Asia- China, India, JapanMiddle East- Christian, Islam, SumerianEuropean- Greece, Rome, NorwayAfrica- EgyptThe Americas- Iroquois, Maya

CREATION STORIES

China, India and Japan

ASIA

Taoist Religion

CHINESE CREATION

Chinese Creation• In the beginning, the

universe was a black egg where heaven and earth were mixed together, and in this egg was contained Pangu. • He felt suffocated, so he

cracked the egg with a broadax, and the light, clear part of the egg floated up to form Heaven while the cold, heavy part stayed down and formed Earth.

Chinese Creation• Pangu stood in the middle,

and he and the egg's two parts grew and grew until he was nine million li in height. • When Pangu died, his breath

became the wind and clouds, his voice the rolling thunder, and his eyes the sun and the moon.

Chinese Creation• His hair and beard became

the stars in the sky, the flowers and trees from his skin, the marrow in his bones became jade and pearls, and his sweat the good rain that nurtured the Earth. 

Chinese Creation• After Pan Gu split the sky and

earth, Nu Wa was there. • She loved everything there.

There were birds and beasts, fish and insects already, but on the whole it still appeared lifeless to the deity (f). • One day, the lonely deity (f)

saw her own beautiful shadow in the waters of the Yellow River, and she decided to create some company.

Chinese Creation• With her dexterous hands, she

turned the yellow mud in the Yellow River bed into little figures in the shape of herself; only she made legs for them instead of tails. • She blew a breath into them,

and these little figures immediately became alive. And they walk with their back upward and speak intelligently. Nu Wa called them human beings. • The deity (f) also put male and

female elements to them and there come men and women.

Chinese Creation• Nu Wa was happy to see them and

wanted to make as many human beings as possible so they could live on each corner of the earth. • However, she was too tired so she

came up with an idea to stir the mud on to bottom of the riverbed with a rope and throw the rope in the air. • The little mud dots became human

beings too.  Thus, man was seen everywhere in the world.• Since humans would eventually die,

to continue the generation of mankind, Nu Wa made men and women couples. The • This way they were able to create

their own children. That is the explanation of the existence of mankind.

Hindu Religion

INDIAN CREATION

Indian (Hindu) Creation• Before time began there was

no heaven, no earth and no space between.• A giant cobra floated on the

nothingness and asleep in its coils was the deity Vishnu. • A sound (‘om’) began to fill

the nothingness and woke Vishnu.

Indian (Hindu) Creation• As Vishnu woke, a

magnificent lotus flower grew from his navel.• In the middle of the lotus

flower sat Brahma.• Vishnu commanded Brahma

to create the world. Then a wind swept the waters and Vishnu and the serpent vanished.

Indian (Hindu) Creation• Brahma split the lotus flower

into three. He made one part in to the heavens. He made another part in to the earth. With the third part he created the sky.

Indian (Hindu) Creation• The earth was bare. Brahma

created grass, flowers, trees and plants. Next he created the animals and insects, birds and fish. To all these creatures he gave the sense of touch and smell. He gave them the power to see, hear and move.

• In the stillness that was left, Brahma had only one thing more to do.

• The world needed a master, someone to enjoy it and take care of it, so that it would last forever, as Lord Vishnu had commanded.

• Brahma sat quiet, and thought.

Indian (Hindu) Creation• After a long time his thoughts

took shape.

• First, a wisp of shadow in the white air….a glowing, shimmering cloud that grew thicker and denser, changing into a living, breathing shape.

• A new being, made from the thought of Brahma, in the form of a deity (m).

• Brahma looked at him in delight: surely this creature made in the deity’s (m) image, would take charge of the world and keep it forever as the Lord Vishnu wished.

Indian (Hindu) Creation• But the creature did not move.

• Its eyes were shut, unheeding the new world around it.

• Because it was made of the thoughts of Brahma, all it wanted to do was to sit thinking deeply about the deity (m).

• Brahma saw that this creature was too simple, too flawless to look after the world.

• If he was to create a being to carry out Lord Vishnu’s will, he would need another power.

Indian (Hindu) Creation• Thought was not enough: he

would need to use action too.

• Not only his mind, but his whole body, his whole self, would be required if the new creature was to open his eyes to the world, be happy and fulfilled by creation as well as the creator.

• There was only one certain way. Filled with happiness that he was carrying out Lord Vishnu’s orders, Brahma divided his body in two.

Indian (Hindu) Creation• One moment there was one,

the next there were two: equal, unblemished, whole, the image of one another. Out of one, Brahma shaped man; out of the other, woman.

• The man was called Manu, wise; and the woman Shatarupa mysterious.

Indian (Hindu) Creation• Manu and Shatarupa, created

out of Brahma himself, looked into each other’s hearts.

