The Nature of Myth:
- go
to Powell's
web site (Ch. 1): click
here (pay
attention to the terms at the back of the chapters)
Creation myths:
- basic
questions for the initial creation (not applicable to all):
- Who are the original beings
and what
is the
primary matter in the account?
- How or by
what mechanism does
creation occur?
- Who is the
creator and what is the
nature of
the world that was created?
- How are
the other deities created?
- What
questions does the story answer
and on
what occasions is the story told or retold?
- basic questions for the
creation of mortals (not applicable to all):
- Who is the creator of humans?
- How or by what mechanism does
creation occur?
- Why are humans created (i.e.
what role/purpose do they play in creation)?
- What questions does the story
answer?
- know the
following:
- Dogon: Amma,
EarthMother, Jackal, Nummo, 8 ancestors
- Norse: Niflheim,
Muspell, Ginnungagap, Ymir, Audulma, Buri, Odin, Vili, Ve, Ask,
Embla, Yggdrasill
- Greek: go to Powell's web site for
Ch 4 (click
here) & Ch 5 (click
here) (pay attention to the terms at the back of the chapters)
- Iroquois: Sky woman, the
sorcerer, Waterfowl, Beaver, Turtle, Sky woman's
daughter, Bud, Sapling
- "Sumerian:" Ulligara & Zalgarra
(Leonard) & go to
Powell's web site for Ch 4 (click
here) (pay
attention to the terms at the back of the chapters)
- Hittite: go to Powell's web site for Ch 4 (click
here) (pay
attention to the terms at the back of the chapters)
- Hindu: Brahma, Narayan,
- Hebrew: Who are God, the physical
world (in contrast to Sumerian), Adam, Eve, & the Serpent,
and what role do they play in the myth?
- Mayan: "Maker, Modeler,
Bearer, Begetter"or Sovereign Plumed Serpent, "Heart of Sky" or
Hurricane, names of the four first humans (Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night,
Mahucutah, True Jaguar)
Myths of "The Male Divine" (Leonard &
McClure, Ch. 4)
- Hindu:
Arjuna, Krishna, Dhritarashtra, Sanjaya, Karma, Dharma, bhakti,
theophany
- Sumerian:
Enki, Ninhursaja (the Anuna), fox
- Yoruba:
Olorun, Orunmila, Eshu, Agemo (the cameleon), orishas
- Norse:
Odin, Thor, Hrungnir, Mist Calf, Mjollnir, Magni, Groa
- Aztec:
Quetzalcoatl, nahual (Q's alter ego), bones, Mictlantecuhtli,
Mictlankihnuato, penance, maize
Myths
of "The Trickster" (Leonard &
McClure, Ch. 5)
- Ga:Anaanu,
God, bees, python, leopard
- Yoruba:
Ajapa, Aja, oba
- Wasco:
Coyote, grizzly bears, meadow lark, 5 wolves,
- Apache
Coyote, rosehips,
crows,
- Iroquois:
Coyote, Saucy
Duckfeather, Magpie Woman,
- Blackfoot:
Coyote Man, Coyote
Woman
- Norse:
Thor, Sif, Loki, Odin, dwarves (sons of Ivaldi), dwarves
(Brokk & Eitri), Mjollnir, other gifts
- Greek:
see Powell, Ch 5 (click
here) (pay attention to the terms at the back of the
chapters)
- Malaysian:
Pa Pandir, Ma Andeh, Gerasi, Jinns, Shah Malim (king of the
Jinns)
- Haida:
raven, old man, daughter, eagle
- Oceania
(Hawaii):
- terms: Ao-opua-The Warning
Cloud, Ma-nai-i-ka-lani:made fast to the heavens, alae:sacred birds,
u-lua & pi-mo-e:fish, A-hele-a-ka-la:Rays of the Sun,
Ha-le-a-ka-la: House of the Sun
- Characters: Ma-ui, Goblin
Goddess: Great Hina-of-the-Night, Ma-huia: great-great grandmother,
Hina-of-Fire:Mother, Hina-of-Sea:sister
Possible
Essay Questions (400-600 words long):
1. Most of the characters in the Norse
myths we have studied are clearly defined individuals just as most of
the characters in the Greek myths are clearly defined. Compare and
contrast some of these key individuals and/or their customs, focusing
on significant individuals and significant points of
comparison/contrast. For the Norse myths, use the PDF for the Norse
creation story, but the selections in Leonard from Ch. 4 and Ch 5 . For
the Greek myths, use the selections in Powell, chapters 4 & 5 (you
may also use the selections in Leonard's chapters 2 & 5, if you
wish). Note that you must use at least two of the three Norse myths
with their corresponding Greek myths.
2. Background: We have seen
that the Greek myths clearly reveal information about
how its culture view females--their tasks, their relationships with
males, and their place in society.
Prompt: Using the Iroquois
myth in Leonard,
chapter 2, the Sumerian myth in chapter 4, and the Iroquois and
Malaysian myths in chapter 5, examine what these myths reveal about how
their respective cultures view females.
3.
Background:
The audience a story is directed to typically affects
the shape and tenor of the story, e.g. in the 2004 presidential
election, a strategist for one of the parties told the New York Times
the following: "The big question is: What is the information that I
have that indicates someone is a Democrat or Republican? And then it's
all about talking to those people and giving them the information
packaged in a way to get them to
buy your brand" (NYTimes article
[reg. reqd])
Prompt: Examine how the
audience for the following three myths have shaped them. Myths:
Sumerian in Leonard, Ch 2, "Creation Myths;" Hindu in Leonard, Ch 4,
"The Male Divine;" and Oceanian in Leonard, Ch 5, "Trickster Myths."