>In it, a blacksmith — a figure associated with magic and the supernatural across a remarkably wide cultural sphere, from Europe to sub-Saharan Africa — enters into a pact with a malign supernatural entity, usually a devil.
In the link I couldn't find anything mentioning sub-Saharan Africa. I'm particularly interested because there are stories of a first couple and a snake, as well as the Fall of Man that are widespread in Eurasia and Africa. However, there isn't much work in building a phylogeny of these stories. There is some, by people like Witzel, but he assumes that the connection must precede the Out of Africa migration, which is a doozy to start with.
The flipping of the meaning of daeva to demon on the Zoroastrian side was mirrored on the Vedic side by their demons being called asura - a clear finger in the eye of those who believed in the godliness of Ahura Mazda.
>In it, a blacksmith — a figure associated with magic and the supernatural across a remarkably wide cultural sphere, from Europe to sub-Saharan Africa — enters into a pact with a malign supernatural entity, usually a devil.
In the link I couldn't find anything mentioning sub-Saharan Africa. I'm particularly interested because there are stories of a first couple and a snake, as well as the Fall of Man that are widespread in Eurasia and Africa. However, there isn't much work in building a phylogeny of these stories. There is some, by people like Witzel, but he assumes that the connection must precede the Out of Africa migration, which is a doozy to start with.
The flipping of the meaning of daeva to demon on the Zoroastrian side was mirrored on the Vedic side by their demons being called asura - a clear finger in the eye of those who believed in the godliness of Ahura Mazda.