List of creation myths
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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, although not necessarily in a historical or literal sense. They are commonly, although not always, considered cosmogonical myths—that is they describe the ordering of the cosmos from a state of chaos or amorphousness.
Basic type
Creation from chaos
- Enûma Eliš (Babylonian creation myth)
- Genesis creation myth (Judaism, Christianity and Islam)
- Greek cosmogonical myth
- Jamshid
- Korean creation narratives
- Kumulipo
- Leviathan (Book of Job 38-41 creation myth)
- Mandé creation myth
- Pangu
- Raven in Creation
- Serer creation myth
- Sumerian creation myth
- Tungusic creation myth
- Unkulunkulu
- Väinämöinen
- Viracocha
Earth diver
- Ainu creation myth
- Cherokee creation myth
- Iroquois creation myth
- Väinämöinen
- Yoruba creation myth
- Ob-Ugric creation myth
Emergence
Ex nihilo (out of nothing)
- Debate between sheep and grain
- Barton cylinder
- Ancient Egyptian creation myths
- Kabezya-Mpungu
- Māori myths
- Mbombo
- Ngai
- Popol Vuh
World Parent
- Coatlicue
- Enûma Eliš
- Greek cosmogonical myth
- Heliopolis creation myth
- Hiranyagarbha creation myth
- Kumulipo
- Rangi and Papa
- Völuspá
Divine twins
Regional
Africa
- Ancient Egyptian creation myths
- Fon creation myth
- Kaang creation story (Bushmen)
- Kintu myth (Bugandan)
- Mandé creation myth
- Mbombo (Kuba, Bakuba or Bushongo/Boshongo)
- Ngai (Kamba, Kikuyu and Maasai )
- Serer creation myth (cosmogony of the Serer people of Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania)
- Unkulunkulu (Zulu)
- Yoruba creation
Americas
Mesoamerica
- Coatlicue (Aztec)
- Maya creation of the world myth
- Popol Vuh (Quiché Mayan)
Mid North America
- Anishinaabeg creation stories
- Cherokee creation myth
- Choctaw creation myth
- Creek creation myth
- Hopi creation myth
- Kuterastan (Plains Apache)
- Diné Bahaneʼ (Navajo)
- Raven in Creation (Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian)
- Zuni creation myth
South America
- Legend of Trentren Vilu and Caicai Vilu (Chilean)
- Viracocha (Incan)
- Xolas (Chilean)
Asia
Central Asia
East Asia
- Ainu creation myth (Japan)
- Au Co (Vietnamese)
- Chinese creation myth
- Japanese creation myth
- Korean creation narratives
- Nüwa (Chinese)
- Pangu (Chinese)
Indian subcontinent
- Ajativada
- Buddhist cosmology
- Folk Hindu creation myth
- Hiranyagarbha creation (India)
- Jainism and non-creationism (India)
- Kanglei mythology (India)
- Mimamsa eternalism (India)
- Nyaya-Vaisheshika atomic theory (India)
- Samkhya-yoga theory (India)
- Sanamahi creation myth (India)
Europe
- Väinämöinen (Finnish)
- Völuspá (Norse)
Middle East
- Debate between sheep and grain
- Enûma Eliš (Babylonian)
- Genesis creation myth (Hebrew)
- Islamic creation myth (Arabic)
- Mashya and Mashyana (Persian)
- Sumerian creation myth
- Leviathan (Book of Job 38-41 creation myth)
Pacific Islands/Oceanic
- Areop-Enap (Nauruan)
- Kumulipo (Hawaiian)
- Māori myths (Māori)
- Rangi and Papa (Māori)
- Sureq Galigo (Buginese)
In mythopoeia
In mythopoeia, an artificial mythology created by the writers of prose or other fiction. The authors in this genre integrate traditional mythological themes and archetypes into fiction. Some also feature creation myths:
- Ainulindalë from Tolkien's The Silmarillion
References
- Leeming, David Adams; Leeming, Margaret Adams (1994). Encyclopedia of Creation Myths (2nd ed.). ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-87436-739-3.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - 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.
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