Miscellaneous Myths: The Cowherd And The Weaver Girl

[@ishika5619]

*ancient humans, looking at the night sky and seeing a vague triangle:* ah. a bird.

[@tibiademon9157]

The significance of the constellation shapes were most likely deliberately introduced as mnemonics, for travelers and sailors who had to memorize the night sky to find their way, not through some kind of intense apophenia.

[@thisisahumanlol8255]

They do be looking at two white dots next to each other and be like wow a Swedish chef battling the Bacon Hair lords and former son with a katana forged from rubies in Botswana with his fire elemental deity friend from the 16th layer of paradise in the International Space station.

[@ishika5619]

@@thisisahumanlol8255 what having too much time to stare at the sky and no television does to you, i suppose

[@justfriendly7676]

@@ishika5619 I mean, Id be coming up with epic battles in my head too if I had to watch sheep all day.

[@tntguardian6455]

Reminds me of that one line in The Suicide Squad where King Shark just says "Bird" and that's it. I wonder how much Stallone was paid for such legendary lines 😂

[@cupcakegirljen7]

Cowherd: *steals a girl's clothes* Me: Oh god, Animal Bride flashbacks

[@alexmouse5758]

To be honest in some variations of this tale, it goes exactly like this, although differently from the Animal Bride stories, the separation isn't the guy's fault. He hides her clothes, manipulates her into marrying him, they eventually fall in love and them ultimately are separated

[@iceluvndiva21]

Least this time the girl likes him back BEFORE they get hitched

[@sarsimran7025]

Animal Bride, consent addiction! Kinda.

[@BawonoSA173]

@@sarsimran7025 I think you mean "edition" instead of "addiction"

[@CharlieJackDaw]

Lol

[@HuanjianLin]

I find it so fascinating how the "steal a deity's/nonhuman entity's clothes so they'll marry you" is a trope that exists across cultures. It's like if the selkie in the tale actually wanted to stay

[@gingermcgingin4106]

Just don't try it with Greco-Roman deities. Artemis, Aphrodites, & the rest would punt you straight to Tartarus.

[@adeleaslan8182]

@@gingermcgingin4106 Artemis would turn you into an animal or just shoot you in the face and Aphrodite would make you love sick for the lake probably

[@mynameisatypo]

It's like everyone knows boys want to do that, the result is mixed but the point is we thought about it

[@SeraphimCramer]

@@gingermcgingin4106 Aphrodite owns clothes?

[@Talonidas7403]

@@adeleaslan8182 Aphrodite would probably be into it

[@DonnaBarrHerself]

All these “Oops your mom is gone” stories have GOT to be explanations for childbirth deaths.

[@keybojoe900]

I'm sorry but I had a stroke trying to read "childbirth death" cuz the proximity of those two words LOL

[@Prodigi50]

This. Most myths that are shared by multiple cultures have some slight basis in reality.

[@snakewithapen5489]

Honestly that's probably true. the whole 'gone from some unexplained illness' thing is likely just meant to mean that the mother did not survive giving birth, and these old folklore stories didn't really need to say that because it was a 'normal' expected part of life.

[@kaet8333]

My tried brain read got as Game of Thrones despite me never caring about it

[@StonedtotheBones13]

o.o OH

[@purplehaze2358]

I seem to recall Red once saying she looked up at the night sky in the wilderness and was absolutely mesmerized by the stars. Now here we are in 2021 and she’s saying that she’s an avid stargazer. Old habits die hard I suppose.

[@Undomaranel]

After a zodiac video and such... is it such a stretch to believe a myth nerd would become a star nerd XD

[@OrangeColt]

I don't understand why but this pleases me.

[@airplanes_aren.t_real]

She and the stars go way back

[@despair239]

same, it was the zodiac video i think

[@EndymionMhr]

​@@airplanes_aren.t_real they nearly got her eaten by coyotes, they're best friends

[@ButterflyScarlet]

If I had a dollar for every time a powerful skilled immortal fell in love with a random ass human only for them to be torn apart by the machinations of another deity, I'd be fucking rolling in it. The Greek pantheon alone would pay off my student debt

[@decidueyezealot8611]

Gods always be jealous

[@fisch37]

Well, there's only a limited number of gods, I suppose, and after a while it gets boring. Realistically, it's probably the solution to woman had child with some other man than her husband and now says "well it was Zeus"!

[@Marveryn]

@@fisch37 doesn't need to be zues, Poiseden drop a few in his days. on a side note intersting that we have virgin goddesses but not a virgin god.

[@fisch37]

@@Marveryn Interesting indeed. The only non-Aphroditable gods/goddesses in Ancient Greek where Artemis, Athena, and... the one with the hearth fire

[@fisch37]

@@Marveryn But, yeah, I used Zeus only as an example as it seems to be the most common one. Just look at all the Zeus Half-gods in the mythology

[@billywarren007]

The lesson here is looking at the night sky constantly drives people to write their own head canons about the stars

[@fefeman2856]

Love at first sight AU, I see...

[@akmayernick3722]

Well yeah, they're so pretty they couldn't have just happened! /s

[@billywarren007]

@@akmayernick3722 now make the stars ⭐️ kiss!

[@mladen7641]

Darn fanfic writers and their imagination!

[@peffiSC2source]

People were shipping two literal stars in the night sky and included literal shipping in the story.

[@mockerbird2420]

“Remind me to never pick a fight with a magpie, apparently those little scamps are stronger than they look” As an Australian, I can say YOU’RE GOD DAMN RIGHT THEY ARE!

[@Valsorayu]

I was going to comment that. Doesn't surprise me that a goddess is afraid of a whole bridge of them.

[@Punaparta]

Ah, the magpie season, that time of year when Australia briefly becomes Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds.

