...Creation Myths Kimberly L. Moore HUM/105 World Mythology Diana Bernstein February 1, 2016 Creation Myths * I have chosen the “Greek Creation Myth,” and the “Mayan Creation Myth.” * In the “Mayan Creation Myth,” the heavens and the earth are both represented. The elements of earth are: day, moon and stars, mountains and hills, streams and rivers, animals, and human beings. The heavens are represented by Veracocha’s retreat to Lake Titcaca, from which he emerges in the beginning of the myth. It also describes a sea world as the god and his companions retreat to the coast of the sea, in the end of the myth, never to be seen again (Rosenberg p. 599) In the “Greek Creation myth,” earth, the sky world, and underworld are all represented. The earth is made from the earth Goddess, Gaia. The sky, and its starry mantle are Uranus, Gaia’s husband. The underworld is a place that contains the deepest, darkest depths of the earth, but also the “Blessed Isles,” a beautiful place where the heroes go when they die (University of Phoenix, 2015). * The creator in the Mayan creation myth is Lord Con Ticci Viracocha, “prince of the heavens and the earth” (Rosenburg p.599). Viracocha created the heavens and the earth first. Then, he created the animals and a race of “gigantic human beings” (Rosenburg p.571). He was displeased with the behaviors of the animals and humans, turned them into stone, and flooded the earth killing all of its inhabitants. He began again by creating day...
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...Cosmic Creation Myths Across Cultures Edward Jones Hum/105Class May 30, 2014 Christa Menninger This essay will go into detail about how creation myths may affect our many different cultures around the world. I hope to explain how these types of myths are an important part of our cultures throughout our country and world. In many instances these types of myths does have an impact of the people who live in the many different countries of the world. I have had a very hard time in believing in myths, stories, fables, folklore, and have never really thought about them up until now. By taking this class I hope to open my mind, and yours to the possibilities of myths and the involvement it plays in our culture, and other cultures around the world. The first myth that I chose for this assignment is The Navajo Creation Myth. The reason I chose this myth is because I am interested in the myths that surround the United States, and the cultures within this country. The Navajo people were believed to be hunter-gatherers, and these people had migrate from the eastern part of Alaska. These people migrated to what we now know as New Mexico, and this migration was all done on foot, and I for one would have not traveled over the 3,500 miles of uncharted territory by foot. Navajo people were either forced to move or there were circumstances that came up that made them have to move. Knowing that the Navajo people are an important part of our history and culture, it is also important...
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...The myths within different cultures cosmic creation 105 6/29/2015 Dr. AMBRONITA DOUZART The myths within different cultures cosmic creation With the stories of the myths creations, they have told to generation-to-generation. To give a clear understand, of the world how it started. Also created to what it has become now. It explains the reasons of how the human being created, in came to function on in the world. With these myths different cultures, have their stories to tell of myths as such. The two creations myths that I will be discussing is the Navajo. The Inca, they are signifying as the world that is on the earth with the moon. The sun elements of animals, fire, trees, water all symbolize the world Navajo also the Inca. With the Incan, believe the sun created the world, also who created the world. For the Navajo the sun, just like it created for the Inca. With both of these creators, they all made worlds for the people within their society the main, reason with both the Inca Navajo creators. For the creators of both of these societies, they have different methods of making the world. Also within Both the Inca and the Navajo, the creators gender is a man, not women. For the reason, women were not the symbol, of power and valued, as men would be in these cultures as creators. With the Navajo society world The Pachacamer is the Inca maker, of the maker of people. Although the myths of the Navajo maker has already started creating people,...
