Cosmic Creation Myths Across Cultures

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.

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.

Myth still remains one of the major links that merges the different cultures and religions from various ethnicities. “The Creation of the Titans and the Gods”, as well as “The Creation, Death, and Rebirth of the Universe”, are among the many creation myths that highlight these combinations. Throughout history, myths have created various similarities and differences between the cultures and religions of the world.

Every person in America has a myth or conviction of truth as to how creation was formed and human beings came into existence. The following are inclusive in creation myths, the first is the Zulu myth found in the continent of Africa, and the other is the myth of Norse originating from Europe. Both myths give a reason as to how creation was formed on earth. Though there are endless amounts of ideas and vast amounts of myths to explore, the focus of these two particular myths brings fascination to a social phenomenon.

In the evening when being tucked into bed all a kid wants is for their parents to tell them a bedtime story so they can fall asleep with ease. Stories are always more interesting when someone is saying what happened because it feels so real and leaves a lasting impression. Most the stories in the world today are stories that were passed down through oral tradition. During the time period that pertained to Native American tribes they had similar traditions to one’s today. One of the types of stories these natives would recite to their family and friends were creation myths. A creation myth is a story that explains how people thought the world came to be. Although they are referred to as myths, they are actually what people believed in at the

Fairchild, M. (2013, January 4). The Creation Story - Bible Story Summary. About.com Christianity. Retrieved from http://christianity.about.com/od/biblestorysummaries/p/creationstory.htm

The term creation myth can be perplexing because the word doesn't enchantment out what is fashioned. Creation myth refers to whichever the formation of the cosmos or the formation of mankind and theology. In Greek legends, the conception of the planet begins with the formation of the different teachings of Gods. In this case, Gods refers to the

We now see these theories as inaccurate, due to the fact that they have been replaced by newer scientific models. In a modern light, it can be stated that creation myths describe not the origin of our cosmos but rather these myths allow us to gain a broader understanding of ancient theories and beliefs. During the time of their invention however, these myths were precisely an honest interpretation of the outer world, and therefore they served the exact purpose which is stated in their title, to explain the process of creation.

Although there are a great number of creation myths that are propagated by people of Chinese descent, virtually all of them acknowledge Pan Gu. Those that due generally state that Pan Gu was the first being and that all existence in the universe especially the earth and the heavens is comprised of this being. The general story of Pan Gu begins with his conception inside of an egg. In that egg is the yin and the yang, the notion of duality which brings an eternal harmony and balance to life. The egg is a cosmic egg, one of the very first things in existence. Most tradition regarding Pan Gu contends that he matures within his egg for 18,000 years prior to bursting out of it (some traditions say he utilizes an ax for this purpose).

The mystical, cosmological, and sociological details of creation myths serve an informative purpose for early mankind. In the myth, “Zulu Creation” each mystical, cosmological, and sociological detail served a purpose to the people. Early humans believed in these forces and held them so sacred. It informs others how Unkulunkulu created such powerful mystical, cosmological, and sociological forces.

A creation story or myth is usually one that aims to dictate how the world was created. Though these stories vary among cultures, religions, and nations, some are more popular than others. In Hinduism, for instance, creation stems from the creator, called Brahma. However, the creator is portrayed in various forms and Brahma has become less important than the other two members of the Hindu trinity, Shiva and Vishnu (Leeming 35). It is believed that Brahma creates the world from various forms of himself. This is essentially the ideality that Hindu’s idea of creation portrays different Gods/ avatars, correctly known as deities. Another creation story that has higher popularity in America originates from the Bible. The traditional Judeo-Christian

A Creation Myth is defined as “a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it”. Creation myths can be found in all aspects of human history from Ancient Egyptians, to Native Americans to modern day humans. Early humans used stories to explain the world around them. Some use animals, disasters and or even gods to explain why the earth is here. “How the World Was Made” is a creation myth because it explains the creation of the earth, explains how the natural world works and gives reasons to many social customs.

People are always intrigued by the origin of the world around them because it so unknown to them. Myths help fill this sense of emptiness and curiosity by providing a true set of beliefs to follow. Creation myths, like Genesis, provide the “ultimate truth” for questions such as how was the Earth formed and how did the animals, plants, and people come to be. “So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name” (Genesis 2: 19). It explains how we named the creatures and objects of the world. It also focuses on the things we know today as common knowledge and how we as a human race came to acknowledge it. The world did not just create itself, it is dependent on some higher force to exist. In the case of Genesis, the world is dependent of God to

A creation myth is a narrative that says how the world became and how people came to inhabit the earth. A regular myth is known to be fake, but people actually believe creation myths. In the story “How the World Was Made”, it is explained how the Indians believe the earth became. The earth is explained to be an island with four cords attached that hang from the sky vault. If the cords were to ever break, the island would fall into the ocean and never return. The Indians are afraid of this happening. “How the World Was Made” is a creation myth considering that it follows all of the criteria of a creation myth; describes how the universe, earth and life began, explains the workings of the natural world, and supports and validates