[@adamwu4565]

They're a nonvenomous creature thriving in Australia. No wonder they are badass.

[@oriong.7507]

As someone who takes after the magpie in enough ways that I earned the nickname Magpie, I agree with your statement.

[@tortis6342]

Doesn't Australia have it's own type of magpie completely unrelated to the magpies in Eurasia, Africa, and the Americas?

[@SuperSongbird21]

Given how most "human guy steals a magic girl's clothes and makes her marry him" stories end VERY badly, it's sweet that this one has a happy(ish) ending. Weaver Girl obviously loved her Cowboy and her mum was just being cruel.

[@parisan9985]

What other mythological stories had the same trope?

[@isabeljackson1333]

@@parisan9985 I remember one story about this, but this time it was a fairy princess and farmer. Similar concept 7-9 princess bathing in the moonlight. The farmer found them and took one of the fairy's wings, so when they left back to the heavens, she was left behind cause duh she lost her wings. The farmer hid the wings, comforted the fairy, and took her back to be his wife. Now, there is a lot of endings after this. But, mostly boil down to this. Fairy found her wings, got mad at the farmer and left to return to the heaven (sometimes, bringing their children with her, or leaving them) never to return. One other is that the fairy was still grief-stricken and the farmer was remorseful, I think there was an epic adventure(?) with the farmer trying to get back to his family. The fairy's parents took pity and made a rainbow so the family will be reunited again. There's a second story with this trope is a filipino epic of Ibong Adarna, which third part of the story is the hero taking a princess's clothes while she's bathing, helping him in the impossible tasks so her father would accept that marriage proposal.

[@mon_moi]

@@parisan9985 You can find it in Irish and Russian fairy tales, among others. Mythical beings like the Scottish selkies and the Norse valkyries also follow this trope. Not to mention the bazillion Asian versions of The Cowherd and the Weaver story. I think it also appears in some native American tales as well. It seems to me a very ancient folktale

[@humainhuskymaine3173]

@@isabeljackson1333 As Indonesian, I knew the same mythos and funnily looking back the story that I read as elementary student is a combination of cowherd myth (the stealing fairy clothes/'wing') and psyche myth (the impossible tasks)

[@rexcorvorum4262]

“Remind me never to pick a fight with a magpie, apparently those little scamps are stronger than they look” As an Australian I can confirm this

[@SA-mo3hq]

Thirded. I'm convinced maggies are the only animal capable of spite

[@Mainnalle]

@@SA-mo3hq Not by a long shot. it's not even the only bird capable of spite. I have watched a crow literally follow someone screaming at them because they threw a scrunched up paper bag at it.

[@lucassmolders3417]

As the fourth Australian I can back this up

[@Mainnalle]

@@lucassmolders3417 lol! Look at all us Aussies trying to spread Oz Awareness into the world! Why do they have such difficulty believing us?

[@HollyWarlock]

My primary school's mascot was a magpie and to this day I don't know why they chose the winged incarnation of hate to represent our school

[@Viktor-qn5ju]

Another episode of “ this is how [insert holiday] was made! “

[@aldenalden683]

This is actually how the Chinese version of Valentines day was made

[@HenshinFanatic]

And Japan's version, Tanabata.

[@theparrot6516]

Taiwan and Singapore too

[@Viktor-qn5ju]

@@aldenalden683 didn’t know that before , but cool

[@miri283]

@@theparrot6516 taiwan and singapore are majority- ethnic chinese locations so...redundant

[@ishika5619]

if the deus ex machina in your story isn't an Intelligent Ox Who Was There All Along, i don't want it.

[@GrifterMage]

Deus Ox Machina.

[@sunnydong9069]

in some versions of the tale, the intelligent ox is kinda the reward for the cowherd's hardworking virtual. He worked diligently and took care of his ox, so the ox turned out to be magical and advised him to marry a heavenly bride. also later the way the ox sailed the family through the sky, is telling the cowherd to skin him and wear his hide, because the ox's hide gave people magic flying powers

[@mickey4125]

​@@GrifterMage bravo good sir

[@martialmonk854]

Ah the IOWWTAA

[@SolstaceWinters]

Deus ex m-Ox-ina?

[@tntguardian6455]

It wouldn't be a tragic fairy tale without someone pulling out the most sudden and powerful move to split a happy couple. Perhaps Hera should have taken notes from the Goddess that tore the sky apart with a hair pin to be spiteful

[@jeffbenton6183]

Yeah, but she already created the Milky Way by accident in the Greek myths so she can't pull that.

[@tntguardian6455]

@@jeffbenton6183 true, true. Thanks Heracles for that

[@nomisunrider6472]

To be fair, if my daughter came back saying "Hey a dude stole my clothes while I was bathing so I married him", I would put out a restraining order against him too.

[@altochean]

@@nomisunrider6472 Though at least grab the kids too, they didn't do anything.

[@nomisunrider6472]

@@altochean True.

[@jasminnyack1724]

"Congrats, you're grounded forever." I find that hilarious. Especially with her being removed from the ground.

[@thomasfplm]

It should have been "Congrats, you're skyed forever."

[@UrpleSquirrel]

That must have thrown the cowherd for a loop. I mean, for him it went: - See pretty girls in the river - Decide to play a prank by stealing their clothes - One of the girls comes to find you - Surprise, she's a goddess - Extra surprise, no smiting - Extra extra surprise, she likes you and says she totally has to marry you now And all things considered, it worked out well - at least until the mother-in-law showed up.

[@madskristiansen]

And here I thought "He saw me naked one time and now we MUST marry" was just a dumb anime cliche. I do like however that she used it as an excuse to cover for her actual love of him :)

[@raydgreenwald7788]

I mean this folktale did make its way to Japan. I guess the Japanese just saw the story beat and were like "oh shit that slaps!"