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...Cosmic Creation Myths Across Cultures Cosmic Creation Myths Across Cultures Every culture has a myth that has been told about the development of that particular culture. For example how beings first got on earth, how they were created, how the earth and sky were created and even how the animals were created. The Navajo culture resides over the areas of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. The Egyptian culture resides in Egypt which is located in northeastern Africa. The Navajo and Egyptian creation myths share some similarities and also some differences. Both of these creation myths go into to extensive detail about the cycle of creation. The creator for the Egyptian Atum was neither male nor female. The significance of his gender was that he could join himself to produce his own children. Atum joined with his shadow to give birth to his son Shu whom he had spit up and made the god of air. Atum also gave birth to a daughter Tefnut whom he had vomited up and made god of mist and moisture. While the Egyptian creation myth goes into detail about how the creator Atum created his children the Navajo creation myth does not. It is told that when the Navajos came out of the first world they consisted of six beings. Begochiddy child of the sun was the creator of all things and his beings were first man, first woman, salt woman, fire god, and coyote. The development of these two cultures differs because they Navajo went through many different underworlds before finding stability while...
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...Cosmic Creation Myths Across Cultures Jessica McTavish HUM 105 January 21, 2013 Roxanne Russell Cosmic Creation Myths Across Cultures Myths are everywhere and so it seems there are many different cultures have their own beliefs of how they were created. There is a significant amount of importance of how certain cultures worlds were created and what they need to continue to believe so that nothing changes with the cycles of how they live. The creators of the myths that are with the different cultures have Gods that they praise and believe in so that they have what they need and if they would not worship the creators there would be problems the people would have to face. Inca Creation Pachacamac was the brightest creator that the Incans worship and follow. Pachacamac is the sun and he was the brightest in the sky that no one could see anything else. The night skies were very dark so he created the stars, plants and the moon, which the moon was Pachamama and she became his wife. Pachacamac and Pachamama created a son and daughter which were created out of pity to help the people. The son helped teach the people how to plow and plant the fields and how to build houses. The daughter taught the women the art of weaving and how to prepare food. The children spoke highly of Pachacamac and the rules, along with be fair and kind to one another and to not forget their creator. With everything they were taught all Inca cities were divided into northern and southern halves, representing...
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...Cosmic Creation Myths Across Cultures Kelly Holliday University of Phoenix HUM/105 Cecelia Weber November 5, 2013 Cosmic Creation Myths Across Cultures The Inca and Navajo myths represent a world on earth. On earth the elements of sun, moon, water, fire, trees, and animals are all represented within the Inca and Navajo worlds. The creator for the Navajo world is the sun as were the Incan world creator is a derivative of the sun. Each creator provides a world for its people. This is the main concept for each creator, but this process is done in very different ways. The creators are perceived to be male in both worlds. It does not appear women play an important role unless given leadership from the creator. The Incan creator, named Pachacamac, created humans as to where the Navajo creation myth already had the first beings in the world. The Navajo world consisted of the first beings, which they named the first men, first women, salt women, fire god, coyote, and Begochiddy. Navajo’s Begochiddy, who is also the Child of the Sun, is the creator of all elements and other worlds for the first beings. Pachacamac, the creator for the Incas, was lonely at night so he created stars, planets, and the moon. Pachacamac created such a beautiful moon, he then falls in love and marries his moon. The significance of gender is the ability to the produce life to other beings and elements. He goes on to create mankind out of stone. The mankind he creates is pitiful and unable to care for...
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...Cosmic Creations Myths Across Cultures Theresa Buff HUM 105 November 29, 2014 Cheryl Anderson Cosmic Creations Myths across Cultures For this paper I chose the Navajo and the Zulu creation myths. Navajo because they are widely known to the Americas. Zulu I picked because I liked the name. After reading a little about their cultures I became more interested in them. The myths of their creations seem to be far from the myths most of us were told for our creations. The Navajo and the Zulu believed in their worlds being the earth. The Navajo traveled worlds by the reeds and the Zulu people and all their things were a product of the reeds. The beings with the Navajo were the elements, First man and woman, Salt Woman, Fire God, Coyote and Begochiddy, and the child of the Sun. The elements of the Zulu Uthlana which was the source of all things. It was a seed that grew a reed that produced the creator that fell to earth and created all things. All elements came from reeds. The creator for the Zulu according to the myth was Unkulunkulu. It was said that he was a man and he was the creator of all things. He was grown from the reed and fell to the earth. He broke off the people from the reeds and the medicine men and their dreams. He pulled off cattle and fish and birds and fierce creatures. It was said that Unkulunkulu created everything we see around us today like mountains and streams rain and sun and moon. The only destroyer for the Zulu was death. The Navajo...
