1. Creation Myths

2. Culture
Culture is a system of beliefs and values through which a group of people structure their experience of the world
These beliefs and values can be roughly organized in three areas:
Beliefs about the nature of the physical world
Beliefs about social order & appropriate behavior
Beliefs about human nature & the problem of good and evil

3. Creation Myths
Are symbolic stories about the Creation of the World and how humans came to be
Used to explain the origin of humans, earth, animals, plants, and other elements of nature
Influence how they think about the world and treat it; their worldview
All cultures have a creation story
In an effort to explain their origins, early humans invented stories which made sense in regard to his specific time period and culture

4. Common Themes
Creation myths from around the world often share many similar themes
These similarities have been attributed by modern scholars, not the inventors of the stories
Each creation myth will likely contain several common thematic features.

5. Basic Themes Creation myths usually have one of these basic themes:
Creation from chaos
Initially there is nothing but a formless, shapeless expanse, which is also sometimes called a void or an abyss, contains the material with which the created world will be made
Earth diver
In these stories a supreme being usually sends an animal into the primal waters to find bits of sand or mud with which to build habitable land

6. Basic Themes Emergence
Humanity emerges from another world into the one they currently inhabit with the previous world is often considered the womb of the earth mother, and the process of emergence is likened to the act of giving birth
Ex nihilo (out of nothing)
In most of these stories the world is brought into being by the speech, dream, breath, or pure thought of a creator but creation ex nihilo may also take place through a creator's bodily secretions

7. Common Elements: Birth
Childbirth
Male or Female gods give birth to children
Natural
Unusual

8. Common Elements: Mother and Father
Very common in many world cultures
Mother usually earth
Life emerges from earth/womb
Father usually sky
Sense of unity created (marriage)

9. Common Elements: Supreme Beings (Gods)
Most cultures believed in a group of supreme beings (polytheistic)
Some cultures believed in a single creator (monotheistic)

10. Common Elements: Genealogy
The first god born did not always create the world.
Often, his or her children decided to fill the world with life.
The parents’ work was finished by the child.

11. Common Elements: Children of the gods
Sometimes the children of the gods need to kill their parents.
Sometimes the children are the evil ones that need to be destroyed
Or the children are unfairly murdered
                            

12. Common Elements: Tricking the god(s)
Whether it’s the children of the gods, other divine creatures, or humans, the god(s) are often tricked into doing something, losing something, or into giving up some of their divine status.

13. Common Elements: Animal/Human Relationships
Animals played key roles in many Creation Myths
sometimes viewed as equal to humans
often reflect feelings of culture for animals

14. Common Elements: Creation of Man
Created by a god or supernatural being
Establishes:
a connection between human beings and the supernatural world
the place of humans in the hierarchy of life in the universe (below gods, above animals)

15. Common Elements: Symbols
In many creation myths certain symbols reoccur: mountains; the sun and moon; stars; birds; giants.
What could these symbols represent?

16. Creation Myths
Much like our distant ancestors, we strive to uncover our origins and determine our place in the universe.
Scientists advance new theories each year on the origin of the universe
For some, scientific evidence serves as a basis for creation stories
For others, deeply rooted ancient beliefs remain the cornerstone in their own theories