• They smiled. Gently, they touched hands. Then they walked out together into the world Brahma had given them; their charge, their responsibility, the joy and duty laid on them by Lord Vishnu at the start of time.

Shinto Religion

JAPANESE CREATION

Shinto (Japan) Creation• At the beginning of time, the

heavens and the earths were mixed together in a great cloud. • Slowly, the clearer, lighter

parts of the cloud rose up and became heaven.• The heavier parts of the

cloud descended and became an ocean of muddy water.

Shinto (Japan) Creation• Between the heavens and

the earth, a pale green sprout began to grow. • It grew swiftly and was

extremely strong. • When the plant’s flower burst

open, the first detiy (m) emerged.

Shinto (Japan) Creation• This first deity (m) then

created Izanagi, is the deity (m) of all that is light and heavenly. • Izanagi, whose name means

"the male who invites", and his wife and sister Izanami, whose name means "the female who invites". • The first deity (m) gave

Izanagi the task of finishing the creation of the world.

Shinto (Japan) Creation• Standing on rainbow called

Ama-no-ukihashi (the floating bridge of the heavens), they plunged a jewel crested spear into the ocean. • When they pulled it free, the

water that dripped from the spear coagulated and formed the first island of the Japanese archipelago. • Izanagi and Izanami went

down to this island and settled down on it.

Shinto (Japan) Creation• Together, on this island, they

made the islands of Japan. • When Izanami died giving birth

to the fire deity (m), Izanagi went to the underworld to retrieve her.• She said she would follow him,

provided that he did not turn around to look at her.• He looked at her, and she said

she would kill 1000 humans every day.• He said he would create 1500

humans a day. • When Izanagi returned from the

underworld, he started the first cleaning rites.

Shinto (Japan) Creation• He washed his left eye and

thus created the sun deity (f) Amaterasu. • When he washed his right

eye, the moon deity (f) Tsuki-Yumi came forth.• From his nose he created

Susanowo, the deity (m) of the seas and the storms.• Later, he created the first

people and animals of the island. 

Christian, Islam, Judaism, and Sumerian

THE MIDDLE EAST

Christian, Islamic, Jewish, and Sumerian Religions

MONOTHEISTIC CREATION

Jewish, Christian and Islamic Creation• In the beginning, there was

only God. God looked upon the emptiness that surrounded him and said “Let there be light!” And there was light. God called the light ‘Day’ and the darkness ‘Night’. This was the first day and night of the world.

Jewish, Christian and Islamic Creation• On the second day, God

created a great expanse above the dark waters that surrounded the world. He called this expanse “sky”.

Jewish, Christian and Islamic Creation• On the third day, God

created dry earth between the waters. He called this dry earth “land” and called the waters “seas.” He sculpted the land into mountains and valleys. God then commanded the land to sprout grass, plants, and trees. The earth overflowed with flowering vegetation. 

Jewish, Christian and Islamic Creation• On the fourth day, God

created the celestial bodies. He called the stars, suns, and moons into existence. He set them in the sky to separate the day from the night.

Jewish, Christian and Islamic Creation• On the fifth day, God created

all of the creatures that swam in the seas. He made the skies teem with birds and other flying animals.

Jewish, Christian and Islamic Creation• On the sixth day, God made

all of the land-dwelling animals. Finally, God created a man to look after these animals. In order to provide a companion and helper to the Man, God created Woman out of one of Man’s ribs. He declared Man and Woman rulers of the earth and assigned to them the responsibility of looking after all of the creatures that resided on it. 

Jewish, Christian and Islamic Creation• And on the seventh and final

day, God looked upon the earth and saw that it was good. So, on that seventh day, God rested. 

Enuma Elish

MESOPOTAMIAN CREATION

• Surviving tablets from the 1st millineum• Origins in Babylon

The Epic of Creation- Enuma Elish

• In the beginning, there was only Apsu (fresh water) and Tiamat (Salt water)• They gave birth to a line of

deities ending in Ea.

The Epic of Creation- Summary

• The younger deities make too much noise. • Apsu gets angry, and plots

to kill them.• Ea kills Apsu, and

imprisons his vizier (advisor) Mummu

The Epic of Creation- Summary

• Ea has a son named Marduk• Marduk has power over

the winds, and his playing with the wind disturbs Tiamat.

The Epic of Creation- Summary

• The elder deities persuade Tiamat to attack the younger deities.• Tiamat remarries, giving

her new husband the supreme being title.• Quingu, her new husband,

is given the Tablet of Destinies by Tiamet

The Epic of Creation- Summary

• Many try to face Tiamat, but she defeats them all.• Ea calls on Marduk to face

Tiamat• Marduk accepts on the

condition that the deities make him their ruler.

