Myth is Not an Explanation (in class)
The repeated discussion about how myth is not an explanation, but rather a way of accepting and still being able to cherish the world without necessarily picking it apart has really stuck with me. The Emily Dickinson poem that I mentioned in class, Split the Lark, was fitting, but I think it also connects to how many people that I know look to religion for a reason that things happen. For example, why does a loving God allow such horrible natural disasters? Is this asking for myth to be too much of an explanation, rather than a statement of acceptance? Searching for an answer or reason seems very human, and hard to avoid completely.
When researching my creation myth for the recent paper, I came across a book on the development of the world religions, which had several tables comparing the myths between neighboring cultures. These all fell under the using myths as an acceptance of the world around them, rather than trying to explain away why and how the world exists. Many cultures on island nations, for example, all had similar stories that involved shells, as I saw during my attempts to differentiate between Polynesian tales, Maori stories, and the myths of other South Pacific island nations. Yet, many of the Maori islanders did not mention a shell at all, but rather a start from nothingness. Was this due to not needing to explain where the world came from and accepting it just exists now, or is it just a different kind of explanation? While doing this research, I had been keeping an eye out for a more Fiji specific creation myth, as I will be going there in May for a Study Abroad trip. However, they have had a strong Hindu influence, due to the British colonization presence that sent over Indians to help on sugar plantations, as well as a much stronger Christian presence than expected, due to missionaries who came to the island in the 1800's. Their old myths were not well documented, likely due to an oral tradition related to their tribal culture, and so finding a book or article about their old beliefs is proving impossible. I hope to find a better history of their religion soon.
The class related to the study abroad, Biogeography, has also talked a lot about how human society has moved and changed over time, which led to a discussion on morality and how humans often try to explain their wars by claiming that they sharing their religion, which is always somehow the "one true" religion. For example, all of the Crusades. It was interesting to talk about the claim that mythology is how humans have historically explained and enforced their moral code, considering that in Religion and Ecology we have made it very clear that myth is not an explanation.
When researching my creation myth for the recent paper, I came across a book on the development of the world religions, which had several tables comparing the myths between neighboring cultures. These all fell under the using myths as an acceptance of the world around them, rather than trying to explain away why and how the world exists. Many cultures on island nations, for example, all had similar stories that involved shells, as I saw during my attempts to differentiate between Polynesian tales, Maori stories, and the myths of other South Pacific island nations. Yet, many of the Maori islanders did not mention a shell at all, but rather a start from nothingness. Was this due to not needing to explain where the world came from and accepting it just exists now, or is it just a different kind of explanation? While doing this research, I had been keeping an eye out for a more Fiji specific creation myth, as I will be going there in May for a Study Abroad trip. However, they have had a strong Hindu influence, due to the British colonization presence that sent over Indians to help on sugar plantations, as well as a much stronger Christian presence than expected, due to missionaries who came to the island in the 1800's. Their old myths were not well documented, likely due to an oral tradition related to their tribal culture, and so finding a book or article about their old beliefs is proving impossible. I hope to find a better history of their religion soon.
The class related to the study abroad, Biogeography, has also talked a lot about how human society has moved and changed over time, which led to a discussion on morality and how humans often try to explain their wars by claiming that they sharing their religion, which is always somehow the "one true" religion. For example, all of the Crusades. It was interesting to talk about the claim that mythology is how humans have historically explained and enforced their moral code, considering that in Religion and Ecology we have made it very clear that myth is not an explanation.
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