Creation Myth Archive @creationmytharchive - Tumblr Blog

Prebang Theory

reference link: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-myth-of-the-beginning-of-time-2006-02/

In short, the big bang may not have been the origin of the universe but simply a violent transition from acceleration to deceleration.

....

According to the scenario, the pre-bang universe was almost a perfect mirror image of the post-bang one [see box on page 77]. If the universe is eternal into the future, its contents thinning to a meager gruel, it is also eternal into the past. Infinitely long ago it was nearly empty, filled only with a tenuous, widely dispersed, chaotic gas of radiation and matter. The forces of nature, controlled by the dilaton field, were so feeble that particles in this gas barely interacted.

As time went on, the forces gained in strength and pulled matter together. Randomly, some regions accumulated matter at the expense of their surroundings. Eventually the density in these regions became so high that black holes started to form. Matter inside those regions was then cut off from the outside, breaking up the universe into disconnected pieces.

Inside a black hole, space and time swap roles. The center of the black hole is not a point in space but an instant in time. As the infalling matter approached the center, it reached higher and higher densities. But when the density, temperature and curvature reached the maximum values allowed by string theory, these quantities bounced and started decreasing. The moment of that reversal is what we call a big bang. The interior of one of those black holes became our universe.

#prebang #bang #science

Greek Creation Myth

reference link: https://www.scasd.org/cms/lib5/PA01000006/Centricity/ModuleInstance/5629/Greek%20Creation%20Myth.pdf

In the beginning there was only the infinite space known as Chaos. Inside this void was a single creature, Nyx, the bird with black wings. She laid a golden egg and for ages sat upon it. When it finally hatched, out came Eros, the god of love. One half of the shell rose up to become the sky, and the other half became the Earth. He named the Earth Gaia and the sky Uranus. Eros then made them fall in love. More… They had many children; among them were giants and Titans, one of which was name Atlas, who, due to his bad behavior was punished to forever hold the Earth and the sky apart. Two other children were named Cronus and Rhea, who married and ruled the world. They also had children. One was name Demeter, who was the Goddess of all things that grow. Hera was the Goddess of marriage and the birth of children. Hestia, as the goddess of the home and sacred hearth. Poseidon, god of the sea, Hades, god of the dead, and Zeus who became the God of the world and ruled the air and the sky. Zeus began creating people for the upper world. The first race he made was perfect and cast out of gold. They never grew old or died, and happily lived off of the trees fruit. However, they lived in such peacefulness that did not wake up after going to sleep. Zeus then melted down their bodies and left their souls to watch over the people he would create next. They were created out of silver, extraordinarily vain and beautiful, they would stare at themselves endlessly and from their pride assumed that they themselves were the gods who ruled the earth. This was unacceptable, so Zeus buried the race of silver and created the Bronze race instead. They immediately began to create tools and build industries. This satisfied Zeus, but then the race used their tools, arrows, swords, and clubs, to turn on each other and slaughtered themselves in war. Zeus had to begin again, and this last race was created from iron, the only metal left to him. This race grew old and rusted. They worked, loved, and died. Because of this, they also prayed to the gods and fearfully revered them.

#greece #europe #chaos

Kurma

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurma

Half-human and Half-Tortoise depiction of Vishnu

Reference Link: https://www.quora.com/What-is-actually-meant-by-Hindu-texts-when-they-said-Earth-was-on-top-of-elephants-which-were-on-top-of-a-giant-turtle

In our Hinduism, the form of the god Vishnu’s second avatar, Kurma, is a great turtle, which provides a celestial foundation upon which a mountain is balanced.

The Shatapatha Brahmana identifies the earth as its lower shell, the atmosphere as its body and the vault of heaven as its upper shell.

The churning of the Ocean of Milk was an elaborate process. Mount Meru was used as the dasher (churning tool), and Vasuki, the king of serpents, became the churning rope. The gods held the tail of the snake, while the demons (Asuras) held its head, and they pulled on it alternately causing the mountain to rotate, which in turn churned the ocean. However, once the mountain was placed on the ocean, it began to sink. Vishnu in his second incarnation, in the form of a turtle Kurma, came to their rescue and supported the mountain on his back.

The telling of the Turtle and Elephant is not in the first hand dealing with the Earth as such, but with the very first beginning of the Creation which is directly connected to the time even before the Milky Way Galaxy was created.