[@ussinussinongawd516]

@@raydgreenwald7788 the japanese version doesnt have that part though

[@dansattah]

@@ussinussinongawd516 Nani?

[@fisch37]

I feel like there's another (judging from statistics probably older) version where that love is not a thing. Happens most of the time, I think

[@gilemal1469]

Ancient China has that thing where only husbands are allowed to see their wives' body. If an unmarried girl's body is seen by a random dude, she has 3 options: death, become a nun or marry that dude. And it doesn't have to been the whole body either, your entire arm was seen naked, here are the 3 options. That guy saw your bare foot, here are A, B and C. You fell into a river and that guy jumped in and got you out, you know the drill.

[@EdwardENigma]

I would have engaged in a bit of stargazing myself, IF THOSE DAMN STARS ACTUALLY SHOWED UP!!!

[@eh9618]

*ehe in tropics* you can actually the stars rotate? I've only see them go in a straight line if i can actually SEE them

[@rbck8826]

You probably live in the city, stars are only visible in dark places without lampposts. Travel to the countryside and you will have no problem seeing them.

[@boss5718]

I know. At least I can look at the moon. Most of the time

[@nymradjoshuadaulayan883]

That's probably due to the light pollution caused by artificial lights in your residential area. The stars are much more visible in less populated places.

[@AegixDrakan]

Yeah, I wish there was less light pollution. :s I live in a suburb. Because man, the night sky, especially out in the wild, is INCREDIBLE.

[@timothymclean]

2:40: You can tell this is an old story with ten thousand versions, because all the characters' names are _really_ on-the-nose.

[@carlosroo5460]

And also they became a Secondary Time Traveler Kamen Rider

[@kingofcards9]

Eh, I've seen worse.

[@qq13563817153]

@@carlosroo5460 with an intense hatred of shiitake mushrooms

[@DragonbIaze052]

I mean, basically every Greek myth and story has entirely literal names. Norse myths also have a lot. Even modern anime is full of them. Ramen-topping Whirlpool is a boy who loves ramen and has a whirlpool symbol on his stomach, and Naruto didn't even start until 1999. It turns out, the answer to not knowing what to name a character is to just describe that character, sometimes with a different language.

[@LisKissASMR]

I am Japanese and this legend has become more significant to me over the past year or so. Due to Covid my boyfriend in England was unable to visit me in Osaka for a very long time and we were both very sad but eventually he invited me to come live with him in England. The day that I ended up arriving in England was 7/7 (Tanabata) and we’ve been physically together ever since. He doesn’t really get the hype but I always get really mushy when I explain Tanabata to people ✨

[@josephgustafson1664]

The queen mother just causally tears the sky in two with a hairpin, amazing.

[@Thomas.Wright]

"He's seen me naked, so now I have no choice but marry him." Suddenly, a lot of anime tropes make sense. Just for fun, I would have drawn the cowherd with a 10-gallon hat.

[@oriongirl6160]

I don't remember properly, but wasn't that why Goku's wifey decided to husband him up?

[@jespoketheepic]

@@oriongirl6160 Kind of, except he didn't see her naked, he tapped her crotch with his foot to determine her gender.

[@misterminutes4504]

He touched my hand, now I'm pregnant. Scieeenceeee

[@urielantoniobarcelosavenda780]

​@@oriongirl6160 No, I think he either called her pretty or say "you're a girl too, right?"

[@crocowithaglocko5876]

The Ancient Greeks be like: Hey, there’s three stars in a row. Looks like a giant dude.

[@selenopheria]

That's just his belt. Granted the constellation as a whole still doesn't look much like a person. I think the Greeks were just super drunk. All the time.

[@joemerl1145]

@@selenopheria Well, as Red pointed out in the Orion video, people identified that constellation as a person more than 30,000 years ago. A quick glance through Wikipedia indicates that identifying it as a hunter is common, though sometimes this involves splitting it up into "hunter" and "hunted" constellations.

[@selenopheria]

@@joemerl1145 .____. Thanks but I know that. A lot of people know that. I'm saying that the awkward blocky shape of the constellation does not, to the eye, resemble a human at all. There was a good chunk of imagery and use of the mind's eye involved.

[@BillyBob-xx5jr]

So this is just the "Guy steals seal/swan/whatever animal's coat leaving her trapped in human form and then marries her," thing but it actually ends up ok.

[@guggelguggel7491]

Because in this case, the girl seemingly was into him, he gave back the clothes and she could have fled without her magic being bound to her cloak. A few details, a different story.

[@BillyBob-xx5jr]

@@guggelguggel7491 Tbf, in the swan story the swan was into him, and he gave her back her skin. Same premise but with different people and thus different results.

[@guggelguggel7491]

@@BillyBob-xx5jr didn't he do that after several years of lying to her? Cow herd guy at least gave them back the same night.

[@BillyBob-xx5jr]

@@guggelguggel7491 It was WAY later, but he did eventually give them back, like you said.

[@thechainwarden]

I mean this is more of a case of the cowheard pulling a prank just for the lulz only for the goddess to decide that she will now marry him.

[@christophercastillo7031]

Red's art is just getting more and more epic! Like that scene where the Queen mother tore apart the heavens gave me tingles!

[@kevinbayu7621]

Yeah, Its so good i'm actually starting to worry that she'll break her arm drawing.

[@annajensen7360]

Her art is mind-blowing in this one! I like the bit where the Cowherd is watching the sisters, because of the reflections of their glow, as well as the hilarious facial expression.

[@observerx641]

Meaning-wise, Qixi and Tanabata are one and the same, literally "the 7th night". A major difference nowadays is that Japan moved the holiday to follow the solar calendar (July 7th) where China still uses the lunar calendar, which can be anywhere from the end of July to the whole month of August.

