Martinez, Angelo Nathaniel G.

IT GD Mythologies about the creation of the world The Bible In strong contrast with all other creation myths, theHebrewversion has a simplicity and confidence deriving from a rugged monotheism. The Old Testamentopens with a magnificently confident statement: 'In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.' This first chapter ofGenesis, in which the creation is described, is believed to be the work of priests in the 5th century BC. They give the impression of looking around them - to see what God needed to create - and then devising his programme. Since the sabbath is probably already sanctified as a day of rest, they need to fit the task into a working week of six days. The resulting programme is eminently practical, from the first moment when everything is void and dark yet also somehow awash with water. Day 1, separate light from darkness, day from night. Day 2, make space among the encircling waters by pushing up the vault of the sky. Day 3, divide the material beneath this vault into earth and sea; and on the earth let there be vegetation. Day 4, attention returns to the vault of heaven; create sun and moon and stars. Day 5, it is time for creatures in water and air; create fishes and birds. Day 6, earth too must be populated; create land animals of all kinds, and man in God's image to supervise the creatures. The task is done. God rests on the seventh day, and sanctifies it. Mesopotamian The story begins with two watery tumultuous beings, one male and one female, Apsu (sweet water) and Tiamat (salt water). From their union there come forth a variety of sea monsters and gods. In the ensuing chaos Tiamat, the female creator, tries to take control. Her descendants unite against her, choosing one of their number Marduk, the god of Babylon - to lead them. Armed with a hurricane and riding a tempest drawn by four fiery steeds, Marduk meets Tiamat and her evil accomplice Kingu in battle. He kills them both. He splits the monstrous corpse of Tiamat into two parts. From half of her he creates the heaven, from the other half the earth. In heaven he constructs a dwelling place for his colleagues, the gods. Realizing that they will need a race of servants, he uses the blood of Kingu to create the first man. This is followed by other necessary tasks, such as the creation of rivers, plants and animals.

Persian In ancient Persia (Iran), it was believed that the sky was the first part of the world to be created. It was described as a round empty shell made of rock crystal, passing beneath as well as above the earth. Water was created next, followed by the earth. In its original state, the earth was flat, with no valleys or mountains and the sun stood still at the noonday position. Then came plants and animals. Human beings were the sixth creation, and fire probably the seventh and last. Thus the cycle of life started and the sun moved creating night and day and the first Noe-Rooz came to pass.

