Forwarded from Paddington
Apparently the Mordvins Central Russia have a similar entity (Inekui, 'Great snake') usually depicted with 7 or 12 heads, and it can also fly. By eating its meat one can understand the language of animals. It is a chthonic entity in control of malicious spirits, and in some stories it is won in battle by a man born of the marriage of a bear and a human woman. The half-bear is the ancestor of certain clans among Uralic peoples, such as the Skolt Saami.
https://www.folklore.ee/rl/folkte/sugri/mordva/myto/ussikuningas.htm
https://www.folklore.ee/rl/folkte/sugri/mordva/myto/ussikuningas.htm
Gunung Padang, Island of Java, Indonesia. Oldest layer possibly dating to 20,000 years ago