Cosmic Creation Myths Across Cultures
Joy Canoza
HUM/105
April 23, 2015
Ms. Cathleen Olson
Cosmic Creation Myths Across Cultures Creation myths are stories told through time to describe how the world was formed and began. These myths exist in every culture and reveal how people in ancient times speculated about how the world may have emerged. Creating myths tell a great deal about thoughts of human beings, how the people saw the world, and understand it (www.creationmyths.org). This paper will go into detail about creation myths from two different cultures. Two of the myths that are divergent in content are the Filipino creation myth from Philippines culture and the mythology of the Aztec civilization, which dominated central Mexico in the 1400s and early 1500s (www.mythencyclopedia.com). Although each culture has different ways of explaining the story, there are similarities and differences among them.
The Filipinos Philippine mythology has a vast collection of tales about magical creations and entities. Their myths are diverse because of the different ethnic groups in the country. One of the most famous mythological creatures in the Philippines is "Bathala". He is a male creature and is described as the Supreme god of Tagalog, a major ethnic group in the Philippines. Bathala, also known as "Bathalang Maykapal," is the creature of men, earth, and King of the Diwatas. His name comes from the Sanskrit word "Bhatarra", which means noble of great (www.read-legends-and-myth.com). Bathala was the caretaker of all things including the sea, the sky, and the earth. No one knows where Bathala originated. There are many different ethnic groups in the Philippines, and each have their version of which Bathala takes part. The Tagalog version of the Bathala myth believed the story began with three mighty gods. Aside from Bathala, there is Ulilang Kaluluwa (Orphaned Spirit), a huge serpent who lives in the clouds; and Galang Kaluluwa (Wandering Spirit), the winged god, who loves to travel (www.read-legends-and-myth.com). These three gods did not know each other in the beginning. Bathala thought of creating mortals but the earth was empty, and that stopped him from doing so. Earth was Bathala's favorite place to visit, going there often with Ulilang Kaluluwa, who likes to travel to many places. After many visitations to Earth, Ulilang Kaluluwa became unpleased seeing another god rival his presence there. He then challenged Bathala to a fight to decide who would rule the universe. The battle took three days, and Bathala defeated Ulilang Kaluluwa. He did not give the serpent a proper burial but instead, Bathala burned his remains. A few years later, he met the third god, Galang Kaluluwa, and they became friends for many years. Bathala welcomed the winged god with kindness and asked to live in his kingdom. Galang Kaluluwa became ill and later died. He instructed Bathala to bury him on the same place where he hid Ulilang Kaluluwa. A coconut tree grew out of the two gods' graves. Bathala took the nut and husked it because it reminded him of Galang Kaluluwa. It was at that time Bathala began to create the vegetation, animals, and the first man and woman on earth. During one of his visits to Earth, he fell in love with a mortal. The relationship between them birthed demigods. Some of the Bathala myths portray him as the father of Apolaki, the god of the Sun, Mayari, Goddess of the moon, Hannan, Goddess of the morning, and Tala the Goddess of the Stars. (www.read-legends-and-myths.com). Bathala was believed to be associated with the Christian God, who is referred to as "Panginoon", Tagalog word of god. Bathala, along with his children demigods were worshiped by his mortal subjects for the fear of his influence on their daily lives. Often revered as a compassionate god, he would hold his subjects accountable for fear of drought, famine, hurricanes and furious floods throughout the lands.
The Aztecs Like various other creation