The Persians believed that the world was divided into seven regions or karshvar (keshvar in modern Persian, which means country). These regions were created when rain first fell upon the earth. Humans inhabited the central region (Khvanirath), which was as large as the other six put together. The Bundahishn 1 describes it as follows: It is in Khvaniras (Khvanirath) that the Peak of Hara (Alborz) was believed to have grown from the roots of the Alborz Mountains; Mount Hara or Harburz is described in the Avesta (ancient scriptures of Zoroastrianism 2) [Yasht 19,1] as the first mountain in the world, which took 800 years to grow, its roots reaching deep into the ground and its peak attached to the sky. The stars, the moon and the sun were thought to move around this peak. Alborz is described thus in the Bundahishn: While Alborz or Mount Hara was the source for both light and water, the Vourukasha Sea is described in the Avesta as the gathering point of water. This important sea occupied 'one third of the earth, to the south, on the skirts of the Harburz' [Vendidad 3 21, 66], and was fed by a huge river, the Harahvaiti. Forming the boundaries of the inhabited world were two great rivers, which flowed out from the sea to the east and the west. The rivers were cleansed as they passed around the earth and, when they returned to the Vourukasha, their clean water was taken back up to the Peak of Hara. In the middle of the Vourukasha grew the very first tree, the source of all plants, described in the Avesta (Yasht 12, 17) as the Saena Tree, Tree of All Remedies or Tree of All Seeds. This tree held the nest of Saena (Senmurv in Pahlavi, Simurgh in Persian), the legendary bird. Growing nearby was another important plant, the 'mighty Gaokerena', which had healing properties when eaten and gave immortality to the resurrected bodies of the dead. The first animal in the world was the 'bull'. It was white and as bright as the moon. According to Zoroastrian tradition Angra Mainyu, the Evil Spirit, killed it, and its seed was carried up to the moon. From this seed, once thoroughly purified, came many species of animals. It also sprouted into plants when part of it fell to the ground. The home of the bull was on the bank of the River Veh Daiti (Veh Rod), which flowed to the east from the Vourukasha Sea. On the opposite bank lived Gayomartan (Gayomard in Pahlavi, Kiyumars in the Shahnameh). In Yasht 13, 87 he is described as the first man, as wide as he was tall and as 'bright as the sun'. Gayomartan was slain by Angra Mainyu, but the sun purified his seed and, after forty years, a rhubarb plant grew from it. This plant slowly became Mashya and Mashyanag, the first mortal man and woman. The Evil Spirit, Angra Mainyu, deceived them and they turned to him as the creator, thus committing the first sin. Their world was now filled with corruption and evil, instead of peace and harmony. It was only after fifty years that they were able to produce offspring. However, the first twins were eaten by their parents. After a long period of childlessness another set of twins was finally born, and from these sprang not only the human race, but also specifically the Iranian peoples. Babylonian Greek The Greeks acquire a vague attachment to a great many different gods during their gradual movement, as a group ofIndo-European tribes, into the region of modernGreece. The result is an extremely complex account of how everything began, with deities jostling for a role. Zeus, ruler of the sky, eventually emerges as the chieftain of the gods. It is likely that he is the original god whom the Greeks brought with them. But in the first Greek account of the beginning of the universe, written down by Hesiod in about 800 BC, Zeus arrives late on the scene. The story begins, like so many others, with a gaping emptiness, Chaos. Within this there emerges Gaea, the earth. Gaea gives birth to a son, Uranus, who is the sky. The world now exists, earth and heaven, and together Gaea and

Uranus provide it with a population, their children. First Gaea produces the Titans, heroic figures of both sexes, but her next offspring are less satisfactory; the Cyclops, with only one eye in the middle of their foreheads, are followed by unmistakable monsters with a profusion of heads and arms. Uranus, appalled by his offspring, shuts them all up in the depths of the earth. Gaea's maternal instincts are offended. She persuades the youngest Titan, Cronus, to attack his father. He surprises him in his sleep and with a sharp sickle cuts off his genitals, which he throws into the sea. Cronus frees his brothers and sisters from their dungeon, and together they continue to populate the world. But an inability to get on with their offspring characterizes the males of this clan. Cronus, who has six children with his sister Rhea, eats each of them as soon as it is born. Once again maternal instincts intervene. To save her youngest child, Rhea wraps a stone in swaddling clothes. Cronus swallows the bundle and Rhea sends the baby to foster parents. He is Zeus. As an adult he overwhelms his father, defeats all the other Titans in a great war, and then settles upon Mount Olympus to preside over a world which has at last achieved a certain calm. During this, imperceptibly, mankind has arrived on earth - it is not clear how. But men are certainly there, because a free-thinking Titan, Prometheus, smuggles them the valuable gift of fire. These first men are not considered direct ancestors by most Greeks, and there are several versions of how the present race of humans originated. One is that Zeus, exasperated by Prometheus, sends a flood to drown mankind. Two humans escape in an ark. When the flood has subsided, the oracle at Delphi tells these two to cast behind them the bones of their first ancestor. That ancestor, they reason, is Gaea, the earth. They throw stones over their shoulders, and from each stone a human being is created. Egyptian In one Egyptian creation myth, the sun god Ra takes the form of Khepri, the scarab god who was usually credited as the great creative force of the universe. Khepri tells us,"Heaven and earth did not exist. And the things of the earth did not yet exist. I raised them out of Nu, from their stagnant state. I have made things out of that which I have already made, and they came from my mouth." It seems that Khepri is telling us that in the beginning there is nothing. He made the watery abyss known as Nu, from which he later draws the materials needed for the creation of everything. He goes on to say, "I found no place to stand. I cast a spell with my own heart to lay a foundation in Maat. I made everything . I was alone. I had not yet breathed the god Shu, and I had not yet spit up the goddess Tefnut. I worked alone." We learn that by the use of magic Khepri creates land with its foundation in Maat (law, order, and stability). We also learn that from this foundation many things came into being. At this point in time Khepri is alone. The sun, which was called the eye of Nu, was hidden by the children of Nu. It was a long time before these two deities, Shu and Tefnut were raised out of the watery chaos of their father, Nu. They brought with them their fathers eye, the sun. Khepri then wept profusely, and from his tears sprang men and women. The gods then made another eye, which probably represents the moon. After this Khepri created plants and herbs, animals, reptiles and crawling things. In the mean time Shu and Tefnut gave birth to Geb and Nut, who in turn gave birth toOsiris and Isis, Seth, Nephthys. Roman Before there was earth or sea or heaven, there existed only chaos: shapeless, unorganized, lifeless matter. There was no sun, no moon, and no air. Elements existed, but they had neither form nor character. The earth was without firmness, the water without fluidity, and the sky without light. There was opposition in all things: hot conflicted with cold, wet with dry, heavy with light, and hard with soft.