[@gryphonstern]

Fun fact: you can celebrate this festival in Animal Crossing: New Horizons with seasonal outfits based on the cowherd and the weaver girl.

[@jadeuwu9860]

Animal Crossing: New Horizons taken too seriously

[@elogan5817]

"Our story begins... a little _vaguely_ " And it's about the star Vega, what are the odds

[@AxxLAfriku]

GAGAGAGAGA I just disliked my own face because I am unpretty. HOWEVER: I always like my GOOD videos however. No dislikes allowed where I come from. Don't be mean, dear elo

[@cedartheyeah.justyeah.3967]

@@AxxLAfriku What

[@rebellerene]

@@AxxLAfriku god you're everywhere

[@Punaparta]

@@AxxLAfriku You should be banned.

[@blarg2429]

Vega-ly

[@hawkticus_history_corner]

"I can always rely on you talking ox!" You know that Ox is his best buddy.

[@twistedtachyon5877]

Dude's a pokemon trainer.

[@WretchedRedoran]

Remind me of Morihaus, from The Elder Scrolls lore

[@jeuliantonyramos112]

It's interesting how often 7 celestial siblings are used in Asian stories lol, one I can remember was from the Philippines where 7 moons came down to dance with mermaids at nights and everything fell in love with them. The God of death fell in love with the youngest moon so he made the mermaids lure him to a place where pretty fireflies flew about. The pretty scene made the moon fall in love with the death god. But one of the mermaids was so in love with the moons that she only wanted them for herself, so she turned into a giant snake to eat the moons. There so many different endings for the story but it's basically a myth about eclipses and new moons and one of the many stories of why some mountains in the Philippines have smoke (clouds) coming out of them like from the magayon video

[@gebrielledavid6569]

can you tell me the name of this certain myth

[@jeuliantonyramos112]

@@gebrielledavid6569 they're myths not fairy tales so they don't really have set titles for the stories

[@daviddaugherty2816]

It's probably because of a star cluster called the Pleiades. Give Red's Epic of Gilgamesh video a look.

[@danielhale1]

Can we all take a moment and appreciate the absolutely *gorgeous* lighting in Red's art?

[@xanimefankingdom659]

"Never pick a fight with a magpie" As an Australian can confirm

[@Magmafrost13]

For what its worth, American/European/Asian Magpies are not the same bird as Australian magpies, and they're not particularly closely related either

[@astoroidea6502]

@@Magmafrost13 yet, that doesn’t disprove they don’t have the same fighting prowess as their Australian counterparts

[@belgarath6388]

Seriously, is there anything in your country that dont try to kill you?

[@kittensinstars]

@@belgarath6388 there’s a lot that can kill you in Australia, there’s something called the drop bear… watch out for the drop bear..

[@Cutie_Amor]

@@kittensinstars we both know thats just a drunk koala

[@TurquoiseIcy]

In Japan, Tanabata is celebrated to conmemorate their version of the story with Orihime and Hikoboshi as the cowherd and the weaver girl. Orihime being the Weaver and Hikoboshi being the Cowherd or the Boy Star. Tanabata is celebrated in early July, commonly around July 7th and not only in Japan but also many places around the world. The Japanese tale is slightly different, where Orihime is constantly weaving clothes for her father Tentei by the Milky Way (Amanogawa, 天の川) but she was sad that she would never be able to fall in love. She eventually meets Hikoboshi who worked on the other side of the Milky Way herding cows (or dogs in other interpretations), They fell in love and married. Sadly Orihime couldn't keep weaving the beautiful clothes her father loved and Hikoboshi let his cows stray all over the sky, that's when Tentei got angry and decided to split them with the Milky Way forever. Except that Orihime became really sad and Tentei saw her daughter's sadness and allowed them to see each other on the 7th day of the 7th month if she worked hard weaving every day. Sadly, they could not cross the river and Orihime became even sadder. It was then when a flock of magpies heard her cries and went on the rescue, making a bridge with their wings on said day. Also if ot rains on July 7th they cannot see each other that year.

[@BlueCLupei]

Omg, can you imagine getting your one day a year absolutely wrecked by a little rain? Like, the one day a year you look forward to, the main thing that motivates you in life, I'd go find whatever rain god scheduled that and fucking throttle them.

[@ethanloming001]

I thought Hikoboshi was a wizard for so long instead of a cowherd. Man I screwed up.😂😂😂

[@Grapeegrapee]

as someone who celebrates tanabata,, the story is so sadddddd ughh

[@Hexra_]

This puts a whole different perspective on taking a "rain check"

[@henrydelta1165]

This story is the original version of the story, the original text from the Liang dynasty (502-557) is "天河之東有織女，天帝之子也。年年機杼勞役，織成雲錦天衣，容貌不暇整。帝憐其獨處，許嫁河西牽牛郎，嫁後遂廢機杼。天帝怒，責另歸東西，但使一年一度相會。" The later Chinese version shown in this video was created after the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), and it was a mixture between the original version that you mentioned and the legend of the feather robe (羽衣伝説).

[@yubinp1791]

The Qixi Festival which celebrates the annual reunion of Cowherd and Weaver Girl falls on the 7th day of the 7th month in the Chinese Calendar. Like the Chinese New Year the date actually varies from year to year. And this year it’s on August 14th. This festival is basically like the Chinese version of Valentine‘s Day so feel free to show your significant other some love (if you have one)

[@avinashraja154]

thanks for adding the if you have one part, i was worried i'd have to fid one by Aug 14th just cuz you said it XD

[@watchm4ker]

Also, don't forget to thank your Intelligent Talking Ox.

[@Osric24]

Thanks for the info!

