ARCHETYPES AND CREATION MYTH OF DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

Sunwoo Park

Carl Jung’s Collective UnconsciousCan be defined as:

A biologically-based

portion of the unconscious

which reflects universal themes and ideas, not individual experience.

Jung wrote:

“The collective unconscious appears to consist of mythological motifs or primordial images … In fact, the whole of mythology could be taken as a sort of projection of the collective unconscious.”

What is Archetype?

Archetype can be defined as:One important element of the collective

unconscious. Patterns which serve to organize our experiences, providing the

basis of many fantasies, myths and symbols.

Basic Archetypes can be:Persona, Animus, Hero, Mother, Father, God, Goddess, Birth, Death, etc.

Can ARCHETYPES be found in the CREATION MYTH

from different countries?

Let’s focus on the archetype of

GOD

KOREAN Creation Myth (Asia)

The God, Hwan-in, created everything in the universe.

The son of Hwan-in, Hwan-ung, came to the Earth to govern the Earth, as he is in fact a human being as well as some kind of deity.

GREEK Creation Myth (Europe)

The Gods,

Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus, appear in Greeks creation myth.

SIKHISM Creation Myth (India)

God (Vāhigurū) and his will (hukam) contemplated over myriad ages in utter darkness when he alone existed.

When the planning was complete all the resources required were created and enclosed in a shell like that of an egg.

SUMERIAN Creation Myth (Mid. East)

The gods An, Enlil, Enki and Ninhursanga create the Sumerians (the "black-headed people") and the animals.

KIOWA APACHE Creation Myth (North 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.

All the Creation Myths from all over the world include the archetype of god, the creator of the world.

Therefore, since archetype is an element of collective unconscious, it can be said that the evidence for Jung’s theory does exist, meaning there are connections between myth and fairytale and Jung’s collective unconscious.

Bibliography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creation_myth#Modern

Glassman, W.E., & Hadad, M. (2004). Approaches to Psychology.New York: Open University Press.

Jung, C.G. (1927). The Structure of the Psyche.