Finally a god, a natural higher force, resolved this conflict, separating earth from heaven, parting the dry land from the waters, and dividing the clear air from the clouds, thus organizing all things into a balanced union. In the highest sphere he made a heavenly vault of weightless and untainted ether. The next lower region he filled with air, light but not without substance. Then came the heavy earth, which sank down under its own weight and was encircled by the sea. Thus did the god, whichever god it was, set order to the chaotic mass by separating it into its components, then organizing them into a harmonious whole. Then the god shaped the earth into a great ball and caused the seas to spread in one direction and the other. He created springs, pools, and lakes, then formed rivers, causing them to flow toward the seas. He flattened out the plains, caused valleys to sink down, and pushed up mountains from the level places. The earth he organized into five zones, the same number that exist in heaven, which is divided into two regions on the right, two on the left, and one in the center. On earth the middle zone is too hot for habitation and the two outer zones are too cold, but between these extremes the god created two temperate zones where heat and cold are balanced. Beneath the ether and above the earth hangs the air, where the god formed mist and clouds, placing thunderbolts within the clouds. To each of the four winds he assigned limits and purpose. He caused the stars, which heretofore had been veiled in darkness, to shine forth across the sky. The waters he filled with fishes, the earth with wild animals, and the air with birds. But none of these creatures approached the gods in intelligence; none could rightly be called master over all the others. Then man was born. Either the god who had created this better earth made man from divine seed, or Prometheus, molded an image of the gods from a clump of earth that had been newly separated from the ether and thus still retained some divine qualities. Whoever created man, this new being was made to stand erect with his eyes directed toward heaven and the stars, unlike other animals who hang their heads and gaze toward the ground. The first age of man was a golden age, during which men did what was right without laws and without the threat of punishment. No one strayed far from home. Everyone lived at peace with his neighbors, and the earth itself gave up its fruits without cultivation or labor. Berries, fruits, grains, and flowers abounded although the land remained untilled. Rivers flowed with milk and nectar, and honey dripped from the trees. Springtime was the only season. When Saturn lost his rule to Jove this golden age on earth gave way to a silver age. Jove, the sky god, shortened springtime and added the seasons of summer, fall, and winter. The earth now yielded its bounty of grain only from plowed fields, made fruitful by the labor of man and beast. Then came an age of bronze. Just as bronze is harder than silver, men were now more disposed toward warfare than heretofore. Finally came an age of iron, a metal baser and harder than gold, silver, or bronze. Now the natural virtues of man gave way to baser, harsher qualities. Modesty, truth, and loyalty were replaced by treachery, deceit, and greed. Sailors now traversed the seas seeking new lands and power. Men sought wealth in foreign places and from beneath the earth, wealth that in turn became the cause of much wickedness and suffering. Friend betrayed friend, and relative turned against relative. The conflict on earth threatened even heaven. Legends tell how at that time giants attempted an attack on the realm of the gods by piling mountains together to reach the sky. Jove defended his heavenly kingdom with a mighty thunderbolt, which destroyed the tower of mountains, crushing the giants beneath it as it fell. Torrents of blood flowed forth from their bodies, drenching the earth. It is said that from this blood-soaked earth was born a new breed of men, who like their giant forebears had no respect for the gods. Looking down from his kingdom in the sky, Jove saw that mankind was now hopelessly violent and cruel. He called together his council, and they came to him forthwith, traveling that famous bright path across heaven's vault, the Milky Way. Jove angrily demanded that the utterly corrupt human race be destroyed, promising that afterward he himself would supervise the creation of a new stock of men. The gods sadly agreed that only this extreme act would solve the threat of mankind's wickedness. Jove was about to strike the earth with a barrage of thunderbolts when he realized that the conflagration caused by such an attack might threaten heaven itself, so he resolved to destroy the earth's inhabitants by water instead of by fiery lightning. To this end he fettered the North Wind, then charged the South Wind to bring forth endless rains. Jove's brother Neptune, god of the seas, caused the tides and the waves to rise upon the land and the rivers to overflow their banks.

