Creation Myths
Shillluk (Africa)
The creator Juok moulded all people of earth. While he was engaged in the work of creation, he wandered about the world.
In the land of the whites he found a pure white earth or sand, and out of it he shaped white people. Then he came to the land of Egypt and out of the mud of the Nile he made red or brown people. Lastly, he came to the land of the Shilluks, and finding there black earth he created black people out of it.
The way in which he modeled human beings was this. He took a lump of earth and said to himself, "I will make humans, but they must be able to walk and run and go out into the fields, so I will give each of them two long legs, like the flamingo." Having done so, he thought again, "They must be able to cultivate millet, so I will give each of them two arms, one to hold the hoe, and the other to tear up the weeds." So he gave humans two arms. Then he thought again, "They must be able to see the millet, so I will give them two eyes." He did so accordingly. Next he thought to himself, "They must be able to eat their millet, so I will give each a mouth." And a mouth he gave accordingly. After that he thought within himself, "They must be able to dance and speak and sing and shout, and for these purposes they must have tongues." And tongues he gave accordingly. Lastly the Deity said to himself, "They must be able to hear the noise of the dance and the speech of the great ones, and for that they need two ears." So two ears each he gave, and sent them out into the world as perfect humans."
Sikh
When existed neither earth nor heaven, but only the limitless Divine Ordinance.
Then existed neither day or night, nor sun or moon;
As the Creator was absorbed in an unbroken trance.
Existed then neither forms of creation, nor of speech; neither wind nor water.
Neither was creation or disappearance or transmigration.
Then were not continents, neither regions, the seven seas, nor rivers with water flowing.
Existed then neither heaven or the mortal world or the nether world;
Neither hell or heaven or time that destroys.
Hell and heaven, birth and death were then not--none arrived or departed.
Then were not Brahma, Vishnu or Shiva:
None other than the Sole Lord was visible.
Neither existed then female or male, or caste and birth--
None suffering and joy received.
Unknowable Himself, was He the source of all utterance; Himself
the unknowable unmanifested.
As it pleased Him, the world He created;
Without a supporting power the expanse He sustained.
Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva He created and to maya-attachment gave
increase.
(To a rare one was the Master's Word imparted.)
Himself He made His Ordinance operative and watched over it:
Creating continents, spheres and nether worlds, the hidden He
made manifest.
Creating the universe Himself, He has remained unattached.
The compassionate Lord too has made the holy center [the human
being].
Combining air, water, and fire, He created the citadel of the
body.
The Creator fashioned the Nine Abodes [of sensation];
In the Tenth [the superconscious mind] is lodged the Lord, unknowable,
limitless.
The illimitable Lord in His unattributed state of void assumed
might;
He, the infinite One, remaining detached:
Displaying his power, He himself from the void created inanimate
things.
From the unattributed void were created air and water.
Raising creation, He dwells as monarch in the citadel of the body.
Lord! In the fire and water [of the body] exists Thy light;
In Thy [original] state of void was lodged [unmanifest] the power
of creation.
Tahitian
He stood in the void: no earth, no sky, no men.
Taaroa calls the four corners of the universe; nothing replies.
Alone existing, he changes himself into the universe.
Taaroa is the light, he is the seed, he is the base, he is the incorruptible.
The universe is only the shell of Taaroa.
It is he who puts it in motion and brings forth its harmony.
Vodun
Damballah (Sky-serpent loa and wise and loving Father archetype) created all the waters of the earth. In the form of a serpent, the movement of his 7,000 coils formed hills and valleys on earth and brought forth stars and planets in the heavens. He forged metals from heat and sent forth lightning bolts to form the sacred rocks and stones.
When he shed his skin in the sun, releasing all the waters over the land, the sun shone in the water and created the rainbow. Damballah loved the rainbow's beauty and made her his wife, Aida-Wedo. (Aida-Wedo represents the sky powers and is symbolized by the rainbow; wife of Damballah, she shares his function as cosmic protector and giver of blessing.)
The revelations of the loa (deity) descended upon the first faithful in Ifé, a legendary city located in Nigeria. Therefore, everything in life and all spiritual strength comes from Ifé. The homeland of all vodun devotees, where Ifé is located, is Ginen, from where they were forced to flee in the African Diaspora. In death, the higher soul will return to Ginen (the world of the dead, said to be under the water below the earth) to reside with the loa and the ancestral spirits. Because of this, all practitioners of vodun refer to themselves as ti guinin, sons or daughters of Ginen.
[From Vodun Creation Mythology (Site is currently inoperative.)]
Yokut
A Great Flood had occurred upon Earth long, long ago. While Earth was still covered with water, there were no living creatures upon the land. Then out of the sky one day glided an enormous Eagle with a black Crow riding upon its back, searching for a place to light.
Around and around Eagle flew until he discovered a projecting tree stump, or what appeared to be a stump, upon which he landed to rest. There was a home at last upon the flat surface, which was amply large enough for Eagle and Crow to roost upon. From here, they surveyed the greenish gray water as far as they could see. The sky was a gorgeous bright blue with a few white drifting clouds, occasionally swirled by a passing breeze. All seemed serene to Eagle and Crow.
Small fish were visible below the water, sometimes leaping out of the sea playfully. Hunger caused Eagle and Crow to swoop down, catching a meal for themselves from time to time. Soon a game developed between the two birds to see which one would be the winner in the fish-catching contest. Upon their return to the stump, however, they always shared the reward.
