With the development of the global transport structure and the advent of the Internet, it seems that the world has narrowed significantly, and the borders that divided different countries and cultures have become much more blurred. We are a generation that has arisen in the wake of socio-cultural integration and the exchange of information, every day we can encounter representatives of other cultures without leaving home. Understanding the common features and differences of nations and races, we can build an interconnected and harmonious community.
Despite the parallels between neighboring cultures, it is difficult to find something in common between nations with thousands of kilometers between them. Although there is a question that runs through the red thread in the existence of any society, regardless of skin color, religion or nationality - we all want to know where humanity counts from, what our mission is and who is the creator of the world. These secrets have stupefied the human mind since ancient times, and so far no one has come close to the answer, only occasionally giving out completely insane myths. In this ranking, we will show the most interesting stories, trying to answer exciting questions and competing in their stupidity. Perhaps it is in these stories, beckoning with their beauty (and eccentricity), that our differences are most clearly visible.
1
Viracocha
As in many mythologies, the pantheon of the Inca gods had its ruler, who was Viracocha. The Incas called him the first of the gods to appear, who created all the rest. As a hobby, he was engaged in less important matters, for example, created the Sun, Earth, Moon and all life on the planet.
Legends say that the creation of people was the second act of Viracocha on the birth of life on Earth, the first was not so successful, he created ... stone giants that completely did not obey him. Then Viracocha sent a worldwide flood, turning the giants into motionless rocks.
For the second experiment, the supreme god took malleable clay, from which he created real masterpieces - people! In order not to repeat the story of the disobedience of the giants, Viracocha gave people many valuable gifts, such as animals, agriculture, houses, language and even clothes. Thank you, O Great Viracocha!
2
The Cherokee Creation Myth
Cherokee beliefs say that the Earth came from a random clot of darkness and water that floated around the spiritual world of Galunlati. The animals that were part of Galunlathi were so bred that they needed relocation, for which they chose Earth. Fearing underwater creatures, the animals sent a water bug to the Earth as a scout for the situation. Not meeting the danger, "Christopher Columbus" ducked and pulled a little dirt from the bottom. It began to increase in size until it turned into a beloved land for everyone.
In search of a new home, Galunlathi also left the birds, who wished to settle on Earth. Arriving at the place, they found the soil too soft. The big male vulture was the only one who continued to search for dry soil, he flew so long and was so tired that he began to stretch his wings on the ground, forming mountains and valleys. Finally, the soil dried out and all the animals moved to Earth. In order not to live in the dark, they raised the Sun up, which began to illuminate the Earth. Not without losses, many animals were scorched by a red disk (poor crayfish). In the end, people appeared on Earth, but this is a completely different story.
3
Vishnu and Brahma
One of several creation stories in Hinduism says that everything began in a void from Nothing. The giant snake Shesha swam in the waters of the causal ocean (an analogue of space) and crawled out onto nameless shores. Vishnu, sleeping in the serpent's rings, yawned with a strong hum. The peace of the night was destroyed, after which a lotus flower burst from Vishnu, turning into a humble servant of Brahma. Vishnu gave the command to create the world, and then disappeared.
With agile movements, Brahma calmed the wind and the raging sea, and from the three parts of the lotus created the earth, heaven and clouds. After this, Brahma set about creating all life on Earth, fulfilling the will of his master.
4
Nyx egg
The myths of ancient Greece are perhaps the most familiar to us from all the "tales" of the peoples of the world. However, few people know about Nyx, the black bird that laid the golden egg. You may not be surprised that the god of love Eros made him; nevertheless, Nyx was portrayed in human form, although this is strange. An egg broken in two forms the earth and the sky. Eros called them Uranus and Gaia, and made them fall in love, after which they gave birth to many gods (which is also rather strange, since according to one version Uranus was the son of Gaia).
One of their children was Kronos, a titan who ate his own offspring, fearing that they would kill him. The story ended sadly for Kronos. His sister and concurrently the mother of the children of Ray, hid Zeus, who rebelled, overthrowing Kronos and all the titans in the halls of Tartarus. Zeus freed his brothers and sisters, after which they settled on Olympus and began to rule the Earth. Well, you probably know about Prometheus and the Pandora’s box. It is amazing how obsessed with philosophy and exact sciences the Greeks loved to tell stories.
5
Ymir and Audumla
Far north of Greece, the Normans lived, who not only cleverly controlled the axes, but also came up with a completely crazy story of the creation of the world. Before the appearance of the audience’s favorites Thor and Locke, there was Ymir, a frosty giant that emerged from the drops of the glacial land of Niflheim. He slept so long that a man and a woman were born from the sweat of his left armpit, and a six-headed giant appeared from his leg. So the first frosty giants appeared.
In addition, the melting glacier created Audumlu, a cow that feeds Ymir with its milk. Audumla herself ate the salted mushrooms of the glacial land of Niflheim. Having licked the glacier, she created Storms, the first god of Scandinavian mythology. His grandchildren, tired of the uselessness of Ymir, decided to kill him. When they did, the giant’s blood flooded the whole earth, except for two frosty giants. Ymir’s dismembered body was given to Ginnungagap (chaos), who used every piece of the giant to create the world around us.