Man and beast alike fell prey to the ever-rising flood. Orchards and planted fields were washed away. Houses and other buildings were either demolished by the crashing waves or submerged beneath a sea that had no shores. Not even the temples and sacred images were spared. The birds themselves, their wings finally tiring from continuous flight, in the end were forced to surrender to watery graves. In the end only one place on earth remained above water: the twin summits of Mount Parnassus. It was here that the small boat carrying Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha ran aground. They alone had survived the great deluge. When Jove saw that only one man and one woman were still alive on earth, and that this husband and this wife were virtuous people, both true worshippers, he released the North Wind and caused it to dissipate the storms and clouds. Then Neptune called upon Triton to recall the tides and waves with a signal from his conch-shell trumpet. The earth was now restored, but lifeless, desolate, and empty. Deucalion and Pyrrha, seeing that they were the only living beings left on earth, sought guidance by going together to the Waters of Cephissus, which were again flowing in their usual channel. They sprinkled themselves with this holy water, then entered the temple and asked for assistance. The answer came through an oracle that they should leave the temple and scatter behind them their mothers' bones. Deucalion could not believe his ears, and Pyrrha stated aloud that she would never dishonor her mother's spirit by thus disturbing her bones. Deucalion, however, thought that the words of the oracle were not to be taken literally, that the mother mentioned was not a human mother, but rather mother earth, and that the bones to be scattered were stones from the earth's body. Deciding to put this interpretation to the test, Deucalion and Pyrrha scattered behind them stones from the earth. No one would believe what happened afterward, if it were not for the testimony of ancient legends. The stones, once thrown to the ground, lost their hardness and assumed human forms. Those scattered by Deucalion became male, and those scattered by Pyrrha became female. And thus the earth was repopulated. Then through the natural process of warmth and moisture and earth reacting with one another the lower animals were reborn as well. Yes, fire and water are opposites, but moist heat is the source of all living things. Creation comes about through the resolution of opposing forces. Norse The main northern story of creation is probably shared by all the people forming one distinct part of the IndoEuropeanfamily - theGerman tribes, who gradually move south through Europe from the shores of the Baltic. But it is in Scandinavia that the Germanic legends are eventually recorded and preserved, in the stories of the Norse gods. In the beginning there is nothingness. Gradually this space fills with water, which freezes and then partially melts. From the drops of melting water a giant in human form emerges. This is Ymir. From his armpit a man and a woman appear - giants like himself, but capable of producing others by more conventional means. Meanwhile a cow has licked the melting ice and has revealed another giant, from whom the god Odin (or Wotan) descends. Odin and his brothers kill the aged Ymir. Of his flesh they make the earth, of his skull the heavens, of his blood the sea, of his bones the mountains and of his hair the trees. Odin builds a place for himself and the other gods to dwell in, linked to earth by the bridge of the rainbow, and he arranges for the maggots in Ymir's corpse - who have taken stunted human shape as dwarfs - to remain in what is now his body, beneath the surface of the earth. On earth itself Odin and his colleagues breathe life into two tree trunks, turning them into Ask and Embla, the first man and woman.

