myth esssay 10th grade

8/7/2019 myth esssay 10th grade

1/8

Mariani 1

Cristina Mariani

Mr. Stoner

English 10 honors

9/16/10

Theories about Creation Myths

Myths are idealistic stories about how certain characteristics or aspects of a specific place

or rural area came about. In order to better understand the beginning of a certain culture and

consequently understand the cultural aspects and theories on how it all began, many people

use creation myths as a starting point. Creation myths help us understand the culture and more

ideally religion of a certain area and are classified by different theories. Creation myths have

been written about the origins of many different cultures such as Chinese, Polynesian, Norse,

Aborigines, Japanese, M ik Maq and Greek as well as many others. I find these diverse creation

myths appealing because even though they are perceptibly impractical, they portray how

something very factual came into this world and is still here presently.

Myths belong in dissimilar categories better described as theories and each myths must

belong to at least one theory. The Greek and Chinese creation myths fit under the Structuralist

theory, the Polynesian and Japanese creation myths would fall under the Theory of Allegory,

the Norse and Aborigines creation myths would fall under the Aetiological Theory, and finally

the M ik Maq creation myth would fall under the Theory of Rationalization.

By definition the Structuralist theory is a theory that revolves around two opposite forces

who contradict each other and somehow these forces are reconciled. I thought that the Greek


2/8

Mariani 2

creation myth was a perfect myth for this theory because there constantly are struggles

between a man and a woman or ideally a god and a goddess. In the Greek creation myth it all

began with chaos and out of chaos came Gaia the earth and Uranos the sky. They had twelve

titans which were six boys and six girls, three Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires. When Uranos

discovered that one of his children would eventually usurp him, he tried preventing it from

happening. As a solution he placed the children back into Gaia s womb when they were born

because he did not know specifically which of the kids it would be. This angered Gaia greatly

and she plotted along with Cronus the youngest titan against Uranos for he had committed the

first sin. At this point in the myth it is obvious that two opposite forces are against each other

making this myth Structuralist. The myth proceeds and as the Sky sets down on the earth at

night Cronus castrates Uranus, thus taking away his power and manliness. It is obvious that the

creation myth does not end here however this event marks a turning point in the myth,

foreshadowing future events and mistakes made by Cronus himself. In fact Cronus marries his

sister Rhea and has a large offspring. It is prophesized that he to will be overthrown. To avoid

this he eats his children as they are born and once again commits the first sin. Rhea angered

plots against him and instead of giving one of her babies to him she gives him a rock and

passes it off as one. Zeus, or the real baby is sent to live on earth and later, when he has

matured, returns on mount Olympus and gives his dad a drink making him vomit the children

he had swallowed, who matured as well. Zeus became the new leader and defeated Cronos and

still today he is considered the head of the gods. Throughout this myth there is struggle

between the two opposing forces and although it seems as if there is some sort of patriarchal

society where men become the leaders and women have children, the women appear to be

more intelligent and clever than the men. In the end the gods and goddesses live together


3/8


4/8

Mariani 4

In the beginning there was a mythical being called big spider who created the earth, there was

a clam, he went into it and opened the top of the big clam which was Randy the sky and the

bottom was Papa Earth. The spider symbolizes God or a greater force that has the ability to

open something that has been closed for many years and only then open it or in this case start

creating the world. The fact that the spider just finds a big clam shows destiny and maybe how

there was meant to be earth and people eventually, because he is able to open it shows that

God or gods have infinite power. The Old Spider created everything, the forest; plants and

animals where created before people, the moon. I found many symbols in this myth, for

example the moon shedding light symbolizes prelude to new life. The fact that plants and

animals in this myth where created before people could represent superiority of people, that the

big spider had to think more about how he would make his next creations better than the

previous. When Rangi sky cries, and creates rain, because it was separated from papa earth

this symbolize that our God is good and he does not like being separated by his creations so the

rain symbolize the tears shed by God or the gods that are upset about being far from their

beautiful masterpieces. Before the shell was open everything was probably packed very tight, in

it was a clustered mess, this symbolizes the earth before gods or God and their infinite power of

goodness and love decided to do something about the clutter and created the world.

Another myth that falls perfectly under the Allegory Theory would be the Japanese

creation myth. Heaven and earth where one, Tuni Tokotatchi was the land ruler and from him

came two gods, Izanama who was a female and Izangi who was a male. The first Island came


5/8

Mariani 5

up when they were in the ocean, this island was called Onokoro. They were married on

Onokoro and their first child came, Hiryko and he was the god of fisherman. Izanama gave the

birth of the eight islands of Japan. She gave birth to wind and fire but died burned. She became

ruler of the underworld and Izanagi of earth and a son and a daughter appeared from his eyes.