Mount Meru was unstable and hence the Kurma avatar signifies stability which is an important aspect.

by Nishith Parikh

#shatapatha brahmana #turtle #Kurma #Hindu #India #Asia

World Turtle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Turtle#India

In Hindu mythology the world is thought to rest on the backs of four elephants who stand on the shell of a turtle. In Hinduism, Akupara is a tortoise who carries the world on his back, upholding the Earth and the sea. One Avatar of Vishnu is the giant turtle Kurma.

http://uchuronjo.com/cosmo/fig_cosmo/zo_kame_hebi.html

Indian Kamehebi universe view 1822

#turtle #world turtle

Apache Creation Myth

reference link: http://railsback.org/CS/CSCreation&Emergence.html

In the beginning there was nothing - no earth, no living beings. There were only darkness, water, and Cyclone, the wind. There were no humans, but only the Hactcin, the Jicarilla supernatural beings. The Hactcin made the earth, the underworld beneath it, and the sky above it. The earth they made as a woman who faces upward, and the sky they made as a man who faces downward. The Hactcin lived in the underworld, where there was no light. There were mountains and plants in the underworld, and each had its own Hactcin. There were as yet no animals or humans, and everything in the underworld existed in a dream-like state and was spiritual and holy.

The most powerful of the Hactcin in the underworld was Black Hactcin. One day Black Hactcin made the first animal with four legs and a tail made of clay. At first he thought it looked peculiar, but when he asked it to walk and saw how gracefully it walked, he decided it was good. Knowing this animal would be lonely, he made many other kinds of animals come from the body of the first. He laughed to see the diversity of the animals he had created. All the animals wanted to know what to eat and where to live, so he divided the foods among them, giving grass to the horse, sheep, and cow, and to others he gave brush, leaves, and pine needles. He sent them out to different places, some to the mountains, some to the deserts, and some to the plains, which is why the animals are found in different places today.

Next Black Hactcin held out his hand and caught a drop of rain. He mixed this with some earth to make mud and made a bird from the mud. At first he wasn't sure he would like what he had made. He asked the bird to fly, and when it did he liked it. He decided the bird too would be lonely, so he grabbed it and whirled it rapidly clockwise. As the bird became dizzy, it saw images of other birds, and when Black Hactcin stopped whirling it, there were indeed many new kinds of birds, all of which live in the air because they were made from a drop of water that came from the air. Black Hactcin sent the birds out to find places they liked to live, and when they returned he gave each the place that they liked. To feed them, he threw seeds all over the ground. To tease them, however, he turned the seeds into insects, and he watched as they chased after the insects. At a river nearby, he told the birds to drink. Again, however, he couldn't resist teasing them, so he took some moss and made fish, frogs, and the other things that live in water. This frightened the birds as they came to drink, and it is why birds so often hop back in fright as they come down to drink. As some of the birds took off, their feathers fell in the water, and from them came the ducks and other birds that live in the water.

Black Hactcin continued to make more animals and birds. The animals and birds that already existed all spoke the same language, and they held a council. They came to Black Hactcin and asked for a companion. They were concerned that they would be alone when Black Hactcin left them, and Black Hactcin agreed to make something to keep them company. He stood facing the east, and then the south, and then the west, and then the north. He had the animals bring him all sorts of materials from across the land, and he traced his outline on the ground. He then set the things that they brought him in the outline. The turquoise that they brought became veins, the red ochre became blood, the coral became skin, the white rock became bones, the Mexican opal became fingernails and teeth, the jet became the pupil, the abalone became the white of the eyes, and the white clay became the marrow of the bones. Pollen, iron ore, and water scum were used too, and Black Hactcin used a dark cloud to make the hair.

The man they had made was lying face down, and it began to rise as the birds watched with excitement. The man arose from prone, to kneeling, to sitting up, and to standing. Four times Black Hactcin told him to speak, and he did. Four times Black Hactcin told him to laugh, and he did. It was likewise with shouting. Then Black Hactcin taught him to walk, and had him run four times in a clockwise circle.

The birds and animals were afraid the man would be lonely, and they asked Black Hactcin give him company. Black Hactcin asked them for some lice, which he put on the man's head. The man went to sleep scratching, and he dreamed that there was a woman beside him. When he awoke, she was there. They asked Black Hactcin what they would eat, and he told them that the plants and the cloven-hoofed animals would be their food. They asked where they should live. He told them to stay anywhere they liked, which is why the Jicarilla move from place to place.

