Assignment: Find an origin myth or legend (about the origin of life on earth or the origin of earth itself) from any culture and retell it here in your own words. Make sure to cite the source.
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About Me
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- Dr. Najjar
- I am an assistant professor in the English Program at the Arab American University - Jenin. I teach literature and writing.
Good morning
ReplyDeleteI am Rifa Abulrob, I forget to put the reference that I took the information about the legend with my essay and this is "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/creation_myth"
just for not considering it pligirism
I am sory about taking from your time
Cherokee Creation Legend:
ReplyDeleteThe Cherokee are a native American people from the Southeastern United States. They had a creation legend, which began when the earth was covered with water and the creatures lived up on the sky. These creatures wished to live on the earth, so a water –beetle went to find a dry place, then it came back with some mud. The mud began to grow and it formed large island _the earth, which was connected with the sky. The animals moved to the earth when it was dry, but they didn't have light, so they tried to get the sun from beyond the rainbow. The Cherokee believed that there was an underworld, which no one could reach it unless he was guided by someone from this world. After that, someone powerful made a man and his sister. In seven days the sister had a baby, she had another baby every seven days. Then, it was arranged that the woman could have one baby a year. The Cherokee feared from one event that because of it their homeland will disappear.
Inas Mustafa
ReplyDeleteAboring Creation Story:
In Ngiyaampaa country the the land the belongs to the Eaglehawk and Crow. There was a story about the creation, which was talking about a long time ago, in the beginning, when there was no people, no animals or birds or plants to live on this land. "Guthi_guthi" who was represnting the spirit of their ancestral being.They thought that he lived up in the sky. One day he decided to came down and he wanted to create a special and good land for the people and plants and the animals to live in. As a result, Guthi_guthi came down and started creating a land for the people, after he finished setting the borders in place which is sacred sights, and the birthing places of all Dreaming where all their Dreamings were to came out.
Writen by:
Inas Mustafa
The Site:
http://www.indigenouspeople.net/legend.htm
This is the site that I took my legend from:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1820711/a_cherokee_legend_how_the_earth_was.html?cat=37
Bakuba
ReplyDeleteOrigin myths are widespread all over the world. Early civilization had an account of such legends and most of them were concerned about the creation stories. In Africa, one of the common origin myths occurred in Kuba Kingdom known as Bakuba. It narrates the story of giant Mbomb who was the ruler of the world. At that time the earth was nothing but water and darkness. One day this giant had severe stomach ache so he vomited up the sun, the moon and the stars. As a result of throwing up the sun, the water which was covering the earth started to evaporate creating clouds. Meanwhile, dry hills and mountains emerged from the water. The giant was sick again, this time his second vomiting contained the first man and woman, leopard animals, trees, falling stars, the razor, the firmament, medicine and lighting.
Source; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creation_myth
Reem Hafiz
The Cherokee Legend, how the world was made
ReplyDeleteThe earth is an island upon an ocean of water. The animals were above beyond the arch. They were too busy and crowded and they needed more space to live. So, they wondered what was beneath the water. They, therefore, decided to send the water-beetle to disclose what was down there. It went down looking for every place on the surface of the water without finding any firm and strong place to get comfort. Then, it dived to the bottom of the water and found wet mud that spread all over the place and formed the earth that we live in which hung from the cardinal points by cords to the arch of the sky.
It went back up and told them that there is a place suitable for living just like where we are living right now. It had water, soil and air, but it was wet and needed to be dried out. They waited a period of time to get dried and sent a bird to check it out but it was still not dried. In order for making it dried, they sent the buzzard, the greatest one, and the father of all buzzards we see these days, to make it dried.
It went down and started flying all over the earth, low down near the ground, but it still soft. It tried many times till it got tired and his wings struck the surface of the earth. When his wings went down, they’ve created a valley, and when they turned up, they’ve created a mountain. The animals above saw this accident, and they were afraid of making the whole earth mountains and valleys, so they called him back up and the Cherokee country remains mountains and valleys till this day.