The Epic of Creation- Summary

• Marduk faces Tiamat, and kills her with imhullu wind.• He takes the Tablet of

Destinies• Marduk uses Tiamat’s

body to create the world.

The Epic of Creation- Summary

• Marduk kills Tiamat’s second husband, Quingu, and uses his blood to create humans.• These humans are to be

servants of the deities.

The Epic of Creation- Summary

• Deities build Babylon as a shrine to Marduk and acclaim him with 50 names

The Epic of Creation- Summary

Greek, Roman, Norse

EUROPEAN CREATION

Polytheistic Religion

GREEK AND ROMAN CREATION

Greek and Roman Creation• In the beginning, there was

only Chaos and Eros. • Gaea, the earth, Erebus, the

underworld, and Night emerged from the mixing of these two, and Gaea gave birth to Uranus, the heavens, who then became her mate, and Oceanus, the oceans.

Greek and Roman Creation• Gaea and Uranus together

produced the twelve Titans, three Cyclopes, and three hundred-handed giants, or Hecatoncheires, but Uranus feared his children as a threat to his throne, and bade Gaea take them back into her womb. • Gaea loved her children,

however, and hated Uranus' tyranny.

Greek and Roman Creation• Kronos succeeded Uranus on

the throne and married his sister Rhea.• He freed the Titans and

shared his kingdom among them, but imprisoned the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires in Tartarus, a fiery pit much like Hell.• Kronos and Rhea had six

children, who would become six of the deities of the Greek pantheon.

Greek and Roman Creation• Kronos, however, was

similarly afraid of his children, and decided to swallow him. • Rhea plotted to keep the

youngest, Zeus, out of Kronos' way, and gave her husband a rock swaddled in cloth to swallow instead.• Zeus was raised on the

island of Crete and grew into a handsome youth.

Greek and Roman Creation• Eventually he slipped Kronos

a drink to vomit up his other five siblings, and they and Prometheus, one of the Titans, fought and defeated Kronos and the Titans for power. • Zeus ruled the earth and

married his sister Hera; the deities together created humans to entertain and amuse them as they watched from their home on Mount Olympus. 

Greek Family Tree

Roman Family Tree

Polytheistic Religion

NORSE CREATION

Norse Creation• In the beginning there was a

giant void or chasm called Ginnungagap. • On one side of the void was

Niflheim, the land of fog and ice, in the north, and on the other was Muspelheim, the land of fire, to the south.

Norse Creation• Part of the ice of Niflheim

melted, creating the giant Ymir and the cow Audhumla, who nourished him. • Audhumla fed by licking the

salty ice, and her licking formed the deity (m) Buri.• Ymir created the first frost

giants, a male and a female, from under his left arm.

Norse Creation• Odin, the grandson of Buri

and the son of Buri's son Bor, killed Ymir, and Ymir's blood drowned all the frost giants except for one, Bergelmir, who fled to continue the race. • Odin created the earth from

Ymir's body, and Ymir's blood was the sea; his flesh, the earth; his skull, the sky; his bones, the mountains; his hair, the trees.

Norse Creation• From Ymir's body grew an

ash tree named Yggdrasil, whose branches supported the universe. • Yggdrasil had three roots

going to each of the three levels of the world.• Three springs supplied it with

water.

Norse Creation• One root went into Asgard,

the home of the deities, another went to Jotunheim, the land of the giants, and a third went to Niflheim, the primeval land of ice from which Ymir and Audhumla were created. • In Jotunheim's spring, Mimir,

lay wisdom.• Niflheim's spring nourished

the adder Nidhogge who gnawed at the roots of Ygdrasil.

Norse Family Tree

Egypt

AFRICAN CREATION

Polythestic Religion

EGYPTIAN CREATION

The Egyptian Creation• The Egyptians, basing their

mythology on the Nile River that supported their entire civilization, started their creation myth with Nu, or water. • Nu, a fierce chaotic cauldron

of water, gave rise to the Sun (known as Khepra in the dawn, Ra through the day, and Atem at dusk), which became the creator of the rest of the deities and civilization.

The Egyptian Creation• The Sun eventually became known as

simply Ra, then later Amen-Ra.• Ra found himself in s swirling watery

place.• He created a hill, and built a temple on

it.• Then he created the other deities.• He spit, and created his son and

daughter Shu (deity (m) of air) and Tefnut (deities (f) of moisture).

• Shu and Tefnut got separated from Ra. • He had only one eye (removable)

which allowed him to see everywhere.• Using this eye, he sent it to find his

children.• When they returned with it, he wept

tears of joy, and when they hit the ground, men grew from them.