Because of Eagle's great size and wingspan, he soared to great heights and surveyed widely, as the two birds often flew in opposite directions exploring for land. But no land did they find. No other flying creatures did they see. But they always returned to their home base on the tree stump. Between them, they wondered "How can we possibly think of a way to make land?"
"We know we cannot dive deep enough to find dirt, and the fish are of no help except to provide food." Day after day these scenes were repeated, exploring in search of land or wondering how to create land, only to return to their stump and catch more fish.
One morning soon thereafter and much to their surprise, a Duck was swimming around and around their stump. Occasionally, it dived deep in the water, rose to the surface chewing small fish, twisting its head from side to side trying to swallow its meal. One time, Duck emerged with more mud than fish in its mouth. Eagle and Crow bird-talked excitedly about this! "Can Duck possibly bring up enough mud for us to build land?" they wondered. How could they let Duck know that mud was what they needed most?
An idea occurred to Eagle, which he bird-talked to Crow, "If we supply fish for Duck, maybe he will bring up more mud than fish." By trial and error, the two birds caught fish for Duck, placing them at the edge of the stump, until Duck learned that the fish were for him in exchange for mud!
When Duck appeared on the surface after a deep dive, Eagle and Crow brushed off the mud from Duck's bill and his body with their wings. Progress was slow but steady. Gradually, Eagle had a pile of mud on his side of the stump and Crow had a similar pile on his side. Each placed fish on his own side for Duck, who now responded by carrying more and more mud to Eagle and Crow. This became a great game of fish-and-mud exchange.
Duck worked very hard, consequently he was always hungry. The birds were surprised at how large each one's mud pile grew every day. In bird talk they said, "Duck is helping us to make a new world. This we will share equally."
Occasionally, Eagle and Crow flew toward the horizon, exploring for any new signs of land. But they returned with nothing new to report; however, they noticed a slight lowering of water around the tree stump.
"Surely, the flood must be coming to an end," Crow and Eagle bird-talked. Each day they watched for a change in the waterline. Each day their piles of mud seemed higher and higher. Faithful Duck kept up his good work as Eagle and Crow caught fish for him and scraped off mud from him for each side of the new world.
Another time, Eagle flew high and far in search of dry land, not returning until late. The sun set and darkness enveloped his world on the stump. Next morning, to Eagle's surprise, he saw how much more mud he had acquired, and he was pleased. But after looking across at Crow's mud pile, Eagle was astounded to see that Crow had given himself twice as much mud while Eagle was away. "Was this Crow's idea of sharing the new world equally?" accused Eagle.
Of course, they quarreled all that day and the next over Crow's unfairness. But the following day, they went back to work making their new land. Eagle decided that he must catch up. He caught two fish for Duck and put them in his usual place. Duck responded by bringing up mud twice to Eagle in exchange for his two fish. All three worked very hard for many, many moons.
Gradually, Eagle's half of the new world became taller and taller than Crow's half, even though Crow seemed to work just as hard as Eagle. Duck was faithful to his task, never tiring in his effort to supply mud. Of course, Duck continued to give Eagle twice as much mud for his two fish. Crow never seemed to notice why Eagle's half became higher and higher than his half.
One morning, as the sun rose brightly, the two birds looked down through the water and saw what appeared to be land!
"So that is where Duck finds the mud," they bird-talked. They were pleased to see that the water was subsiding. How they hoped that soon they would be high and dry on their new world.
But all was not so easy, for that very night lightning flashed across the waters and thunder rolled and rolled from one horizon to the other followed by a heavy, drenching rain. Eagle and Crow sought shelter in holes they dug into the sides of their mud piles. All night long the rain continued to fall, washing away much of the new world into the sea.
As the rain stopped and the sun rose, Eagle and Duck looked out upon the waters and saw an arc of many colors reaching from one edge of the horizon across the sky to the other horizon. This brilliant display held their eyes in wonderment. What did it mean? They marveled at how long the colors lingered in the sky. Eagle flew toward the scene for a closer look, returning when the arc disappeared.
In bird talk, Eagle and Crow decided that the storm of the night before must have been a clearing shower. They began their land-building project again, hoping that Duck would resume his work as mud-carrier. Soon the sun's rays burned strong and hot, packing the mud until it was hard. Duck appeared and the team of three continued to build the two halves of the new world.
Day by day, the waters subsided and new land began to show above the waterline but far, far below the new creation by Eagle and Crow. Eagle's half became taller and taller and hard packed by the hot sun. Crow's share of the new world was still great, but never could become as large as Eagle's half of the new world.
In retelling this creation story, Yokut tribal historians always claim that Eagle's half became the mighty Sierra Nevada Mountains. They also tell how Crow's half became known as the Coast Mountain Range. Yokut historians end their tale by saying that people everywhere honor the brave and strong Eagle, while Crow is accorded a lesser place because of his unfair disposition displayed during the creation of the new world by Eagle and Crow.
Share Your Thoughts/Ask Questions
Universal Myths Forum
Meet other visitors to this site.
Ask questions; help others with their questions. Share resources, etc.
Return to Uranus for more Universal Myths.
Voyage to Morgana's Observatory to view the site's main page for
a complete index of this virtual solar system: Ancient Mysteries, Controversies,
Universal Myths, Hidden History, Chat Rooms, etc.
©1997-2006 Morgana's Observatory. All rights reserved.
