Creation Myths : Creation Myth Motif

Creation mythology are present in a multitude of cultures around the globe. The Native American Blackfoot tribe is one of the many civilizations who has a creation myth, for my paper I will be referencing Blackfoot Creation and Origin Myths. One can understand a lot from one’s society by analyzing creation stories and other important texts. The Blackfoot tribe uses these myths to explain the start of their society, the myth is broken up into parts; my focus will be on, the making of the earth, the order of life and death, and old man and the great spirit. With a lack of first hand experience of the creation of the earth, creations myths give incite to who a certain society thinks.

David Skorton and Glenn Altschuler wrote the essay “Do We Really Need More Guns on Campus.” This essay focus on the guns on campus controversy. There are two sides that the authors explain: the side in favor and the side against. Every side has points to think about it. For example, some reasons to be against the conceal are the fights, the lack of experience and the drug abuse. The side in favor has good reason too, as the importance to stop a mass shooting, the right to bear arms and the secure feeling that the gun give.

While the tensions between the early European settlers and Native Americans of North America denotes that the cultures had extreme differences, their writings do not necessarily illustrate that belief. Both the Native Americans and the Puritans wrote about a creator and how that creator related to humans. Native Americans wrote creation myths, which tell us how they described the creation of Earth and how earth’s beings were created. Two specific groups who wrote creation myths were the Inuit and the Mayan Indians. Settlers such as William Bradford, wrote and kept a journal to document the first landing of the Pilgrims. The Puritans, however, wrote poems about their god and how this god interacted with life on Earth. The Puritans wrote about their god in a more hidden way since creativity or other dangerous expressions were frowned upon. Whether the creator was a Raven (Inuits), a Feathered Spirit and a maker (Mayan), or a human-like God (Puritans) all cultures sought this creator for guidance. Each culture had different perceptions of this creator as it related to mankind; Native Americans regarded their

The motifs found in the creation myths are undoubtedly different from those found in any other type of myth. Contrary to popular belief, the purpose of the creation myths is much greater than a primitive attempt to explain the mysteries of creation. Behind each creation myth is a vast variety of symbolism along with a number of motives which are often shared between cultures, despite vast geographical differences. My intention here is not only to discuss the purpose of the creation myths, but also to compare and contrast common themes which can be found in three selected works. These being, an Eskimo creation myth, the Ongwe creation myth and the Navajo creation myth.

The cycle of creation in the Zulu myth is as follows in the in-text citation (“Zulu Creation”, 2011): Darkness was in the beginning accompanied by a large seed. The seed fell from heaven and the seed produced reeds that grew called Uthlanga. One seed in particular grew into a man and his named Unkulunkulu. He grew so large and heavy that he broke off and fell to earth. As he fell, he walked earth with a purpose to grow other seeds into male and female. Outside of humans, Unkulunkulu created animals, mountains, lakes, and the sun and moon. He taught female and male how to survive by imparting agriculture to grow things, how to hunt, and make fire. Unkulunkulu sent a chameleon into the world with the message that his people will live forever. As this animal took too long, his impatience grew and a lizard sent out a message of death completing the circle of birth to death.

Often a topic of debate, there are several different takes on the creation story existent in literature. Dependent on one’s religion, different beliefs about how the world we live in was created may arise. Looking deeper into the literature, one will realize there are also many similarities between creation stories. Based on the strong possibility that Genesis was influenced by the Enuma Elish, there are similarities that stem from the fact that they both describe the creation of a new world as well as differences in their interpretations and approaches to creationism.

We all know that our mothers and fathers gave us birth, and grandmothers and grandfathers gave our parents birth. However, what about the beginning? What does the beginning look like? Who created the sky, the earth, the mountains and rivers, the plants, the animals, and the human beings? How was the world created? What happened to the creator? These questions have puzzled and are asked by every people. However, no one has yet found the answers, and I have heard people saying that the creation of life is as impossible as the natural creation of an airplane from a stack of waste. With the willingness of knowing the self, ancient people tried to create mythological stories

For thousands of years, scientists have tried to interpret the concept of creation. However, before people had access to modern scientific equipment, they told creations stories. A creation story is a myth that explains how and why the earth was made. A few cultures with differing opinions on creation are Europeans, Cherokee Indians, West Africans, and Hawaiians. Europeans tell the story of Genesis and God creating the earth in seven days and Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Cherokee Indians believe that the earth was created by a water beetle. In West African culture, they teach the Golden Chain story, and Hawaiians have the Kumulipo story to explain their beliefs on creation. Although each story follows a basic guideline, they all have distinct disparities.

The general purpose for all myths is to bring an understanding of unknown. The ancient people widely used myths to explain new phenomena and occurrences. The lack of scientific modes of theory formulation caused the people of old to come up with myths to fill the vacuum with the knowledge that existed during their time. The need by man to explain his origin and the origin of the universe led him to the formulation of creation and origin myths. Men of olds came up with myths to explain the mysteries they had no clue about including creation.

The sin stories in the Book of Genesis address theological, cosmic, social, and ethical questions. These sin stories, The Fall of Man, Cain and Abel, and Noah and the Flood, and The Tower of Babel show the functions of myths and demonstrate man's likeliness to sin. These myths let the readers learn of the culture, beliefs, and foundation of the time.

There was only water and bare, empty land. In the center of this nothingness was a great mountain. This mountain stood tall and proud and it reached all the way into the heavens. At the very top of this mountain lived a pair of every kind of animal. In the center of this heaven grew a tree. This tree was not just any tree, it was the sacred tree of life, and it was not to be harmed in any way.

Who made who? Did God create humans or did humans create god? At first thought one

Myths – as they are known to most of the world – give insight into the pasts of various countries and religions as the people saw them. They have been used to explain phenomenons in nature or describe the tales of courageous and important men and women throughout history. Creation myths in particular define how the Earth itself was created, along with the universe, heavens, hell, people, and creatures that exist today. Genesis of Christian mythology, for instance, tells the story of how the single deity God spoke and formed everything from day and night to man and woman. Various African creation myths, such as with the Yoruba, explain the creation of the Earth through at least a couple gods working together and all life

Throughout history many civilizations and cultures have had their own ways of explaining the world and its creation. Each of these civilizations has created unique descriptions and accounts of such events. However, when comparing them to each other, are they really different? Look at the ancient Greco - Roman creation myths as told by Hesiod in his Theogony and Works and Days and Ovid’s Metamorphoses, when compared to the creation myths as seen in the Old Testament’s book of Genesis they may not be as different as one would think. Taking a more in-depth look at both Genesis and Hesiod’s and Ovid’s work more closely, the reader can see that on multiple occasions the myths have almost identical similarities which reflect their views in

The traditional legend begins with Rangi (the sky father) and Papa (the earth mother) uniting to give birth to numerous offspring: gods of the sea, forest, wind, wild food, planted food, and mankind.5 Once born, the children constantly quarreled with one another in the darkness and finally decided to separate their parents to create light. The god of the wind, opposed to the idea, fled to the sky where his anger manifested into thunder and lightening. Disregarding his brother’s opinion, the god of the forest successfully separated his parents’ loving embrace. The disconnection enabled life to flourish and thrive throughout the land. Unfortunately, Rangi and Papa were forever separated. Rangi’s constant flow of tears filled the oceans and lakes. To this day, many Maori believe that Rangi and Papa’s infinite sorrow is responsible for the dew, mist and rain.5