Wikipedia

List of creation myths

A creation myth (or creation story) is a cultural, religious or traditional myth which describes the earliest beginnings of the present world. Creation myths are the most common form of myth, usually developing first in oral traditions, and are found throughout human culture. A creation myth is usually regarded by those who subscribe to it as conveying profound truths, though not necessarily in a historical or literal sense. They are commonly, though not always, considered cosmogonical myths, that is, they describe the ordering of the cosmos from a state of chaos or amorphousness.

Basic type edit

Creation from chaos edit

Main article: Chaos (cosmogony)

Earth diver edit

Main article: Earth-diver

Emergence edit

Main article: Emergence

Ex nihilo (out of nothing) edit

Main article: Ex nihilo

Raven Tales edit

Main article: Raven Tales

World parent edit

Main article: World parent

Divine twins edit

Main article: Divine twins

Regional edit

Africa edit

Americas edit

Caribbean

Mesoamerica edit

Mid North America edit

South America edit

Asia edit

Central Asia edit

East Asia edit

Indian subcontinent edit

Europe edit

Middle East edit

Pacific Islands/Oceanic edit

In mythopoeia edit

See also: Category:Fictional creation stories

In mythopoeia, an artificial mythology created by writers of prose or other fiction, traditional mythological themes and archetypes are integrated into fiction. Some works of mythopoeia also feature creation myths:

References edit

  • Leeming, David Adams; Leeming, Margaret Adams (1994). Encyclopedia of Creation Myths (2nd ed.). ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-87436-739-3.
  • Leeming, David Adams; Leeming, Margaret Adams (2009). A Dictionary of Creation Myths (Oxford Reference Online ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-510275-8.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_creation_myths&oldid=1220300346"