Creation Myths Research Paper

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

When the modern person ponders the formation of human beings, our mind automatically goes to Adam and Eve, whom were the first man and woman created by God according to the Book of Genesis. Before there was Adam and Eve, diverse cultures came up with myths about the construction of humans. These myths included: “The Song of Creation” from the Rig Veda, An African Creation Tale, From the Popol Vuh, and A Native American Creation Tale “How Man Was Created” Each one of these legends gives a diverse perspective on the creation of human beings.

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.

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 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.

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

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.

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

Creation myths play an important role in our culture and even modern day society. They give us something to believe in when the unknown seems daunting. Ontological yearning is the need to know why, and not just accept what is. This is why we not only need creation myths, and myths in general, but actually seek them out. We find every possible reason to believe in them so that we are not faced with the unknown. This is the beauty of myths, we know that they are not true, they cannot be proven scientifically, or even logically, but they explain the unknown to us. It is because of this that we are so quick to believe them as if they are fact.

Throughout history, different Native American tribes, such as the Apache, Iroquois, and Navajo people, have produced a variety of accounts of creation that perpetuated their own long-held beliefs. Native Americans have used tales to explain life's mysteries, improve their way of life, and uphold their own cultural identity. The diverse cultures have manipulated these creation stories to be told to fit customs and traditions, which revealed their beliefs about the creation of the world, the presence of the first people, the role of humans in the universe, and the accomplishments of gods and heroes. " They were strands woven together in the various tales and stories that defined peoples' identity and gave order and meaning to their lives. The most serious of these were myths about how the gods created and ordered the universe and about the origins of important things

Indians were the first inhabitants of the current United States. When Europeans traveled over, most of them annihilated Indians, but some accepted and mingled with them. Today many stories that we believe in and tell correspond with Native American myths. The Indians passed on their ways and stories through the years and today they are still here. We may not have the same ways and cultures as the Indians but we definitely took some of their ideas to the present. The customs and culture of current life has evolved greatly from Indians of the past, including their religions, and ways of life.

Origin myths explain the mysteries of the world and answer the question of how the earth was created and humans purpose on earth. Each culture has a different myth; in these myths, generally, the gods or the god created mankind, earth, animal, and heaven. Many of these stories present the gods with a paternalistic attitude toward the human species. The gods care for humans and provide them with essential items needed for survival. Also, the gods castigate mankind when the human race was mischievous.

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.

A persons ancestors were seen as friendly powers in a world were there was danger. The deceased person’s possessions were left to their children. Pharaohs ordered armies of servants to build temples filled with priests in charge of offerings and setting up police incase of the tomb being robbed. On the festive of the gods their idols were taken out of their sanctuaries, put on boats and rode to a near-by temple.

Many cultures have different interpretations of how the world first began. How civilization began has been the age old question since mankind started. In our text book there are many stories and examples of what people believed how man was created and many of the myths are very similar. The similarity I noticed the most was the fact the earth started out dark and being primarily covered in water. As the textbook also stated that science can even back up the theories of the earth starting covered in water which is very fascinating. It is interesting how many of the myths also include that creating the earth was a huge extensive process it did not just go “poof” and “ta-da” mankind is here. Evolution in our society can prove that mankind was very much a process and took over millions of years to create man. The two examples of creation myths I found the most similar were “The Song of Creation” and the “Popol Vuh,” the both started with complete darkness and water and evolution can also back up these