Origin of Cultural Creation
Cultural creation stories are important to understanding not only of where a culture came from but also where it could be going. The sayings, ethics, and even religion of a society are deeply ingrained in its oral and written traditions so that it can be told from generation through the next generation. The creation myths themselves are not consciously constructed with the intention to define cultural beliefs but rather the messages are subtextual or hidden in the creative storylines and characters. Since vocal tellings of the myths were such good teaching tools, every culture has some kind of creation story to tell the story its early beginnings and important lessons. Although each society has its own version there are similarities and differences among various different cultures. For example, within Greek culture and Roman culture there are comparable and contrasting creation stories, and then between different cultures have their own additional points of comparison.
There are a variety of categories upon which the different creation stories connect that it is difficult to find an overall archetype. However, it can be said that each culture truly believed that its society was the center of the universe and its story was unequivocally right. For example you can not help but be reminded of a scene from the Rogers and Hammerstein musical, The King and I. When Misses Anna shows the emperor’s children the map of the world, they are astounded that Siam is so small and not the center of the world. Additionally, they do not believe the world rotates on an axis. Rather, it is carried on the back of a giant turtle. Although it may seem rather comical, this is another creation story that, like tho...
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...vailable explain the origin of man and gives society’s perception of man and his relationship to the gods. However, it is more of an objective view but it is apparent from all the creation stories that god excels man to the extent that the gods determine who lives and dies and how these cycles will be carried out. For this reason, all of these cultures worship their gods because they truly believe that the very fate of their societies is in jeopardy if they do not.
The different interpretations of the creation of man and the universe are great for the purpose that they result in a flood of ideas. Although the explanations may not be accredited with scientific backings, there is a value to the myths that may not contribute to the biological theory of the origins of man; however the stories do add to the history of the human intellect and the human spirit.
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.
Creation stories have profound effects on humans. Those associated with ancient cultures/civilizations aim to ensure the successful survival or well-being of themselves and that particular culture/civilization of their association, but not all are beneficial, prosperous, or fortunate. Mesopotamia’s “The Gilgamesh Epic”, Egypt’s “Hymn to the Nile-Documents”, and Mesoamerica’s Mayan and Aztec creation stories/religion are influential to establishing significant relationships within society, whether that is between humans and nature or humans and their “god(s).”
Have you ever wonder how the universe was created? Some people believe in the Earth creation by the Supreme Being, some believe in the scientific explanation of Big Bang explosion theory. Every civilization in the world has its own story of how things are created. Each story reflects how people see and think the world at their time. In this essay, I am going to compare two myths of how man was created – the creation tale of Mohawk Tribe and the Hebrew Bible creation story. There are a lot of similarities as well as differences between these legends. While some differences between the two tales are the development of the stories and the meaning behind the stories, the similarities between them is the concept of creationism.
Myths – as they are known to most of the world – give insight into the pasts of various countries and religions as the people saw them. They have been used to explain phenomena in nature or describe the tales of courageous and important men and women throughout history. Creation myths in particular define how the Earth itself was created, along with the universe, heavens, hell, people, and creatures that exist today. Genesis of Christian mythology, for instance, tells the story of how the single deity God spoke and formed everything from day and night to man and woman. Various African creation myths, such as with the Yoruba, explain the creation of the Earth through at least a couple gods working together and all life sprouting from a seed.
Throughout the world there are various cultures with varying religions and creation stories to explain the creation of the Earth and it’s inhabitants. Of these creation stories two with similar and also different characteristics is the Creation story in the book of Genesis which is a part of the 1st Testament in the Hebrew Bible and explains the creation of Earth and humans, and the Theogony which is the greek creation story that describes the origins of the Earth and the Greek Gods. Both the Theogony and the Creation in Genesis show nature as a blessing for humans but it can also affect them negatively, However the myths differ in the ways that the Earth and humans were created and how humans interact with the deities of the creation stories.
Roman and Greek mythology are filled with multiple interpretations of how the creator, be it the gods or nature, contributed to the birth of the world. These stories draw the backgrounds of the gods and goddesses that govern much of classical mythology. Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Hesiod’s Theogony are two pieces of work that account for how our universe came to be. A comparison of Theogony with Metamorphoses reveals that Hesiod’s creation story portrays the deities as omnipresent, powerful role whose actions triggered the beginning of the universe whereas in Metamorphoses, the deities do not play a significant role; rather the humans are center of the creation. The similarities and differences are evident in the construction of the universe, ages of man, and the creation of men and women on earth.
