Parallel Myths (12 page)
Authors: J.F. Bierlein
Then the red god suggested that they make a man out of wood, and the others agreed. So the red god took a branch from a tree and carved it into a human shape. When they tested it in water, it floated; it stood upright without any problem whatsoever. However, when they tested it with fire, it burned.
The four lords decided to try again. This time the black god suggested making a man out of gold. The gold man was beautiful and shone like the sun. He survived the tests of fire and water, looking even more handsome after these tests. However, the gold man was cold to the touch; he was unable to speak, feel, move, or worship the gods. But they left him on earth anyway.
The fourth god, the colorless lord, decided to make humans out of his own flesh. He cut the fingers off his left hand and they jumped and fell to earth. The four gods could hardly see what the men of flesh looked like as they were so far away. From the seat of the four lords, they looked like busy little ants.
But the men of flesh worshiped the gods and made offerings to them. They filled the hearts of the four lords with joy. One day the men of flesh found the man of gold. When they touched him, he was as cold as a stone. When they spoke to him, he was silent. But the kindness of the men of flesh warmed the heart of the man of gold and he came to life, offering praise to the gods for the kindness of the men of flesh.
The word of praise from the previously silent creature woke the four gods from their sleep and they looked down on earth in delight. They called the man of gold “rich” and the men of flesh “poor,” ordaining that the rich should look after the poor. The rich man will be judged at his death on the basis of how he cared for the poor. From that day onward, no rich man can enter heaven unless he is brought there by a poor man.
Inca
NOTE
: The Inca empire covered the Andean region, including Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. The language of the empire, Quechua, is still spoken extensively in Peru and Bolivia. Please take note that the god in this myth is named Con Tiqui (or Kon Tiki) Viracocha. Thor Heyerdahl’s voyage from Peru to Polynesia on the balsa raft
Kon Tiki
was intended to demonstrate commerce between the two cultures, as
tiki
is a term used by both the Polynesians and the Peruvians for “god.”
I
n the most ancient of times the earth was covered in darkness. Then, out of a lake called Collasuyu, the god Con Tiqui Viracocha emerged, bringing some human beings with him. Then Con Tiqui created the sun (Inti), the moon and the stars to light the world. It is from Inti that the Inca, emperor of Tahuantisuyo,
*
is descended. Out of great rocks Con Tiqui fashioned more human beings, including women who were already pregnant. Then he sent these people off into every corner of the world. He kept a male and female with him at Cuzco, the “navel of the world.”
Another story is that Con, the Creator, was in the form of a man without bones. He filled the earth with good things to supply the needs of the first humans. The people, however, forgot Con’s goodness to them and rebelled. So he punished them by stopping the rainfall. The miserable people were forced to work hard, drawing what little water they could find from stinking, drying riverbeds. Then a new god, Pachachamac, came and drove Con out, changing his people into monkeys. Pachachamac then took earth and made the ancestors of human beings.
NOTE
: In the account of Creation in Genesis, God makes the world for humankind; in the Babylonian story, the gods make humankind to work for them.
I
n the beginning there was Apsu, the sky god, and Tiamat, the chaos goddess. From their union came all gods. These younger gods grew restless and chose Marduk as their champion. It is he who finished the work of creation by slaying Tiamat, his mother, and Kingu, her lover.
Then joined issue Tiamat and Marduk, wisest of gods
They strove in single combat, locked in battle.
The lord spread out his net to enfold her
The Evil Wind, which followed behind, he let loose in her face.
When Tiamat opened her mouth to consume him,
He drove in the Evil Wind that she close not her lips.
As the fierce winds charged her belly,
Her body was distended and her mouth was wide open.
He released the arrow, it tore her belly.
It cut through her insides, splitting her heart.
Having thus subdued her, he extinguished her life.
He cast down her carcass to stand upon it.
After he had slain Tiamat the leader,
Her band was shattered, her troupe broken up;
And the gods, her helpers who marched at her side,
Trembling with terror turned their backs about,
In order to save their lives.
Tightly encircled, they could not escape;
He made them captives and he smashed their weapons.