[@tobistein6639]

@@watchm4ker Who Was There All Along*

[@KKagamineLLuka]

Different from chinese version of valentine's actually(( QiXi is to celebrate their reunion while ChapGoMeh(lit.translation:15th night) is the actual Chinese ver of valentine's, where loners also have a part in seeking their partners on that day. Usually celebrated on the last day(15th day) of Lunar new year :D

[@thesilverwitch3237]

Queen Mother of the West: “I could’ve sworn there were more of you” - Mother of the Year 😝 Edit: 350 likes already!? Damn thanks 🤣

[@ussinussinongawd516]

Shes not actually their mother lol

[@joemerl1145]

Keep in mind, in the Chang'e/Hou Yi story the Jade Emperor had (at least) ten sons, so she's got a lot of kids to keep track of.

[@Dragonlover553]

I invite you to consider the fact that they were together long enough to have multiple children before the queen found out. Even if they were twins, that 9+ months.

[@Kiran_MD]

@@joemerl1145 I mean Hou Yi gunned nine of them down so she doesn't have to keep track of as many

[@tommydoez]

@@Dragonlover553 story I heard was that the mother didn't notice for 5 heavenly days, which is like 5 years on earth.

[@williamwray2522]

Honestly just hearing Red gush about stargazing is really engaging because I can HEAR the passion in her voice

[@kacpikachu5951]

Good to know I wasn’t the only one who decided “welp, nothing else to do. Might as well stare up at the tapestry of infinite mystery hanging above us all” 😆

[@georgecooper9766]

Yeah I'm from a very rural area but have been living in the city during the lockdowns so the lack of stars has been highly disappointing but I've been making good friends with the moon~

[@Kris-wo4pj]

If i lived in a rural area and not apart of the food industry i would have. I did however get thru alot of long ass video games. Since i was work 35-40 hrs a wk which was low since i use to work over 50.

[@researcherchameleon4602]

I got an idea for the next Halloween special, “The Island of Dr. Moreau” it has everything we like from stories, a story that is different from its pop culture impact, a glimpse into the villain’s dark justification for their crimes, and even a lightly implied gay relationship between Dr. Moreau and Montgomery

[@Emily-ye1rj]

Ooh yes!!

[@pinkajou656]

That sounds fascinating

[@researcherchameleon4602]

When I say a “lightly implied gay relationship between Dr. Moreau and Montgomery”, the exact kind of relationship I am talking about is the kind of relationship that Mr. Berns and Smithers have, where the assistant seams to have a crush on the boss, it is only implied in a single quote, and it is probably that he just agrees with the doctor’s vision, but I thought I should point this out because this book is old, and it shows (with its casual dropping of the N word), so when I saw this, it almost feels like H.G.Wells hid this little story quirk so he can be progressive, but keep it at a level where he can publish it in the homophobic culture at the time, but it can be eventually found in a more progressive time

[@teucer915]

Plus a lot of commentary on colonialism and slavery (M'ling is very PoC coded)

[@annef0x]

Honestly Id really love to see that!

[@mikeytheeaglescout]

Now I want to see a Miscellaneous Myth of the legend of the white snake. I've seen plenty of KZbin videos on the subject, but would love to see Red's (no doubt hilarious) take on the story.

[@Lee-ux8dy]

Yes, please, I need that.

[@KimuMiyamoto]

The band? Kidding, kidding~

[@mastertofu]

Yea, it's like one of the more common folklore.

[@ussinussinongawd516]

@@KimuMiyamoto nooooo why do bands like ruining names like this. The worse offender is "nirvana"

[@carrioncrow13]

Which white snake? Aren't there several? I'm pretty sure there are several, but perhaps that's just my crappy memory (I know the white snake from the eponymous Grimm's tale).

[@Punster101]

Ancient Stargazers: Ah, is that a triangle? A LOVE TRIANGLE it is!

[@juanpauloarcillas7600]

Hisses with Terrible Writing Advice energy

[@jeanettewu2537]

I'm glad to see you covering a Chinese myth! The story really has had many permutations over the centuries. The earliest version, from divination books before the Han Dynasty, only states that their marriage ended in a separation after three years, and so July 7 was an unlucky day for weddings. Stories elaborating on the details. before the Ming Dynasty, sets both the stars as gods. The Weaver Girl is responsible for weaving out the sunset and sunrise. While she is called a daughter of the Jade Emperor, the ruler of all realms and the god of the sky, some sources call her the Jade Emperor's granddaughter instead. Meanwhile, the Cowherd is a very low-ranked god of agriculture. They fall in love and marry, and are so besotted with each other that they forget their duties, resulting in color fading out of the world because there is no goddess to weave it out anymore. As a result, the Jade Emperor orders them separated so the Weaver can go back to doing her job most of the year, and only allows them one meeting on July 7. At least one version has the Cowherd also borrowing money from his high and mighty father-in-law and then not paying it back, which adds to the problem. By the time of the Jin Dynasty, July 7 in the Lunar Calendar had become a women's festival, where women prayed for good luck in love and talent in textile arts. By the Jin Dynasty, too, the seventh daughter of the sky god and the Weaver had separated into different goddesses, who were married to different men. The Seventh Princess married Dong Yong, a historical person, while the Weaver was married to the Cowherd, who, like her, was the god of a star.

[@monkeychief1904]

I used to be confused about how certain constellations even looked like what they were supposed to be. Then I went out to the back country to backpack 70 miles, the Sky out there was GORGEOUS there were just, so many stars and it finally clicked for me. I could actually really see some of the constellations and what they were supposed looked like.

[@naolucillerandom5280]

I really need to do this some day. The night sky is really pretty, even when you can't see all the stars, but it would be amazing to see it more close to how it was when you could see *a literal galaxy arm* in it.

