Creation Myths Research Paper
From the dawn of the first civilization to the bustling nations of modern day, great gatherings of people have tried to interpret their surroundings and justify their experiences in a spiritual and mystical way. Their experiences drive them to figure out the origin of nature and time and space. These so called "creation myths" varied in complexity and origin but each held similar views that a "greater power" ultimately began humanity and its domain. People interpreted what they observed in their surroundings and applied their knowledge to create these notions on what happened. Even though creation myths appeared all around the world and at different times, many of these tales follow a basic series of events. Many similarities occur and overlap
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The most prominent factor in determining the myth differences in each culture was the climate and type of ecosystem that the civilization inhabited. In the Japanese tale of creation, the two parent Gods Izanagi and Izanami had three offsprings of which one was evil (Murtagh, NA). Because of his actions the parents sentenced the misbehaving god child to the sea so that he could not harm the islands but in his rage he still terrorized the coasts with tidal waves and hurricanes. This explanation is pretty adequate for the formation of the Japanese islands. When you look at the Popol Vuh, gods are as plentiful as number of species in the animal kingdom. The South American region was a lot more diverse in plant life and animal life and it had obvious impacts in what the Mayans believed. Venomous snakes were the descendents of gods that wanted to harm and terrify humans while the descendent of jaguars and hawks were elegant creations that might have come from powerful and confident spirits. The landscape consisted of Highlands and Lowlands that were important for crops and trade. Weather was very humid and the vegetation was heavy (Bulliet, 311). When the Mayan and Japanese geologies are compared in contrast to their creation myths, you can see how much of the environment affected each
The most prominent factor in determining the myth differences in each culture was the climate and type of ecosystem that the civilization inhabited. In the Japanese tale of creation, the two parent Gods Izanagi and Izanami had three offsprings of which one was evil (Murtagh, NA). Because of his actions the parents sentenced the misbehaving god child to the sea so that he could not harm the islands but in his rage he still terrorized the coasts with tidal waves and hurricanes. This explanation is pretty adequate for the formation of the Japanese islands. When you look at the Popol Vuh, gods are as plentiful as number of species in the animal kingdom. The South American region was a lot more diverse in plant life and animal life and it had obvious impacts in what the Mayans believed. Venomous snakes were the descendents of gods that wanted to harm and terrify humans while the descendent of jaguars and hawks were elegant creations that might have come from powerful and confident spirits. The landscape consisted of Highlands and Lowlands that were important for crops and trade. Weather was very humid and the vegetation was heavy (Bulliet, 311). When the Mayan and Japanese geologies are compared in contrast to their creation myths, you can see how much of the environment affected each