Native America

In the beginning nothing existed, only darkness was everywhere. Suddenly from the darkness emerged a thin disc, one side yellow and the other side white, appearing suspended in midair. Within the disc sat a small bearded man, Creator, the One Who Lives Above. When he looked into the endless darkness, light appeared above. He looked down and it became a sea of light. To the east, he created yellow streaks of dawn. To the west, tints of many colors appeared everywhere. There were also clouds of different colours. He also created three other gods: a little girl, a Sun-God and a small boy. Then he created celestial phenomena, the winds, the tarantula, and the earth from the sweat of the four gods mixed together in the Creator's palms, from a small round, brown ball, not much larger than a bean. The world was expanded to its current size by the gods kicking the small brown ball until it expanded. Creator told Wind to go inside the ball and to blow it up. The tarantula, the trickster character, spun a black cord and, attaching it to the ball, crawled away fast to the east, pulling on the cord with all his strength. Tarantula repeated with a blue cord to the south, a yellow cord to the west, and a white cord to the north. With mighty pulls in each direction, the brown ball stretched to immeasurable size--it became the earth! No hills, mountains, or rivers were visible; only smooth, treeless, brown plains appeared. Then the Creator created the rest of the beings and features of the Earth.

Central America South America Japanese The Japanese story of creation leads not so much to the first man as to the first emperor - not surprisingly, since the legends are collected and written down early in the 8th century AD by command of the imperial family, eager to establish a direct link back to the gods. It transpires that the gods have a lengthy and complex existence before we reach the emperor. The story begins with a floating amorphous mass, similar to the slithery substance of an egg but moving more like a jelly-fish. From this there emerges a reed-like object, which produces eight generations of brother-and-sister gods. The eighth pair of gods are Izanagi (The Male Who Invites) and Izanami (The Female Who Invites). Standing on the Floating Bridge of Heaven, they lean down to stir the brine of the sea with a lance. The liquid begins to curdle and forms an island. The two gods come down on to it, and build a Central Pillar. Behind this they come together, in a delightful passage ofDivine innocence, to try and create more islands and gods. Their first products are flawed (a child which cannot stand at the age of three, an island composed of foam). This turns out to be because the woman spoke first in their sexual encounter. With due formality established, they create many gods - including those of the eight islands of Japan. The gods proliferate (soon there are 8 million) and they have many dramatic adventures, establishing such basic patterns of life as day and night, summer and winter. Eventually the Sun goddess sends her grandson, Ninigi, to rule the Central Land of Reed Plains. This is Japan. Ninigi is granted three treasures as symbols of his rule - a jewelled necklace (symbolizing benevolence), a mirror (purity) and a sword (courage). His great-grandson Jimmu-Tenno is listed in Japanese legend as the first emperor. A necklace, mirror and sword are still the Japanese imperial symbols, kept in an inner sanctuary ofShintoshrines.