[@jeffbenton6183]

@@naolucillerandom5280 Technically, it's the whole disk of most of the Galaxy (since we're near the edge) not just one arm.

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

@@naolucillerandom5280 YES... and don't just make it "someday"... Too often "Someday" never comes along. It's going to be inconvenient, but you gotta plan on it... The REAL night's sky is something everybody should get the chance (and take it) to see... and you should take it as often as you can before you're too old or crippled up to enjoy it. You can work a dead-end job in a hum-drum life when you're getting old enough that running off and doing crazy things "just because" is not so much fun any more and certainly not worth cleaning up the mess or "damage control" afterwards... Take your time to settle into it. I live in the boonies... I get to see it every night I just bother to look up... and there are lots of good spots to look up around here... There are good spots almost everywhere if you just know how and whereabouts to get "off the well traveled roads". ;o)

[@JimBob4233]

@@naolucillerandom5280 Don't keep putting it off for 'some day'. Pick a week with the constellations you want to see, make whatever plans you need, and do it. 'Some day I'll do that' is the temporal equivalent of the Bystander Effect.

[@Robin-su6mn]

To summarize a summary- goddesses skinny dip, one Marries a dude named after his job, she is forced to return home, they walk on animals to see eachother annually

[@emmabennett7699]

I mean, I know at least most English last names are after occupations

[@fisch37]

@@emmabennett7699 Fair enough

[@fisch37]

I'd think they don't have names, instead of saying that their names _happen_ to be their occupation. With someone being named after an occupation it'll also have been "that Peter guy who's a miller", which got shortened to Peter Miller

[@thesimplifestyle2022]

summary of the summary's summary: skinny-dipped my way into a marriage, mother didn't like it, see them once a year anyway

[@bloodymarysperiodblood6667]

@@thesimplifestyle2022 summary of the summary's summary's summary: got naked, married, separated, reunited once anually

[@1BlueYoshi]

Does the “bridge of magpies” actually represent some kind of natural phenomenon? Like is there actually something that happens once a year that makes it look like there is a way to “cross” the milky way?

[@timothymclean]

My intuition says that that's just when magpies migrate or something, but who knows.

[@joshuahunt3032]

I have no idea, but I’ll comment anyway to receive thread notifications. Edit: the nerd in me wonders if it’s somehow based on observations of the “jetstream” produced by the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, but I doubt that such a thing would’ve been observable to the naked eye.

[@leeshajoi]

Supposedly it's just the one night a year when both stars are visible at the same time.

[@erinyes3943]

I’m curious as well

[@marcusalm7350]

@@joshuahunt3032 The streams aren't disable to the naked eye, sorry

[@brilliantjewel]

Talking Ox be like: “I gotchu homie”

[@futuregodkingoftheuniverse8381]

Fınally, a "stealing powerful being's clothes" story where she actually loves him and stays with her own free will

[@napolien1310]

"The more time you spend staring at the sky, the more stuff you notice about it" The Mayans:"first time?"

[@ArchArturo]

Babylonians: “hey, don’t hog the snacks”.

[@Shakesthewizard]

Every single word of "remind me to never pick a fight with a magpie" implies something more wild than the last when it comes to the way red lives her life

[@joehole1975]

“Mr Cowherd then talked to the talking Super smart bull for advise to visit his rainbow making Girlfriend in heaven to which he responds take a boat” this happens in like 5 seconds somehow

[@catnip202xch.]

Well in the folk lore the Ox actually tells the Cowherd to skin him and use his skill as a makeshift flying/gliding device that when worn and has two kids on each side mussel style can he then fly up into the sky.

[@Mgauge]

@@catnip202xch. So super-intelligent, knowledgeable on arcane secrets, and also suicidal magical ox as well? Man, that cowherd really took him for granted. No wonder the Weaver Girl was so impressed.

[@catnip202xch.]

@@Mgauge also on that note it was the ox who told the cowherd to go steal the clothes so he can get a wife. The ox even told him to specifically steal the little sisters clothes so she stays behind looking for them when her sisters go back to heaven. It’s a fascinating Chinese folklore

[@ethanloming001]

@@Mgauge The Ox was not suicidal. He told him to skin his hide when he died. Which happens the same day Zhinu was taken back to the Heavens.

[@random_uwu7542]

This might be the first time I’ve ever watched a miscellaneous myth video that I knew the myth story already I would like to thank my dad for reading me traditional Chinese myths for bedtime stories

[@Gekyouryuu]

This story always brings me back to Kamen Rider Den-O, which I'd recommend to anyone who hasn't seen it already. the main character is possessed by time traveling demons who take forms based on the myths of Momotaro, Urashima Taro, Kintaro, and a dragon who likes to break dance. the secondary Rider in the series, Zeronos, on the other hand is based on this story, with his primary form being Vega form which is ox/bull themed when he's fighting as himself and his alternate form being Altair form, which he assumes when possessed by his own benevolent time traveling demon named Deneb.

[@WhitzWolf92]

Let me say this to start...

[@clarehidalgo]

I've been waiting from my brother to catch up to finish it, it has been 5 years and he is still 2 episodes behind me smh

[@laurarogers7560]

Is stealing a women personal items grounds for marriage in ancient times and the women regaining her items the necessary step for separation or divorce?

[@giantflamingrabbitmonster8124]

Feels like its more of a "Agree to marry me and I'll return the stuff I stole from you as part of the deal!" kind of thing.

[@mokies7811]

You what they say "thievery is the most romantic crime"

[@Soenel7]

@@mokies7811 Well if you count stealing a girls heart then yes it is.

[@synderthmc]

That was in the animal brides video.

[@esthermcafee5293]

I had a professor say that it was a euphemism for (hopefully consensual) pre-marital intercourse.