6
Ranks and Dad
From the beautiful country of New Zealand, the heartbreaking story of fratricide and cannibalism came to us. The world began with the ranks of Father Heaven and Pope Mother Earth. They were inseparable, so the universe was covered in darkness. Tired of darkness, the children of Ranga and Papa gathered to discuss change. The patron saint of the war of Tumatauenga proposed to kill his parents, however, the forest god Tane did not agree, offering to separate them, making his father a heaven above their heads, and his mother an earth under her feet. Everyone, except the god of winds and weather Tafirimatea, agreed to the proposal and began to carry out the plan.
After the unsuccessful attempts of his brothers, Tanya, at the cost of incredible efforts, divided his mother and father, causing Rangi and Papa to scream in pain. What happened next can only be called a civil war, the brothers could not come to terms with betrayal or felt each other's weaknesses, starting the struggle. Tafirimatea could not tolerate betrayal against his parents and declared war on all the deities, alternately sending many of their children to the winds. In turn, the patron saint of the war and the father of all the people of Tumataueng was offended by the brothers for not protecting him in the fight against Tafirimatea, and ate everyone except the god of the weather. To this day, he sends terrible storms to the earth in revenge for the separation of Ranga and Pope.
7
Pan-gu
Chinese legends of the creation of the world are divided into two stages: in the first, Pan-gu creates heaven and earth, and in the second, Nuyva gives birth to all of humanity. Until now, legends and chants in honor of Pan-gu are composed in some areas of China. According to the myth, Pan-gu existed in the form of an embryo in a huge black egg, allowing the universe to find the balance of Yin and Yang. When he awoke, he realized that he was a layer of the “sandwich” Yin and Yang and began to systematically push his monastery. So from the broken egg appeared heaven and earth.
The more he grew, the more Yin and Yang moved away from each other (about 3 meters per day). It seems that this myth in every part of China is retold in its own way, but there is another version, Pan-gu not only lived in an egg for 18 thousand years, but also died after the same amount, forming all the natural resources inside his body. The poor guy never got a break.
8
Nuiva
Myths say that one of the first goddesses of Chinese mythology Nyuyva always existed. After the death of Pan-gu, she was left alone in a beautiful, but empty world, so I decided to somehow self-actualize, approaching the process creatively. For a week, she created every day in the form of life: chickens, dogs, sheep, pigs, cows, horses and in the end people.
On this last day of the week, Nuiva took the yellow clay, starting to sculpt a creature from it in her own image (a small inconsistency, since many portray the goddess in the form of a snake with a female head). Having created several hundred figures, Nyuva was tired and somewhat accelerated the process, scattering pieces of clay and mud with a rope. After the transformation, the yellow clay figurines became rich, and the dirty clumps became ordinary peasants (pure discrimination). Some legends say that until the figures were still dry, some of them were washed away by the rain, giving rise to human diseases.
9
Izanagi and Izanami
The story of the creation of the Earth in Japan mentions two seventh-generation gods, Izanagi and Izanami, who were brother and sister. They settled on a floating bridge, watching the chaos below and wondering if there was land. As an experiment, they built a spear of precious stone and pierced them with clouds. Below they discovered the ocean, and when they raised the spear, a drop falling from its blade turned into an island. Having descended on it, Izanagi and Izanami decided to build a palace.
In the center of the island they built a pillar and decided to go around it each in its own direction. Having met, they looked at each other, and Izanami said that she had met a beautiful young man. After that, they got married, although Izanagi was dissatisfied, believing that it was he who was the first to speak as a man. Guided by the instincts and birdsong (well, who else), the couple conceived the firstborn, who was born without limbs and bones (you see, even the gods suffer from incest). They threw the child in a boat, trying to conceive a new one, but the attempts were unsuccessful.
Then Izanagi and Izanami returned to heaven and learned that the impatience of the girl who dared to speak first was to blame. The couple descended to the island and repeated the ritual with the pillar, doing everything as required. After that, with a calm soul, Izanami continued to create the Japanese islands and many natural phenomena.
10
Rainbow serpent
In Australia, Aborigines still pass on word-of-mouth dream myths. They consider these stories the beginning of all knowledge, as well as the truth about the creation of the world and all spirits. During dreams, the Earth was immersed in a dream, and the rainbow snake dozed beneath its surface. All spirits and animals also slept underground. After the snake woke up, he climbed to the surface. Crawling all over the earth, he left winding paths. Returning to the place of sleep, the serpent called the frogs, who stored water in their stomachs. The rainbow serpent tickled the frogs, and those laughing released their bellies, filling the Earth with water, which formed the seas and oceans, as well as rivers with lakes.
Water awakened life, and also caused animals to wake up one after another. Then the benevolent Rainbow Serpent came up with laws, promising to turn those who follow them into people, and turn the rest into mountains and rocks. Thus humanity was created, knowing that all the earth belongs to them forever.
Finally
As you can see, in many cultures, the creation of the world corresponded to mythical creatures with magical powers. People, as they could, tried to explain certain natural phenomena, sometimes it turned out pretty ridiculous.
But if such fables of the past seem normal to us, then take a closer look at some modern religious movements. For example, in a recent article about churches that do not worship God, you will see the absurdity of some beliefs.