ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN: Terms: Monogenesis - all myths are derived from one original source spoken, oral

ken, oral transmitted through direct

contact between cultures | Polygenesis - Myths of similar types arose independently of each other in various parts of the world | Jung Theory -
origin of myths are the unconscious mind (something we fear or cant explain) | Levi-Strauss Theory - Focuses in the extremes and opposites
in myths, like good vs evil, young and old | The Descent of Inanna: Inanna - Queen of Heaven, Power struggle with sister Ereshkigal, Goes
to underworld to take power from sister, Represents the new way of life, Husband/brother is Dumuzi | Ereshkigal - Ruler of the underworld,
sister of Inanna, controls all the rules, represents the power of death, death cannot be defeated | Dumuzi - Husband/brother of Inanna, called
the shepherd god, used as a sacrice in the underworld as Inannas replacement, represents the cycle of animal/pastoral fertility (**when in
the underworld, animals do not procreate, when he is released for 6 months, the animals are fertile), Ascended Inannas thrown while she was
gone, Animal fertility- old way of life, dying-rising divinity | Geshtinanna - sister to Dumuzi and the others, Goes to the underworld after Dumuzi,
Trades places with Dumuzi, each must spend half a year in the underworld The Enuma Elish: Apsu - God of Freshwater, unpredictable,
destructive ruler of all gods, husband to Tiamat, gets tired of the young gods, decides he wants to get rid of them, is killed by Ea | Tiamat - god
of salt waters, represents chaos, upset with Apsu for wanting to destroy their children, gives kingu the power, is killed by marduk | Anu - sky
god, creates the winds as a toy for the younger gods, Marduks grandfather, son of Ansar and Kisar | Ea - god of wisdom, kills Apsu, son of
Anu, father of Marduk | Marduk - god of light of the sun, defeats Tiamat, son of Ea, creates humanity out of Kingu, represents the establishment
of order, establishes the zodiac and the heavens/earth seperation | Kingu - new husband of Tiamat, is killed to create humans The Epic of
Gilgamesh: Gilgamesh - king of Uruk, 2/3 part god, abused his power as king, slept with women on their wedding nights, friends/lovers with
Enkidu, searches for everlasting life/immortality, dies sick in bed, learned to be a better king | Enkidu - lived with animals, sent to help
Gilgamesh, friends/lovers with Gilgamesh, rips off leg of bull of heave, punished by gods, dies sick in bed, punishment | Humbaba - guards the
cedar forest, killed by Gilgamesh and Enkidu, under orders of Enlil | Utnapishtim - only survivor of ood, only human ever granted immortality,
Gilgamesh seeks him to nd immortality | Ishtar - goddess of heaven, same as Inanna, asks Gilgamesh to marry her, treats her boyfriends
badly, Gilgamesh denies proposal, would have obtained immortality that way | Shamash - sun god, on Gilgamesh and Enkidus side, power
struggle between Enlil and Shamash, power struggle played out on earth through them | Enlil - god of earth, wind and air, tells Humbaba to
guard the cedar forest, not a fan of humans | Egyptian Myth: Geb - The earth God, usually earth is female but not this time | Nut - the sky
goddess, sun goddess, usually not female, cursed to not have kids, curse broke, had Osiris, Isis, and Seth | Osiris - a god in human form, very
positive king, one goal is to civilize humanity, concerned about people, sacrices himself, body cut into 14 pieces, penis gets thrown in the nile,
represents fertility of the Nile, when the Nile oods he comes to life, when it reseeds he dies, dying rising divinity | Isis - Osiriss wife/sister,
looks for Osiris, revives a child from scorpion bite, power of lan, conceives Horus after Osiris dies, cannot revive Horus, calls sun goddess,
creates a shrine for osiris everywhere she nds a body part, allows seth to live | Seth - brother of Osiris, represents death, drought, famine, and
sterility, threw Osiris into the river, cuts him into 14 pieces, Horus and Seth battle, Isis allows him to live | Horus - Son of Osiris and Isis, seeks
revenge on Seth, represents upper/lower Egypt, represents the unication of upper and lower Egypt, comes to power after Isis has spread the
worship of Osiris throughout Egypt, symbolically the rst ruler of a united Egypt | Re (or Ra) - sun god, responsible for placing curse on Nut,