They went down, but it was still dark. So, they got the sun in a track to go every single day across the island from east to west. But the sun was still too hot. So, the Red Crawfish had his shell scorched a bright red, but it was still hot. Thereafter, the conjurers raised the sun one more hand-breadth, but it was still hot. They raised it one hand-breadth, and another and another one, till reached the seventh height of the hand-breadth near the arch of the sky. Daily, the sun goes under the arch and return at night on the upper side at the beginning spot.
They said that there was an underworld beneath us. There had everything- plant, animals, air just like ours. But the seasons down there are different from ours due to the fact that the water is warmer in the spring and cooler in the summer than the outer place. So, they decided to go down and discover it. To do this, they have to bring a people from the underworld as a guide. They had to stay awake for seven nights. At the first night, but several dropped off asleep the next night. And the next night, more went asleep, till the seventh night at which all animals got asleep except the owl, the pine, the panther and the laurel. They endured staying awake throughout the seventh nights. The animals which fill in sleeping and which didn’t bear staying awake, they punished with losing their hair every winter.
Men were created after plants and animals. There was just a brother and a sister, a male and a female, till he struck her with a fish and told her to multiply. After seven days, she gave a baby, and each sevens days they gave another one, till they got afraid that the world will be in danger and crowded with people. However, they chose to deliver one baby each year and it has been so ever since.
Here is the reference from where I took information in order for writing my essay which is: http://www.indianlegend.com/cherokee/cherokee_001.htm
There are many differences and similarities between the excerpt from the Navaho Origin Legend and the myths I have chosen from other cultures. First of all, the Greek origin myth says that there was a stage at the beginning of the world in which water, air, and matter were mixed together. Earth and Sky arose from a Cosmic egg that floated on this mixture. The Sun, Moon, Stars, and all creatures among them human beings were created by those deities (Earth and Sky). This shows that human beings were created from these elements: water, air, and matter. However, the Navaho Origin Legend says that the First Man and the First Woman were formed from ears of white and yellow corns, and that the wind gave them life. Moreover, in the Greek legend humans did not previously exist but were created. On the other hand, in the Navaho myth human beings existed before the creation of this pair and they witnessed the creation of the First Man and First Woman. In addition, the four gods played an important role in the creation of the First Man and First Woman in the Navaho myth. But the Greek legend claims that the creation of human beings was by the deities of Earth and Sky. The other origin myth comes from the Yanomam of Venezuela who said that the Norse god, Odin, created man from ash wood and woman from alder. What is similar between this myth and the Navaho is that there is a god who created these human beings. But the difference between them is the elements from which these human beings were made. http://thinkquest.org/
ReplyDeleteYoruba
ReplyDeleteIt is an African creation legend which talked about the creator Yoruba. The world was only water and chaos. So one day he send of the spirits from the sky to create the land from the chaos. He got down while he was sitting on a chair and he brought with him a chicken, shell full of sand and a palm kernel. He put the chicken on earth then he poured the sand on it from the shell. When the chicken kicked,the sand land was created. Then he put the palm seed in that land and when it grew it from the first kingdom. Yoruba rulled this kingdom. Later on one of yoruba's descendent named Orishanla created humans from earth by blowing life in them
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/creation-myths
An African legend from Fans "Bantu" tribe: At first there is no one in this world. Nzam, the god came and created the earth and the heaven. Then he hit the earth and created the water from it. After that, he creates three animals, tiger which represented power, monkey which represented energy and elephant which represented wisdom. He created these animals to help human beings in there lives. Finally he created a human being who had power, wisdom, beauty, energy, and he will not die. So he was proud and did not obey the god. Therefore the god put him under the earth, and created two human beings, a female who was Mbongwe, and a male who was Sekume. They lived long and happy life. This from: WWW.Mythome.Org/creatfr.html-12k
ReplyDeleteIndian myth
ReplyDeleteBefore there was anything, there existed Shuzanghu and his wife, Zumaing-Nui in time she gave birth to a girl( earth) and a boy (sky). Sky and earth married and gave birth to the mountains, then they produced two frogs who mated ad made the first humans. These humans were covered with thick hair, but when they married they produced people as they are now.
