Mythology reveals inter-cultural harmony

by W.T.J.S. Kaviratne -Ambalangoda Spl. Cor.

A comparative study of Asian, African, and European mythologies reveal that there is a striking parallelism among them. In addition to the cultural, historical and religious significance all of these mythologies convey a deeper universal message for the humanity through these ancient stories woven around the adventures of myriad of gods, goddesses, demi-gods, supernatural beings, kings, warriors and other animate and inanimate things.

Oral tradition had transmitted mythologies for ages across the ancient world mostly before the origin of major religions and over the centuries numerous regional myths intermingled together having diversity of cultural traits and religious beliefs while maintaining their universal theme. The Indian mythology, Scandinavian Mythology (Norse Mythology) and the Greek and the Roman mythologies are based on a pantheon of gods, goddesses and warriors, giants and other supernatural beings.

Epic poems

The Hindu epics of poet Valmiki’s Ramayana and Mahabharata, Snorri Sturluson’s Norse Epics of Prose Edda and Ynglinge Saga, Samunder’s Poetic Edda, the Homer’s Greek epics of Iliad and Odyssey, Hesiod’s Theogony and Sumarian Epic Gilgamesh and Buddhist Jataka stories, Christian mythology , and numerous other mythologies found scattered even among tribal communities are important sources to study their world view , the origin of civilisations, the life styles , ancient cults and rituals and belief systems and how the ancient communities had survived the forces of nature.

All those ancient bards who composed these epics had selected themes relevant to every aspect of humanity and provided solutions for the perennial problems constantly perplexed the people lived in the past on the origin of the earth, heaven, hell and the ocean the celestial bodies of the sun, the moon and the stars.

Even though the modern reader can enjoy the numerous stories on wars between the gods and giants, how the gods die and born again and their visits to other worlds (realms) in disguise and their supernatural feats as just fantasies. But it is a grave mistake to interpret mythology just as a collection of fairy tales or fantasies.

The majority of the classical literature, treatises on religions and beliefs and ritual practices belonged to all civilisations are comprised themes based on ancient mythologies sometimes as old as the origin of the mankind.

Creation myths

The study on comparative mythology reveals that the ‘‘Creation of the Earth” was identified as a central theme of all the mythologies in general and many similarities could be traced in the characters portrayed in the stories of creative myths of all civilisations.

The Book of Genesis in Christian mythology narrates how God created the world comprising light, land, water, vegetation, living things, animals, man and woman. within six days. Unlike other creation myths, according to Genesis of the Christianity, only one single deity was involved in the creation of the universe.

The African creation myth Yoruba, two deities had been engaged in the creation of the universe. Almost all the Creation myths make reference to the presence of water before the land was created .

Another common motif found generally on mythologies was the chaos that prevailed before the creation of the universe. Similarly, the gods who created the world end up in death or disaster immediately after the completion of the creation . According to Egyptian Creation myth, life had originated from an egg or a blue lotus.

The Vedic Aryans believed that the creation of the universe and the human race were the result of the primeval sacrifice of a cosmic being. In Vedic treatises this being is represented as the male (Purusha).

Similarly another Vedic concept on the cosmogony is that all powers and existence both divine and earthly conceived as the ‘Golden Germ’ (hiranyagarbha) parallel to Egyptian Creation Myth. The mythological creation of the world by Indra. Cosmic Demon known as Vritra was also destroyed by Indra. Along with the Aryan religious beliefs based on Vedas, the beliefs of non-Aryan communities such as charms and rituals of exorcism also existed in India during the era.

The Mayan creation myth was known as Popol Vuh and according to this myth the Gods had created human beings out of maize and water which produced human blood and flesh.

Similar to other civilisations found in the eastern hemisphere Mayan mythology reflected the fundamental role of agriculture played in their society. Shedding of human blood was believed by Mayans as a sacrificial ritual to activate gods to send rain to their cultivations of maize.

Heaven and earth

According to Rig Veda, the Heaven and Earth considered as divine parents and symbolic of the vastness brightness, and bounty of nature.

The mythological reference of the conjugal union of Heaven and Earth was believed by the Indo-Europeans. This creation myth was based on the connection of both the celestial and terrestrial worlds.

Aryan invaders brought along with them a pantheon of naturalistic or functional gods to India .

In addition, a ritualistic cult of sacrificial use of fire a drink known as “Soma“.