These two, Ancestral Man and Ancestral Woman, had children, and the people multiplied. In those days no one died, although they all lived in darkness. This lasted for many years. The Hactcins made a sun and moon, but they could only be seen through a hole in the dark sky. To solve the problem, White Hactcin turned to the animals and had them bring the foods they ate. With the food and some sand and water, they began to grow a mountain. The mountain grew, but it stopped short of the hole in the sky that led from the underworld to the earth that we know. The Hactcins sent up Fly and Spider, who took four rays of the sun and built a rope ladder to the upper world. The Hactcins called for the people to climb up, and for four days they climbed the mountain. At the top they found four ladders. Ancestral Man and Ancestral Woman were the first people to climb up, and the people climbed up into the upper world that we know today. Thus the earth is our mother, and the people climbed up as from a womb. Then the animals came up, and before long the ladders were worn out. Behind the animals came an old man and an old woman, and they couldn't climb the ladders. No one could get them up, and finally the two realized they had to stay in the underworld. They agreed to stay but told the others they must come back to the underworld eventually, which is why people go to the underworld after death.

Everything in the upper world is alive - the rocks, the trees, the grass, the plants, the fire, the water. Originally they all spoke the Jicarilla Apache language and spoke to the people. Eventually the people travelled out clockwise across the land. Different groups would break off and stay behind, and their children would begin to play games in which they used odd languages. The people in these groups began to forget their old languages and use these new ones, which is why now there are many languages. Only one group kept on traveling in the clockwise spiral until they reached the center of the world, and these are the Jicarilla Apaches.

#Apache #North America

Areop-Enap

reference link : https://secretsnicholasflamel.fandom.com/wiki/Areop-Enap

Areop Enap was at one point beautiful, however like most of her kind her appearance was warped by the Change. The Change was very mean to her so now she has the body of a massive spider coated in purplish hair. Though her head remains fairly human-like. She has eight eyes situated near the top of her head, though she lacks a nose, ears, and eyebrows. When she opens her mouth, long fangs can be seen. She speaks with an unusual lisp as a result. She took great offense when Abraham said that the change was a reflection of her true self.

#areop-enap #spider

Areop-Enap

reference link : https://pantheon.org/articles/a/areop-enap.html

The Ancient Spider in the mythology of Nauru Island.

In the beginning only Areop-Enap and the sea existed. Then one day he discovered a mussel shell. After much trouble he managed to open it and crept inside. It was so dark inside the shell that he was unable to see a thing. He felt around and discovered a small snail and later a bigger one. He transferred some of his power to the small snail and made it the moon.

The light of the moon, though faint, illuminated his surroundings somewhat. He then saw a worm, which he set to work separating the upper and lower parts of the shell; these became the sky and the earth. When the worm was finished it died of exhaustion. Its sweat ran into the lower shell and became the sea. The large snail Areop-Enap turned into the sun. Finally, from stones Areop-Enap made men to support the sky.

After he had finished, Areop-Enap traveled about the newly created world and discovered various other beings. He learned their names by creating a winged creature from the dirt under his nails. This flying "bird" greatly annoyed the people and they called to each other to kill it. Thus Ancient Spider knew what they were called.

#nauru island #pacific #spider #areop-enap

Mindanao Creation Myth

Melú and Fīuweígh, males, and Dwata and Saweígh, females. They lived on a small earth or island as large as a hat, and which was called salnaoñ. Nothing grew on the island, but they had one bird called Baswit. They sent the bird across the waters to secure some earth, the fruit of the rattan and of trees. Melú then made the land and planted the seeds.

After a while he said "what use is land without people," and they decided to make wax into people, but when they put the wax near the fire it melted, and so it was agreed to make man from dirt instead. Melú and Fīuweígh began to make man and all went well until they were ready to make the nose. Fīuweígh was making this part but put it upside down. When Melú told him that the people would drown if left that way, Fīuweígh became very angry and refused to change it. As soon as he turned his back, Melú grabbed the nose and turned it the way it is now.

#philippines #mindanao #asia #Bird

Qat

reference link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qat_(deity)

Qat was born when his Father, a stone, exploded. He has eleven brothers, all called Tagaro [taˈɣaro] (Tagaro the Foolish, Tagaro the Wise, etc.), and a companion, Marawa, who takes the form of a spider.

