Creation Myths

949 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Comparison of creation myths

Before science, in ancient times people used creation myths to explain the origin of the universe. Since we humans are and always have been very curious creatures, at all times we always needed explanations and answers about the universe. These early humans made stories and creation myths to appreciate where their precious resources and where they, “ came from.” Since creation myths and stories do not have any scientific backing, with people using only what they know of, these are called, “masks”. “Masks,” refer to what humans perceive the universe of vs. what it actually is. There are many creation myths about the origin of the earth, why it is round and not flat, why it is three fourths water, etc. One creation myth is about coyote and …show more content…

In the beginning it is dark with no stars or sun, and there is only water. Turtle had asked Earth Initiate for dry land, so humans could survive when Earth Initiate made them. Earth initiate agreed to help turtle and lowered turtle into the water with a rope to grab land. It took turtle six years, and when he finally came up he was covered in green slime. Earth Initiate took a knife and scraped the earth from turtle’s nails. He put it in his hand and rolled it into a sphere, and placed it onto a raft. The earth didn’t grow instantly, but in time it grew so enormous that there were mountains as far as he could see. At the end the raft ends up in Tadoiko, where it can still be seen …show more content…

No matter where we come from our families always have stories to share about what they know, they usually have no scientific evidence or backing, but it is culture and traditional values. Native Americans always have a creator, usually Earth Maker or Earth Initiate whom they worship and give thanks to. They use these stories to teach their children and their children’s children to appreciate what they have. They want to believe that these precious resources, such as water, land, and food came from someone. Although they are not physically visible, they believe that the mighty creator is still watching over and protecting

Show More
Related

  • Comparing Enuma Elish And The Mayan Creation Myth

    1004 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most cultures have a creation myth, a story of how humans came to exist in the world. Often, they involve Gods of some capacity who exist without much question or explanation. Many myths have a common idea for the origin of the world, like Earth being born from water, a golden egg, or a great monster. The Mayan creation myth and the Babylonian creation myth are similar in that they both begin with water, and account the creation and purpose of man. They also differ, as the Mayan Popol Vuh chronicles a peaceful tale of trials to forge the Earth and sentient beings to worship the gods, while the Babylonian Enuma Elish tells of wars between gods that lead to the creation of Earth and of man as a servant to the gods.

    Read More

  • The World On Turtle's Back Genesis Similarities

    687 Words  | 2 Pages

    The World on Turtle’s Back is a creation myth written by the Iroquois, a Native American Tribe. As I read this myth, I realized the many parallels to the Book of Genesis from the Bible. Upon further analysis, it is evident that The World on Turtle’s Back has a multifarious amount of similarities to the Book of Genesis. There are multiple parallels and similarities between the two myths, while there are some noticeable differences between the two that don’t necessarily match up.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Ambiquois And Genesis

    1148 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Genesis chapter 1:2 God 's spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters." before God changed anything water existed on the Earth. In the sky tree it says that "In the beginning, earth was covered in water." so water had always been on Earth since the start. In the creation story in How the World Was Made it states " in the long time ago, when everything was all water" once again water was before anything else. Another way that these creation stories are similar is that the land came from beneath or was brought up above the water. In Genesis 1:9 "God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear '" here God pulled the water away from some land and it became dry and livable. The Sky Tree depicts that "all of the water animals began to dive down and bring up soil... and placed the soil on Turtle 's back." this is what created the

    Read More

  • Spiritual Beliefs and Customs of Native American Tribes

    529 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many Native American tribes share different spiritual and cultural views on the aspect of life. Belief in God and the things he created depend on what tribe you belong to. Tribes like the Onondaga and the Modoc have several stories that inform us regarding their religious customs and beliefs. The origin myths were written to point out the beliefs among tribes. “The Earth on Turtle’s Back” and “When Grizzlies Walked Upright” provides us with examples of what the Onondaga and Modoc tribes believed in. Since September, we have been learning about the different views of God that tribes have and all the different customs that take place within their cultures. The origin myths that have been chosen along with the “Song of the Hiawatha” and the Part- Time Indian teach us the cultural aspect of the Native Americans.

    Read More

  • Comparing Creation Myths

    296 Words  | 1 Pages

    The creation myths that I have studied are similar in many ways. They also have differences that show an inherently different way of thinking about the world. All have creators-gods that make the world into what is now. There are conflicts within their world, and these conflicts change the face world. God to god or human to god maybe be involved in these conflicts. Their bloody struggles prove who is more powerful, causing change in the control of the world. Some gods are beneficial to man and others are self-serving, using man only as a tool.

    Read More

  • Creation Myths

    791 Words  | 2 Pages

    A common thread that connects most of these myths is the transformation of a seemingly perfect creation to imperfection. This devolution of life from a utopian existence to a dystopian existence varies from myth to myth, but each myth has it. I believe that creation myths contain these explanations because of a psychological desire all people possess. I believe that people desire to know why there is pain and suffering in the world just as much they desire to know the origin of life. Both of these things are essentially unexplainable.

