Motifs In Creation Myths

A motif is a reoccurring idea that develops a central main message, or why something may occur. In this case, there are many similar ideas used in myths around the world. I think analyzing the motifs throughout different religions are important because the stories describe the beginning of the world and humanity. Some of these myths are still alive and are currently being worshipped, but others have died off and are no longer talked about. Concerning creation myths, there are three main motifs that I believe are important: the idea of floods destroying creations, the idea of creating humans out of organic material, and the idea of having a battle for power.

Many creation myths involve mass flooding of earthly creations and humanity. These myths often leave a couple of humans behind, that happen to survive, which later become ancestors to the entire race of …show more content…
One myth that stuck out to me was the Chinese myth. In this myth, Nuwa became bored and needed someone to talk to. She began molding little humans, later bringing them to life. She then proceeded to fling mud, creating less intelligent humans. Nuwa most likely chose clay because she knew she had plenty of it. Another myth involving humans made from a type of dirt is the Hebrew myth, or Genesis. In this myth, humans are created from clay, dirt, and dust.

One myth that sticks out to me when discussing this motif though, is the Mayan myth. This myth had three different generations which were all created from different organic material. The first generation included mud. This generation did not have any thought and they were often very unintelligent. The next generation was made from wood. This generation was much smarter but were often seen crumbling apart. This generation was destroyed, which means a fourth generation was created, this time from white corn paste. These humans were very well behaved and strong enough to balance