Humans have always pondered on where they originated from. This quest to know about their origins has led to the formulation of legends among different cultures. Most civilizations have conception legends that enlighten how the world or humanity evolved. A number of them are dreadful and others serene however, they all have a parallel trait. This is man’s necessity to be aware of and give an explanation of his surroundings. Deliberating on how and why the earth was created can be helpful in being aware of the ongoing functions. The knowledge can cause societal consequences that can determine how the people will relate to other societies.
Majority of the legends have verification on how the world came to be. The subject of cosmogony has been studied using a variety of theories. Some contemporary speculations are the Laplace’s Nebula hypothesis, the continuous creation theory and the big bang theory. These myths are amid humans’ most basic endeavors to verify the queries surrounding the beginning of the world. The tales of various cultures point to a greater being having existed and later leading to the present generations. According to the Yoruba people of Nigeria, they had a supreme being Olorun who was a greater life form existing in the heavens. He was helped by his subordinates known as orishan. The family of beings lived happily except one who wanted to explore. On looking below the skies he saw a vast pool of water and he asked Olorun if he could construct something solid in the water. He wanted a way that they could assist with their might. This was appreciated by the head of the beings in the sky. Preparations were done for the mission and Obatala made a chain of gold.
Obatala armed himself with sand, grains and other possessions which he climbed down with. He was suspended when he was instructed to pour the sand he was carrying into the water. The sand reached the water and made solid forms. Obatala was confused until the chain broke and he fell onto the land below. He gave it a name that refers to a place of division between land and water. He scattered the seeds he had and vegetation grew behind him. Obatala continued his quest and reached a pond after feeling thirsty. Here he begun making forms that he marveled at and he got thirstier. He reached for wine from a palm tree that had grown. From then on he created shapes that had indifferent forms.
Olorun was not pleased with what Obatala had done and he gathered air from the realms of the heavens and sparked them into a blast forming a fireball. The ball was directed to the place where Obatala was and it baked and dried the lands. It also sent the earth into a rotation even until today it is still rotating. Olorun then breathed life into the land and the first people steadily developed into life.
In Japan there is a myth that states how life originated on the earth. In respect of the legend, there was nothing existing in the onset. Niflheim was made and from it a spring resulted into twelve rivers. To one direction a region of heat existed and was guarded by a giant with a fiery sword. On the other direction the river froze and it became icy. As the warm air from the first side approached the icy side, the ice defrosted and dripped which thickened and formed a figure of a man. This was the original ancestor of the frost giants. With more trickles a cow was formed with teats that had rivers of milk that fed the giant. The cow licked on the salt of the rime ice and a man head began to appear. By the third day of licking the man appeared in full.
The male got hitched to a girl belonging to another giant. The frost giant was not a god and turned to evil finally. A struggle ensued and the giant was killed causing bloodshed that drowned all giants except one who built an ark for himself and his family. Features of the giant’s anatomy represented the earth and the body fluids turned out to be the aquatic mass, skeleton turned into boulders and the locks vegetation. The skull was used to make the sky fixing flickers and soften slag. The brains formed the clouds and used the eyelashes to keep the giants at bay. People were made from logs found at the sea shore and breath of life, consciousness, faces, speech, and other senses were given to them.
From this first people came all other descendants. Two beautiful offspring were born and were sent to the sky where they towed the sun and moon. There is a reason as to why there is a difference in the pace and time of movement of the moon and sun which is the nature of being chased after by the jealous giants. However, the gods left a pathway to heaven that is colorful and it is the rainbow. It dissolves when the people from the hot side try to cross to heaven.
The Apaches admire animals, substance, the celestial structure and the natural world. Whatever they are not familiar with, they regard as supernatural. During earths establishment nobody existed, only obscurity. From the gloom a shape with a yellow face and a white face came into view perched in the heavens. He made light and other times on the earth.
The creator wiped his sweaty face and wiped his hands together pushing them down and a glittering cloud appeared with a little girl sitting on it. He reached out to her and she asked where he originated from. The creator said the east where there was now light as he entered into her cloud. The creator sung four times as this was the lucky number. He repeatedly wiped his hand together and on two occasions a sun-god and a small boy appeared. The quadruple pondered on their next formation. They continued creating all forms that made up what is known in the world today. Every creation was assigned duties to care for the creations made.
It is apparent that the two legends from Apache and Japan have a similarity of revering nature. It explains why the orient people are attached so much to nature and natural ways of life. It is believed that people from the east have the best diet and medicinal practice from natural sources. The legends help the society to bring up generations that respect their surroundings as they will believe they originated from the nature. This has helped the cultures preserve their natural environments of which they benefit (Rankin, 1979).
Legends are used to give the society members a sense of the community’s beliefs. They are meant to pass on from generation to generation by way of fables and used as life lessons. They help preserve the traditions of a society keeping its identity intact. Legends are used to explain why certain beliefs are practiced and others shunned by a community. Just like the myths about creation of the Japanese, it easily explains why their land has different weather patterns and land forms. The country also has a lot of involvement in the seas and other cultural practices. The Apache are emotionally involved with nature and use it in their ceremonial celebrations. In order to continue the attachment, they need to educate upcoming generations on the importance of nature.
Reference
Rankin, J. (1979). Models of the origin of the universe. Web.