Chinese Revolution is about making the entire country into Communists and killing each and one the people who hates Mao Tse-Tung. Mao Tse-Tung is the leader of China at this time who believes in equality and everyone should have the same rights. The Red Guards is a military group in which includes a group of children that eliminates the Chinese population due to hatred for Mao. If any of these events happen to our generation, most youth are smart enough to know that Mao is a bad leader and killing innocent people by the case of bitterness for Mao is wrong. The Chinese youth got swept up in the Cultural Revolution by Mao because the youth were easy to persuade into doing something. To expand this idea further, the Chinese youth weren’t old enough, not on this specific age, to realize whether Mao’s actions were virtuous or inaccurate. On the other hand, they thought that working for Mao and joining the Red Guards will help their country out, but they never knew the truth behind Mao’s plans. The truth about the Cultural Revolution was to kill anybody that gets in the way of Mao’s plans and destroying all the old buildings so that it would be replaced with new buildings or reconstruct the old buildings to become brand new again. In addition, the Chinese youth had no idea that joining the Red Guards will give a highly chance of getting killed. In other words, the adults were smarter than the youth because joining the Red Guards means the opposite of helping the country out. Mao just made them think that joining will help their country, even though it was the other way around like someone apologizing to their neighbor in which manipulating their minds that they’re now cool, but they were still rude to them afterwards. To repeat this, t...
Throughout history man has searched for an explanation of our origins and why we are here. Many creation myths are attempts of our ancestors to do just that. I have found in reading many of these creation myths, that there is also an attempt to explain why human existence is imperfect. The following essay will compare and contrast four creation myths and their explanation of how mans imperfection came to be.
The most common mythological theme across different cultures is the creation of humankind because everyone has always questioned how the earth was created and so forth. Creation myths are “usually applied to a mytho-religious story which explains the beginning of humanity, life, the earth and the universe as being the result of a deliberate act of supreme beings or being” ("Creation myths," 2007). Individuals from different cultures believe in a higher power known as God and they believe that the higher power is the creator of earth, animals and humankind, however each culture believe in different Gods but they all believe that God is the creator and that is the universal theme across different cultures.
Every culture has a different story of their origin. Each story varies in setting, main characters, and religious aspects. Although the stories are different, the sole purpose is the same for each – to explain how each civilization came to be. In order for a civilization to fully understand their past, they must critically break down the components of their origin story. Creation stories establish appropriate relationships within society by the revelation of the punishment laid out by the gods on unsatisfactory vassals, the importance of a hero figure, and the exposure of human survival based on nature.
Just look at two creation stories side-by-side and you should easily see their similarities. Perhaps the easiest way to do this would be to take one unknown creation story and compare it to one from one’s own culture. Below is an example of a Mongolian creation myth:
Every ancient society and civilization has creation myths that were passed down and keep alive throughout the passing of time by word of mouth. These myths are the world’s oldest stories and are vital to these cultures because they explain their beginnings and give purpose to their existence. By analyzing and interpreting different creation myths it becomes easier to understand different cultures and their connections and relationships with heir beliefs and god(s).
One way of examining the values and traditions of a people is to look at their explanations for how the world came to be. These stories make such wonderful tools for analysis because all cultures have some sort of ‘creation’ story. Thus to compare groups of people we may start by looking at their creation mythology. It is important to note that the downfall of comparing mythologies is that in a way it is like comparing apples to oranges. This is because not every myth portrays and explains the same elements.
When the modern person ponders the formation of human beings, our mind automatically goes to Adam and Eve, whom were the first man and woman created by God according to the Book of Genesis. Before there was Adam and Eve, diverse cultures came up with myths about the construction of humans. These myths included: “The Song of Creation” from the Rig Veda, An African Creation Tale, From the Popol Vuh, and A Native American Creation Tale “How Man Was Created” Each one of these legends gives a diverse perspective on the creation of human beings.
Cultural Appropriation versus Multiculturalism In today's society, there are many different cultures that individuals identify with. Culture is very important to many people and is something that helps define who we are. When different cultures are respected and appreciated, it is a beautiful thing, it can bring individuals in society closer to one another. Ideally, this understanding of one another’s cultures can lead to multiculturalism.