Creation Myth

·         Creation Myths

·         Amma and Nummo Prepare the World

• Nigeria, Africa – Dogon Tribe
• Type of Myth: Secretion Myth

·         The Story

• Amma rapes Earth-Mother through anthill; results in Jackal
• Amma creates Nummo pair through intercourse with Earth

·         The Story

• Jackal incestuously rapes Earth-Mother
• Amma rejects her
• Nummo self-propagate into 8 ancestors
• 7^th ancestor falls from grace, urinates to purify world

·         The Creation, from The Eddas

• Iceland – Norse Myth
• Type of Myth: Secretion and Sacrifice Myth

·         The Story

• Ymir - frost giant: perspires out first man, woman, and cow
• Ymir’s descendants kill him and use his body to create the Earth
• Flesh = earth ; bones =mountains; blood= lakes
• Gods create Asgard- a sort of heaven

·        
From Chaos to King Zeus, from Hesiod's Theogony

• Type of Myth
•  Accretion
• Conjunction
• Theogony
• Genuine mythic consciousness

·         Gods

• Chaos (Kronos)
• Gaia
• Ouranos
• Eros

·         The Beginning

• CHAOS-->EREBOS-->BLACK NIGHT
• NIGHT-->AIR & DAY (Children)
• A God is in love with EROBOS
• GAIA (earth) birth to OURANOS
• GAIA birth to High Mountains
• Nymphs lived in the mountain valley
  
  

·         Born Gods from GAIA:

• PONTOS + OURANOS = OCEAN
• KIOS & KRIOS
• HYPERION & LAPETOS 
• THEIA & RHEA
• THEMIS & MNEMOSYNE
• PHOEBE
• TETHYS
  
  

·         Lessons to be Learned

• Most dreadful God=KRONOS
• KRONOS overcomes his father OURANOS
• ZEUS overcomes his father KRONOS

·         The Creation of Ulligara and Zalgarra.

• Sumarian Myth
• Iraq: The tablets of the myth were found approximately 800BCE
• Type of Myth: Secretion / Sacrifice

·         Gods Who Represent the Four Elements

• Anu (god of air and sky)
• Enlil (god of the storms and earth)

·         Gods

• Shamash (god of sun and fire)
• Ea (god of water)
• Anunnaki (destiny)

·         The Creation of Ulligara and Zalgarra.

• Gods kill 2 Lagma Gods in order to create humankind.
• The blood of slain Lagma Gods = ingredient for the creation.
• Ulligara (the establisher of abundance) and Zalgarra (establisher of plenty) created.

·         Reason For Creation

• Creating  humans to do the God’s daily labor
• Build temples/shrines
• Grow crops/tend fields
• Raise livestock
• Celebrate the Gods with offerings

·         Creation Myth from the Vishnu Purana

• Hindu (Indian)
• From Vedic texts – Puranas
• Type of Myth: Division/Consummation; Earth-Diver

·         Vishnu

• The Supreme Being
• Avatars: many forms/names

·         Brahma

• Brahma: self-born in the lotus flower
• Other interpretations:
• born in water /  a seed that became the golden egg.
• Remains of the golden egg expanded into the Universe.

·         Creation Myth from the Vishnu Purana

·         Popul Vuh

• Mayan Creation Myth
• Type of Myth : Deus Faber (“The Maker God”)

·         The Story

• Dual creator - three attempts to create man.
• 1^st attempt: man out of clay but rain comes-washed away.
• 2^nd attempt : man out of wood but no mind, no hearts -wiped by flood.

·         The Story

• 3^rd attempt: grind corn and shaped it but too perfect
• Outcome: decided to remake the corn-made man - impairing their eye sight and understanding

·         Popul Vuh

·         Genesis

• Hebrew – Middle East
• Type of Myth:
• Deus Faber
• Ex Nihilo (Out of Nothing)
• Seen in many religions:
• Islam, Christianity, Catholicism, and Judaism

·         Genesis

• God “speaking into existence” = Universe
• God creates mankind - out of the dust = Adam 
• Adam in Eden
• Banished to Earth

·         Bibliography

·         "HINDU CREATION MYTH." The Hindu Creation Myth. Web. 05 Oct. 2012. <http://www.read-legends-and-myths.com/hindu-creation-myth.html>.

·         Leeming, David A. Creation Myths of the World:  An Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. : ABC-CLIO, 2010. 52+. Print.

·         McClure, Michael. "Creation Myths." Myth & Knowing: An Introduction to World Mythology. By Scott Leonard. New York: McGraw Hill, 2004. 32-101. Print.