Source; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creation_myth
According to the myth, one day and before the people call the city Athena. They wake up on a very strange event, they fond an olive tree and next to it a lake of water. and the people realize that there is a god secret behind this, they send an clairvoyant ask what is the reason behind this. And the answer was that the tree is the goddess Athena and the river is the god posidon. And the people gathered to vote what to name the city, and because the number of the women was more than the men, the women choose Athena and that is how Athena named, as a result of that decision the god posidon got angry. And flooded the city with a salt water, that damaged the planets and the soil. So the men punched the women by prevent them from voting, and the children will carry the father name not the mothers. And the women will not call Athens women any more only the men.
ReplyDeleteIndian myth
ReplyDeleteBefore there was anything, there existed Shuzanghu and his wife, Zumaing-Nui in time she gave birth to a girl( earth) and a boy (sky). Sky and earth married and gave birth to the mountains, then they produced two frogs who mated ad made the first humans. These humans were covered with thick hair, but when they married they produced people as they are now.
Chinese creation myth:
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning the earth and the heaven were one part. The whole universe was as a black egg which has Pan Gu inside it. After 18 thousand year pan Gu wake up and he was overlain, so he took up a broadax and he open the egg. The light went up and form the heaven and the turbid things form the earth below. And Pan Gu stood between the earth and the heaven. Tthrough 18 thousand year Each of the heaven, the earth and Gu grew for 10 miles, for that reason the sky became higher and the earth thicker. And because Pan Gu were standing between the earth and the sky he prevent them from joining together. When Gu died each part of his body form a part of the universe, for example one of his eyes become the sun while the other become the moon, also the flowers and trees formed by his skin.
There is another version of this myth, also there is an idiom for Pan Gu myth Since Pan Gu created earth and the heavens," meaning "for a very long time."
http://www.dreamscape.com/morgana/ariel.htm#CHINESE
Hopi creation myth
ReplyDeleteIn this myth there’s Tawa, the sun and his mother (kokyanwuhti) the earth goddess. All the power was with Tawa.in that time no living things was found until the two gods decided to be .To do that there should be another goddess with them. So Tawas divided himself and from him came Muiyimwuh, and then his mother divided herself and from her came a woman of hard substances. this woman became Tawas wife.Tawa and his wife produced the youth ,then Tawa thinks of animals and plants, his wife formed them from the clay, the they made magic and breathed life in to their creatures, after that he decided to make creatures in their image to the lord over all the rest. Another time his wife formed them from the clay. Again the two breathed life into their creation. Finally .the spider women called all the people she created to follow her. They followed her to the fourth great caverns of the underword, and then through an opening hole in one of the caverns came to earth.
www.crystallink.com/hopi
A Philippine legand
ReplyDeleteOnce upon atime, the only creture on earth was a small bird. This little bird stoped to think because it got bord of flying from one place to another. While it was thinking, it was playing with water until water reached the sky. The sky became angry so, it created rocks and threw them on sea. After that, the bird saw a bamboo shaft on water, but this little creature ignored it until it hit him so, the bird continued pecking it until it divided into two pieces: one of them became a man and the other converted to a woman. These two humans were the first parents to the world.
bookstove.com
Philippine legends
ReplyDeleteOrigin of the Water Features
There are many stories talked about the creation of the water
(rivers), most of these stories talked about the fate of the lovers
One of these myth that god create flooded one of the city with water because he want to punish its people for some great sin that lovers did.
Other myth talked about many waterfalls in the country, one of these waterfalls was formed because it was dug by genie in a futile attempt to recover a golden crow which had fallen and which had been given to a princess by the god of the mountain, other one said that these lakes were created by flooding the villages.