Along with creating islands and covering them with plant and animal life, Qat made the first three pairs of men and women by carving them from dracaena wood and then playing drums to make them dance, bringing them to life through music. One story recounts how Marawa, envious of Qat's creations, carved his own figures and brought them to life, but then grew tired of them and buried them for a week. When he dug them up, they had rotted, and this is how death came to be.

When his brothers became tired of daylight, Qat created night and taught his brothers how to sleep. When they had slept enough he took a piece of red obsidian and sliced through Night, thus making Dawn.

External Links: https://www.sacred-texts.com/pac/om/om12.htm#fr_382

reference link: https://pantheon.org/articles/q/qat.html

Qat is a vui, a spirit, and he was born of Qatgoro, a stone that broke asunder. He grew up and talked immediately after being born. He fished up the land out of the sea, created people, pigs, trees, and rocks, but did this only out of boredom. He also introduced night, which he got from Qong. His friend and foe is the spider spirit Marawa, who both opposes and helps him.

Qat is perceived as being very inactive, sitting around all day and doing nothing. He was eleven brothers, of whom Tangaro Gilagilala and Tangaro Loloqong are the most notable.

In the creation myth, Qat carved the bodies of men and women from a tree, a process that took six days. He then hid them for three days, and then for three days brought them forth and, by dancing and beating a drum, beguiled them into life.

Sources

Jordan, Michael. (2004). Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc.

Lurker, Manfred. (2004). Routledge Dictionary of Gods and Demons. London: Routledge.

#Qat #banks islands #boredom #pacific #spider #stone

Lowa (the uncreated)

reference link: http://pcep.prel.org/locations/marshall-islands/

In ancient times, when there was only water, Lowa (the uncreated) was alone. When he hummed, the islands emerged along with the reefs and sand banks. He hummed again and the plants and animals grew. Lowa made four gods for the four directions and a seagull god to constantly circle the sky. Lowa also created a man, who put the islands into a basket made from coconut leaves and set them in an order — the Carolines to the west and the Marshall Islands in a straight line, except for Namorik, which fell out of the basket.

After Lowa placed all the islands, he threw away the basket. It became Kili Island. Only one of the islands had coconut trees at the time, the little sandy island of Bikini (from bok, meaning sand, and ni, meaning coconut).

Adapted from Creation Myths of the World by David A. Leeming

#Lowa #marshall islands #pacific #water

Yggdrasil

reference link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yggdrasil

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_of_life

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_tree

Yggdrasil is an immense ash tree that is center to the cosmos. The gods go to Yggdrasil daily to assemble at their things, traditional governing assemblies. The branches of Yggdrasil extend far into the heavens, and the tree is supported by three roots that extend far away into other locations; one to the well Urðarbrunnr in the heavens, one to the spring Hvergelmir, and another to the well Mímisbrunnr. Creatures live within Yggdrasil, including the dragon Níðhöggr, an unnamed eagle, and the stags Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór.

#yggdrasil #tree

Norse Creation Myth

reference link : http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/creation.html

abstracted from The Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson by D. L. Ashliman

Muspell

The first world to exist was Muspell, a place of light and heat whose flames are so hot that those who are not native to that land cannot endure it.

Surt sits at Muspell's border, guarding the land with a flaming sword. At the end of the world he will vanquish all the gods and burn the whole world with fire.

Ginnungagap and Niflheim

Beyond Muspell lay the great and yawning void named Ginnungagap, and beyond Ginnungagap lay the dark, cold realm of Niflheim.

Ice, frost, wind, rain and heavy cold emanated from Niflheim, meeting in Ginnungagap the soft air, heat, light, and soft air from Muspell.

Ymir

Where heat and cold met appeared thawing drops, and this running fluid grew into a giant frost ogre named Ymir.

Frost ogres

Ymir slept, falling into a sweat. Under his left arm there grew a man and a woman. And one of his legs begot a son with the other. This was the beginning of the frost ogres.

Audhumla

Thawing frost then became a cow called Audhumla. Four rivers of milk ran from her teats, and she fed Ymir.

Buri, Bor, and Bestla

The cow licked salty ice blocks. After one day of licking, she freed a man's hair from the ice. After two days, his head appeared. On the third day the whole man was there. His name was Buri, and he was tall, strong, and handsome.

Buri begot a son named Bor, and Bor married Bestla, the daughter of a giant.

Odin, Vili, and Vé

Bor and Bestla had three sons: Odin was the first, Vili the second, and Vé the third.

