk tradition. The process worked differently for our Kalash and Yazidi cousins. Those groups survived as small pockets of tribal remnants who kept their culture intact, though sadly, they are at risk of true ethnic genocide today. But, it is in India where Aryan spirituality has been preserved in the most intact way within the Hindu tradition. While Hinduism appears very foreign to ethnic-Europeans, one will find ancient ties to our own native faith when one takes the time to study. |  Click to view this book |
 Hindu religious art depicting Lord Krishna as a child |  Hindu religious art depicting Lord Krishna |
Historians and anthropologists can look at a number of things to ascertain if cultural commonalities occur due to diffusion, shared origin, or pure coincidence. In the case of native European and Indian Hindu culture, linguistic studies can corroborate mythical ties to lend credence to the theory of very ancient shared cultural heritage.
As we saw in “The Three Heads,” ancient mythical figures can manifest in folk and fairy tales. Gods and goddesses sometimes shift to a fairy or some other being that is supernatural without the overt conception of god-status.
Indo-European language family tree, click to enlarge
This allowed ancient figures to carry on within the culture without disrupting the religious view of the ruling class (because we know that religious change occurred from the top down) which could land the peasantry in hot water with both church and secular authorities (which were often closely linked). Religion is often political, and that is as much true for previous periods of history as it is in our current epoch.
| “Thomas the Rhymer” (in Vol III of this series) showed us that certain aspects of pre-Christian spiritual practice were still engaged in in post-conversion Europe. Thomas' journey and interaction with the Queen of Elphame demonstrates not only the continuation of a goddess figure who lingered on in the folk tradition, but that there was still an intuitive understanding of shamanic practice living on amongst the peasantry. And, reading “The Star Money,” strikes one as an overt lesson in Karma. |  |
The Star Money: And a European View of Karma
This piece has been excerpted from Volume IV in the European Fairy Tales Series, "The Star Money: And a European View of Karma ."
Each volume explores some of the deeper cultural elements found within the tale followed by a re-telling of the story.
Explore the series and download Volume I for FREE here!
Each volume explores some of the deeper cultural elements found within the tale followed by a re-telling of the story.
Explore the series and download Volume I for FREE here!
 | My name is Carolyn Emerick, and I write on the history, myth, and folklore of Northwestern Europe. Explore this website for more on European history, mythology, and folk tradition. Please check out the section for my books! And, please follow me on Facebook! |
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