Creation from Above or Below

Some creation myths imagined a world created from chaos or nothing at all. However a great many myths also illustrated a world that existed before there was life on earth. In this world, which was usually above or below earth, gods and/or people lived peacefully It is from this imaginary world that some cultures believed our makers or the inhabitants of the earth originated.

The Bushmen of Africa believed that at one time animals and people lived together in a land beneath the surface of the earth where happiness reigned. As they lived together The Great Master and Lord of All Life, Kaang (KŠng), planned a wondrous land above theirs. The first thing he created was a huge tree with branches stretching over the land. At the base of it he dug a hole and brought the people and animals into another world through it. Some of the animals in their rush to reach the wonders of the world found a way to climb up and out of tree. A tree played a similar role in the Native American Hopi myth.

At the base of the Hopi culture was a myth recalling past worlds, beneath ours, where people used to live. When life in these worlds became unbearable the Native Americans discovered upper worlds and to get to them they climbed a pine tree. This pattern continued until they reached the present surface which may or may not be just another step on the ladder. Despite being separated by miles of water the tree leading to the new world appears in both myths.

In both the Japanese and Iroquois myths the creator's home was in the land above the clouds. Two gods, Izanagi and Izanami, created the islands of Japan and the plants, rivers, brooks, animals and snow. Then they married and their descendants became the people of Japan. The Iroquois people belive that they and their surroundings were created by twin brothers, who were the children of a Sky Woman who fell from a hole in her home in the clouds.

Diver-Myths

Scientific evidence has shown that at one point parts of the earth that are now dry were covered by water. Many myths allude to this fact by imagining a world once covered by water. Many myths, called diver-myths (Long 188), consisted of a being diving into the water that covers the earth to retrieve some earth. The earth brought to the surface became the land we know today. Other stories had the mud brought to the surface in a different way, but many had the common element of some earth being brought to the surface of the water and growing until it became the Earth.

According to the Iroquois Native Americans water animals inhabited the Earth before there was land. When a Sky Woman fell from her home above they caught her and dove into the seas to bring up mud. This mud they spread onto the back of Big Turtle. There it began to grow until it became North America.

The Japanese creation myth painted a picture of a muddy ocean which covered the world at the beginning of time. A god and goddess, Izanagi and Izanami, became curious about what was beneath the ocean. Izanagi took his staff and threw it into the ocean. As he lifted it back up some lumps of earth fell off into the water. These became the islands of Japan. No being dove beneath the waters to find mud, but the element of earth being covered by water and a being bringing the earth up is there.

The creation myth of Christians and Jews does not tell of God diving into the water to bring up mud, but Genesis 1:2 says Òthe Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.Ó Therefore according to the Torah and Bible the Earth was once covered entirely by water.