It is believed that Odin, in association with his brothers, is the ruler of heaven and earth. He is the greatest and most famous of all men.

The death of Ymir

Odin, Vili, and Vé killed the giant Ymir.

When Ymir fell, there issued from his wounds such a flood of blood, that all the frost ogres were drowned, except for the giant Bergelmir who escaped with his wife by climbing onto a lur [a hollowed-out tree trunk that could serve either as a boat or a coffin]. From them spring the families of frost ogres.

Earth, trees, and mountains

The sons of Bor then carried Ymir to the middle of Ginnungagap and made the world from him. From his blood they made the sea and the lakes; from his flesh the earth; from his hair the trees; and from his bones the mountains. They made rocks and pebbles from his teeth and jaws and those bones that were broken.

Dwarfs

Maggots appeared in Ymir's flesh and came to life. By the decree of the gods they acquired human understanding and the appearance of men, although they lived in the earth and in rocks.

Sky, clouds, and stars

From Ymir's skull the sons of Bor made the sky and set it over the earth with its four sides. Under each corner they put a dwarf, whose names are East, West, North, and South.

The sons of Bor flung Ymir's brains into the air, and they became the clouds.

Then they took the sparks and burning embers that were flying about after they had been blown out of Muspell, and placed them in the midst of Ginnungagap to give light to heaven above and earth beneath. To the stars they gave appointed places and paths.

The earth was surrounded by a deep sea. The sons of Bor gave lands near the sea to the families of giants for their settlements.

Midgard

To protect themselves from the hostile giants, the sons of Bor built for themselves an inland stonghold, using Ymir's eyebrows. This stonghold they named Midgard.

Ask and Embla

While walking along the sea shore the sons of Bor found two trees, and from them they created a man and a woman.

Odin gave the man and the woman spirit and life. Vili gave them understanding and the power of movement. Vé gave them clothing and names. The man was named Ask [Ash] and the woman Embla [Elm?]. From Ask and Embla have sprung the races of men who lived in Midgard.

Asgard

In the middle of the world the sons of Bor built for themselves a stronghold named Asgard, called Troy by later generations. The gods and their kindred lived in Asgard, and many memorable events have happened there.

In Asgard was a great hall named Hlidskjálf. Odin sat there on a high seat. From there he could look out over the whole world and see what everyone was doing. He understood everything that he saw.

Odin, Frigg, and the Æsir

Odin married Frigg, the daughter of Fjörgvin. From this family has come all the kindred that inhabited ancient Asgard and those kingdoms that belonged to it. Members of this family are called the Æsir, and they are all divinities. This must be the reason why Odin is called All-Father. He is the father of all the gods and men and of everything that he and his power created.

Thor

The earth was Odin's daughter and his wife as well. By her he had his first son, Thor. Might and strength were Thor's characteristics. By these he dominates every living creature.

Bifröst

As all informed people know, the gods built a bridge from earth to heaven called Bifröst. Some call it the rainbow. It has three colors and is very strong, made with more skill and cunning than other structures. But strong as it is, it will break when the sons of Muspell ride out over it. The gods are not to blame that this structure will then break. Bifröst is a good bridge, but there is nothing in this world that can be relied on when the sons of Muspell are on the warpath.

Yggdrasil

The chief sanctuary of the gods is by the ash tree Yggdrasil. There they hold their daily court. Yggdrasil is the best and greatest of all trees. Its branches spread out over the whole world and reach up over heaven.

#Norse #Yggdrasil #Thor #Odin #Europe #Tree

A Fulani Story

HOW THE WORLD WAS CREATED FROM A DROP OF MILK

Reference Link: http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/african-creation-stories/ At the beginning there was a huge drop of milk

Then Doondari (God) came and he created the stone.

Then the stone created iron;

And iron created fire;

And fire created water;

And water created air.

The Doondari descended a second time. And he took the five elements

And he shaped them into man.

But man was proud.

Then Doondari created blindness and blindness defeated man.

But when blindness became too proud,

Doondari created sleep, and sleep defeated blindness;

But when sleep became too proud,

Doondari created worry, and worry defeated sleep;

But when worry became too proud,

Doondari created death, and death defeated worry.

But when death became too proud,

Doondari descended for the third time,

And he came as Gueno, the eternal one

And Gueno defeated death.

A Fulani story (Mali)

These stories are adapted by Exploring Africa, with permission from Ulli Beier (editor), The Origin of Life and Death: African Creation Myths. London: Heinemann, 1966.

