Origin myths are a part of almost every religion found across the planet. Whether the religion was only founded in recent years or it dates back to the earliest days of humanity, there always seems to be a tale painting a picture of how the world came into existence. The myths and legends of creation are usually quite engaging, involving a number of similar elements. Many stories involve gods and goddesses conquering beasts or finding order from the chaos of the primordial void.
No matter when the religion came about, the origin stories can be an intriguing read. Take a moment to explore some of these fascinating tales of creation and see for yourself.
Hot and Cold
The Scandinavians have a fun story about how the world came to be. According to their lore, the time before the world existed was not as empty as some might believe. In fact, legend states there were two distinct “places” in the earliest days of the planet. One location was Niflheim, a place filled with ice and fog. The other location was Muspelheim, a place of heat and fire. In Muspelheim lived many spirits of flame and even fire giants. When the heat of Muspelheim reached Niflheim, it melted away the ice of the landscape.
From the melting ice came a frost giant named Ymir and a cow named Audhumla. Giants sprung forth from both Ymir and Audhumla and mated, birthing the god Odin of Norse mythology. Odin and his fellow gods killed Ymir, creating the heavens and Earth from his flesh, blood, and bones. What’s interesting about this myth is many scholars suggest there are missing pieces to the story. Since most modern interpretations of this myth are built off the same references, the discovery of a missing piece could help to illustrate why Ymir was murdered in the first place.
Cosmic Coincidence
In Mali, the indigenous people known as the Dogon have a creation myth that seems to have some interesting scientific bits. According to myth, the primordial god Amma existed for a bit before realizing he was lonely. To rectify this, Amma decided to create the Earth. This sounds like a simple origin story, but there are some intriguing elements. For one, the story says that Earth exists in space, specifically “infinite space.” For the Dogon to understand the concept of planetary bodies and infinite space so early is the first of several curiosities.
The more amazing reveal came in the 1930s when a group of French anthropologists who met with the Dogon were told about the “Twin of the Dogstar.” The “Dogstar” is Sirius, and the Dogon claimed this start had a “twin” out there, as dualities are quite important in Dogon myth. Though the anthropologists didn’t think much of it, scientists discovered Sirius actually did have a twin, now dubbed Sirius B. When later questioned about how they knew of the existence of Sirius B before astronomers with more advanced equipment, the Dogon claim the news was from “god’s son.”
Facts and Figures
Sometimes, origin myths include ways of explaining some seriously mundane facts. In Japan, the origin story tells of Izanagi and Izanami, the first male and female gods. After dealing with mating, burned body parts, and death, the two gods wound up becoming former lovers with a serious feud. In the end, Izanagi promised to kill one thousand people a day and Izanami promised to bring 1,500 people into existence each day. According to legend, this is meant to explain the rate at which people are born and die throughout Japan.
Learning about origin stories of the world can be a fascinating way to see how it all began according to different cultures. Expand your own knowledge by learning about some of many other stories out there.