    Read More

  • Evolution Vs Creationism Essay

    1121 Words  | 3 Pages

    Creation or evolution? Such a question holds significant importance to the human race, raising further questions such as where did we come from, how did we get here, and more importantly where are we, the human race, going and where will we end up? Creationism, as cited from Oxford Dictionary, is “The belief that the universe and living organisms originate from specific acts of divine creation, as in the biblical account, rather than by natural processes such as evolution,” answers in its very definition one of humanity 's great questions referring to our origin. A religion such as Christianity, stated by the Bible and religious doctrine has its own set of answers to our origin as a human race. Similarly, the theory of Evolution is, as stated by the Oxford dictionary “The process by which different kinds of living organism are

    Read More

  • Analyzing a Native American Hopi Creation Myth

    606 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ans. Religion and religious beliefs are primarily based on great foundational forces that generate and govern the world. From Ancient Greek times "myth" has had started developing. It actually means anything delivered by mouth. Greek philosophers constructed myth to mean a fanciful tale as opposed to true, others took myth as the word that conveys an original, primal state of things, as opposed to merely superficial, human words. Myth can appear as either merely imaginary or as profoundly true. Although in western culture myth is often used in a negative sense. Anthropologies found within the settings of tribal life that these communities had clear distinctions between stories of entertainment and sacred stories that defined the normative precedents by which their behavior was guided and on which their universe was founded. American Hopi culture, according to the text, Hopi creation is a Native American mythology. It uses some themes, the Spider Woman, The Sun God Tawa, and the division of parents into new creative forms, and creation by thought. Spider woman is associated with the earth. The sun god Tawa is associated with the divine spirit that gives light and life on earth and father of all that shall ever come. And the other is the most common native American theme, creation by thought. Another theme is the creation by song, that involves Ansazi-Hopi ritual song- danc...

    Read More

  • Mythology Essay

    515 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mythology is known as a collection of myths, mainly belonging to a specific religion or cultural tradition. Mythology is known worldwide and is passed down, usually orally, to the youth. Mythology cannot be proven to be completely true, due to the lack of verified written proof. The three in this section include; Hindu, Egypt, and African each has their own way of how the world was created.

    Read More

  • A Comparison of Two Creation Myths

    1617 Words  | 4 Pages

    Can religions and cultures be anything more than their history? Why do we have a concept of history in the first place? Obviously history exists, but like the human ability to conceive of the future, history seems to be a rare phenomenon tied with our ability for language and the telling of stories. What’s even more fascinating is the human ability to make up a history or to tell a story, such as a creation myth, that seeks to explain something that has not been witnessed by anyone and does not have any role in finding food or creating shelter. We do not have a physical need to know how the earth came to be or to know how it is that we came to be here. Still, creation stories exist in almost all human cultures and, amazingly, many share many of the same elements. The question is, why? Is it a coincidence that so many of them share the same elements? By looking at a comparison of two creation stories, we should be able to understand the meaning of these similarities better.

    Read More

  • Comparisons of Creation Myths

    2080 Words  | 5 Pages

    Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. Campbell, Joseph. A. A. The Mask of God: A Creative Mythology. New York: Viking Press, Inc., 1968.

    Read More

  • Creation Myths: Compare And Differences Of Creation Myths

    1324 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Creation Story Vs Greek Mythology Essay

    746 Words  | 2 Pages

    There is no definite answer to how the world was created, each religion and culture has a different answer. The creation story is the telling of the development of the present world. These stories are derived from early oral tradition, that was passed down from generation to generation until they were written down. The stories vary on how the world came to be, some say it just emerged or it was created from chaos, or it came out of nothing. Some stories state that there is a world parent or a earth diver, that brought up mud from the bottom of the water to create land. Each one of theses variations have multiple creation myths attributed to them; so, there can be similarities between the different myths.

    Read More

  • Native American Folklore As Mythology

    1068 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout history, and all over the world, mythology has been developed as a way of explaining the unknown and coping with one’s existence. Why does the sun shine? Well, seemingly, to generations past, something is controlling the universe, so there must be a god in charge of the sun and many other natural phenomenon. During the creation of Native American myths, “there was much in the way of free-range food, but hunting wasn't as easy as getting up in the morning, taking a stroll and shooting a few passing bison with your bow” (Godchecker). Times were tough, “even Plains societies who lived off the prolific buffalo fell under the threat of starvation at times” (Godchecker). Finally, “when herds were found, the people were grateful and thanked the Gods profusely” (Godchecker). In Native American myths, “animals had powerful spirits and it was necessary to thank them and placate them if you wanted to make a meal of them” (Godchecker). They believed “you could see into the souls of the BEAVER, BADGER and Buffaloes as they went about their business,” or “feel the THUNDER-BIRD fixing the weather, and revel in the rascality of RAVEN, MANABOZHO and COYOTE with their tantalising tricks” (Godchecker). How can there be any doubt as to whether or not the Native American legends can be considered myths?

    Read More

  • Creationism Essay

    1111 Words  | 3 Pages

    The place of evolution in public schools is embedded in the cultural conflicts of American politics. This debate has been the center of the "culture wars" since the Scopes trial in the 1920s and remains to be a point of contention today. A 2005 poll reports that 38% of Americans would prefer teaching creationism instead of evolution, so divide is clearly significant (Berkman 485). The issue continues to spark questions of what "common" means in the context of separation of church and state.  To the extent that evolution is similar to other "morality policies," the battle has symbolic meaning for the mass public as well as strong implications for the power of science as a "social institution" (486). The trouble with the battle between secularists and creationists today is that it is often seen as a divide between religion and science. Failing to acknowledge any validity in the creationist argument reveals ignorance and further polarizes the nation. At the surface level, separation of church and state is simple enough: remove creationism entirely from public schools to avoid conflict. However, the moral implications are far deeper.

    Read More

More about Creation Myths

Open Document