[@PumpkinTheFool]

The ultimate long distance relationship

[@fisch37]

How thick is the milky way? 1000 Lightyears (Some random website says) Way long distance

[@Valsorayu]

@@fisch37 Damn boy, that's one thicc galaxy.

[@joemerl1145]

Why don't Chang'e and Hou Yi get a magical magpie bridge?

[@aristocrocseerofaeons8268]

@@joemerl1145 Well, I'd guess that Chang'e and Hou Yi would not want to meet again, given Chang'e's whole "took both doses of immortality-restoring peach juice for herself and bolted off to Heaven"-thing...

[@fisch37]

@@aristocrocseerofaeons8268 Depends on the story

[@ValueNetwork]

Storyteller 1: “So, why is this cow herder a star in the sky” Storyteller 2: “uhhhh” (looks into the felid outside) “magic ox”

[@Duiker36]

No explanation needed for the boat that can fly but also can't cross a river, though.

[@src175]

In some versions of the story, the cowherd is a reincarnated god of herding or something, and the ox was like also a reincarnated god, but of cattle, and that the love story between Niulang and Zhinu actually began in heaven, and Niulang was punished to become a mortal because of their forbidden romance, and that's why they so quickly fell in love after meeting again.

[@Moonstar79]

Red making a hobby out of stargazing reminds me of that story she told about when she saw the stars for the first time outside the city and I immediately said out loud “bABY RED”

[@rkjs7615]

“I could have swore there was more of you” -the most mom thing I have hear

[@serelylyhikari9771]

Can we all just appreciate the way Red draws their reunion? It’s so pretty!

[@arcanna4278]

They really took the phrase "Star-crossed lovers" to a whole other level

[@finchhawthorne1302]

In the best way “remind me never to pick a fight with a magpie” is an iconically ace takeaway from the story about tragic love.

[@WarMonger_the-One-and-Only]

Its also very good advice. The spiders in Australia ain't shit, but watch out for the magpies. Those little bastards'll get ya.

[@MsPageMistress]

This is one of my favorite mythological love stories, and I never realized they had children who also visited her! It's even better for me now!

[@Tinkering4Time]

Red, the visuals on this were just… DAYUM. GORGEOUS. VIVID. Cosmic-grade chiaroscuro.

[@matthewpopow6647]

Millenia later... Daughter: Hey... why don't we just... stay on this side of the river? (All three others feel rather silly)

[@alexconn7473]

@Mullerornis and then the jade emperor steps in like that's quite enough of that you stop that you can not defy me I'm the ruler of heaven

[@alexconn7473]

@Mullerornis he's only that incompetent with someone as chaotic as son wukong whereas someone more orderly as the queen mother of the west he'd have a better foothold in the situation

[@matthewpopow6647]

Son: Cause gramma sucks

[@katherinelynch4193]

It’s like those animal bride tales from a couple years back, only with more consent and the infinite beauty of the cosmos.

[@jasonlewis4438]

[SPITS TEA] A COUPLE *YEARS* BACK???

[@infiniteideassquared9102]

And we though Aphrodite was overprotective of her kid, holy-- creating the Milky Way to stop them?!

[@jadeuwu9860]

@Jayden Klaus flashbacks intensify

[@okuyasuniijimura]

@Jayden Klaus what was the greek way?

[@kameronjohnson3888]

@@okuyasuniijimura Hercules is a very toothy baby.

[@okuyasuniijimura]

@@kameronjohnson3888 ._. Poor hera

[@Ari-hl9sr]

The seventh day of the seventh lunar month is also known as ghost month, where people celebrate and remember the dead

[@The_Viscount]

Red, Blue, this is actually my favorite folk/fairytale of all time. I love this story so much. But, specifically, the Korean version. Interestingly, Korea has split the Chinese version into multiple independent folk tales. The cow herd and the weaver girl are separate from the stealing heavenly clothes story in Korea.

[@littlemusic477]

I grew listening to this tale and I love examining different versions. Fun fact: If there is bad weather on that particular day, it is said the rain are from the lover's tears falling from the sky because the magpies could not unite them ;-;

[@Myself23512]

😢

[@duartefernandes6913]

I dont know if you're aware of it Red, but there's a Portuguese epic called "The Lusiads" with cameos by Roman (read: greek) gods like Dyonyseus in his "i hate sailors" period, and a cool sea monster. Maybe you're interested in that

[@Coryn02]

That sounds cool, I'd love to see a video on it.

[@josephboechat6020]

If your not a portuguese speaker i would be really surprise

[@grapeshot]

I remember when I was in the US Army and we would go out to NTC which is located in the Mojave Desert and you could see every single star in the sky at night including many shooting stars it was very beautiful.

[@kendellstewart2090]

Read a version of this when I was a kid. 🎼And I will still be here, Stargazing. I still look up, look up for love.🎼

[@lyricalcarpenter]

1:13 mad respect to the first person to photograph the sun

[@katherineclawson3494]

The message of ‘never fight with a magpie’ is indeed an important one, I’ve seen what they do when people get near on their territory

[@guggelguggel7491]

Australian?

[@katherineclawson3494]

@@guggelguggel7491 yeah

[@guggelguggel7491]

@@katherineclawson3494 those aren't the dapper magpies of the corvid family in the rest of the world, those aggressive mofos are apparently a type of butcherbird?

[@katherineclawson3494]

@@guggelguggel7491 learn something new every day

[@JuFated]

'I can always rely on you, talking ox!' The ox is clearly the mvp of the tale. Also yes, magpies are kinda smart and mean so best not pick fights with them.

[@oriong.7507]

Smart, yes. Vicious, yes. Mean? I don't think so.

[@clericofchaos1]

Yeah the talking ox is easily the best character in the story. I'm so glad we were introduced to him early on so that we could form a real bond with him as a character.