#Africa #Milk #drop #Mali

Nü Wa (Nü Kua)

reference link : https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Nuwa

Nuwa

Nuwa is not considered a creator of the entire physical universe, but a creator and protector of animals and people. It is said that Nüwa existed in the beginning of the world. The earth was a beautiful place with blossoming trees and flowers, and full of animals, birds, fish and all living creatures. But as she wandered about it Nüwa felt very lonely, so she began to create animals. On the first day she created chickens. On the second day she created dogs. On the third day she created sheep. On the fourth day she created pigs. On the fifth day she created cows. On the sixth day she created horses. On the seventh day, she bent down and took up a handful of yellow clay, mixed it with water and molded a figure in her likeness. As she worked, the figure came alive - the first human being. Nüwa was pleased with her creation and went on making more figures of both men and women. They danced around her, and her loneliness was dispelled. She created hundreds of figures, but grew tired of the laborious process. Then she dipped a rope in the clay mud, and swung it around her. Soon the earth around her was covered with lumps of mud. The handmade figurines became the wealthy and the noble; those that arose from the splashes of mud were the poor and the common. A variation on this story relates that some of the figures melted in the rain as Nüwa was waiting for them to dry, and that in this way sickness and physical abnormalities came into existence.

#China #human #Nü Wa #Nü Kua

Pan Gu and Nü Wa

reference link : http://www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/CS/CSPG&NW.html

Long, long ago, when heaven and earth were still one, the entire universe was contained in an egg-shaped cloud. All the matter of the universe swirled chaotically in that egg. Deep within the swirling matter was Pan Gu, a huge giant who grew in the chaos. For 18,000 years he developed and slept in the egg. Finally one day he awoke and stretched, and the egg broke to release the matter of the universe. The lighter purer elements drifted upwards to make the sky and heavens, and the heavier impure elements settled downwards to make the earth.

In the midst of this new world, Pan Gu worried that heaven and earth might mix again; so he resolved to hold them apart, with the heavens on his head and the earth under his feet. As the two continued to separate, Pan Gu grew to hold them apart. For 18,000 years he continued to grow, until the heavens were 30,000 miles above the earth. For much longer he continued to hold the two apart, fearing the retun of the chaos of his youth. Finally he realized they were stable, and soon after that he died.

With the immense giant's death, the earth took on new character. His arms and legs became the four directions and the moutains. His blood became the rivers, and his sweat became the rain and dew. His voice became the thunder, and his breath became the winds. His hair became the grass, and his veins became the roads and paths. His teeth and bones became the minerals and rocks, and his flesh became the soil of the fields. Up above, his left eye became the sun, and his right eye became the moon. Thus in death, as in life, Pan Gu made the world as it is today.

Many centuries later, there was a goddess named Nü Wa who roamed this wild world that Pan Gu had left behind, and she became lonely in her solitude. Stopping by a pond to rest, she saw her reflection and realized that there was nothing like herself in the world. She resolved to make something like herself for company.

From the edge of the pond she took some mud and shaped it in the form of a human being. At first her creation was lifeless, and she set it down. It took life as soon as it touched the soil, however, and soon the human was dancing and celebrating its new life. Pleased with her creation, Nü Wa made more of them, and soon her loneliness disappeared in the crowd of little humans around her. For two days she made them, and still she wanted to make more. Finally she pulled down a long vine and dragged it through the mud, and then she swung the vine through the air. Droplets of mud flew everywhere and, when they fell, they became more humans that were nearly as perfect as the ones she had made by hand. Soon she had spread humans over the whole world. The ones she made by hand became the aristocrats, and the ones she made with the vine became the poor common people.

Even then, Nü Wa realized that her work was incomplete, because as her creations died she would have to make more. She solved this problem by dividing the humans into male and female, so that they could reproduce and save her from having to make new humans to break her solitude.

Many years later, Pan Gu's greatest fear came true. The heavens collapsed so that there were holes in the sky, and the earth cracked, letting water rush from below to flood the earth. At other places, fire sprang forth from the earth, and everywhere wild beasts emerged from the forests to prey on the people. Nü Wa drove the beasts back and healed the earth. To fix the sky, she took stones of many colors from the river and built a fire in which she melted them. She used the molten rock to patch the holes in the sky, and she used the four legs of a giant turtle to support the sky again. Exhausted by her labors, she soon lay down to die and, like Pan Gu, from her body came many more features to adorn the world that she had restored.

