Comments on: LiveScience’s Top 10 Creation Myths

By: Felix de Quesada

Felix de Quesada — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 18:34:12 +0000

I am not a scientist I am an artist whowever, in looking through the web I found an Creation Myth atributed to the Sans of the Kalahari Desert in Africa. That made me think and I researched a little bit and came up with a story about the origens of the Wold Myths about Mother Earth. Can I submit it to you to have an opinion on it? I have it on Facebook if you would like to know.
Felix de Quesada

By: Jake

Jake — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 22:37:28 +0000

@Khadijah: What you describe is a problem of language, rather than a problem of respect. Myth in common use implies falsehood or a simple story, but myth when used in the context of anthropology describes a worldview, or specifically a story that is both true and not-true for the people telling it. Maybe a better definition is “A story with cultural significance,” but that does not adequately describe the usual mysticism defining myths. However, the mysticism that is associated with myths can sometimes be considered bald fact in the context of the cultures involved, so perhaps simply “story with cultural impact” is best.

This is only in anthropology, though, as the common usage and concept of myth is that of a story from a religion that isn’t your own, more or less.

I hope that clear things up. If you find an anthropologist who is actually behaving in such an ethnocentric manner, check their credentials.

By: Khadijah

Khadijah — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 10:21:55 +0000

I was hoping to see a list of 10 Creation Myths. It is offensive to me to see them called such. They are Creation stories carried down for thousands of years, and they are all we have of our past.

While I am Muslim, I am educated enough to know that others may have a different view. What we have in these stories are men trying to describe things that are simply outside their understanding. From an Anthropological point of view, I see similarities in many of the stories and the truth may easily be somewhere along the common thread.

We should be spending time collating and organizing this information because it may speed us toward the truth. If you write everything off as some silly myth, then you will miss much.

Ma Salaama

Khadijah