Applying Theories of myth Essays - Cosmogony, Comparative Mythology

The categories by which we distinguish the motifs operating in the world?s cosmogonic myths should not be used too rigidly. As should be apparent, a great many creation myths employ more than one motif. The Yuki and Genesis cosmogonies just discussed employ both the deus faber and ex nihilo motifs. The Nordic creation myths featuring the evil giant Ymir tend to combine accretion/conjunction, secretion, and sacrifice motifs?the latter evident, for example, in the Edda in which Odin and his brothers kill Ymir and make theworld from his body. Thus the nine categories just discussed shouldn?t be seen as a way of pigeonholing a myththis is an accretion/ conjunction myth; this is a sacrifice myth.? Rather, these categories should lead to speculation about why certain cultures depict the creation through certain motifs. What does it signify, for example, that, in the Tibetan story, the cosmos emerges through an incredibly gradual process thatwas not guided by an all-powerful creator? Developing a sufficient answer to this question would require some research on your part; but to demonstrate the kind of reward that asking questions about significance can bring, we could point out that Buddhism is a nontheistic religion.