Transcript Creation Myths

Creation Myths
Chaos, Eggs and Earth-Divers
What does a Creation Myth do?
• Explains how the world comes into being
• Builds up a world-view, a hierarchy of
values, “first things first”
• Often explains how and why bad things
happen and tell us who to blame
• Patterns of divine/human interaction
establish models for ethics
Chaos
The disorder of formless matter and
infinite space,
supposed to have existed before the
ordered universe
The Yoruba Tribe (Nigeria)
In the beginning, water was everywhere. The god
Olurun sent Obatala down from above to create land
out of the Chaos.
The gods argued over the equality of their rule and
these arguments created disharmony and chaos.
Peace returned between the ruler of the sky and the
ruler of the sea, and that peace restored order in the
universe.
This crown embodies the ideals of political and personal
stability, refuge for the oppressed and salvation. It also
gave the wearer the ability to unite with the ancestors.
Yoruba Mask
This veil obscured
the king’s features
to protect men and
women from looking
directly at his face
when he was united
with his powerful
ancestors.
These birds
signify a divine
force called ashe’the power to make
things happen.
they also symbolize
the king’s power.
This power includes a
group of elderly
women who can turn
into night birds who
punish those who
are arrogant, selfish
or otherwise immoral.
Yoruba Mask
The face represents
the god Oduduwa,
and unites the spirit
world of the ancestors
with the earthly world
of the king and
his people.
The projection from
the head symbolizes
spiritual power. It often
contained a pouch of
herbal medicines that
gave the crown its
power. Even the king
would not look into his
own crown for fear of
being blinded by the
Spirits.
The Navajo Tribes
The Navajo creation myth contains many forms of
chaos.
In the beginning was a Black World which consisted of a small area of
solid land surrounded by burning resin.
The myth contains four consecutive worlds, with each world
ending in a form of chaos, causing its people to move onward
Each consecutive move created a more and more civilized society,
ending in the fourth world; a world of respect for all living things.
The number four is sacred in Navajo culture, with four seasons, four
directions, four winds and the progression through the four worlds.
Ketoh
The designs on this
ketoh emphasize the
Navajo values of order,
harmony and simplicity.
It also evokes the
topography of the Navajo
creation story.
Ketoh’s often have an
emphatic center,
recalling the sacred
place from which the
first Navajo emerged
from the giant reed into
this world.
In the Navajo creation story,
order was brought out of
chaos in the first and fourth
world by dividing them into
four quadrants, marking
each with a mountain.
Order and harmony are
further evoked through the
careful balance of curved
lines, symbolizing the
female ideal of activity,
and straight lines,
symbolizing the male ideal
of stasis.
The Cosmic Egg
Significance
• The “cosmic egg” signifies the origins of
conscious life.
• On the surface, the egg dramatizes the starting
existence in the womb.
• Breaking out of the “egg” achieves a conscious,
separate existence.
• On a scientific scale, the cracking open of the
egg echoes the theme of the Big Bang while the
shape of the egg connects with Einstein’s theory
of curved space.
Chinese
• P’an Ku broke free from
his egg and separated
the heavens and the
earth
• The light parts of the egg,
the “yang” rose and
formed the heavens.
• The heavy parts of the
egg, the “yin” sank and
formed the earth.
• P’an Ku dies and his
body becomes the
features of the earth.
Yin and Yang
The yin and yang elements of the creation story
represent the structure of the Chinese family.
Yin, the half that sinks, in Chinese culture is
thought of as female and submissive in nature.
Therefore, the females in Chinese culture also
should be submissive.
Yang, the half that rises, in Chinese culture is
thought of as male and the aggressive principle
in nature.
Therefore, the men of Chinese society should be
aggressive and thereby dominant in the family.
Indian
• In the creation myth,
Vishnu awakens in the
form of Brahma, creator
of life on earth.
• Brahma breaks open “the
egg” to begin the process
of rebirth.
• The egg, like the womb,
brings life which is the
beginning of the repetitive
cycle from creation to
disintegration to
dissolution to re-creation.
Earth Diver Myths
• Scientific evidence has shown that at one point parts of
the earth that are now dry were covered with water.
• This fact is alluded to in the earth diver myths which
consist of a being diving into the water and earth being
brought to the surface to become land.
• Predominant symbols of earth diver myths include:
– Water as the unformed, pure element out of which the universe
develops.
– Descent into the dark waters, which parallels descent into the
underworld or return to the womb as an experience of renewal.
– Return to light with the “germs” of creation as well as knowledge
to change the world.
Iroquois and Huron Creation
• Both myths include a
“Sky Woman” who fell to
earth.
• Caught by birds, the
woman was transported
to a turtle’s back for
safety.
• Water creatures dove
deep to bring up earth in
order to make land for the
woman.
Sky Woman Images
Final Purpose
• These myths include many of the following
explanations:
– The origin of earth and its people
– Establishes the central relationships among
people, the cosmos or universe
– Distinguishes gender roles and social
organization
– Tells of the origins of distinctive aspects of
significant social institutions and activities.