Ancient Egyptian creation myths
ReplyDeleteAncient Egyptian creation myths refers to the Ancient Egyptian accounts of the creation of the world. These stories were central to Egyptian mythology. In all of them, the world was said to have emerged from an infinite, lifeless sea when the sun rose for the first time. However, there were different versions of this event, associated with certain cities in Egypt. These attributed the creation to different gods: the set of eight primordial deities called the Ogdoad, the self-engendered god Atum and his offspring, the contemplative deity Ptah, and the mysterious, transcendent god Amun. While these differing cosmogonies competed to some extent, in other ways they were complementary, as different aspects of the Egyptian understanding of creation.
The different creation myths had some elements in common. They all held that the world had arisen out of the lifeless waters of chaos, called Nu. They also included a pyramid-shaped mound, called the benben, which was the first thing to emerge from the waters. These elements were likely inspired by the flooding of the Nile River each year; the receding floodwaters left fertile soil in their wake, and the Egyptians may have equated this with the emergence of life from the primeval chaos. The imagery of the pyramidal mound derived from the highest mounds of earth emerging as the river receded.
The sun was also closely associated with creation, and it was said to have first risen from the mound, as the general sun-god Ra or as the god Khepri, who represented the newly-risen sun.[2] There were many versions of the sun's emergence, and it was said to have emerged directly from the mound or from a lotus flower that grew from the mound, in the form of a heron, falcon, scarab beetle, or human child
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search/Creation-myths
Abdelkarim Hroub said...Jainism: related to Jain. According to Jain believes, his beliefs told us that the universe was never, nor will it ever cease to exist. He said that the universe is eternal, but in the same time not unchangeable, and the reason is because it passes through an endless series of cycles. Each of these upward or downward cycles is divided into six world ages (Yugas). Now, the present world age is the fifth age of one of those "cycles", which is in downward movement. All these ages are known as "Aaro" as in "Pehela Aara" which is the first age. The second age is known as "Doosra Aara" and o on. And the last age is Cahatha Aara which is the six age. All these ages have fixed time durations of thousands of years. His believes said:"When this reaches its lowest level, even Jainism itself will be lost in its entirely. Then, in the course of the next upswing, the Jain religion will be rediscovered and reintroduced by new leaders called Tirthankaras (literally "Crossing Makers" or "Ford Finders"), only to be lost again at the end of the next downsing, and so on".
ReplyDeleteWriting about the earth and human beings from the Islam believe is very challenging. But I want greedily to show it to others by putting it on this plog. It is very sensitive issue but why not , let the world know our believes that may be similar and it is to other religions. And I am asking you my classmates to read it carefully and correct me if I did any mistake, with thanks.
ReplyDeleteIn one day, in the very old time, God just know when it was. God create the earth and the seven skies in six days. On earth he made all the creatures that walk, swim, crawl and flight from water. He made the sun, moon and the stars to dwell in the universe. Then he poured down the rain in huge quantities, and broke up the soil to bring the different kinds of plants.
In the sky were creatures named angels, God created them from light; God's solders and servants, they are worshipping God and never revolt him. Also, there were creatures he mad from fire named fairies. There were believers and un believers of God.
Then God wanted to create special creature to build the earth; plant the fields, and build houses. So he molded red, yellow, black and white soil and water into a model of man, and then he breathed life and power into it, and it immediately sprang to life. And this was the first man called Adam.
Adam lived in Paradise, and then God commanded all the angels to bow down before Adam all of them obey God's order but Iblis (Satan). Satan considered himself better than Adam because God created him from fire and Adam was created of mud.
After staying an amount of time alone, Adam felt loneliness, so God created Eve from a part of his chest. Adam and Eve lived as couple in paradise and God let them eat whatever they wanted except the fruit of a forbidden tree. But Iblis (Satan) tempted them to disobey God, and eat the fruit. When God knew what they did, he cast them out of Paradise(Adam, Eve and Iblis) and send them to earth.
Since that time Iblis is the enemy of human beings on earth.
