Cosmic Creation Myths Across Culture

All religions strive to explain the beginning or creation of the world and it’s features. A divine being that creates the land and sea, the heavens, animals and man ( EAC 297 Myths and Legends). Creations stories vary from culture to culture, but some similarities and parallels can be made between cultures that are completely unconnected to one another. Two creation myths that have similarities between them are those of the Judeo-Christians and the Native American,namely, Navajo peoples. There are many differences in these myths in regards to what could be considered sacred numbers and in the sequence of events. However, despite the difference between these two myths, the similarities are worthy of note. Both the creation myths of the Native

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

Almost every culture on earth has a creation myth. Most if not all of these myths borrow from the core theme of a God-centered creation as contained in the book of Genesis chapter one. According to Van Over (11), a good number of these creation stories show a similarity in the point of their origin. Rumor has it that some of these myths have emanated from actual historical occurrences or events. All creation myths emerge from one ancient source and only diverge when it comes to their timing and the surrounding cultural circumstances. The variations in the myths come as a result of the differences in time and cultural circumstances. Aside from the two causes of variation, in general all creation myths show a basic outline and they also share some basic elements.

Scandinavian Paganism, more commonly known as Norse Mythology, was a popular polytheistic religion during the Anglo-Saxon time period. It is believed to have been derived from the culture of Germanic Paganism. According to Norse Mythology, at the center of the universe lies the greatest ash tree, known as Yggdrasil, whose roots and branches spread across the universe connecting each of the nine realms of Aesir, giants, and Niflheim. The world was believed to have been created by the body of Ymir, a giant that was killed and dismembered by the first gods. His flesh created the earth, his bones formed the mountains, and his blood filled the seas.

Every culture has a story in attempt to explain its human origin. The endeavor to understand human existence has been prevalent for as long as we have been on this earth. Origin stories explain the natural world of a group through their religion, customs, and interactions. Indigenous creation stories, such as the Cherokee nation, highlight their connection to the land, language, sacred history, and ceremony. Likewise, the Biblical story of creation emphasizes his or her relationship to their creator and the traditions that arise from that relationship. When analyzing these stories, one can see similarities and differences between them, why they are essential in understanding where a group originated from, and the Peoplehood Model.

The Hindu culture resonates well in Norse mythology. The creation story of the Brahma is a great example because it is close to the Norse creation myth of Ymir, a giant who was dismembered by Odin, Vili, and Ve to use his body parts to create the earth. Although no one was killed, the man uses his body parts to create earth. The Babylonian culture also has a similar story line with the gory creation myth of Ymir. In the story there is a sky god named Marduk, and to create earth he kills a goddess named Tiamat. He splits her body in half and uses one half to create earth and the other half to create the sky.

The introduction of creation in the Norse myth is as follows from the in-text citation

Ancient Creation myths are similar but at the same time are still very different. What is a myth? A myth refers to a fiction story or only half true story. What makes up a myth? It has several different characteristics that make it different from other types of stories. Ancient Greco-Roman myths are interesting because they talk about another religion and how they are being reflected. Hebrew creation myths are also interesting because they explain the power of God who made the universe in just 6 days.

In every culture people have different creation stories from the ancient Aztecs to modern-day. Creation stories myths are symbolic since they are narratives of how the world began and how men were created. These stories or “myths” helped people in the past to explain the world around them (Long, 2015). However, people often use the term myth to describe these stories since they regarded as fiction while to some there true. Regardless, to who believes these “myths” but everyone has their own belief on the origin of the world.

In Genesis, the first book of The Bible the Christian and Jewish creation story is told. God spoke and his Word was done. He made the heavens and the earth. He made light and drove away the dark. On the earth he created the waters and lands and man and beast.

This essay will compare and contrast the Biblical creation myths with other creation myths from Greece and the Ancient Near East. It will first discuss the initial creation of the universe followed by the creation of mankind and finally the recreation of man whilst drawing parallels to Sumerian and Babylonian texts, The Old Testament and Hesiods Theogony. In paying particular attention to the chronology of each myth it will be shown that the creation myths regarding the universe and mankind evolved from as far back as the Sumerian stories.

A technique that is used in many creation myths can be referred to as "creation from above." In this method of narration, the creator often creates a replica of earth within the heavens, and somehow recreates this image in the abyss below. An example of this can originally be found in Kund Rasmussen's collection of Eskimo myths. In this story a being called Tulungersaq, or Father Raven is born in the heavens. He initially takes the form of a human being and is entirely unaware of how he came into existence. He is in complete darkness and it is through his sense of touch that he becomes aware of his surroundings. Through his exploration, he discovers a sparrow, and realizes that this is the only form of life that had been in existence before him. He goes on to bury something beneath the earth and soon after he discovers that the earth is no longer sterile, it is now covered in bushes and grass. Tulungersaq is still

Creation myths illustrate cultural beliefs of many diferente ways, in a loto f diferente situations. The first example is in Seneca’s myth. They had a big belief in Heaven, and in there were two Brothers who used to divide an island. The youngest brother was angry and went on to spread evil, while the other one had a good life in heaven. A second example is that their belief that women were made to procreate. On “Hopi” myth, the Spider Woman created human kind. It may show that the only thing that women is able to do is procreate. The last example is in Pandora and Prometheus myth. Pandora was represented as a stupid person and brought chãos to world, and it shows that Greeks used to think that women were insignificant. Creation myths really

The first myth: destruction of the gods. I have heard about so much destruction in so many myths, including the Aztec, Maori, Yoruba Creations. In the Aztec creation, there would be blood offerings and sacrifices. If no

Creation stories written great time periods away from one another are shown to be very different. Our earliest creation story, the Atra-hasis and a more recent one, the Yijing were written centuries away from one another, this can be proved by the beliefs of the people. The Atra-hasis told its people to worship the gods and complete their tasks whereas the Yijing only described how man could utilize the earth for further development. Similarly, the Atra-hasis and Rig Veda have the same differences. When written in different time periods, creation stories do vary.