teaches Isis the spell to revive Horus Egyptian Creation Myths: Atum Version - Atum rst deity, creates the others, imagery is masturbation,
takes st and puts it in his mouth, male deities often spit up, essentially only way a man can give birth, metaphor is a sexual act | Ptah Version -
Ptah creates the world, imagery is power of language, speaks the world into creation, also involves the mouth
NATIVE AMERICAN: Terms: Pantheism - the sense that there is a spirit in everything, even inanimate objects such as rocks and plants |
Mana - the force or spirit that is in all things, and which may be focused in a person or an animal | Mandala - all things are connected in a circle
| Axis mundi - vertical center of the universe that represents the connection between the earthly and divine | Earth Diver - swims to the bottom
of the primordial sea to bring up mud to make land, typically a water animal | Emergence - people move up from under the gound and evolve
physically cand socially, metaphor for birth | Duality - there are often two creators, one good, one evil, alternately there is an imperfect divine
creator | Shamanism - the power of an individual to go into a trance, or dream state, that connects the Shaman with the spirit world | Kachina -
doll like gure that is used to represent the spirits of dead ancestors as well as and educational toy to help children learn about the spirit world |
Kiva - underground ceremonial chamber | Vision quest - when an idividual seeks direct contact with the divine through a journey that includes
fasting etc. | Ghost Dance - the ritual seen by Wovoka in a vision that was to restore the Native lands/bison to the native americans and get rid
of the Euro americans | White Buffalo Woman - the holy woman who gives the Lakota people the ritual of the pipe and expresses the Plains
cultures holding of the bison in reverence | Emergence Myth: emergence motif, axis mundi-prayer stick, ritual planting prayer stick, metaphor
for agriculture, need to learn how to plant corn-god teaches them, webbed hands, cut them, represents social development because they learn
how to cook | How The World Was Made: Cherokee Myth, Earth Diver motif, 4 cords holding up earth-something sacred, the divine holding it,
sun too close, medicine men help raise sun, creation of plants/animals, stay awake for 7 days, nocturnal animals, evergreens, animals wanted
more room, little water beetle goes down and brings up mud, 1st man hits woman with a sh and she becomes pregnant, sh is phallic symbol
| Legend Of The Sky-Woman: written by a Seneca person, husband breathes on wife, she becomes pregnant, non-sexual conception, man
uproots tree of life, kicks her down hole, ends up on earth, axis mundi is tree, earth diver motif, muskrat goes to bottom of sea and creates
earth for her, gives birth to daughter, daughter chooses husband, brings int tipped arrows to her, places arrows above bed, next day, pulls off
arrows, becomes pregnant w/ twins, metaphor for sex | Legend Of The Evil Minded and Good Minded: GM - Sprout, EM- Flint, sky-woman
is grandmother of twins, everything GM twin makes, EM twin counteracts it, affects humans, based on how it helps humans survive, GM tries to
win over EM, world not perfect - people would be lazy, plant mother in shallow grave, plant grows out of body, recipe for corn soup - involves
ritual, beans/corn etc. gift from divine, makes cooking a sacred act, small power struggle between twins, decide by playing a game, did not
battle, GM created man | Origin Of Stories: orphan goes out to hunt birds, rock he nds tells him stories of the world, rock older than anything
alive, witness to creation, orphan has to give birds to rock, shows that the stories are valuable, has to pay for them, everyone comes and does
it, says keep these stories as long as you live, story of the origin of oral traditions, orphan because he doesnt know where he came from,
history of the people is important, it they dont know, they are like orphans | Raven: theft of light and water, light one of the last things created,
keeps water to himself, turns into small piece of dirt, nonsexual conception, swallows dirt, becomes pregnant with Raven, evyes bright, moves
rapidly, tricked chiefs daughter, steals the light, giant keeps water, raven drinks all water, raven stole light and water, turns black, creates rivers,
people living in the dark, Raven says take me across river, wants people to recognize he gave them the river, they refuse, he threatens them