[@amymationproductions8605]

Yay, I remember this story from my childhood. The two reunite on my birthday, I always felt so special as a little girl knowing this tale, aw, memories

[@jeremy1860]

A clear night sky is indeed one of the most wonderful things to just stare at for ages 😊

[@Mayeur000Donz]

Two kinds of people, I guess. I stare at the sky for a little while and my mind starts going to Eldritch places.

[@fisch37]

@@Mayeur000Donz That's just you seeing the beyond I'd guess? (Nah, it's not)

[@emmabyrne9274]

As someone who's lived in the southern hemisphere their entire life, Red's description of the most visible stars in the sky confused me for a second

[@georgecooper9766]

Same! I was like who's this Vega character??

[@judgmentalanimal]

This puts a whole new meaning on star-crossed lovers

[@VellusTerennia]

Or maybe... the original meaning?

[@judgmentalanimal]

@@VellusTerennia maybe…

[@WraythSkitzofrenik]

Don't pick a fight with a magpie. Good advice. The Corvids are a mysterious and capricious lot.

[@angelabao7390]

Oh hell yeah! My dad told me this story when I was little. He said his parents told him that Vega and Altair would move to be next to each other on the night of the Qixi Festival - every year he'd stay up late but be would always fall asleep, and they'd always say he'd missed it.

[@Nasser851000]

*Looks at view count* OSP pulling some mythical strings XD

[@TwentyDaysOfMay]

I got there when it was 6699

[@bradyweed4124]

It’s really cool how you can tell that over the years that Red has improved at the guitar and singing. Red 3 years ago singing at the end of a video is not the same Red singing at the end of this video. Keep up the good work!

[@Azerinth]

3:25 Grounding someone to heaven is just a hilariously oxymoronic thought to me.

[@pika4668]

3:48 that syncing was GOLD oh my goodness

[@mr.mcphoenix]

There’s a yugioh archetype I play based on this myth. It’s called “Shinobaron” and they’re these elegant people styled off of peacocks who only stay around for a little time before returning to your hand. When they return, they leave a few things behind to represent the feather left behind after their reunion

[@enci3947]

queen mother of the west to weaver girl: “you’re a victim”

[@ASquared544]

Red, how the hell do you stargaze in a no doubt light polluted city?

[@shadowldrago]

She is a woman of many talents.

[@rbck8826]

Phone apps.

[@ASquared544]

@@rbck8826 Which ones?

[@rbck8826]

@@ASquared544 don't remember.

[@Parsmadon]

"Talking Ox Who Was Here All Along is my favorite character" honestly same

[@alyoola]

"Remind me to never pick a fight with a magpie, those little scamps are stronger than they look" *flashbacks of magpie season intensifies*

[@pikmaniac2643]

Insert Bill Wurtz’s “hey, we can make a religion out of this!”

[@TheBeyondcall]

Ok, I'm just gonna put this out there. We need Red to release an album. Her singing instantly puts my mind at ease 😀

[@PaintSplashProductions]

Another episode of "Why isn't this an animated movie yet?"

[@infinitebutter7948]

probably bc it's too short

[@wizofauzz]

Probably the skinny dipping

[@PaintSplashProductions]

@@wizofauzz They could remove it. Since when do studios stay accurate to their fables?

[@lettuce8635]

There are Chinese movies about this story, not very mainstream in the west though, considering that it’s Chinese.

[@PaintSplashProductions]

@@lettuce8635 What's annoying about Chinese films (honestly about alot of foreign films) is that I can't find them on a lot of streaming services. I always hear people from the US, for example, say "this film is on this streaming service" but I can't ever find it on the UK ver 😡

[@SanjayMerchant]

I like to imagine that if the Weaver Girl hadn't taken an instant liking to the Cowherd, it would've been a whole Artemis situation (i.e. Peeping Tommery gets you an ironic transformation that in turn gets you killed in short order).

[@lack7940]

and the transformation wouldve been into a magpie

[@anna_in_aotearoa3166]

Yeah, I hadn't heard this particular version of the story - gotta admit, the whole clothes-stealing douchebag move has definitely tarnished my previous liking for the guy protagonist in the story...? 😕 He does keep faithfully coming back with the kids so they can see their mum though, so gotta give him props for that.

[@phastinemoon]

Presumably because Chinese mythology rarely gives their female deities that kind of power over dudes.

[@hestiathena4917]

If anyone is interested, there is a lovely little novel called "Bridge of Birds" which plays around with a number of Chinese myths and folktale tropes, but this particular story is at its heart.

[@theantisocialnarwhal3249]

What makes this video even better is “Flight of the Silverbird” and “Star Sky” from TSFH in the background

[@justafloatingcoconut1368]

YES i've been waiting for this myth since the Chang'E and Hou Yi video

[@henrywong2725]

Now that she has done this, she is now obligated to do the other three famous folktales. Where a woman crying collapses a wall, a white snek duels a evil monk whilst dealing with her domestic life and Romeo and Juliet but no side characters die, also they turned into butterflies

[@merrittanimation7721]

@@henrywong2725 Those sound crazy

[@justafloatingcoconut1368]

@@henrywong2725 hah that’s a perfect way to describe 梁祝

[@thedukeofchutney468]

It’s always nice to hear a myth I haven’t heard yet.

[@bionicdragon5]

It's actually kinda funny how many old legends include talking animals with superpowers that are just there for some reason.

[@rubyrangitsch5248]

I am living for Red nerding out about the stars.

[@Snacker6]

I don't know why, but watching this one in particular made me want a separate channel with just the full versions of the songs that you cover at the end of these videos. There is something about your singing voice that is soothing to me

[@lordfriedrick7911]

"Remind me of never pick a fight with a magpie..." This is what ancient legends teaches you