#china #human #soil #Nü Kua #Nü Wa #Pangu #Panku #Egg

Pangu

reference link : https://mythopedia.com/chinese-mythology/gods/pangu/

The Egg

Before the universe was born, there was absolutely nothing but chaotic darkness. Over the course of 18,000 years, the chaos swirled and gathered into the shape of an egg. With the entire substance of the universe was now confined into a single, tiny space, the inside of the egg became stormy and tumultuous. The opposing forces of yin and yang constantly battled and fought one another until they finally achieved balance. Pangu was formed from this first union of yin and yang.

Suddenly aware that he was stuck in a tiny space with no room to move, Pangu began to wriggle and writhe. The movement caused the egg to split into two halves, with the whites and yolk leaking from each. The light and fluffy whites floated up and became the clouds, stars, and sky while the heavy and dense yolks sunk down and became the earth. The two halves of the eggshell flew upwards and became the sun and the moon.

Pangu Raises the Heavens

After the forces of yin and yang settled within the egg, Pangu found himself trapped in the shell. He took up his great axe and cracked open the egg. In the process, he cleaved yin and yang down the middle. All the stars and planets of the universe burst forth from the broken egg. The now separated yin and yang parted ways, with yin forming the earth and yang forming the heavens above it.

To avoid being trapped between the sky and the earth, Pangu needed to keep yin and yang separate from each other. Using only his arms, Pangu raised the sky above his head. Each day, Pangu grew three feet taller and the earth grew ten feet thicker. Over the course of 18,000 years, the earth and the sky ended up where they are today. Pangu died after he finished growing, and his four limbs became the pillars that hold up the sky.

Pangu’s Body Becomes the Earth

In this version of the myth, Pangu was so exhausted from struggling to break free of the egg that he laid down to take a nap and died in his sleep.

As his body decayed, it started to change dramatically. As his last breath left his body, it coalesced and became the clouds. His spine became a great mountain range. His left eye drifted up and became the sun while his right eye became the moon. Pangu’s flesh melted off his body and became rich, arable soil. His arteries became canyons and ravines while his blood poured out of his body and became the rivers that would fill them. His hair fell off of his head and floated upwards to become the stars. Pangu’s teeth and bones turned into metals and precious stones while his limbs became the four pillars that separated the sky from the earth.

#china #Panku #egg #choas

Chinese Pan Ku, the Creation Myth

reference link : https://www.gutenberg.org/files/15250/15250-h/15250-h.htm#d0e1278

The Fashioner of the Universe

The most conspicuous figure in Chinese cosmogony is P’an Ku. He it was who chiselled the universe out of Chaos. According to Chinese ideas, he was the offspring of the original dual powers of Nature, the yin and the yang (to be considered presently), which, having in some incomprehensible way produced him, set him the task of giving form to Chaos and “making the heavens and the earth.”

Some accounts describe him as the actual creator of the universe—“the ancestor of Heaven and earth and all that live and move and have their being.” ‘P’an’ means ‘the shell of an egg,’ and ‘Ku’ ‘to secure,’ ‘solid,’ referring to P’an Ku being hatched from out of Chaos and to his settling the arrangement of the causes to which his origin was due. The characters themselves may, however, mean nothing more than ‘Researches into antiquity,’ though some bolder translators have assigned to them the significance if not the literal sense of ‘aboriginal abyss,’ or the Babylonian Tiamat, ‘the Deep.’

P’an Ku is pictured as a man of dwarfish stature clothed in bearskin, or merely in leaves or with an apron of leaves. He has two horns on his head. In his right hand he holds a hammer and in his left a chisel (sometimes these are reversed), the only implements he used in carrying out his great task. Other pictures show him attended in his labours by the four supernatural creatures—the unicorn, phoenix, tortoise, and dragon; others again with the sun in one hand and the moon in the other, Page 77some of the firstfruits of his stupendous labours. (The reason for these being there will be apparent presently.) His task occupied eighteen thousand years, during which he formed the sun, moon, and stars, the heavens and the earth, himself increasing in stature day by day, being daily six feet taller than the day before, until, his labours ended, he died that his works might live. His head became the mountains, his breath the wind and clouds, his voice the thunder, his limbs the four quarters of the earth, his blood the rivers, his flesh the soil, his beard the constellations, his skin and hair the herbs and trees, his teeth, bones, and marrow the metals, rocks, and precious stones, his sweat the rain, and the insects creeping over his body human beings, who thus had a lowlier origin even than the tears of Khepera in Egyptian cosmology.1

