Polygenesis and the celestial maiden in Torajan and Korean folktales

Tales of a mortal man who marries a celestial maiden (the "swan maiden" complex, ATU 400) are attested from Europe to East Asia and across Indonesia, raising the question whether such resemblances reflect diffusion or independent invention (polygenesis). This study compares the Torajan Polo Padang (To Manurung) with the Korean Seonnyeowa Namukkun ("The Woodcutter and the Heavenly Maiden"). Using a qualitative comparative-descriptive design, the texts were segmented into sixteen narrative units, coded with the Thompson and ATU indexes, and interpreted through a microcosm–mesocosm–macrocosm framework. Both share a generic core: descending celestial maidens, a lost garment, a hierogamous marriage, the wife's return to heaven, and the husband's ascent. Yet every culturally distinctive motif differs. The Torajan tale turns on a speech tabu and ends with the family descending to found a noble lineage, whereas the Korean tale ends in permanent separation driven by filial longing. With no shared distinctive motifs or plausible contact route, polygenesis best explains the resemblance. The Torajan tale legitimises social order through cosmic descent and ethical speech, while its Korean counterpart dramatises the tension between conjugal and filial loyalty. The study adds an Indonesia–Korea perspective and a replicable model for microcosmic comparison.