Chaos And Motifs In Creation Myth

There are certain aspects every creation myth has in common with some other creation myth though in most cases several other creation myths. These similarities are called motifs, which are distinctive features or dominant ideas in literature and culture in general. In some cases the motifs said creation myths have in common with other creation myths are the exact same. In other cases, the motifs are slightly different rather than exactly the same. Motifs in creation myths range from many things such as; chaos being the only thing in the beginning of the creation myth, animals being created before humans, and humans being created using some type of organic material.
Chaos in the beginning In most every creation myth chaos, or some form of chaos, is there in the beginning, before even the creator. Chaos, by definition, is complete disorder and confusion, though this chaos is not the Chaos of the creation myths. The Chaos in the creation myths is generally nothingness, although a few myths do have disorder and confusion as their beginnings before the creators show up. Chaos as a true beginning shows that the creators of the myth, or myths, believe humans have chaos as a part of them and a part of their lives. …show more content…
In the Chinese, Egyptian, and Maori creation myths, the creators came from the Chaos. The Chinese creation myth has the first of its two creators, Pan-gu, birthed from the egg that contained Yin and Yang, the name of the Chaos in the Chinese myth. The Egyptian creation myth has Nu, the “dark, swirling chaos before the beginning of time.” Out of Nu comes the creator Atum but was not created by the Chaos. In the Maori creation myth, the Chaos is known as Te Kore or the Nothing. Out of Te Kore comes Te Po, which is the Night. In each of these myths, chaos is represented in slightly different way, yet they remain similar enough to show the connection of each of these