This account of P’an Ku and his achievements is of Taoist origin. The Buddhists have given a somewhat different account of him, which is a late adaptation from the Taoist myth, and must not be mistaken for Buddhist cosmogony proper.2

The Sun and the Moon

In some of the pictures of P’an Ku he is represented, as already noted, as holding the sun in one hand and the moon in the other. Sometimes they are in the form of those bodies, sometimes in the classic character. The legend says that when P’an Ku put things in order in the lower world, he did not put these two luminaries in their proper courses, so they retired into the Han Sea, and the people dwelt in darkness. The Terrestrial Page 78Emperor sent an officer, Terrestrial Time, with orders that they should come forth and take their places in the heavens and give the world day and night. They refused to obey the order. They were reported to Ju Lai; P’an Ku was called, and, at the divine direction of Buddha, wrote the character for ‘sun’ in his left hand, and that for ‘moon’ in his right hand; and went to the Han Sea, and stretched forth his left hand and called the sun, and then stretched forth his right hand and called the moon, at the same time repeating a charm devoutly seven times; and they forthwith ascended on high, and separated time into day and night.3

Other legends recount that P’an Ku had the head of a dragon and the body of a serpent; and that by breathing he caused the wind, by opening his eyes he created day, his voice made the thunder, etc.

P’an Ku and Ymer

Thus we have the heavens and the earth fashioned by this wonderful being in eighteen thousand years. With regard to him we may adapt the Scandinavian ballad:

It was Time’s morning When P’an Ku lived; There was no sand, no sea, Nor cooling billows;

Earth there was none, No lofty Heaven; No spot of living green; Only a deep profound.

And it is interesting to note, in passing, the similarity between this Chinese artificer of the universe and Ymer, the giant, who discharges the same functions in Scandinavian mythology. Though P’an Ku did not have the same kind of birth nor meet with the violent death of the latter, the results as regards the origin of the universe seem to have been pretty much the same.4

P’an Ku a Late Creation

But though the Chinese creation myth deals with primeval things it does not itself belong to a primitive time. According to some writers whose views are entitled to respect, it was invented during the fourth century A.D. by the Taoist recluse, Magistrate Ko Hung, author of the Shên hsien chuan (Biographies of the Gods). The picturesque person of P’an Ku is said to have been a concession to the popular dislike of, or inability to comprehend, the abstract. He was conceived, some Chinese writers say, because the philosophical explanations of the Cosmos were too recondite for the ordinary mind to grasp. That he did fulfil the purpose of furnishing the Page 80ordinary mind with a fairly easily comprehensible picture of the creation may be admitted; but, as will presently be seen, it is over-stating the case to say that he was conceived with the set purpose of furnishing the ordinary mind with a concrete solution or illustration of this great problem. There is no evidence that P’an Ku had existed as a tradition before the time when we meet with the written account of him; and, what is more, there is no evidence that there existed any demand on the part of the popular mind for any such solution or illustration. The ordinary mind would seem to have been either indifferent to or satisfied with the abstruse cosmogonical and cosmological theories of the early sages for at least a thousand years. The cosmogonies of the I ching, of Lao Tzŭ, Confucius (such as it was), Kuan Tzŭ, Mencius, Chuang Tzŭ, were impersonal. P’an Ku and his myth must be regarded rather as an accident than as a creation resulting from any sudden flow of psychological forces or wind of discontent ruffling the placid Chinese mind. If the Chinese brought with them from Babylon or anywhere else the elements of a cosmogony, whether of a more or less abstruse scientific nature or a personal mythological narrative, it must have been subsequently forgotten or at least has not survived in China. But for Ko Hung’s eccentricity and his wish to experiment with cinnabar from Cochin-China in order to find the elixir of life, P’an Ku would probably never have been invented, and the Chinese mind would have been content to go on ignoring the problem or would have quietly acquiesced in the abstract philosophical explanations of the learned which it did not understand. Chinese cosmogony would then have consisted exclusively of the recondite impersonal metaphysics which the Chinese Page 81mind had entertained or been fed on for the nine hundred or more years preceding the invention of the P’an Ku myth.

#china #egg #chaos #panku #pangu

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