GR11 Introduce World Creation Myths

GR11 Introduce World Creation Myths

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Ex Nihlo

Ex Nihilo, or creation from nothing, describes the category of mythological stories in which the universe blinks into existence from absolute nothingness. This usually occurs through the will of a deity, but it is also sometimes spontaneous or accidental.

Ex Nihilo

A common example of Ex Nihilo creation appears in Judaism, Christianity and Islam as the Genesis narrative. In these traditions, God creates the universe in six days through will alone, accompanied by the well-known words “Let there be light.”

Ex Nihilo

The Ancient Egyptians of Memphis possess a similar myth but offer a deeper explanation of the mechanism of creation. Ptah, the god of craft and architecture, was envisioned as the primary deity of the Memphites. They believed a master artisan could envision a perfect finished product before shaping the raw materials needed. Ptah’s mastery of craft was so great that as he envisioned the universe and began to name the things he imagined, they materialized into existence. This legend may have influenced Masonic thought, which regards the creator as a divine mason or architect.

Ex Nihilo

A more unique variant of Ex Nihilo creation comes from the mythological stories of the Kuba culture of Central Africa. Before the universe, there was only darkness and water, inhabited by the giant, pale god Mbombo. Eventually, Mbombo felt an intense pain out of nowhere, and vomited the sun, moon and stars into existence. The sun evaporated the water, creating the clouds and land. Mbombo felt better for some time, but soon became ill again, and vomited once more, this time creating all of the animals. In this schema, the creation did not occur through Mbombo’s will; rather his spontaneous nausea sparked the clockwork of creation.

Emergence

According to these stories, humans once traveled to the current universe from a different, often failed alternate universe. This is usually accomplished by only the most noble or pure humans, with the help of a deity. In other traditions, the “lower” worlds are regarded as incubation chambers necessary for birth into the impending “higher” worlds.

Emergence

The theme of emergence is especially common in First Nations cultures including the Navajo, Hopi, and Zuni. Emergence myths also tend to focus on feminine, maternal energy as the creative force. These tales frequently include an abstract, omnipresent earth mother figure that gives birth to existence. The earlier versions of the universe are described as the earth mother’s womb, nourishing souls before they are born into their next form.

Emergence

The Hopi culture of what is now the Southwestern United States teaches a cycle of creation through emergence. According to legend, we currently reside in the fourth iteration of the universe. In each previous version, the people began happy and kind. Over time, they became disobedient and reckless and could no longer live in peace. Then, the spider woman, the symbolic midwife of the all-encompassing earth mother, would come to lead the remaining noble people into the next universe which may be totally different. The previous would be destroyed along with all of its wickedness.

Emergence

Similarly, the Zuni creation myth involves a series of four worlds, with the addition of a fifth, the Daylight World, where we currently exist. In the Zuni narrative, the fourth world is deep underground in complete darkness. The people began long ago in the fourth world near the center of the earth. Over time, and with help from the deities, the priests learned the ability to create prayer sticks from the wood of a pine, aspen, and two spruces that grew in the fourth world. They used these prayer sticks to climb from the fourth world through the third, second, and first, finally emerging into the Daylight World.

Earth Diver

Common in Asian and First Nations folk systems, the earth diver myth describes a magical animal sent by the gods who dives into the primordial sea from the heavens to create the material world. These earth-diver creatures scour the depths of the sea and construct land, plants, and animals from the sea floor. The spirits or souls of humans and animals awaken to inhabit the mud and sand forms built by the earth diver.

Earth Diver

Among the Japanese indigenous Ainu people, the earth diver is often characterized as a water wagtail bird. The creator deity sends the bird down to the sea below, where it scatters the water with its wings and forms the islands with its feet. In other versions of the Ainu myth, the earth diver is a bear rather than a bird.

Earth Diver

In the Cherokee creation mythological stories, before there was land, there was only a sky realm and a primal sea. The water beetle that dwelled in the sky became curious what was below the sea, so he dove in. After swimming for some time, he desired a dry place to rest. He dove to the bottom and brought up bits of mud, building the island that would become the land itself.

Earth Diver

In Finnish mythological stories, the earth diver is combined with the cosmic egg trope. Before creation there was only the sky, the daughter of the sky Ilmatar, and the primal waters. Ilmatar dove into the primal waters to rest. She swam for 700 years, until she found a colorful bird circling in the sky looking for a place to land. She allowed the bird to land on her, and it laid six gold eggs and one iron egg on her knee. As it roosted on her and incubated the eggs, she grew uncomfortable, and shifted her leg. The eggs fell and broke. The shells formed the land, the whites formed the moon and stars, and the yolk became the sun.

World Parents

States that the world is created as the progeny of a primordial mother and father. The mother and father are symbols of earth and sky, respectively. In myths of this kind, the world parents generally appear at a late stage of the creation process; chaos in some way exists before the coming into being of the world parents.

Multiple Choice

Which creation myth features the planet emerging from water?

• World Parent

• Emergence

• Ex Nihlo

• Earth Diver

Multiple Choice

Which creation myth would this be an example of: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” (Genesis 1:1-2)

• World Parent

• Emergence

• Ex Nihlo

• Earth Diver

Multiple Choice

Which creation myth often begin with the world already fully formed but uninhabited?

• World Parent

• Emergence

• Ex Nihlo

• Earth Diver

Multiple Choice

Which creation myth would this be an example of: “From the lying together of Awitelin Tsita, the Four-Fold Containing Mother-Earth, and Apoyan Ta’chu, the All-Covering Father-Sky upon the great world waters, so vitalizing terrestrial life was conceived; whence began all beings of Earth, men, and creatures, in the Four-Fold Womb of the World.” ~Zuni, a southwestern American Indian tribe

• World Parent

• Emergence

• Ex Nihlo

• Earth Diver