From the perspectives of students

The first three points are a summary of how we chose to discuss the designated starting points.

1. Having cosmic interpretations is extremely likely and almost necessary for most myths. They were used as a way to explain unknown phenomenon, usually revolving around the sun or a tree as the central live giver. People have a desire to understand and explain what is going on around them and use myths to help them interpret and explain phenomena that they cannot reconcile. Myths can also be used as an explanation for the traditions of their people that have lasted generations.

Retrieved from:  https://www.indigenouspeople.net/legend.htm

2. Each of our group members discussed very different North American myths. 3 of the 4 myths discussed regarded how a tribe’s way of life came to be. Sedna and the Raven were both described as providing the specific food types that the tribes thrived on, Sedna providing seafood and the Raven scattering seeds for more food. The Spider Woman was also a provider of life, but not with just food. She was responsible for all living creatures coming into existence. The final myth discussed was quite the opposite, as it revolved around the end of life and the Hopi apocalypse. The majority of the group was interested in Creation myths, while one outlier was interested in the end of times.

Retrieved from: https://mythicalarchetypes.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/raven/

3. Most of our group struggled with the emic perspectives of any of the myths. Some described their lack of religious upbringing or exposure to religion and mythology in their lifetimes. One group member described how they were raised in a Christian religion and this upbringing helped them to have an emic perspective specifically for the Hopi’s apocalypse myth. The prediction for the Christian and Hopi end of times was described as being quite similar but with some detail oriented differences. For the etic perspectives most of the group described Christianity today and how they can understand why these myths are important for guiding morals, values and the culture itself.

Retrieved from: https://www.aaanativearts.com/emergence-to-the-5th-world-a-hopi-prophecy

A large point of discussion was in regards to technology and how available the happenings of the world are. As soon as any event occurs someone is posting about it on the internet. This makes it easier to be connected but can also lead to overreactions from people who don’t understand the whole story. The one point that I would like to elaborate on is the ability to utilize an etic or emic perspective. It was interesting that this was a struggle for many of the group members and got me thinking, how prevalent is this lack of perspective in today’s society? With the dramatically improved transportation and communication, the world is so much “smaller” and we are exposed to a multitude of religious and cultural beliefs almost daily, pre-Covid anyways. Often these different cultures end up clashing and can be portrayed quite negatively in the media. A current example of this are the BLM/Police Brutality riots, starting in the USA and becoming a global movement. I am not here to argue if the protest is right or wrong, but simply to point out how crucial the ability of perspective is whether it is emic or etic. A psychologist David Johnson states

“In order to resolve conflict constructively, so that all parties are satisfied with the outcome, a person must be able to hold all the opposing ideas, positions, and perspectives in mind at the same time and still function effectively.”

During these conflicts’ disagreements arise when the focus is on the differences between people. Finding common ground with people and attempting to understand why and how they came to believe so strongly in their opinion would go along way. We are extremely lucky to be exposed to so many interesting ways of life and finding the positives instead of the negatives can greatly improve everyone’s quality of life.

Retrieved from: https://www.cognizantsoftvision.com/blog/different-perspective-feedback/