People’s existence on earth has been an enduring riddle, but many cultures have had a try or two at answering it, spawning myths of all kinds. Myths are narratives that are symbolic in nature and attempt to explain the origin of a group of people and the source of the existence of the world we live in today. Most myths recognize the existence of a supreme being from which the earth was created and also fostered the existence of the first human beings on earth who eventually generated the whole human race. This paper explains the myths of Norse and the Christian culture, providing detailed steps of the creation process, the creators and what was created.
The myth of the Norse culture of the Iceland is quite an interesting one. It is believed that before the whole earth existed, there was only an abyss of Ginnungagap, scorched to the South by Muspelheim, frozen to its North by Niflheim ( Højbjerg, 2016). The billowing flames from the land of fire and the frost from the land of ice slowly by slowly crept towards each other until when they eventually met in the middle at Ginnungagap. Due to this occurrence, water drops formed themselves into a godlike giant Ymir.
When Ymir slept, two other giants emerged from his sweat. As the drops continued to develop, a cow emerged from it; Audhumbla, it nourished Ymir with its milk, and it would lick the salt from the frost as feed (Højbjerg, 2016). Audhumbla slowly licked the salt until on the third day; he uncovered Buri, who was the first of the Aesir tribe. Buri got a son called Bor who married Bestla and together had three sons: Odin, Ve, and Vili. These brothers killed Ymir, and they used his corpse to build the earth (Højbjerg, 2016).
They created the soil from his skin, seas morphed from his blood, clouds fashioned from his brain, and vegetation composed of his hair. Mountains formed from his bones, and his teeth became the rocks. His skull was used to create the sky. The brothers grabbed some sparks from the land of fire to make the stars. As they continued to form the new world, some worms crawled out of what remained of the corpse (Højbjerg, 2016). The works created four dwarfs who became the four cardinal points of the earth.
One day, the brothers found a tree, of which part of it looked like an Elm tree, and the other looked like an Ash tree. Odin gave them life and a spirit, Ve gave them a mind, intelligence, and movement. Vil gave them the five senses shape and feelings (Højbjerg, 2016). At that very moment, the first human beings were formed, the man was named Ask and woman was named Embla. This explains the origin of the world and the humans that inhabit it.
The other myth of creation is that of the Christian culture, depicted in the book of Genesis. The myth has two accounts. In the first account, it is believed that in the beginning there existed nothing, there was only space engulfed in darkness (Fairchild, 2014). He was moving over the waters and commanded light to be there; after separating darkness from light, he named them night and day. On the second day formed the sky, which was distinct from the world below just by word of mouth. On the third day, God created by separating it from the water; the land which He named earth and water bodies which he called Sea. He also created all kinds of plants on that same day.
God then created the sun, the moon and all other heavenly bodies on the fourth day. On creation’s fifth day, he made all creatures of the sea alongside birds. On day six, he created all land animals. In the Christian culture, it is believed that God exists as three and one; the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. According to Genesis, God formed man in His image and likeness, (Fairchild, 2014). On the seventh day, He rested.
In the second account, it is believed that the universe was empty, and God took soil and formed man to be in His image and likeness. God placed man to live in Eden, a beautiful garden that was filled with all kinds of vegetation also had four rivers. He felt that it was not good for man to be alone and He created land creatures and birds for him to name and give him companionship, but still he considered that he was not happy. He put the man into a deep sleep, took out a rib from him, from which he created man’s companion (Fairchild, 2014). When the man woke from his deep slumber, he saw his companion and he was pleased; he named her woman. They later disobey God and are cursed. The story explains how the world came into being and how the human race also came into being.
The worlds represented in these myths are quite different in that the world described in the Norse myth is the abyss of Ginnungagap. It was between Muspelheim, which was described as the land of huge fire and on the other side was Niflheim the land full of frost (Trevino, 2016). The world was initially composed of these elements from which Ymir was formed when fire and frost came into contact. In Genesis, the world is initially formless ‘ex nihilo’ and engulfed in darkness, and as God moved over the water, he commanded light to be there, and that is when he commenced creation.
In conclusion, cosmic or creation myths are important to a culture in that they help in giving an identity to a particular group of people. It helps them understand their origin and the origin of the world they inhabit. Myths also explain the nature of the Supreme Beings that created them. They explain the existence of certain phenomena of life and death. For example, because Ymir died, same as man and woman after disobeying God, the concept of death came to life. They guide human to live in harmony with their natural environment. These myths shape the society by enabling them to uphold the values and beliefs of their culture. It is viewed as a tool of cultural knowledge.
References
Fairchild, M. (2014). In the Beginning: The Bible's Story of Creation. About.com Religion & Spirituality. Retrieved 5 March 2016, from http://christianity.about.com/od/biblestorysummaries/p/creationstory.htm
Højbjerg, M. (2016). Norse Mythology | The Creation of the World. Viking-mythology.com. Retrieved 5 March 2016, from http://www.viking-mythology.com/theCreation.php
Trevino, E. (2016). Cosmic Creation Myths Across Cultures Paper. Academia.edu. Retrieved 5 March 2016, from https://www.academia.edu/7893818/Cosmic_Creation_Myths_Across_Cultures_Paper