Chinese Of various creation stories which evolve inChina, the most striking is that of P'an Ku. He is hatched from a cosmic egg. Half the shell is above him as the sky, the other half below him as the earth. He grows taller each day for 18,000 years, gradually pushing them apart until they reach their appointed places. After all this effort P'an Ku falls to pieces. His limbs become the mountains, his blood the rivers, his breath the wind and his voice the thunder. His two eyes are the sun and the moon. The parasites on his body are mankind. Filipino The world had only the sea and the sky, and between the sea and the sky, flew a beautiful kite. Unfortunately, this lovely bird had no home, and in frustration, began to stir up the sea. The sea angrily crashed against the sky, and the sky threw pieces of land to quell the seas anger. Then, the sky ordered the kite to live on an island. During this exact time, the sea breeze and land breeze were married. Together they had a child, named bamboo. One day, Bamboo was gently floating against the sea, and accidentally struck the feet of the kite. The bird, furious at the Bamboo, pecked the innocent stick into two pieces: one piece became a man, the other piece, a woman. Then the earthquake called on all the fish and birds to decide what shall be done with the man and woman. The animals decided for the man and woman to be married. Together, the man and woman had many children. The children began to aggravate their parents, and their father beat the children with a large stick. The children fled in fear to all parts of their great house - some into hidden rooms and fireplaces, others concealed themselves in the walls, and others fled outside and into the sea. Those who ran into hidden rooms, became the chiefs of the island. Those who concealed themselves became slaves. Those who ran outside became the freeman. Those who hid in the fireplace became the negroes. And those who fled to the seathey returned as the white people. Indonesian African People did not always live on the surface of the earth. At one time people and animals lived underneath the earth with Kaang (Kng), the Great Master and Lord of All Life. In this place people and animals lived together peacefully. They understood each other. No one ever wanted for anything and it was always light even though there wasn't any sun. During this time of bliss Kaang began to plan the wonders he would put in the world above. First Kaang created a wondrous tree, with branches stretching over the entire country. At the base of the tree he dug a hole that reached all the way down into the world where the people and animals lived. After he had finished furnishing the world as he pleased he led the first man up the hole. He sat down on the edge of the hole and soon the first woman came up out of it. Soon all the people were gathered at the foot of the tree, awed by the world they had just entered. Next, Kaang began helping the animals climb out of the hole. In their eagerness some of the animals found a way to climb up through the tree's roots and come out of the branches. They continued racing out of the world beneath until all of the animals were out. Kaang gathered all the people and animals about him. He instructed them to live together peacefully. Then he turned to the men and women and warned them not to build any fires or a great evil would befall them. They gave their word and Kaang left to where he could watch his world secretly. As evening approached the sun began to sink beneath the horizon. The people and animals stood watching this phenomenon, but when the sun disappeared fear entered the hearts of the people. They could no longer see each other as they lacked the eyes of the animals which were capable of seeing in the dark. They lacked the warm fur of the animals also and soon grew cold. In desperation one man suggested that they build a fire to keep warm. Forgetting Kaang's warning they disobeyed him. They soon grew warm and were once again able to see each other. However the fire frightened the animals. They fled to the caves and mountains and ever since the people broke Kaang's command people have not been able to communicate with animals. Now fear has replaced the seat friendship once held between the two groups.

The Bushmen of Africa believe that not only are plants and animals alive, but also rain, thunder, the wind, spring, etc. They claim: What we see is only the outside form or body. Inside is a living spirit that we cannot see. These spirits can fly out of one body into another. For example, a woman's spirit might sometime fly into a leopard; or a man's spirit fly into a lion's body. Thai The Thais had a traditional creation myth before the arrival of the Buddhist religion. According to this myth, Than is the Spirit of the Sky who first created everything. Before this, there was nothing on Earthno humans, animals, or plantsas well as no Sun or Moon. Than brought a bottle gourd (hollow fruit) to Earth, then pierced it until it opened. Five types of human beings came out, and all were brothers and sisters. Than instructed them in the ways of life and gave them tools to make a living. According to legend, the original rice seed was five times the size of a person's fist. But because humans became more and more greedy, the rice seed became smaller and smaller. Mae Phosop is the Spirit of Rice. The old still teach the young, "Don't leave rice in your dish; Mae Phosop will feel sad." Si Thanonchai is a very popular local trickster hero. Many Thais identify with Si Thanonchai's wit and cunning.