Thrown into the net, they found themselves ensnared;
Placed in cells, they were filled with wailing;
Bearing his wrath, they were held imprisoned….The lord trod on the legs of Tiamat,
With his unsparing mace he crushed her skull.
When the arteries of her blood he had severed,
The north wind bore it to places undisclosed.
They brought him gifts of homage, they to him.
Then the lord paused to view her dead body
That he might divide the monster and do artful works.
He split her like a shellfish into two parts:
Half of her he set up and ceiled as sky,
Pulled down the bar and posted guards,
He bade them to allow not her waters to escape.… He constructed stations for the great gods,
Fixing their astral likenesses as constellations.
He determined the year by designating the zones:
He set up three constellations for each of the twelve months.… When Marduk hears the words of the gods,
His heart prompts him to do artful works.
Opening his mouth, he addresses Ea, god of waters,
“Blood I will mass and cause bones to be.
I will establish a savage, ‘man’ shall be his name;
Truly savage man I will create.
He shall be charged with the service of the gods
That they might be at ease!”… It was Kingu who contrived the uprising,
And made Tiamat rebel, and joined battle.
They bound him [Kingu], holding him before Ea.
They imposed on him his guilt and severed his blood vessels.Out of his blood they fashioned mankind.
He [Ea] imposed the service and let free the gods.
After Ea, the wise had created mankind,
Had imposed upon it the service of the gods.
NOTE
: The first Creation story is referred to as the “Elohist” version of the Creation, as God is referred to as Elohim (a plural form) in the original Hebrew. The second story is referred to as the “Yahwist” version, as God is referred to by the sacred name YHVH, transliterated as “Yahweh.” It is believed by some Bible scholars that the two versions were integrated into the Torah at the time of its compilation. The authorship of Genesis, and the whole Torah, is traditionally attributed to Moses.
The First Account of Creation (Genesis 1:1-2:4)
I
n the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, and God’s spirit hovered over the water.God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and God divided light from darkness. God called light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” Evening came and morning came: the first day.
God said, “Let there be a vault in the waters to divide the waters in two.” And so it was. God made the vault, and it divided the waters above the vault from the waters under the vault. God called the vault “heaven.” Evening came and morning came: the second day.
God said, “Let the waters under heaven come together into a single mass, and let dry land appear.” And so it was. God called the dry land “earth” and the mass of waters “seas,” and God saw that it was good.
God said, “Let the earth produce vegetation; seed-bearing plants, and fruit-bearing trees bearing fruits with their seeds inside, on the earth.” And so it was. The earth produced vegetation: plants bearing seeds in their several kinds, and trees bearing fruit with their seeds inside in their several kinds. God
saw that it was good. Evening came and then morning came: the third day.God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of heaven to divide day from night, and let them indicate festivals, days and years. Let them be lights in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth.” And so it was. God made the two great lights: the greater light to govern the day, the smaller light to govern the night and to divide light from darkness. God saw that it was good. Evening came and morning came: the fourth day.
God said, “Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth within the vault of heaven.” And so it was. God created great sea-serpents and every kind of living creature with which the waters teem, and every kind of winged creature. God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, multiply and fill the waters of the seas; and let the birds multiply upon the earth.” Evening came and morning came: the fifth day.
God said, “Let the earth produce every kind of living creature: cattle, reptiles, and every kind of wild beast.” And so it was. God made every kind of beast, every kind of cattle, and every kind of land reptile. God saw that it was good.
God said, “Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves
[Ehhim
is a plural word in Hebrew], and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild beasts and all the reptiles that crawl upon the earth.”God created man in the image of Himself; in the image of God He created them; male and female he created them.
God blessed them, saying to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and conquer it. Be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven and all living animals on the earth.” God said, “See, I give you all the seed-bearing plants that are upon the whole earth, and all the trees with seed-bearing fruit; this shall be your food. To all wild beasts, all birds of heaven and all living reptiles on the earth I give all the foliage of plants for food.” And so it was. God saw all that he had made, and indeed it was very good. Evening came and morning came: the sixth day.
Thus heaven and earth were completed in all their array. On the seventh day God completed the work he had been doing. He rested on the seventh day and made it holy, because on that day he rested after all his work of creating.
Such were the origins of heaven and earth when they were created.