with light, lets out sun, Gift of light, creates ecosystem, order in the world, light represents order and knowledge, Raven trickster, cluture hero |
How Rabbit Killed The Giant: rabbit comes, giant steals all of the food, doesnt eat rabbit, be nice to guests, community is important, rabbit is
culture hero, has giant killed, respects villages social rules, leaves | The Toothed Vagina: superimpose the idea of the vagina and the mouth,
social context important, coyote asks to go w/ rabbit and 2 girls, coyote doesnt follow rules well, complains a lot, pulls blanket all the time, girls
and rabbit sneak away, cross river, coyote drowns, tricksters never die though, water is renewing, coyote burns up rabbits children, destroys
rabbits society, coyote nds woman who has killed many men, has a toothed vagina, anyone who sleeps with her dies, coyote uses sticks to
sleep with her, kills her after 10 times, thinks he his a culture hero, shows both sides of a trickster, dual nature of humans, of natural world, of
the divine, nothing is absolute | The Boy Who Shot The Star: 2 boys, 1 looks at moon, says it looks like moms labret, moon is divine entity,
its insulted, labret is just decorative, insignicant, saying divine is insignicant, axis mundi is ladder of arrows, climbs ladder, stuffs bushes in
hair, berries ripen, means its been a long time, meets girl and grandmother, give gifts to help him, friend hanging in moons house over smoke
hole, pulls him out, this is like rebirth, hole like a birth canal, moon comes after him, boy throws things, slows moon down, went back to where
they were, people thought they were dead, convinced them they were alive, describes a vision quest, maybe fell asleep and dreamed, or died
and came back to life, hunting culture because it uses a vision quest | The Girl Who Marries a Kachina: sees Kachina, wants to go with him,
leaves, doesnt like it, wants to come back, not allowed, has stayed there for 4 days, she died, joined the spirit of the ancestors, there is a fear
of death, universal human fear, why they wont marry Kachina, agricultural community because of Kiva | The Gift Of The Sacred Pipe: Sioux,
planes cultures, Laglala, 2 boys hunting, beautiful woman dressed in buck skin, holly woman, 1 boy has bad thoughts about her, turned into a
pile of bones, nds a lodge, walks around lodge, pulls out a sacred pipe, presents pipe and tells the ritual of it, points in 4 directions , means its
sacred, # of people will increase if ritual is followed, white buffalo woman gives the people the ritual , she represents the bison, bison represent
a way of life, sacred, she changes color, white is divine, reddish/brown is normal, black representative of her changing | Trail Of Tears: 1830s,
American southeast, example of gov. moving people to another place (as a policy) to own land, called trail of tears because many people died
on journey, gave Native americans blankets from people who had died from small pox, knowing they would then catch small pox, Cherokee
had actually helped Andrew Jackson before, people died of exposure and starvation, may have feared retribution, why he waited so long to
write it, may be afraid of consequences for when he dies | Samuels Memory: written by his great-great grandson, through stories passed
down, event became a part of tradition, family identity, repercussions through generations, Massacre - 1890 (Wounded Knee), Lakota, bison
hunting culture, Gov. offered to buy land from Lakota, 1876 Lakota told to move to reservations, event end of the plains culture | Navajo
Creation: air spirit people described ad insects/bats, lived under ground, pre-navajo people, how they were represented before their culture,
emergence creation motif, start underground and move up, after 4 days/nights told they bring disorder, told to leave, ood comes (not a major
ood area), moves to next level , swallow people, blue, adultery is committed, thrown out again, famine-can be caused by rules being broken,
taboo against adultery, third level, yellow, committed adultery again, kicked out, social disorder, go through twisted passage to 4th world -
something special will happen, #4, decide not to commit adultery anymore, white-sunrise, blue-daytime, yellow-sunset, black-night, no sun
means that they arent civilized yet, people in upright houses, teach air people about agriculture, at the beginning of navajo creation, 4
