PRIMITIVE HISTORY OF THE IONIAN'S. 567 



The most important legend regarding tbe Yanir is that which con- 

 tains the story of their iinion with the ^sir, whom I have ah^eady 

 identified with the Ashchurites. Njord, of Noatun, which recalls 

 Jonathan, was given as a hostage to the ^sir, just as we have found 

 Jonathan marrying a daughter of Achashtari, the son of Ashchur.^^® 

 But the treaty of peace was concluded by the ^sir and Yanir 

 unitedly forming a being called Kvasir, of great intelligence, whose 

 blood, after he had been murdered by the dwarfs, was mixed by them 

 with honey, and became the mead of the gods. Whoever drank the 

 Kvasir acquired the gift of song.^^' This Kvasir was also called 

 Son-ar and Hnitbiarga water. ^"^ The Kvasir has been identifi.ed with 

 the Yedic Soma by many writei-s on comparative mythology, and 

 with justice. ^^^ But should not some etymological connection be 

 found in the two legends 1 Kvasir is the dismembered or murdered 

 Abishur, Absyrtus, Icarius, etc., in the Geshur form of his name. 

 Song, which has already been associated with the family of Onam, is 

 the gift of Apollo, the sun-god. Sonar is simply the Sun with the 

 Egyptian ra termination, for Sonne is San, Sham-as, or Shammai, 

 the father of Abishiir. Hnitbiarga may or may not relate to his 

 brother Nadab, v/ho is certainly the dwarf Andva-ri. . 



In still another form Abi-Shur appears before us in these Germanic 

 traditions. He is Tyr, the strong and wise, whose hand was bitten off 

 by the wolf Loki. In his stoiy we find the Irish legend of Nuadh 

 of the silver hand, and the Indian Savitar, whom I will yet prove 

 to be Abishur. In the Irish legend his brother is made to do duty 

 for him. Grimm has shown that Tyr is pre-eminently a sun-god."° 

 Jadag is not unrecognized in the Germanic pantheon. He appears 

 as Dagr or Tag, the son of Nott and brother of Donar; one of the 

 husbands of Nott, althoiigh not Tag's father, bearing the name of 

 Onar."^ No solar theory can explain such an association of names, 

 but a Bible Euhemerism can. Onar is simply An-ra or Onam; Tag or 

 Dagr, Jadag-ra; and Donar, recalling the Gi'eek Tyndareus and the 

 Celtic Pendaran, is his son, Jonathan-ra. 



The following tables present the Celtic and Germanic equivalents 

 of the families of Onam : — 



168 Mallet's Northern Antiquities, 418. 

 MT Id. 461. 



168 Grimm's Deutsche Mythologie, 857. 



169 Cox's Aryan Mythology, i. 369. 



170 Grimm's Deutsche Mythologie, 175, seg. 

 in Id. 697. 



