What role did the Devil play in the Mordvin version of the earth-diver myth?

In the Mordvin version of the earth-diver myth, the Devil acts as a co-creator and adversary to God. The myth describes God sitting on a rock in the primeval sea, where he spits into the water; the saliva grows, and God strikes it with a staff, causing the Devil to emerge, sometimes in the form of a goose.1

God commands the Devil to dive into the sea to retrieve earth from the bottom. The Devil succeeds on his third attempt but attempts to deceive God by hiding some of the earth in his mouth. As God scatters the earth he collected, it begins to grow into the world, unmasking the Devil’s deceit; the earth hidden in the Devil’s cheek then becomes mountains and hills.1

Additionally, the Devil plays a role in the creation of suffering and imperfection. He demands a piece of earth for himself, and from the resulting hole, vermin such as mice, fleas, and mosquitoes emerge. Furthermore, in myths concerning the creation of man, the Devil is responsible for transferring man's hairy covering to the dog and blighting humanity with his spit, making humans subject to disease and death.1