Throughout history, humans of different backgrounds and cultures have drawn from their belief systems and existing knowledge in order to come to an understanding of their existence and the existence of the world around them. To do this, humans established creation narratives, which attempt to solidify one’s understanding of their origins by way of cultural and societal beliefs. Over time, countless creation narratives have originated from societies throughout the world; in fact, some of the most widespread creation narratives originate from Hindu, Judeo-Christian, Huainanzi, Ancient Quiche Mayan, and Yoruba backgrounds. This paper will explore the motives and belief systems behind each of these creation narratives, in addition to analyzing the reasons behind the similarities and differences found in each narrative and how they compare to the modern creation narrative of evolution. THESIS
Creation narratives have proven to be significant parts of numerous cultures, defining the ethics and way of thinking in each culture and allowing for a further understanding of cultures different from one’s own. However, this is not to say each creation narrative represents the same beliefs and ideology over multiple cultures. In fact, each creation narrative represents contrasting beliefs between different cultures, offering numerous ideas as to the origins of humans, the earth, and the universe. From the Hindu culture originated “The Sacrifice of Purusha” creation narrative. This narrative explores the idea of a being born at the beginning of time named Purusha, who was sacrificed by the gods. From this sacrifice, everything was created- animals were first born (specifically horses, cows, goats, and sheep) from this sacrifice. The division of Purusha is thought to be the reasoning behind the majority of creations, as each part of Purusha became part of humanity, earth, or the universe. Specifically, the tale of Purusha describes that “his mouth became the brāhman; his two arms were made into the rājanya; his two thighs the vaishyas; from his two feet the shūdra was born.” (Sources of Indian Tradition, vol. 1, From the Beginning to 1800, pp. 18-19), meaning that from Purushu first came the brāhman, or a type of priest, followed by the rājanya, or the lawgivers, which was succeeded by the vaishyas, or merchants and farmers, and finally came the shūdra, or the servers. The roles of the brāhman, rājanya, vaishyas, and shūdra and what part of Purusha each is said to have originated from (top to bottom/mouth-arms-thighs-feet) noticeably correlate to where each figure stands as members in the Hindu caste, with the brāhman being a member of the highest Hindu caste, followed by the rājanya, then the vaishyas, and the shūdra being a member of the lowest Hindu caste. “The Sacrifice of Purusha” then goes on to describe how the “worlds” were created, with the moon
coming from his mind and the sun coming from his eye; Indra and Agni, or two gods who took the form of twin brothers, coming from his mouth; the wind originating from his breath; the atmosphere coming from his navel; heaven from his head; and the earth from his feet, with the “quarters” (North, South, East, West) coming from his ear. Ultimately, the gods sacrificed Purusha, lacking distinct motive, however this sacrifice essentially created all beings and worlds alike. From different cultures come different ideologies, and from the Judeo-Christian beliefs came the idea of the creation of mankind, the earth, and the heavens by one superior, all-powerful God, as written in the Bible. This creation narrative explores the beliefs that God first created the heavens and the earth, but realizing there was only darkness, he created light, ultimately associating light with good. He followed by creating a separation between dry land and sea, covering the earth in life, “And God said, ‘Let the earth put forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit… And it was so.” (Genesis 1:1-31). God is illustrated as having the power to create anything, attempting to fill the earth with good, with only his words. God is then said to create the seasons, the days, and the years, along with creating light in the heavens to shine and allow light on earth. Finally, it was believed that God created animals to roam the earth and the seas, followed by man. The Bible then goes on to explain how mankind was created in the image of God, being made to have ascendancy over the animals of the earth, just as He had ascendancy over the earth. This ideology that humans were created as predecessors of God allows for a deeper understanding of the beliefs of the Judeo-Christians, demonstrating that humans deemed themselves to be in control of the earth and its creatures following its creation. All in all, the creation of the Earth and all of it’s living creatures are said to have occurred over the course of six days, for no motive or reason other than the idea that God strived to fill the earth with good as he believed it should have been. Another understanding of the creation of everything originates from the Huainanzi (religious text from 1100 BCE Han China). This creation narrative explores the idea that everything- the universe, the heavens, and the earth- were all created from the “Great Beginning”. This Great Beginning forged a universe from the initial emptiness, Heaven from the “clear and light” material, and Earth from the “heavy and turbid solidified” material. The essences of both the Heavens and the Earth became the Yin and the Yang, which are symbols of opposite forces which balance each other out and work together in harmony. From the Yin and Yang essences came the four seasons, which resulted in “the myriad of creatures of the world”. The opposing forces of Yin and Yang produced opposite materials; Yang produced fire and Yin produced water, and from the essences of fire and water were the sun and the moon created. From the excess force of the sun and the moon, stars were created, and Earth was given water and soil, ultimately leading to the creation of the vegetation filled Earth later on in the “Great Oneness”. The Great Oneness is this creation narratives explanation of how creatures of the Earth came into being, all coming in different species whether it be human or animal. It is believed that because man takes form, “he is governed by things” as compared to the true man, “who can return to that from which he was born and become as though formless… [a true man] is one who has never become separated from the Great Oneness.” (Huainanzi, 14:1a). The true man stands as an idea of a “Perfect person” or “Holy person”, and is seen as a man of both Heaven and Earth, and is something people of the Daoist religion may strive towards, though it is important to note that the true man is not a God. Overall, in this creation narrative from the Huainanzi, everything is created from nothing; there is no creator or motive for this creation, and everything is ultimately created with balance and harmony of opposites. The Ancient Quiché Mayans from Mesoamerica believed the “Forefathers, Creators, and Makers” or the Tepeu and Gucumatz felt it was time to create man in order for work on Earth to work, sustain, and create civilization. Tepeu and Gucumatz sought out “yac [the mountain cat], utiú [coyote], quel [a small parrot], and hob [the crow]” to give tidings to the yellow and white ears of corn, which man was to be created from. The form of man was first created, followed by the strength and muscles. The first four men and only the first four men were made with cornmeal, merely formed without mother or father. These four men were not ordinary men though, as they had a great wisdom and had the ability to see all that there was in the world, though they were neither Gods nor ordinary man. This creation narrative was constructed with the Ancient Mayans’ belief of numerous gods, each representing different characteristics of nature, with the maize god being one of the most sacred, as corn was an essential crop to the Mayans. Due to this vitality and sacredness of corn, Mayans praised the maize god and made offerings to demonstrate their gratefulness for the crop.