mysterious beings, gods say they want smarter people, air spirit people cannot be civilized anymore, need to learn more about society, creates
people from buck skin, 2 ears of corn are basis of the Navajo, rst woman gives birth to twins, 1st set not entirely male or female, considered
more perfect, give gift of pottery, implements of farming, etc, 1st set of twins important, divine gives man/woman information, they are doing
something wrong, incest, most universal taboo, renounce adultery and incest, 1st woman wants to keep marriages together, creates the penis
and vagina, sex for pleasure, puberty, now you are old enough, rules of marriage, coyote wants to be helpful, takes hair from chin, pubic hair
now, having too much sex, clothing, people are too attracted because of pubic hair, when sky and earth meet, coyote springs from ground, birth
of him, sexual imagery, coyote wants to be a part of society, messes up stars in the sky, causes humans to be mortal, brings home deer,
woman thanks vagina, if no sex after dinner man wouldnt hunt, men/women separate, women try to tempt them, begin to starve to death,
women want food and men, start to masturbate with weird objects, create awful monsters, represent drought, pests, disease, (cause crop to
fail), over farming, force people to move, man takes liver from deer, puts in front of re, masturbates with liver, does it again when owl says not
to, men/women apologize, establish gender roles - equally important, taboo against masturbation, cannot take place of normal sexual relations
with spouse, following rules of society can have a positive effect on the natural world, coyote causes more problems, woman stolen by water
monster, coyote steels water babies, causes ood, move people to 5th world, reed - axis mundi, where they become fully civilized, water rises,
coyote throws babies back, water goes down, coyote culture hero, forces people to move to the 5th world, if stone sinks, we all have to die, 1st
woman creates sun
HINDUISM: Terms: Polymorphous Monotheism - one god takes many forms | Avatar - the temporary physical forms that the Trimurti and the
Shaktis take, includes humans, animals, and plants | Dharma - your duty, determined by your position in the caste system , demons usually
mean anti-dharma | Karma- idae that every act produces and effect, has far reaching consequences | Rita - cosmic order | Swarga - heaven
like place where souls may spend time in between lives and where the devas live - physical place | Yama - underworld inhabited by demons
(rakshasas) | Caste System - institutionalization of the division of labor | Brahman - the one God, the divine principle, no gender or physical
appearance, pure divinity | Ishvara - when Brahman becomes active, no physical form | Trimurti - depicted as male (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva) |
Brahma - when God creates the world, creator | Vishnu - when God preserves the world, preserver | Shiva - when God destroys the world,
destroyer | Sarasvati - Brahmas Shaktis, knowledge | Lakshmi - Vishnus shaktis, beauty | Shivas Shaktis: Sati, loyalty, fertility, Parvati, faith
devotion, Uma, devotion, Kali, death, motherhood | Shaktis - female energy counterparts, represent Gods energy, without them there would
only be ideas | Indra - storm god, deva who lives in swarga | Yama - god of the underworld | Vedas - sanskrit texts, rst oral, then written down,
which comprise the Hindu sacred books, describe the period of Aryan assimilation into Native Indian culture | Upanishads - later sanskrit texts,
philosophical instruction that typically as rather than answer questions | The Churning of the Ocean: creation myth, Shiva destroyed the
world, gods ed to Brahma for protection, told them to look for Vishnu, leads gods to him, Vishnu maintains the world, gods must churn the
milky ocean w/ demons, shows that there is no evil separate from God, many things churned out of ocean, moon placed on Shivas head,
Lakshmi is churned, the world is re-created, metaphor used, milk is fertility symbol/nourishes/semen, mountain in middle is phallic symbol |
Shiva Stories: two acts of Shiva are destruction and mediation, Lingam - what shiva is represented by, the cosmic pillar-phallic symbol | Potter
Analogy - metaphorical representation of the relationship between the members of the trimurti and their shaktis: First cause - the potter,
