path_of_one
Embracing the Mystery
As a cultural anthropologist, I've read creation myths from all over the world. I see some interesting patterns, and thought I'd share a selection of creation myths from various indigenous peoples. We probably all know the creation myth of Genesis and perhaps a couple others, and it's very interesting to compare them all. As an aside, I mean "myth" in the academic sense- a sacred narrative believed to be true by the people who tell it. Saying these creation stories are myths is saying they are sacred to somebody, not that they are false. So, any thoughts on patterns you've seen in creation myths from around the world? What similarities have you seen? Why do you think there are striking similarities (and there's no "right" answer for me to this question- I welcome atheists and scientifically-minded folks to jump in with psychology and human cognition as much as I welcome religious/spiritual folks to offer their opinions)?
Aztec (Central America):
"The world before had existed not once, but four times, and these were the Ages of the Suns. Water, earth, wind, and fire each had their reign. Each ended in disaster. The first people were formed of ashes, and when the water came they were carried away and made into fishes. In the next sun there were giants, and tigers waited for dark to devour them. The giants were weak despite their size and warned one another: do not fall. But they fell, and when they fell, they fell forever. During the third sun, the rain was made of fire, and all burned. The fourth sun was the wind, and swept everything away. The people became monkeys and fled to the mountains. Now it is the fifth sun. New people are created from the remains of the old. Quetzalcoatl will restore them, and feed them maize."
Basseri (Central Africa):
"We have always been on this land; we were created from its dust."
Hmong (E. Asia):
"Four gods hold up the corners of the world and are responsible for creation. Long ago they sent a flood, and waters covered all the earth. Into a wooden barrel were placed a boy and a girl, who were sent by the Lord of the Sky to populate the earth. When the waters receded, they stepped out of their barrel and saw they were alone in the world. When their baby was born, it looked like an egg, smooth and oval. The boy and girl cut the egg into pieces, and scattered it over the land. Each piece grew into new people, until all the clans of the Hmong were born, and the earth was full of people."
Kaluli (Papua New Guinea):
"When the land came into form there were no trees, no animals, no streams, no food. But there were people covering the earth. The people had no food, and so they were hungry. They had no homes, and so they were cold. One stood up and gathered all the people together. He told one group to be trees, and they became trees. In this same way, there came to be fish, bannana, sago, and finally all the plants and animals, rivers and hills, were there. The few who were left became the human beings."
Kapauku (Indonesia):
"Ugatame designed the universe and is of two natures, male and female, like the sun and the moon are two. Sun is light and warm and like a ball of fire. Moon is cool like the light of a firefly. But the sun and moon are not Ugatame; they are proof that there is Ugatame... Above the bowl [of the sky] is another world, and it may look like this one. It is Ugatame's home."
Nuer (Central Africa):
"Kwoth is everywhere. He is like wind, he is like air. He falls in teh rain and roars in the thunder. The rainbow is his necklace. We are like little ants in his sight. In the beginning there was a tamarind tree in the western land. Her name was Lic, and she was the mother. Kwoth created us to drop from her branches like ripened fruit. In the beginning we were as the fruit from a tamarind tree."
Continued in the next post...
Aztec (Central America):
"The world before had existed not once, but four times, and these were the Ages of the Suns. Water, earth, wind, and fire each had their reign. Each ended in disaster. The first people were formed of ashes, and when the water came they were carried away and made into fishes. In the next sun there were giants, and tigers waited for dark to devour them. The giants were weak despite their size and warned one another: do not fall. But they fell, and when they fell, they fell forever. During the third sun, the rain was made of fire, and all burned. The fourth sun was the wind, and swept everything away. The people became monkeys and fled to the mountains. Now it is the fifth sun. New people are created from the remains of the old. Quetzalcoatl will restore them, and feed them maize."
Basseri (Central Africa):
"We have always been on this land; we were created from its dust."
Hmong (E. Asia):
"Four gods hold up the corners of the world and are responsible for creation. Long ago they sent a flood, and waters covered all the earth. Into a wooden barrel were placed a boy and a girl, who were sent by the Lord of the Sky to populate the earth. When the waters receded, they stepped out of their barrel and saw they were alone in the world. When their baby was born, it looked like an egg, smooth and oval. The boy and girl cut the egg into pieces, and scattered it over the land. Each piece grew into new people, until all the clans of the Hmong were born, and the earth was full of people."
Kaluli (Papua New Guinea):
"When the land came into form there were no trees, no animals, no streams, no food. But there were people covering the earth. The people had no food, and so they were hungry. They had no homes, and so they were cold. One stood up and gathered all the people together. He told one group to be trees, and they became trees. In this same way, there came to be fish, bannana, sago, and finally all the plants and animals, rivers and hills, were there. The few who were left became the human beings."
Kapauku (Indonesia):
"Ugatame designed the universe and is of two natures, male and female, like the sun and the moon are two. Sun is light and warm and like a ball of fire. Moon is cool like the light of a firefly. But the sun and moon are not Ugatame; they are proof that there is Ugatame... Above the bowl [of the sky] is another world, and it may look like this one. It is Ugatame's home."
Nuer (Central Africa):
"Kwoth is everywhere. He is like wind, he is like air. He falls in teh rain and roars in the thunder. The rainbow is his necklace. We are like little ants in his sight. In the beginning there was a tamarind tree in the western land. Her name was Lic, and she was the mother. Kwoth created us to drop from her branches like ripened fruit. In the beginning we were as the fruit from a tamarind tree."
Continued in the next post...
