THE MYTHS OF ORIGIN AND WATER

YORUBA
Our scent, the god of heaven asked his children to create a new kingdom in which they would spread
descendants, giving them the name ofIle-Ife. I will launch a great chain from the universe.
where he lived, being the first waters his objective, down that chain he descendedOduduwa, carrying a
a handful of dirt in his pockets, a five-toed chicken, and a seed.
When he was ready, Oduduwa threw the handful of earth onto the waters, thus forming his
new kingdomIfe. There the hen scratched the ground and buried the seed, from which a big tree grew.
sixteen branches, which are the sixteen children of Oduduwa, from whom the sixteen tribes descend
Yoruba.
Inuit
At the beginning of the world, there was only a man and a woman, without any animals. The woman asked
aKaila, the god of heaven, who will populate the Earth. Kaila ordered him to make a hole in the ice to fish.
Then, she started pulling out of the hole, one by one, all the animals. Thecaribouit was the last. Kaila gave him
he said that the caribou was his gift, the most beautiful he could give her, because it would feed his people.
AZTEC
TezcatlipocayQuetzalcoatlThey realize that the gods feel empty and need companionship.
For this reason, they need to create the land. There was only a vast sea, where the monster of the land lived.
To attract him,Tezcatlipocaoffers his foot as bait and the monster comes out and eats it. Before that
can be submerged, the two gods take it, stretch it to give the earth its shape. Their eyes are
they turn into ponds, their tears into rivers, their orifices into caves. After that, they give him the gift of the
vegetation to comfort its pain. And later they set out to create the first
men.
MAYA
The Maya creation myth is beautifully explained in their sacred book, thePopol Vuh. In it, to the
In the beginning, there were only the gods in a latent state over a still sea, and then there were words.
and they decided to create the world so that human beings could exist.
INCA
The origin of man essentially lies in the two sons of the Sun.Manco CapacyMother Ocllo,
who left of theLake Titicacaand gave rise to theIncansof theCuzco
NORDIC COUNTRIES
In the beginning, there was the world of ice.Niflheim, and the world of fireMuspelheim, and among them
was thereGinnungagap, a "deep void", where nothing lived. In Niflheim there was a spring of
icy waters, calledHvergelmir(‘roaring cauldron’), which bubbled, and whatever fell, did so in
Ginnungagap. Upon coming into contact with the void, it transformed into ice, until finally, the ice
it ended up filling him. The embers of Muspelheim fell on the ice, creating large clouds of steam.
of water, which upon arriving again at Niflheim, created a block of ice, in one of which was a
primitive giantYmirand a giant cow,Auðumblafrom which Ymir fed by drinking its milk.
She licked the ice, creating the first god,Buri, what was the father ofBor, who in turn was the father of the
firstAesir, Odin, and his brothersWillyVe. Ymirit was ahermaphroditeand their legs copulated among
yes, creating the race of thegiantsalone. Then the sons of Bor; Odin, Vili, and Ve; killed Ymir and from
his body created the world.9
CHINA
Throughout the Far East andOceania, there existed adualismcosmological opposing two principles,
on one hand the light, the sun and the fire, on the other hand the darkness, the moon and the water. Generally, a
the bird represented the first principle. In China, it was a crow. The solar bird is one of
the privileged themes of theShang dynasty, the first Chinese dynasty whose existence is certified by
through archaeology. A snake, as an aquatic animal, represented the second principle.
The mother ofShunone of the mythical sovereigns of China, belonged to the snake clan, and his
father belonged to the clan of the bird. Therefore, Shun was the result of the union of the two principles.
Buddhism
In theBuddhismthe universe or concept of the world never had an origin, but it also has no end, the Buddhists
They believe that the world has always existed. Buddhism itself ignores what is referred to regarding the origin of the
life.Buddha, areferring to the origin of life, he said: "Thinking about the (origin) of the world, oh monks, is a
unthinkable that should not be thought; thinking of this, one would experience distress and madness. These
four unthinkables, oh monks, should not be thought; thinking of these, one would experience
"affliction and madness." Regarding ignoring the question of the origin of life, Buddha said: "And why do I not speak
About this? Because it has no relation to the goal, it is not something fundamental to holy life. No
leads to disenchantment, the lack of passion, cessation, calm, direct knowledge, awakening, the
freedom. That is why I do not talk about it.
Buddha also compares the question of the origin of life - as well as other metaphysical questions - with the
parable of the poisoned arrow: a man is struck by a poisoned arrow but, before
that the doctor extracts it, he wants to know who shot him (analogy with the existence of God), from
where the arrow came from (that is, where the universe and God came from), why that person shot it (why
God created the universe), etc. If man continues to ask those things before the arrow is removed,
the Buddha reasons that he will die before obtaining the answer. Buddhism is less concerned with answering
questions such as the origin of life and more about the goal of saving oneself and others from
suffering through the arrival at nirvana. However, theKalachakra Tantra, a writing of Buddhism
Tibetan, dealing with the formation and functioning of reality. Modern Buddhists like theDalai
Lamathey try not to enter into conflict between Buddhism and science and consider that they are ways
complementary to understanding the world around us.
In theDigha NikāyaThere is a story about the beginning of the current cycle of the world. In thesutra27
In the delAggañña sutra, Buddha uses it to explain the caste system and show why a caste is not...
really better than another. According to that text, at one point in time the world contracted.
When it expanded again, the beings reincarnated in it. Everything is water and darkness but the
the beginning is bright. Then the land forms on the surface of the water.
THE LOTUS FLOWER OF BRAHMA
ThePuranas(composed in the first millennium of thewas vulgar) presenthey have several processes of
creation.
First, in a corner of the infinite spiritual universe, there exists an 'ocean of cause [material].' There is
lying down the greatest of the multiple forms of the godVishnu:Maha Vishnu. From her body emanate the
universes (sometimes this myth is enhanced by the modern idea that every molecule of the air you breathe
it is a finite universe).
Each spherical universe is filled with liquid up to halfway. On that ocean lies another form.
of Vishnu, calledGarbhodakasayi Vishnuthe Reclining Vishnu in the ocean
cause[karana]'), lying on the divine serpentEndless Shesha. A lake forms in his navel, and
On that lake a lotus flower is born. When the flower opens, the god Brahma is born from it.