Creation+Myth+Project

Myth
**DEFINITION:** A myth is a traditional story, which MAY describe the origins of the world and/or of a people. A myth is an attempt to explain mysteries, supernatural events, and cultural traditions. Sometimes sacred in nature, a myth can involve gods or other creatures.And, a myth represents reality in dramatic ways. ** Science Creation Story ** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri9Ftdk2n6w

** Mohawk Creation Story ** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICnme3ou-Kk Common Elements in Creation Myths Lindsey Murtagh It is in the nature of humans to wonder about the unknown and search for answers. At the foundation of nearly every culture is a creation myth that explains how the wonders of the earth came to be. These myths have an immense influence on people's frame of reference. They influence the way people think about the world and their place in relation to their surroundings. Despite being separated by numerous geographical barriers many cultures have developed creation myths with the same basic elements. Many creation myths begin with the theme of birth. This may be because birth represent new life and the beginning of life on earth may have been imagined as being similar to the beginning of a child's life. This is closely related to the idea of a mother and father existing in the creation of the world. The mother and father are not always thefigures which create life on earth. Sometimes the creation doesn't occur until generations after the first god came into being. A supreme being appears in almost every myth. He or she is what triggers the train of events that create the world. Sometimes there are two beings, a passive and active creator. Not all cultures imagine life starting on earth. Some believe that it originated either above or below where we live now. Still other myths claim the earth was once covered with water and the earth was brought to the surface. These are called diver myths. According to some cultures humans and animals once lived together peacefully. However because of a sin caused by the humans they are split up. This sin is often brought on by darkness and is represented as fire. Other times the innocence of humans is taken away by a god. We continue to wonder. Even now, in the 21st century, we continue to make theories on how earth was created. They are our new creation myths. We base our ideas on scientific evidence. However, the creation myths were based on what people saw - their observations.

__[|Birth]__ __[|Mother-Father]__ __[|Geneology]__ __[|Supreme Beings]__ __[|An Active and a Passive Creator]__ __[|Creation from Above or Below]__ __[|Diver-Myths]__ __[|The Relationship of Animals and Humans]__ __[|An Instruction, a Sin and the Consequence]__ __[|Night, Fear, Fire and Sin]__ __[|Gods Creating Suffering]__

Source: [|__http://www.cs.williams.edu/~lindsey/myths/myths.html__]

CREATION MYTHS ONLINE THE BIG MYTH GO TO THIS WEBSITE: []

[|Iroquois Creation Myth] [|Australian Aborigine Creation Myth] [|African Bushmen Creation Myth] [|Hebrew/Christian Creation Myth] [|Greek Creation Myth] [|Japanese Creation Myth]

** CREATION MYTH SKIT ASSIGNMENT **
 * DIRECTIONS:** Working with your group, you will create a creation myth about your utopia, which you will perform as a skit for the rest of the class.
 * 1) 1. Write a new creation story based on the common elements you have found among the stories. The myth should be from an imaginary religion, culture, or society.
 * 2) 2. Rewrite one of the creation stories, changing some of its most fundament aspects (i.e., setting, characters, order of events, ending, etc.)
 * Your skit will be assessed by your classmates and instructor.

**20 - 18** || **B** **17.5 - 16** || **C** **15.5 - 14** || **D/F** **13.5 - 0** ||
 * **Skit Element** || **A**
 * **Completeness of Script** || Tells entire story of Creation of World in great detail. HIghly entertaining || Tells somewhat entire story of Creation of World in mostly great detail. || Story is somewhat choppy and has gaps in story. Mostly general in detail. || May or may not have a true beginning, middle, and end. Story is confusing and has no focus. ||
 * **Accuracy and believability of the characters** || Characters are extremely believable and appropriate for story || Characters are mostly believable and appropriate for story. || Characters are somewhat believable. || Characters may or may not be believable. ||
 * **Originality and creativity of the presentation** || Highly creative and entertaining. || Mostly creative and entertaining. || Somewhat creative and entertaining || Confusing and hard to follow. Little to no creativity. ||
 * **Explanation or accuracy of the particular culture presented.** || Detailed explanation or highly accurate presentation of a culture. || Fairly detailed explanation or fairly accurate presentation of a culture. || Somewhat detailed explanation or somewhat accurate presentation of a culture. || Little to no explanation or accurate presentation of a culture. ||
 * **Appropriate incorporation of Common Elements of Creation Myths** || Excellent incorporation of 9-11 Common Elements of Creation Myths. || Good incorporation of 6-8 Common Elements of Creation Myths. || Somewhat good incorporation of at 5 Common Elements of Creation Myths || Incorporation of less than 5 Common Elements of Creation Myths ||