member of the trimurti, they decide what action will be taken, Material cause - the clay pot, the result of the action taken by the potter, the
creation, the world, Instrumental Cause - the wheel, turns the clay and allows the potter to create the pot, provides energy, the shaktis | The
Supremecy of Shiva: before world is created, god talking to himself (brahma and vishnu talking), Lingam appears and they are amazed,
Vishnu goes down lingam but cannot reach the end, Brahma went up, also couldnt nd the end, this story is for the humans, humans now
recognize and accept that destruction is a part of God, god is a destroyer | Sati: Sati becomes wife of Shiva, represents Shivas energy to
destroy, Satis father didnt approve of Shiva, cursed Chiva but a priest cursed the father back, had to pick a husband, Sati and Shiva married,
father prepared a horse sacrice, invited everyone but Shiva, shiva doesnt care about ritual, Sati gets offended, consumed by re and dies,
Shiva gets mad, cuts off the fathers head, tramples Indra, broke the staff of Yama, scatter the gods, destroys the earth, Sati represents fertility,
shown by plants dying, Vishnu cuts Sati into pieces, 52, gods decide to make peace with Shiva, gives Daksha the head of a goat since his was
burned, | Eye Saint: Sturdy - worshipper of the southern mountain deity, captured a boar, came to stone lingam, lingam spoke to him, thought
he could give some form of service to the God, brought water, boar, and wild owers, priest brought pure water, fresh owers, and leaves,
horried to see what Sturdy brought, priest cleaned the lingam, alternated bringing their things, priest called upon Shiva to protect his image,
ad blood ow from one eye, Sturdy came and sacriced his right eye by cutting it out with an arrow, the other eye started to bleed, Sturdy
began to cut out his left eye, Shiva stopped Sturdy from cutting out his other eye, pure water and owers represent mediation, meat and dirty
water represent destruction, priest realized that love is greater than ceremonial purity, its not as important as the intention, devotion is what
matters, destruction and mediation are equal, Sturdy now the Eye Saint | Umas Sport: Shiva meditating, Uma-wife of Shiva, Uma covered
Shivas eye, when covered, she provides him with the energy to destroy the world, created a third eye to protect all creatures | Shivas Dance:
Potter analogy, energy of the universe | Ramayana: Valmiki - author, refuge of Sita after she is banned, | Rama - avatar of Vishnu, sent into
exile, (dad dies when Rama leaves, cursed after killing a hermit, karma), kills Ravana, refuses to take back in Sita, two parts of dharma - as to
defeat anti dharma, establish social order and doesnt want people to think adultery is okay, | Bharata - avatar of Vishnu, rules in Ramas
absence, | Lakshman - Avatar of Vishnu | Sita - avatar of Lakshmi, wife of Rama, born from mother earth, is kidnapped by Ravana after
sending out a golden deer, | Ravana - leader of the rakshasas (demons), kidnaps Sita, anti dharma, anti order in the world, had to be defeated
by an avatar, 10 heads ymbolizes power, | Sugriva - monkey king who helps Rama, | Hanuman - one of the monkies, jumps over the ocean to
see if Sita is alive, burns down the city after he was captured | Mahabharata: Even though social order is important, it is not the most important
thing | Bhishma - Father of Dhritarashtra and Pandu, looking for someone to give thrown to,| The Kurus - Duryodhana, Karna | Duryodhana -
upset that Yudhishthira got the throne, tries to get rid of the Pandavas by setting their house on re, very jealous of Yudhishthira, | Karna -
rival of Arjuna, was adopted and raised by a chariotteer, becomes friends with the Kurus, older than all of the sons in both families, half brother,
| The Pandavas - Yuhhishthiia, Arjuna, escape re, set a woman and 5 kids to burn, | Yudhishthira - throne given to him when Dhrit retires, his
nephew, compromises with Yudhishthira and they both rule halves of the kingdom, is a good king, becomes wealthy, likes to gamble but isnt
good, lost everything, including draupadi, loses again, Bhima is caught by snake only way to save him is to answer questions about spirituality,
1st test, Dury and brothers are captured, Yudd saves them, 2nd test, they all drink poison, all die except Yudd, told he can bring back one