The religious beliefs of Aryans had certain relationship to primitive Indo-European faiths and some of the gods mentioned in their scriptures have their mythological counterparts in other Indo European traditions in Iran, Greece and Rome.

This proves the common origin of gods in these regions. The religion introduced by the Aryan invaders.

Jataka stories

Relevant to the previous births of Bodisatva, the Jataka stories had been compiled in India and these stories are didactic by nature and try to instill certain virtues through stories where previous births of Buddha depicted as a king, an outcast and in animal forms. Based on the themes of Buddhist Jataka stories dramas such as Vessantara Jataka had also been performed. The stories of Norse mythology originally transmitted by word of mouth and incredible number of verse known as sagas had also been learnt by rote.

Poetic Edda, Prose Edda are the sources of Norse mythology. Norse myths were written in 800-1200 A.D. The creators of myths could be recognised as the wisest people in ancient civilisations. Just like the bards lived in ancient India and the rest of the ancient world ,the Norse bards made use of their knowledge in rhythmic verse that could be easily memorised and continued to linger for ever. A word still used in Sweden was ‘skald ’ meaning a ‘ poet’.

Who learnt and chanted Norse songs was a skald. All mythologies are comprised of a spiritual truth, logical philosophy and scientific facts.

Edda has the connotation “great grandmother” suggesting “world mother” The word ‘Edda’ was derived from Veda the Hindu Scriptures. The (knowledge from ‘Vid’.) from which stems the German “wissen” the Swedish ‘veta’ and old English ‘ wit ’ and all these words mean ‘ to know ’.

In 1890, the Swedish scholar on Comparative Mythology published “ Rigveda –Edda ” a book comparing Norse mythology and Indian mythology . In this work he traces the Germanic mythic traditions to the ancient Aryan traditions of mythology.

He was of the opinion that Norse mythology came from India . Max Muller considered the Edda tradition of mythology was older than the Vedas.

Sven Gundtvig believed Eddas originated in the early Iron Age.

Even though the time of the origin of Eddas and Vedas was controversial, the contents of the myths agree with the oldest records in many parts of the world. All mythologies originated from a single source a prehistoric formulation of ancient sciences, philosophy and mysticism once common to all mankind.

According to the Norse Mythology the world was created by the body of Yamir’s who was believed to be the greatest giant in Norse mythology. Yamir was killed by Odin the Father of Gods ,the Lord of Asgard.

Yamir’s body was used to create Yggdrasil the World Tree in Norse mythology.

Yamir’s blood was used to create the sea and his flesh was used to create earth and the sky was made out of his skull and his hair became the trees. This new world made out of Yamir’s body was known as Midgard and Yamir’s eyebrows were also used as a fence in the area where mankind lived.

The “Tree of Life ” is a common symbol featured in all tradition of mythology found in the world. In Bantu mythology a Tree of Life and a Goddess of Fertility produced all the Kingdoms of Nature.

In India the “Asvattha ” tree was rooted according to the Bhagavad Gita in the highest heaven and descends through the spaces bearing all existing worlds on its branches.

The concept of a Tree of Life branching into worlds is a universal one.

In the Edda, Tree of Life was named “Yggdrasil ” considered as the universe with all its worlds and each human being is an Yggdrasil in its own measure a miniature of the cosmic ash tree.

Hindu and Greek mythology

Hesiod’s who had composed poems on the ‘Genesis of Gods’ known as ‘Theogony’ had tried to arrange the legends on the birth of Gods and the emergence of an ordered cosmos out of chaos (emptiness or space.) Hesiod’s origin of gods and men became the basis of later Greek Mythology.

There is a striking similarity in the Indian Creation Myth with Hesiod’s Genesis of Gods. According Rig Veda demon Vritra had to be killed before the creation of the universe.

God Indra brought order out of chaos (‘asat’) . He created existence (‘sat’) from non-existence (‘asat’) One of the sons of King Priam of Troy, Prince Paris carried off the beautiful Helen of Argos the wife of King Menelaus which was the plot of Homer’s Epic poem Iliad.

Parallels can be traced between the Trojan war depicted in the Iliad and the Rama – Ravana war which was the plot of Indian epic Ramayana fought to get back Sita from the custody of Ravana.

The characters in the stories of mythology had undergone numerous changes over the centuries which had been transmitted through oral tradition from region to region. Closer analysis proves that the central theme of all the mythologies is a universal concept relevant to every facet of humanity.

Since the origin of human civilisations mythologies have provided themes for poets and writers across the world.