Creation Stories

On
Asia
Africa
Europe
America

Done by: Khalil Hunter

 Asia
Central to the Chinese creation myth is the figure of Pangu, a primordial being
responsible for the separation of heaven and earth. According to legend, the
universe was initially devoid of form or distinguishing features, existing in a
primordial state.
Over the course of approximately 18,000 years, this formless state condensed
into a cosmic egg.
Within this egg, the opposing principles of yin and yang achieved balance, and
from this delicate equilibrium emerged Pangu. Described as a primitive, giant
figure with horns on his head, Pangu embarked on the creation of the world
through the act of separating yin and yang with a mighty blow from his colossal
axe.
the concept of yin and yang holds great significance. It represents the
harmonious balance and interaction of opposing forces, essential in the
creation of the universe. Pangu’s act of separating yin and yang signifies the
birth of earth (yin turbid) and heaven (yang clear).

Pangu positions himself between the two, ensuring their separation, and
pushes the sky upwards. Each day, the sky, the earth, and Pangu himself grow
incrementally, symbolizing the continuous growth and expansion of the world.

This process extends for another 18,000 years, shaping the foundations of the
universe as we know it.
 Africa
At the beginning there was a huge drop of milk
Then Doondari (God) came and he created the stone.
Then the stone created iron;
And iron created fire;
And fire created water;
And water created air.
The Doondari descended a second time. And he took the five elements
And he shaped them into man.
But man was proud.
Then Doondari created blindness and blindness defeated man.
But when blindness became too proud,
Doondari created sleep, and sleep defeated blindness;
But when sleep became too proud,
Doondari created worry, and worry defeated sleep;
But when worry became too proud,
Doondari created death, and death defeated worry.
But when death became too proud,
Doondari descended for the third time,
And he came as Gueno, the eternal one
And Gueno defeated death.
A Fulani story (Mali)
 Europe
At the beginning there was a great chasm bounded on either side by fire and
ice, from the worlds of Muspelheim and Niflheim. When the fire and ice met,
they formed a giant named Ymir and a cow named Auðhumla. The cow
nurtured Ymir, who became the father of the ice giants. Odin, an Aesir, killed
Ymir. The blood from Ymir’s body killed all of the frost giants except Bergelmir,
and from Ymir’s body Odin created the world. This new world made from Ymir
was Midgard, and from Ymir’s body an ash tree named Ygdrasil grew. This tree
had three roots going to each of the three levels of the world: one to Asgard,
home of the gods; one to Jotunheim, the land of the giants; and the last one to
Niflheim, the land of the dead. Each root was nourished by its own spring. The
spring for Asgard was guarded by the three fates: the past, present, and future.
 America
There was a world before this world, but the people in it did not know how to
behave themselves or how to act human. The Creating Power was not pleased
with that earlier world. He said to himself: “I will make a new world.” He had
the pipe bag and the chief pipe, which he put on the pipe rack that he had
made in the sacred manner. He took four dry buffalo chips, placed three of
them under the three sticks, and saved the fourth one to light the pipe. The
Creating Power said to himself: “l will sing three songs, which will bring a heavy
rain. Then I’ll sing a fourth song and stamp four times on the earth, and the
earth will crack wide open. Water will come out of the cracks and cover the
land.” When he sang the first song, it started to rain. When he sang the second,
it poured. When he sang the third, the rain-swollen rivers overflowed their
beds. But when he sang the fourth song and stamped on the earth, it split open
in many places like a shattered gourd, and water flowed from the cracks until it
covered everything. The Creating Power floated on the sacred pipe and on his
huge pipe bag. He let himself be carried by waves and wind this way and that,
drifting for a long time. At last the rain stopped, and by then all the people and
animals had drowned. Only Kangi, the crow, survived, though it had no place to
rest and was very tired. Flying above the pipe,“Tunkasllila, Grandfather, I must
rest soon”; and three times the crow asked him to make a place for it to light.
The Creating Power thought: “It’s time to unwrap the pipe and open the pipe
bag.” The wrapping and the bag contained all manner of animals and birds,
from which he selected four animals known for their ability to stay under water
for a long time. First he sang a song and took the loon out of the bag. He
commanded the loon to dive and bring up a lump of mud. The loon did dive,
but it brought up nothing. “I dived and dived but couldn’t reach bottom,” the
loon said. “I almost died. The water is too deep.” The Creating Power sang a
second song and took the otter out of the bag. He ordered the otter to dive
and bring up some mud. The sleek otter at once dived into the water, using its
strong webbed feet to go down, down, down. It was submerged for a long
time, but when it finally came to the surface, it brought nothing. Taking the
beaver out of the pipe’s wrapping, the Creating Power sang a third song. He
commanded the beaver to go down deep below the water and bring some
mud. The beaver thrust itself into the water, using its great flat tail to propel
itself downward. It stayed under water longer than the others, but when it
finally came up again, it too brought nothing. At last the Creating Power sang
the fourth song and took the turtle out of the bag. The turtle is very strong.
Among our people it stands for long life and endurance and the power to
survive. A turtle heart is great medicine, for it keeps on beating a long time
after the turtle is dead. “You must bring the mud,” the Creating Power told the
turtle. It dove into the water and stayed below so long that the other three
animals shouted: “The turtle is dead; it will never come up again!” All the time,
the crow was flying around and begging for a place to light. After what seemed
to be eons, the turtle broke the surface of the water and paddled to the
Creating Power. “I got to the bottom!” the turtle cried. “I brought some earth!”
And sure enough, its feet and claws—even the space in the cracks on its sides
between its upper and lower shell—were filled with mud. Scooping mud from
the turtle’s feet and sides, the Creating Power began to sing. He sang all the
while that he shaped the mud in his hands and spread it on the water to make
a spot of dry land for himself. When he had sung the fourth song, there was
enough land for the Creating Power and for the crow. “Come down and rest,”
said the Creating Power to the crow, and the bird was glad to. Then the
Creating Power took from his bag two long wing feathers of the eagle. He
waved them over his plot of ground and commanded it to spread until it
covered everything. Soon all the water was replaced by earth. "Water without
earth is not good," thought the Creating Power, "but land without water is not
good either." Feeling pity for the land, he wept for the earth and the creatures
he would put upon it, and his tears became oceans, streams and lakes. "That's
better," he thought. Out of his pipe bag the Creating Power took all kinds of
animals, birds, plants and scattered them over the land. When he stamped on
the earth, they all came alive. From the earth the Creating Power formed the
shapes of men and women. He used red earth and white earth, black earth and
yellow earth, and made as many as he thought would do for a start. He
stamped on the earth and the shapes came alive, each taking the color of the
earth out of which it was made. The Creating Power gave all of them
understanding and speech and told them what tribes they belonged to. The
Creating Power said to them: "The first world I made was bad; the creatures on
it were bad. So I burned it up. The second world I made was bad too, so I
drowned it. This is the third world I have made. Look: I have created a rainbow
for you as a sign that there will be no more Great Flood. Whenever you see a
rainbow, you will know that it has stopped raining." The Creating Power
continued: "Now, if you have learned how to behave like human beings and
how to live in peace with each other and with the other living things—the two-
legged, the four-legged, the man-legged, the fliers, the no-legs, the green
plants of this universe—then all will be well. But if you make this world bad
and ugly, then I will destroy this world too. It's up to you.” The Creating Power
gave the people the pipe. “Live by it,” he said. He named this land the Turtle
Continent because it was there that the turtle came up with the mud out of
which the third world was made. “Someday there might be a fourth world,”
the Creating Power thought. Then he rested.