brother, chooses Nakula so each mother will have a son, chooses what is right spiritually, all brothers get to come back, 3rd test, gets Krishna
in war, Dury picked army, | Arjuna - | Krishna - saves Draupadi from being derobed, | Drona - teacher of the sons, has son, elephant with same
name as son, elephant killed, thinks son is killed , then he was killed | Drupadi - marries all 5 sons of the Pandavas, daughter of king in
another kingdom, Arjuna wins her but has to share, gets 2 boons, only asks to release Yudhishthira, is kidnapped, | Not all allowed to go to
heave when they give up material lives (Pandavas)Yudd wants dog, passed test, gets to go to hell to visit brothers, then everyone gets to go to
swarga, Yudd learns spiritual order is important
AFRICAN: Terms: Divination - communication with the Divine | Ananse Stories: Ananse - a spider who is a man/a man who is a spider,
trickster gure, very smart, wants to be God, owns the spider stories, no position in society | Separation of God from Man: Wulbari - imperfect
creator, is annoyed of humans, wants sun, moon, and darkness, is blamed for the blinding of the animals | Ananse - thinks he is smarter than
God, tricks Wulbari in believing he can read minds and create sun, moon, and darkness | God Retreats To The Sky: Nyambi - imperfect
creator, threated by Kamonu, has spider create a web to get away, takes away Kamonus dog, pot, and child | Kamonu - does everything
Nyambi does, learns to kill and cook, follows Nyambi, creates a false axis mundi - towers | The Chameleon Finds: Mulungu - imperfect
creator, has to escape from the humans, they learned how to cook and started res | The Descent From The Sky: Olorun - sky god, supreme
deity, power struggle with Olokun, tricks Olokun into compromising | Olokun - Goddess of the waters, challenges Olorun to clothmaking |
Orunmila - oldest son of Olorun, saves the people from Olokun | Eshu - the messenger and linquist, people went to Eshu when Obatala
wouldnt respond, contacts Obatala for the people | Obatala - imperfect creator, creates earth, Ife (city), creates humans to keep him company,
gets drunk, makes mistakes, feels bad, protects humans, dries up the waters | How Shango Departed From Oyo: Shango - 4th king of Oyo,
not a very good king, jealous of Timi and Gbonka, has Gbonka kill Timi, tries to kill Gbonka in re, told to leave by Gbonka, left Oyo, became
Orisa of thunder and lightning, punished those who spoke bad of him | African Epic: Gassires Lute: Wagadu - the city, place they are in, also
refers to the culture of the city, goes through many phases where it falls and rises | Gassire - wants father to die so he can take thrown, told he
wont be king but instead will carry a lute and cause the fall of Wagadu, lute doesnt sing, lengthens war to get blood of sons, considered
somewhat of a culture hero, gives Fasa people their cultural identity, cultural history, becomes a Griot | The Epic of Askia Mohammed: Si -
kills Kassayes babies because of prophecy, is killed by Mamar | Mamar - Kassayes child, raised by a servant, kills Si, prophecy, brings Islam
as a state religion to Mali, islamic cultural identity | The Adventures Of Papaju: Papaju - son of rst wife, power struggle with Xigamana for
throne, swallows a stone, makes him mute, Iguana helps Papaju become unmute by having him kill him, kills Xigamana, rightful place on
throne, follows a bird, breaks a taboo and opens basket, releases Gegestsu, learns the qualities to be a good king and established the right of
heredity | Gegetsu - | The Dogon Creation: ist word represents the organization of Nature, 2nd word represents social order, 3rd word
repressents spiritual and cosmic order, Amma - creates the earth as a female body, attempts intercourse with the earth, result is jackal -
disorder, after earth is excised, the result is the Nummo Twins | The Nummo - regenerates ht deled earth through language and 3 words, |
basket represents granary which is symbolic of a geometric structured univers, metaphor for the re-establishment of Natural, Social, Spiritual,
and Cosmic order. | Dahomean Narrative: Mawu-Lisa- female moon, male sun, androgynous supreme god, creator | Sagbata - earth god,
proves divine by not sleeping for 7 days, power struggle with Sogbo, | Sogbo- sky god | Fa - represents divintation and destiny, | Legba -
trickster gure, linguist knows all the languages, | Chameleon - messenger, helps protect, no one can sneak up on you, refelcts in skin, | wands
axis mundi,