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...culture has their own perception of creation, that perception is told through the cultures myths. The two myths that will be discussed in this paper are Egyptian creation and Zulu creation. The paper will discuss how the different creations are characterized along with the legends and the components of those myths. Egyptian Creation Egyptian creation signifies earth, sky, dark and waters. They believed that in the beginning the only thing that existed was dark watery abyss of chaos that was called nun or nu. As the waters of the great Nile gave birth to life through the muddy Earth, Bebben came out of the num. Benben is a mound that is shaped like a pyramid. Once the pyramid emerged it was the first place where the sun rose for the first time and produced light. It was also said that the pyramid was the place where the first god, Atum stood. Atum was not male or female but he created life by using the female part in him to create Shu, which is the god of air and his sister Tefnut, which is the goddess of moisture and fertility. Some people believe that they were created by sneezing and spitting. Shu is the sound of sneezing and Tef is the sound of spitting. Tef and Shu had two children the Sky Goddess Nut and Earth God Geb. While Geb layed down to form the Earth Nut the Sky Goddess was forming the sky. Zulu Creation The Zulu culture myth is from South Africa, which is considered to be the biggest group in Africa. The Zulu creation myth signifies Earth, sun, moon as gods...
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...names and ideas of a myth and mythology. What they created were tales that are now known as myths. “A myth is a story based on tradition” (“Myths and Heroes” PBS.). Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines myth as, “a usually traditional l story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon.” (Def.1a). These myths described the values and feelings that bounded members of society. The stories explained,...
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...The myth ¨A Blackfoot Legend¨ came from the tribe named Blackfoot (siksika). They got the name for the dark colored moccasins they wore.They lived on the Great Plains of Montana and Canadian provinces. The tribe originally came from Asia and later moved to northern Montana. The Blackfoot people still live there today, a total of around 25,000. Blackfoot is a common Native American group. One of the most common chiefs was Crowfoot, who lead the people in Canada during the 19th century. He created peace between the Blackfoot nation and the Canadian government. The culture for the Blackfoot people was not much different then the culture today; the kids played and hunted for food. Women were more respected. They took care of the house and the children. Men...
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...Creation Myths Across Cultures Angie Laird HUM/105 - World Mythology Class Group: BSDH16JHC0 University of Phoenix Online Instructor: Gerald Grudzen February 11, 2013 Comparing and contrasting creation myths The two creation myths chosen to compare and contrast focuses on the Norse culture of Iceland Vikings and the Genesis creation of the Hebrew origin of Christian culture. Both creation myths begin with an empty void where chaos or conflict develops. The Norse myth narrates a conflict between the fiery realm of Muspell and the dark, cold realm of Niflheim within the emptiness called ginnungagap and where nothing could grow. The Genesis conflict was between God and nothing, loneliness, and the need to create something beautiful. There are specifically nine classifications of creation myths and many employ more than one motif. Genesis cosmogonies apply both the deus faber and ex nihilo motifs. The story often considered the ex nihilo myth, meaning "out of nothing" is the account in the first book of the Old Testament, Genesis, of God's creation in six days by speaking into existence light and darkness, sun and moon, stars and earth, plants and animals, and birds and fish. God then generates Adam in His image from the dust and breathes life into him and Eve was formed from one of Adam's ribs, therefore combining deus faber (the "maker-God") with ex nihilo motifs. The Nordic creation myths tend to combine accretion/conjunction, secretion, and sacrifice motifs. It features...
