Creation Myths Research Paper

While learning about the creation myths, one can point out numerous similarities between them. Although during the time there was no possible way for people to communicate, we wonder how they became so similar. We call these similarities motifs. Three of the major motifs that I have identified are: Humans were made of organic materials, it took multiple attempts to create them, and humans were created to look after the earth. I feel these motifs are the most important, that is why I decided to write about them, because they explain many of the questions we have today, such as; how we began populating the Earth and why we should take care of it.

Motif 1

The first myth I mentioned, about humans being made of organic materials, is quite fascinating.

He created the first structure from leftover bones, he then formed flesh around it and breathed life into it. He gave the creatures a name, Man. In the Norse creation myth Odin, the king of all gods, found two trees had fallen, an ash tree and an elm tree and decided to lift them up. Suddenly two humans formed, one man and one woman. He breathed life into them and named the man Ask and the woman Embla. In the Chinese creation myth Nuwa, born from parts of yin and yang that were separated by Pan-gu, decided she wanted someone she could love and talk to. She went down to a mud bank and decided to creation people out of clay. She was so fascinated with her work she created more little clay creatures, unfortunately it took forever, so she decided to fling mud from a stick, but these humans were the less intelligent ones. In the Inca creation myth Pachacamac, the sun, created the first humans from the stone of an enormous mountain rock. These humans were pitiful and knew nothing about the world, nor how to survive in it, so Pachacamac sent his son and daughter down to Earth to teach them how to live. The son taught men how to plant, plow, and build, while the daughter taught women how to prepare food and weave. The Mayan creation myth created humans to praise Tepeu and Gucumatz. The first humans were made of wet clay, but soon after they crumbled to pieces. The second race of man was made from wood. Although they were able to walk, talk, and speak, they had no minds and were unable to multiply. The last and final race created by the Mayans was made of white corn, which made them too perfect, so the creators took away part of their vision to make them less godlike. In the Inuit creation myth the first man was born from a pea pod. Since the man was alone, Raven, who created the world and everything in it, created the first woman out of clay. Once