What I found most interesting about this creation myth is that gods where here before anyone,

but an island appears on its own the gods have not created anything at this point, which may

symbolize a catalyst in the myth and something that was so powerful that not even the gods

could have prevented its existence. Another thing I would like to point out is that Izanama does

not create the earth with her bare hands and power but rather gives birth to them. This may

show the infinite love she put in creating the earth and when she dies from the fire this is a

symbol of sacrifice for its creatures. She is the ruler of the underworld, this might imply that

many of the creatures she created are bad which further implies that human nature is as well.

Therefore she will be reunited with many of her creations. The fact that gods are born from

eyes symbolized that maybe Izanagi pictured of having children, the eyes see and know

everything especially being a gods eye, which shows the importance of the creation. The born

gods would probably become something special and studied by humanity for ages in addition

pleasing to the eye such as god of the moon.

Atheological theory is when the theory interprets how something started such as a

mountain a river, etc . A perfect myth that met this description was the Norse creation myth.

In this myth one god Ginnungup was base for all the other gods who created humans. Humans

where created from trees. The ash wood made the woman and the elm wood made the men.


6/8

Mariani 6

Ymir a forest giant was killed and from him came the sea, the earth, the trees and mountains. I

thought that this was a great example of a Aetiological creation myth because not only does it

explain the creation of the earth as all creation myth do. This myth specifically explains that the

blood of Ymir created the sea, and specifically that his bones where the mountains, his flesh the

earth and his hearing became the trees. I thought that this myth was like the Chinese creation

myth because the theme of sacrifice was being shown. The death of Ymir however was a

symbol of perforced sacrifice while the death of Pangu was amulated sacrifice. In conclusion

this myth is a great example that explains clearly the creation of many things and how they

came about in the world or a great example for an Aetiological theory.

Of course there will be another myth that is also a great example of this theory. This is

where the Aborigines creation myth comes in. Guthi Ghthi was the spirit of ancestral being. He

created everything he put his feet on the mountains to see his creations but could see that the

land was scarce. The water serpent was trapped inside Mount Minara. He released him and

where he went streams and rivers followed him. This creation myth is probably the best

example of Aetiological theory because it clearly specifies the creation of one thing in particular.

The creation of rivers and water is essential for all other life to survive. It is said that Weawie,

the serpent, still lives in the mountain today which only proves further that rivers and our

source of water was created by him and there suposedly is proof.

The last creation myth is the M ik Maq creation myth which falls clearly under the Theory

of Rationalization. I think so because everything is explained rationally and how it all began and

gives a rational explanation. Although one can assume that many events that are described are

not real the myth provides reasoning that is persuasive and makes sense. Gisloog was the


7/8

Mariani 7

primary spirit, he was like the main god and no one knew his specific gender. His assistant was

the sun, which makes sense because today the sun nourishes plants which give food to animals

which give food to us. The sun spirit was Nisgam. Ootsitgamoo was the earth and all the plants

and animals live on the earth and the sun shines brightly over her. The earth was already there

which further proves that that this myth is realistic because it has realistic principles with

different names. All the characters in the story are more of a symbolic forces of something

rather that someone that contributed to the creation of a really real world. I believe that all the

characters in the story even the one I haven t mentioned such as Glooscap, Nogami,

Netaoansom, Neganogonimgooseesg all contributed in creating the earth we live in today and

creating the first seven men and woman that where essentially our ancestors. This myth is a

perfect example of the Theory of Rationalization because it clearly explains how everything

came about. It is rational because everyone is created from something and ultimately someone.

Everyone in this myth has a deep purpose and like the creation of Adam and Eve. In Adam and

Eve, God made them out of his spit and mud. In this creation myth different contributors of the

world where made with sand and lighting, or a leaf in Neganogonimgooseesg case or a rock in

Nogami s case. All are very rational because they have a cause and an effect. Because a

lightning bolt hit the earth in the sand Glooscap was born and was a contributor of the creation

of the earth. I especially found this myth rational because Glooscap and Nogami as well as all

the other characters besides Gisloog are not referred to as gods or even immortal, but rather

are more like humans with very special talents and contributors in helping create the world in a

way. The earth and everything was already created by Gisloog, these other characters serve as

I believe what Adam and Eve served for, and that is to start new life. The purpose of these


8/8

Mariani 8

characters is not only to start life but also to help people survive by giving them knowledge of

the M ik Maq world such as the bible gives us knowledge on the Kingdom of Heaven.

Myths, in particular creation myths are fascinating stories which expand ones horizon on

the creation of the world. Getting lost in all the fictional stories and wrapping my mind around

the different concepts of the world is truly mind blowing. As I read in awe all the different witty

ideas about a cultures creation. The different gods and spirits in the following myths all are

different but ultimately their purpose is the same, and that is to create the world we live in.

Different theories help us better understand these droll concepts to people in this generation

and hopefully for many more generations to come.

myth esssay 10th grade

Documents