Creation myth

A creation myth is a story told by a group of people to explain the origins of the natural world and, in some cases, of the universe itself. Such stories are referred to as "myths" not as an indication that they are untrue but because they underlie the worldview of the people who adhere to them. Because creation myths concern events about which no living person has any direct knowledge and no reliable records can exist, as these events are generally said to have taken place at the dawn of time, long before the arrival of human beings, they tend to be closely associated with or even identical to the religious beliefs of the group.

Most creation myths are primarily concerned with accounting for how the world came into being. Creation myths are not literal explanations but instead convey their message through the use of literary techniques such as metaphor, personification, and anthropomorphism. For example, a creation myth might portray the universe as originating from a bowl of gemstones spilled by a deity, with each gem becoming a different star in the sky. While creation myths such as this are not factual accounts, it is often the case that they provide profound clues about the outlook of the groups that tell them. For example, a culture that has a creation myth about a loving mother figure might be more likely to have a compassionate and hopeful view of life than one that believes the universe was created through some manner of cosmic accident or conflict, which might see life as more of a struggle.

Brief History

Creation myths are not narratives that were constructed by a single individual or group at a defined point in time and then passed down from generation to generation. Rather, they are accretive in nature, meaning that they grow over time as those who tell the stories add new elements. The "first draft" of a creation myth might describe the world as being built by a group of gods and goddesses working together. Later, after a devastating flood, people might explain the flood by saying that the water god was angry with the earth god, and trace the origin of their conflict to a dispute about which one of them could build the larger part of the earth. In this way, creation myths are continuously referred to, reevaluated, and redesigned to meet the cultural and psychological needs of the group that tell them.

Historians and anthropologists who have compared the creation myths of different time periods and regions have observed that many share similarities in characters, narrative structure, and literary themes. A number of attempts have been made to develop systems by which these myths can be categorized. For instance, one category includes creation myths that incorporate some variation of the universe emerging from a great egg, although the origins of this egg are not always accounted for. Other creation myths portray the beginning of the universe as resulting from an act by a deity, such as speaking a word or lighting a candle.

Overview

A frequent theme seen in creation myths is the emergence of the ordered universe from either a void or from a swirling tempest of chaotic matter and energy, sometimes referred to as the "primordial soup" because it is thought to be a mixture of all of the components that make up the known world. Some scholars have theorized that the order-versus-chaos theme prevalent in so many creation myths can be attributed to the fact that the struggle between these diametrically opposed principles can be seen to reflect the emergence of culture and community from the age of nomadic hunting and gathering that preceded it. In other words, human beings existed in a sort of chaotic state during the prehistoric period, because most of their energy was devoted to acquiring the resources necessary for survival, and little thought was given to organizing into communities with defined roles. Eventually some groups began to establish order by creating systems of group organization, such as clans or tribes, and by settling in semipermanent dwellings and practicing agriculture. Though these groups were likely not aware of the significance of their actions, their change in living patterns created order out of chaos in a practical sense. One example of such a myth is found in the Popul Vuh of the Maya people of modern-day Guatemala, which posits that the first humans were created from maize. It appears that this early step toward civilization has been incorporated into the creation myths of numerous cultures, with forgotten ancestors becoming synonymous with the deities, forces, or abstract powers to whom they attribute the creation of existence.

Creation myths often are reenactments of significant parts of human lives, as when the creation of the universe is conceived of as metaphorically connected to the establishment of a village or other settlement. Some creation myths rely on another important life event: childbirth. These myths describe the creation of the universe as the result of either a union between two deities or the spontaneous fertilization of a single, mother-like entity. In stories that involve both a father and a mother figure, such as the Maori story of Rangi and Papa, it is common for the state prior to the creation of the universe to be described as a harmonious marriage or some other state of devotion, to the point that the father and mother figure are almost fused together. In this scenario, creation becomes the point at which the two are broken apart by disagreement or an intervening act or event. These creation myths tend to have both predictive and retrospective qualities, in that they simultaneously tell the story of the beginning of time and prefigure the end of time. The breaking of the cosmic union between mother and father is sometimes seen as a precursor to their eventual reunion at the ending of the universe.

Creation Myths and Culture

The significance of a creation myth to a cultural group is difficult to overstate. On a practical level, the content of creation myths concerns the basic nature of existence, so such stories act as philosophical touchstones for the society. Yet they also exert a tremendous influence in more subtle ways, forming the foundation on which cultures base their belief systems. For instance, in the creation myth of ancient Greece, human beings were given various attributes as gifts from the gods, but some of these gifts—such as fire and wisdom—were actually stolen from the gods by Prometheus and then given to humanity. In the stories, the gods were angered by these thefts, which laid the groundwork for the combination of affection and enmity that characterizes the relationship between gods and mortals in many Greek myths, even those not directly related to creation. This example demonstrates how a culture’s creation myth can set the tone that other stories will follow.

Creation myths may also become the basis for rituals that are periodically reenacted by members of the cultural group as part of their religious practices. For example, in ancient Mesopotamia, a group of performers conducted an annual ceremony meant to symbolize the creation of the world. The creation myth of the Mesopotamians described the world as being created from the body of the dragon Tiamat after it was killed by the god of war, Marduk. Each year the slaying of the dragon and the creation of the earth was reenacted to preserve and pass along the story that united the Mesopotamian people. This ritual also coincided with the renewal of the earth through the cycle of seasons, so that the beginning of a new year was celebrated with a ritual that described the beginning of a new world.

One feature seen in several cultures throughout history is the need to regularly reenact the culture’s creation myth in order to keep the world intact or to avert disaster. Some scholars have suggested that this need to "repair" the world by enacting its creation is related to the concept of sacred time. Sacred time is defined by reference to its opposite: profane or mundane time. Mundane time is the time in which human beings are accustomed to living, full of day-to-day tasks. In contrast, sacred time is when myths and legends are said to have occurred. Sacred time is situated in the distant past, but not at any specifically determined point in said past. If profane time is when ordinary, tedious events occur, sacred time is when magic was real and gods and other powerful beings interacted with one another. It is also when the creation myth of a culture is thought to have taken place.

Hindu Creation Myth and the Caste System

One of the most compelling examples of the way that a creation myth can shape a society for thousands of years can be seen in the Hindu creation story. In this story, the first human being, Purusha, was sacrificed by the gods in order to create the world. Different parts of his body were used to create different aspects of the natural world. In addition to creating the sky, the earth, and the ocean, his body was also used to bring into existence the system of castes for which India is so well known.

The caste system divided people into four different groups—warriors, priests, merchants and farmers, and servants—each with its own responsibilities and its own rules about behavior. Each caste was thought to come from a different part of Purusha’s primal body: the arms created the warrior caste, the mouth created the priests, the legs created the merchants and farmers, and the feet created the servants. The caste system played a central role in Indian society for thousands of years, determining who could interact with whom. There were strict rules about people from one caste interacting with or even touching people from another caste. In fact, some members of the servant class became known as "untouchables" because it was thought that if a member of the priest class, for example, made contact with them, the priest would become contaminated. This example shows how a cultural group’s creation myth can shape and be shaped by other beliefs and behaviors of the society. It is not entirely clear which came first in Hinduism, the creation myth or the caste system, or if they both evolved at more or less the same time and at the same pace. What is clear is that both the caste system and the creation myth are consistent with and lend support to each other.

Much the same is found when studying any cultural group, because myths are stories that cultures tell as part of the process of defining who they are, both for themselves and for others. Fundamental to the process of self-definition is understanding where one comes from, and creation myths exist to make this clear. Their literal truth is inconsequential, but their symbolism speaks volumes.

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