World Mythology

Human Desires, Wishes, Fears, and Foibles

David Seal, Sharon K. Smith

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781725268005, 9781725268012
• eBook ISBN: 9781725268029
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Theology

Mythology and religious-studies teachers will appreciate World Mythology for its thematic approach, historical background information, commentary, and discussion questions provided for each myth from a range of geographic regions. For the same reasons, any reader interested in mythology will enjoy the contents and format of the book.

1

How to Read a Myth

Introduction

Many factors can make myths difficult to appreciate and understand. Mythology comes to us from the past and from people of diverse worldviews, cultures, and languages. Myths are also a specific genre of literature, having their own rules of formulation and interpretation. In addition, in mythology, there is the reality of the absent author, where the myths are listened to and read by people like you and me, who are not able to contact the author (or authors), to ask questions or to get clarification about the meaning of his or her composition. All these factors and others can make the task of appreciating and understanding myths difficult. This chapter attempts to provide a foundation that will help mitigate the various degrees of separation that prevent you from enjoying and comprehending myths from around the world.

Initially, we will provide a working definition of myth. Though many exist, we can settle on certain common features. Second, we will give an overview of creation myths. Most cultures have a myth describing the earth’s origin. Third, we will provide an overview of the nature of oral cultures. Many, if not all, myths were originally enjoyed by a person hearing them performed out loud, together with other listeners, rather than reading them silently to themselves. Oral literature differs in many ways from written literature. Fourth, we will summarize the various functions myths had in their original contexts. Finally, regardless of the distance that separates us from understanding the various world myths, we will acknowledge that there are familiar human experiences expressed in these stories. The world’s mythologies reflect human curiosities, wishes, desires, fears, foibles, and concerns. We want to encourage you to discover these commonalities that bind together a culturally diverse humanity.

Characteristics of a Myth

To read a myth effectively, one needs to know the nature of the literature. A survey of the many books on mythology will reveal that there is no one definition of myth. William Doty devotes two entire chapters to defining myth. Doty lists the following attributes:1

1.A mythological corpus consists of a complex network of myths that are culturally important to the people that composed and preserved them. Myths are a communal possession; they have obtained currency because of their acceptance by a community.2 Over an extended period, a group has endorsed certain stories which address some of the larger questions about human life.

2.The myths portray a world where the characters, including deities and other supernatural beings,3 are treated as having the same visibility as anything else you might consider as existing. Even the physical world in myths—rivers, streams, woods, mountains, and the very earth itself—is alive with the divine presence. In short, myths deal with a numinous order of reality behind the appearances of the phenomenal world. Furthermore, the transcendent figures of the mythical world are represented as taking part in activities on a cosmic scale, which exert a permanent causal influence on earthly happenings.4 When myth is employed, it presupposes that humanity has learned to make some distinction between the natural and transcendent realm. Only when this insight has been achieved, does humanity “look to the actions of the gods as offering an explanation of what is experienced in the world.”5 Notably, these gods or forces are depicted as if they were persons, or at least they are portrayed using personal terms.6 As John Oswalt claims, “Mythical descriptions of the gods invariably depict them as human in every respect, only more so. They are strong; they are weak; they are good; they are bad; they are trustworthy; they are fickle.”7 Consequently, myths generally tend to have a low view of the gods. As you read a myth, look for examples of this characteristic. Often the gods even fear death and are helpless to do anything about it. Further, myth is almost always polytheistic. There are many different forces in the world, and there is usually a god for each one.8

3.Likewise, there is a uniformly low view of humanity in myth.9 Humans are often created to serve the gods, and, to a large degree, their creation was an afterthought. This relatively low view of humans is the case in the Norse creation myth, where only a small percentage of the myth discusses humanity. In addition, humans have no real control over their destinies. Choice appears to be an illusion.

4.Myths are conveyed in story form, employing graphic imagery and metaphorical and symbolic language.10 Graphic imagery is important because it demands and receives a greater amount of processing time by listeners, and thus, it will be more memorable.11 Storytellers often utilized image-based techniques to evoke an audience’s “visualization” of the text. Metaphors are important devices for helping people understand something unfamiliar; they teach by generating connections that would otherwise remain undetectable by the listener or reader. The presence of metaphors in a text might suggest that the author wanted to clarify a topic or to teach his audience content that he felt would require a comparison to foster comprehension of the topic. Myths also employ symbols, which function more effectively to describe reality, because some things elude a precise description or definition.

5.Myths are often expressed in emotional language to both convince the original audience of their relevance and to lead listeners to participate in them.12 Emotions foster empathy with the characters of the tale. Participation by listeners becomes empathetic identification.

Not all these components of myth noted above will be self-evident in every myth you read. However, knowing them will help prepare you for the elements you might encounter as you read and try to comprehend this genre of literature.

Creation Myths

The subject matter of myths helps a culture to understand their surrounding universe, its history, and arrangement, and explain humanity’s place in it. Consequently, most cultures have a myth that explains the world’s origin or a creation myth. Creation myths can be categorized by certain characteristics, which we will summarize in this section.

Creation myths are grouped according to their symbolic structure. They include creation from nothing, creation from chaos, creation from a cosmic egg, creation from world parents, creation through emergence, and creation through the agency of an earth dive...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Preface
• Abbreviations
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter 1: How to Read a Myth
• Chapter 2: Vasalisa. Russian
• Chapter 3: How Thomas Connolly Met the Banshee. Irish
• Chapter 4: Chi Li Slays the Serpent. Chinese
• Chapter 5: The Epic of Gilgamesh. Sumerian/Babylonian
• Chapter 6: Penthesileia. Greek
• Chapter 7: Hymn to Hermes. Greek
• Chapter 8: The Trickster. Native American
• Chapter 9: Oedipus the King. Greek
• Chapter 10: Moni-Mambu and Anansi. African
• Chapter 11: Myths of Filial Piety. Asian
• Chapter 12: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. British
• Chapter 13: The King, the Pigeon, and the Hawk. East Indian
• Chapter 14: The Aeneid. Roman
• Chapter 15: Antigone. Greek
• Chapter 16: The Odyssey. Greek
• Chapter 17: The Boy who Was Kind to Animals. Tibetan
• Chapter 18: The Old Woman Who Was Kind to Insects. Inuit
• Chapter 19: The Tale of the Orphan and the Old Woman. African
• Chapter 20: Sedna. Inuit
• Chapter 21: Genesis. Ancient Hebrew
• Chapter 22: Popol Vuh. Mayan
• Chapter 23: Völuspá Part 1, Creation. Norse
• Chapter 24: Creation of the Titans and Gods. Greek
• Chapter 25: The Emergence. Native American
• Chapter 26: Creation of the Universe and Ife. African
• Chapter 27: Creation. Egyptian
• Chapter 28: Pangu. Chinese
• Chapter 29: Creation. Mongolian
• Chapter 30: Rangi and Papa. Polynesian
• Chapter 31: Revelation. Middle Eastern
• Chapter 32: Völuspá Part 2, Ragnarok. Norse
• Chapter 33: Afterlife. Persian
• Chapter 34: The Moon and Death. Australian
• Chapter 35: Pele, Goddess of the Volcano. Hawaiian
• Bibliography