References:
قصص الانبياء . أميمة محمد علي. دار الروضة للنشر و التوزيع-القاهرة
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creation_myth
Aya Inad said:
ReplyDeleteThe legend of the curse of the Pharaohs at the opening of the tomb of Tutankhamen in 1922 and the first that caught their attention inscription says "kill the two wings of death anyone who tries to allay the security and peace of goat Pharaohs" This is a phrase found carved on the tomb of Tutankhamen, which followed a series of incidents discovered alien started in the death of many of the workers engaged in research in the cemetery, which baffled scientists and people, and make many think of the so-called "curse of the Pharaohs," including some archaeologists who participated in the discovery of civilizations of the Pharaohs, the priests of ancient Egypt had poured Anthem for any person trying to transfer the effects of the place .. Where it was said that a strong sandstorm erupted around the tomb of Tutankhamen in the day it was opened and seen hawks fly over the cemetery it is known that the Falcon is one of the sacred symbols to the Pharaohs
The reason is that the young King. Tutankhamen Despite the fact that this king has no historical value and perhaps the governor did not do. But it is certain that this young king had drawn great importance that the tomb was not touched one of the thieves. Reaching us after three hundred and fifty fully intact and that King is also the source of Pharaonic curse all those who impressed or impressed them die one by one. Recording so impressed by the strangest of the so-called rights of punishment... What is clear is that these forty died. But the thing is that the mysterious death for trivial reasons and conditions very understandable.
Another thing happened in the middle of the night fully Lord died in Cairo. The strangest thing is that the electricity was interrupted in Cairo without any apparent reason in the same moment of his death. Newspapers linked between the deaths of the Lord and turn off the lights and claimed that it was ordered by King Tut, and some newspapers said that the Lord has a finger injury of the war machine.
Then followed the calamities and death began to reap the vast majority, if not everybody who participated in the celebration, and most of the deaths were due to these mysterious fever with delirium and defibrillator lead to death. Rather, it was a sort of fever in many cases. It is worth noting that many archaeologists have stated that the curse of the Pharaohs. this is just a myth and deaths there can not exceed chance.
Chinese creation\ Flood myth
ReplyDeleteThis myth creation by Chinese people talks about repeopled the earth, and from where people come.
The legend began that only two persons were saved from the flood; these people were A-Zie and his sister. A-Zie wanted his sister to be his wife, but she refused, also she said to him that she will accept that if he did a difficult test. A-Zie used the trick to persuade his sister. After that his sister became his wife, they had one childe, this childe was without legs or arms, so A-Zie cut him to the pieces, and he threw him over the hill. The next morning, pieces became men and women, and the earth became repeopled.
Source: http://www.edu/ndash/china flood.html.
the maasai in their legend of the origin creation of human-being tell that humanity styled by the creater god from one tree or leg that was cut into three pieeces.a stick , a hoe , a ow and arrow . the stick was given to the father of maasai. the father of kamba took the bow weapon with it’s arrow. and , the father of kikuyu was choosen to take the hoe . everyone of them used the tool that was given to him in order to survive. the hoe was used to prepare the land for growing crops. and, the stick to herd animals .also ,bow and arrow were used to chaise wild animals.
ReplyDeleteresources :- http://en-wikipedia.org/wiki/creation_myth
The Japan's myth
ReplyDeleteMillions of years ago, all the elements were mixed together with on cell of life. This cell started to mixed with things around it, until the heavier part come down and the lighter part rose. The dropped part shaped the muddy sea that cover the entire world. Then a little shoot grew from the sea until it reached the clouds when it was transformed into a God. Because of it's lonely, this god created other Gods. The last 2 Gods were Izanagi and Izanami, they were the most remarkable Gods.
One day Izanagi and Izanami looked down to the sea and wondered what is beneath it. Izanagi get hi staff into the water, and when he pulled it up, some of mud fell back into the sea, which shaped the Island of Japan.