The Egyptian Creation• Ra then proceeded to call

everything into being, including Hapi, the Nile, and rule over Egypt as the first Pharaoh. • Man was to be led by Ra, deity

(m) among men. • Eventually man began to

mock the aging Ra, who called a meeting of the deities.• Ra’s father, Nu told him to

destroy man by looking upon them from the heavens.• Man hid from the eye of Ra in

the shadows.

The Egyptian Creation• Ra got mad when they tried to

hide.• He held another meeting of the

deities, who told Ra to send his eye down to earth so they couldn’t hide.• Ra sent his eye down in the form

of the deity (f) Hathor.• Hathor spread bloodshed

throughout the world.• Hathor returned to Ra in the

form of Sekhmet, a mighty lioness, so she could continue killing.• Ra didn’t want all of mankind to

be killed. He just wanted to scare them into respecting him.

The Egyptian Creation• In order to stop Sekhemet, Ra

ordered 7,000 jars of beer to be colored red.• He had the beer taken to the

place where Sekhmet would do her next killing. • The beer was poured into a

field there, and when Sekhmet arrived, she saw her reflection and thought the beer was blood.• Appeasing her appetite for

blood, she drank and became drunk.• She then abandoned her

mission to spill more blood.

Egyptian Family Tree

Iroquois and Maya

CREATION IN THE AMERICAS

Iroquois creation• In the beginning there was

no earth to live on, only a watery abyss, but up above, in the Great Blue, there was a community called the Sky World including a woman who dreamed dreams.• One night she dreamed

about the tree that was the source of light. The dream frightened her, so she went and asked the men in the Sky World to pull up the tree.

Iriquois creation• They dug around the trees

roots to make space for more light, and the tree fell through the hole and disappeared. • After that there was only

darkness. • Distraught, they pushed the

woman through the hole as well.• The woman would have been

lost in the abyss had not a fish hawk come to her aid using his feathers to pillow her.

Iriquois creation• The fish hawk could not keep

her up all on his own, so he asked for help to create some firm ground for the woman to rest upon. • A helldiver went down to the

bottom of the sea and brought back mud in his beak. • He found a turtle, smeared

the mud onto its back, and dove down again for more. • Ducks also brought up pieces

of the ocean floor and to spread over the turtle's shell.

Iriquois creation• The beavers helped build

terrain, making the shell bigger. • The birds and the animals

built the continents until they had made the whole round earth, while the woman was safely sitting on the turtle's back.• The turtle continues to hold

the earth on its back.

Iriquois creation• After this, one of the Spirits

of the Sky World came down and looked at the earth. • As he traveled over it, he

found it beautiful, and so he created people to live on it and gave them special skills; each tribe of the Iroquois nation was given special gifts to share with the rest of humanity.

MAYA CREATION

Maya Creation• The myth of Maya creation

as recorded in the Popul Vuh starts with One Ahuapu (the first father) walking past the mouth of a cave.• The gods of the underworld

call out to him and invite him to come down and play a ball game. • He takes the bait and

descends into the darkness, where the gods immediately behead him. • They hang his severed head

in a Calabash tree.

Maya Creation• Shortly thereafter, the

daughter of one of the gods walks by and stops and speaks to the hanging head.• The head spits into her hand. • She becomes pregnant, and

is banished from the underworld. • In due course she gives birth

to twin boys (the Hero Twins). They grow into strong young lads.

Maya Creation• After hearing the story about

their father, the Hero Twins decide to go in search of him. They find the mouth of the cave (Xibalba), challenge the gods to a ball game, and win. • Then thru a series of tricks in

which one brother kills the other and then brings him back to life, followed by the second brother repeating the performance, the gods are dumbfounded.

Maya Creation• Finally, one said "Can you do

that for me?". • "Sure" said the twins, at

which point they dutifully stepped forward to fulfill the god's request, and slayed him. • Then, instead of bringing him

back to life, they resurrect their long dead father and head for the surface. • The father, following the

twins, sees corn along the trail, and takes an ear.

Maya Creation• As they reach the surface,

the Hero Twins pass thru Xibalba and rise into the sky to become the Sun and Moon. • The father emerges from the

cave as the God of Maize, and is greeted by the first sunrise of the Maya world.•  All Maya everywhere believe

that they are the descendants of that one ear of corn. • That is the definition of who

is a Maya and who is not.

Maya Creation•  Somewhere in the Maya

world tonight an old man will gather young children around a fire and tell them this story, as it has been told for over 5000 years. • Scenes from it are found in

Maya art from the very earliest examples. • It is a fundamental piece of

the Maya culture, mythology, and religion.• It is the most important piece

of literature ever produced in the western hemisphere, and is generally unknown.