A Dictionary of Creation Myths (Oxford Paperback Reference S) by David Adams Leeming

by David A. Leeming

"God made Heaven, and then, after measuring the space underneath with a ball of thread, he began to form the earth. A mole asked to help, and God gave him the thread to hold while he wove the patterns of the earth. Sometimes the mole would let out too much thread, and finally the earth grew too large for the space under heaven. The mole was so upset that he hid under the earth. God sent the bee to look for him; he wanted the mole's advice on what to do about the mistake. The bee found the mole and he just laughed at the idea of advising God. The bee, however, hid in a flower and overheard the mole mumbling to himself about what he would do if he were God. 'Iwould squeeze the earth,' he said. 'That would make mountains and valleys and make it smaller at the same time.' When the bee heard this, he went directly to God and told him. God did what the mole had said, and everything fit fine." The myth of Rumanian Creation in which God weaves the earth from a ball of thread is just one the many stories that make up the wonderous world of creation myths. In virtually every culture throughout the ages, creation myths have played a vital role in providing not only explanations of the origins of societies but also specific cultural identities--serving as a "projection of an aspect of a culture's soul." Covering thousands of years of intricate creation tales, A Dictionary of Creation Myths is the first and most comprehensive work devoted to creation myths from cultures throughout the world. With an easy-to-use A-Z format, this around-the-world tour provides access to information on the beliefs (both exotic and ordinary) of ancient civilizations from Sumeria and Babylonia to Egypt, Greece, and ancient Rome, from India and China to Japan and Indonesia, as well as the rich mythological history of Native Americans, the indigenous peoples of Australia, and many other cultures. We read of the creation myth of the Diegueno tribe of southern California in which the creator, Tu-chai-pai, made the earth female and the sky male and then formed mud into people; and the myth of Japanese creation in which Izanagei, and his sister Izanami, watch the first land form from ocean water dripping from Izanagi's spear. Alongside these ancient beliefs are the more modern, such as Darwin's theory of evolution and the big bang theory. Each entry identifies the culture associated with the myth, and each myth is retold in clear, eloquent prose, with extensive cross-referencing to guide readers to other entries. Throughout, the authors share insightful analyses of the surprisingly intricate relationship of certain myths across cultures, regions, and time. From cosmic eggs and the Garden of Eden to the Spider Woman and the Gaia Principle, from myths of the apocalypse and the great world religions to myths of love, re-birth, and science, this guide illuminates the phenomenon of creation from all aspects of the human experience. Richly illustrated, A Dictionary of Creation Myths is essential for anyone who has ever wondered how the world was created, where we came from, or why we are here at all.

Genres: Mythology, Reference, Nonfiction, Religion, History, Dictionaries, Philosophy

Unknown Binding

First published January 25, 1996

About the author

aka David Adams Leeming

Reviews

[Xandria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great resource when you're looking to begin dipping into the waters of the creation myth. This book can help assist you in getting sources where creation myths are documented or more specific sources about a specific group's creation myth(s). Some of the terminology is outdated (such as using the no-longer used term "Eskimo" for the Inuit people), but I suppose that's to be expected considering the publication date. There are some groups whose myths are more defined and are recorded from an elder; there are others that are glossed over for reasons that aren't specified (do we lack information about their myth? are we on a page limit?) But like earlier stated, the bibliography is helpful to gain more information where this book provides little. Great stepping stone into creation myths overall.

[Melissa Barbier · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is exactly what it promises: a long dictionary of many creation myths. While it is informative, it lacks some pictures to help the reader stay focused and keep characters straight. There are some illustrations that are taken from other sources where the myths originate, but there could definitely be more of them. It is a thorough collection, including creation myths from cultures such as: Cherokee, Chinese, Finland, Egypt, Eskimo, Mayan and many more. I would have liked the table of contents to include all of the different cultures. Instead, the contents just say, "Introdcution, Dictionary of Creation Myths, Bibliography, Index" which is obviously not helpful at all since any reader knows that those elements will be present in the book. The myths are arranged in alphabetical order, so if you know which myth you are looking for, you can flip through alphabetically. However, there are so many myths from places I have never heard of, that I would never know to look for them unless I read the book from start to finish. With over 300 pages, that seems unlikely for most readers to actually do that. All of that aside, this is a very complete collection of creation myths and even seasoned mythology readers can learn some new creation myths from this book.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fact that the book is arranged alphabetically rather than geographically makes it seem more eclectic if you read it from cover to cover. You don't get bogged down with every variation of stories told in one country and then every variation from the next country. Instead you get a wide variety under each letter and you continue to grow more familiar with the various themes as they continue to pop up again and again.