Origin Myths and the Impact on Worldview

This week our group studied and discussed the similarities and differences between origin myths and also how origin myths impact worldview.

When comparing and contrasting multiple myths, the most evident theme was that the creation of the world came a divine character or god like figures. Differences arose in how this creation was made. For example, in “Brahma Creates the World” he uses body to create earthly features and in the myth of the Chinese Pangu, the Pangu used his own body to create and become the earth. In both of these examples, the gods used their physical selves to represent different parts of the world. On the contrary, other myths say the creation was similar to human creation, this can be shown in the Japanese myth of Izanami and Izanagi.

Brahma Creates the World -Source: (The Heart of Hinduism, n.d.)

When discussing how worldview is impacted by origin myths, it was generally agreed upon that origin myths do have some impact on worldview. When considering this impact, we discussed if the myths have a direct impact or represent the building blocks for a culture. We then talked about how values and beliefs these myths provided became a starting point for various cultures and societies. From this and example was brought up about Chinese vs Western culture. In Leontavich’s articles it was mentioned the contrasting difference on attention to detail between Chinese and Western Culture as Chinese mythology typically involves very specific details that are lost when portrayed in English. This effect on culture can also be seen in today’s world. Countries around the world follow different belief systems that effect their way of life. Typically the values taught or symbolized in the origin myths effects the culture and societal norms we have developed today. With different parts of the world following different origin myths, these differences in cultures can be seen across the globe through religion, moral beliefs and way of life. The article (Mark, 2018) helps to further explain origin myths and the possible social impacts. In conclusion our group agreed that origin myths do have some impact on societies whether it is through moral teachings or philosophical belief systems.

Bibliography
(n.d.). Retrieved from The Heart of Hinduism: https://iskconeducationalservices.org/HoH/concepts/key-concepts/creation/
(n.d.). Retrieved from Mythopedia: https://mythopedia.com/japanese-mythology/gods/izanagi/
Mark, J. J. (2018, 10 31). Mythology. Retrieved from Ancient History Encyclopedia: https://www.ancient.eu/mythology/