Creation Myths: A Comparison
Creation myths are common to nearly every religion in the world. They tell the story of how the Earth, or creatures of the Earth, including man, was created. They are considered myths because they are based on beliefs rather than verifiable proof. This is a brief comparison of two creation myths from different parts of the world, the American Indian (Arapaho), and African (Yoruba).
The Arapaho Creation Myth is an earth diver myth that includes some ex nihilo creation. In this myth, the Earth is deluged with water and a man has been walking around for days trying to find a safe place for his flat pipe. After seven days he decides that what he needs is some land to lay his flat pipe on, so he calls forth seven cottonwood trees and several different types of air and water animals. This is the ex nihilo creation part of the myth since there is no indication that any of them existed before. The earth diver part comes next as he asks the animals to dive into the water and bring up some soil. After many attempts, they finally succeed in bringing some earth up, which the man scatters to create the Earth. The focus of this myth is the origin of the earth and the main character is man. The setting is obviously the North American continent since the myth specifically mentions the Arapaho.
The Yoruba Creation Myth, on the other hand, is more of a creation by splitting/ordering myth with some ex nihilo creation. In this myth, there is the sky above and the earth below, which is covered in water. Obatala, a god, got permission from the chief god, Olorun, to create dry land for living creatures to inhabit. He received a snail’s shell filled with sand, a white hen, a black cat, and a palm nut to carry down to the Earth. This represents the ex nihilo creation portion of the myth since they were not present on the earth before. He poured the sand from the shell and let the hen loose to spread the sand, creating land everywhere. When he stood on dry land he planted the palm nut, which grew and multiplied. The creation by splitting/ordering aspect of the myth comes from his creating other creatures from clay and having the chief god breathe life into them. The creatures were formed from material that was already present. The theme of this myth is the origin of the earth and the creation of humans. It also covers some sacred traditions because it discusses sacrifice to the gods. The main characters in this myth are divine, since they are all gods and the setting is Africa since it is mentioned specifically at the end of the myth.
As one can see from reading these two distinct myths, different cultures have created different myths about the beginning of time, yet they have some similar characteristics. Both deal with the creation of land, and both have a component of a great flood. They differ, however, in how the dry land came into being, with one having the land come from under the water, and the other having the land come from the gods.
References
Cowell, A. (n.d.). The Arapaho story of Creation. Retrieved from The Arapaho Project: http://www.colorado.edu/csilw/arapahoproject/traditional/creation.htm
Gateway Africa. (n.d.). Yoruba Creation Myth. Retrieved from gateway-africa.com: http://www.gateway-africa.com/stories/Yoruba_Creation_Myth.html