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...the word “myth” is generally used to describe urban legends. Urban legends are false stories, told as if they were true, and passed on to others. Myth, in this context, is defined as stories that undergo a series of events sharing characteristics of legends and folktales. These stories, present themselves in our everyday lives through fictional characters, such as Tooth Fairy or Cupid. In an academic setting, the word “myth” is used to describe ancient narratives that attempt to answer the enduring and fundamental human questions such as creation (Leonard & McClure, p. 1, 2004). The word mythology is derived from both Greek words mythos and logos. The academic study of mythology could be described as the logical thinking used to produce mythical thinking; hence mythos forms the structure in which logos is employed. I would describe myths as an unexplainable or unknown actual event created by individuals to make sense of the unknown. Creation is a perfect example of this. Cultures around the world have different Myths. They all share the basic human desire to understand life and its meaning. Claude Lévi-Strauss expresses similar sentiments about myth’s functions when he postulates that myths serve to mediate conflicting or dualistic elements of society and life and conflicting nature of human beings are same around the world. (Leonard & McClure, p. 18, 2004). Creation is one of the most popular myths. Most cultures have a creation myth. The cultures...
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...Greek Mythology Intro Greek mythology is the myths and legends the ancient Greeks centered their lives around. The ancient Greeks used these myths to explain the events and components of the world around them. Their religion included gods and heroes, creation stories, and the origins of their civilizations and rituals. It is topic that had been studied and examined in great depth for thousands of years. This fascinating religion's messages and influences are reflected in today’s modern society, and many similarities can be found between Greek mythology and modern religions, such as Christianity. The twelve Olympian Gods and their Myths To begin with, many of the beliefs that the Ancient Greeks believed in were based on the Olympians. The Olympians were a group of twelve gods who ruled after they overthrew the Titans. All of the Olympians are related in some way and they were named after their dwelling, Mount Olympus. The three major gods are Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. Their father, Kronos, was the leader of the Titans, he was cruel and was so determined not to lose his throne that he ate his children alive. But one child, Zeus was spared because his mother, Rhea, fed Krono’s a rock disguised as a baby instead of Zeus himself. Zeus defeated his father by chopping him up into little pieces and scattering his remains across the world. Then Zeus released all of Krono’s children that his father had eaten. These gods were Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Demeter, and...
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...ENH251 World Mythology: Lesson 1 Assignments 1 & 2 Due 3/30/2013 Assignment 1 Read the foreword in your textbook on pages 8 and 9. Then, answer the following questions, using three or four sentences. a. As you begin this course, you undoubtedly have an idea of what a “myth” is. Your textbook’s editor, however, tells you that in Campbell’s view, “Any good story . . . can teach us something, but only certain beguiling visions, stories with the power to shape and control our lives, can inspire and, far too often, destroy us.” These “potent timeless tales” are the only ones he would consider true myths. What about these stories do you think would make them potent? What would make them timeless?--Answer below: What makes these stories potent are the lives these people had. Their journeys through trials, love, and adversity that brought them closer to the true understanding of themselves and the world around them. What makes these stories timeless is how they were told and how the characters were portrayed. They stir up something in us that give us a glimpse into ourselves and makes us want to share these stories fro generations to come.b. Campbell also said that, “Every myth . . . is symbolic. Its narratives and images are to be read, therefore, not literally, but as metaphors.” How would you define the difference between reading something literally as opposed to reading it as a metaphor? Then, as an example, explain the following sentence first literally and then metaphorically:...
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...Foundations of Mythology Oatis Henry HUM 105 April 9, 2015 DR. Sigrid Koepke-Fruend Popularly the word “myth is used to describe urban legends or stories that are not true but told by someone to as if they were true. Academically, the word myth is used to describe ancient narratives that tries to answer human questions such as how the world was created or how the human race what created. The word mythology comes from Greek words such as mythos and logos. Mythology can be described as logical thinking. I would describe myths as an unexplainable or unknown actual event created by individuals to make sense of the unknown such as creation of the universe. Cultures around the world have different myths that all share the basic human desire to understand life and its meaning. Creation is one of the most popular myths that these cultures share. The cultures utilize their surroundings and cultural backgrounds to help the citizens understand the unknown since we all have different backgrounds, it makes sense the stories would differ however, the premise of the story will remain the same. The most unusual creation myth I have come across is the Chinese legend of Pan Gu, Nü Wa and the cosmic egg. While the story is odd for me, it has the overall same purpose as the "big bang theory" or "God created the world in seven days" theory. They all share the same desire to explain the unexplainable. Belief, religion, knowledge, and mythology differ however, they have overlapping characteristics...
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