The 2 Gods landed to the island, when they separated and started to explore things in it. After a while, they met again and decided to get married. Later, they had 3 children, the first girl was gorgeous, so her parents decided that is she very beautiful to live in earth, so they put her in the sky and she became the sun. Their second daughter, Tuki-yami, became the moon, and their third son, Soso-wo, sent to the sea , where he creates storms.
Reference: http://www.cs.williams.edu/lindse/myths-17.html.
Maasai
ReplyDeleteThe most important thing in the Maasai legend is that, the mankind was created by God from one tree which divided into three parts. A bow, a stick, arrow and hoe. The father Maasai took a stick and the bow was given to father Kamba. Moreover, the father of Kiuyu was given the hoe. Each one of the father used the tool to stay a live. For instance, arrow was used to chaise animal. Furthermore, the hoe was used to farming.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/creation_myth
Ngoc Tam, a farmer who loves a woman called Nhan Diep both living a simple farming life. But the woman died dreaming of the good luxury life that her husband couldn't give her. but, the husband refused to give up, and he wanted to give her a better life even though she is dead.
ReplyDeleteSeeking for his goal of the better life to his life, he was confused and shocked by the death of his wife that he loved so much. he couldn't see he barried like other people, so, he decided to carry her on a boat and travel seeking for anyone who can bring her life back. After a long time sailing, he arrived to a beautiful mountains where a genie lives. This genie knows a lot about medicine she teach people about how to use it. then he asked her if she can help his wife to get her life back, the genie accepted. And she wanted to have a drops of the man's blood and put them on the body of his wife that was lying in a coffin. immediately, the wife felt the life and she smiled like what she used to do.
The couple headed back home. On the way , they stopped his small boat near a town to bye some supplies and the husband happily went to bring the goods by himself leaving his wife waiting for him on the boat. ignoring the advices that the genie told him about watching his wife carefully, and making sure that his wife must have a real love for him as much as he loves her. the man came back and brought many things with him, but he didn't find his wife, and he started searching for her. after a long time of searching, the man released that she left him and escaped with a rich man on a big boat and she didn't want to come back. she liked the new life that the rich man offered her ignoring what her man did to bring her a live again. but the man realizes that she doesn't deserve his love and he asked her to give him the three drops for his blood back. the woman didn't hesitate, and she tried to cut herself with a knife to give him the blood. but the woman didn't know that this thing will take her life. as soon as the blood came out from he finger, she failed dead on the floor. but her soul returned as a fly trying to take the three drops of blood back which is the only thing that bring her life as a human .
This story can teach us many things about what the man and the wife decided to have. first of all, that we have to accept the fact of death. the man loved his wife, but he should've accepted her death. also, love should be to the right person that love us in the same way. the women wasn't happy with what the husband offered her, which is what most of women usually does even these days. so, its a lesson for all women and men to be faithful and be happy with what they have.
www.indianlegend.com
Native American Legends
ReplyDeleteA Tuskegee Legend
No people, animals, or Earth were at the beginning,their was just water everywhere, and a group of birds who held a council to decide if that’s good to have all land or all water .
they choose Eagle as their Chief to decide which is better to have all land or all water, then the Eagle decided upon land, and ask dove volunteered to search about the land.In four days the dove returned and could not find land anywhere.But Crawfish asked to help search for land, for four days, He disappeared under the water, He had found some land deep in the water, then the whole birds flew after Eagle to see the new land. Suddenly, the land began to grow larger and larger as the water became lower and lower,then happened creating larger islands into one Earth.
Tuskegee Indians say "they were chosen by the Great Spirit to be the first people to live upon the new Earth, a long, long time ago".
http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/TheOriginofEarth-Tuskegee.html
Jainism
ReplyDeleteA man, his name Jain, he believed that the Earth or the universe was never created by someone, and he believed that the universe passes through and endless series of cycle and each cycle is devided into six world ages, and he considered that the present is the fifth age of one of these cycles, these ages are known and he named the ages. He considered that all these ages fixed the time durations of thousand of years.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creation_myth