Blog 2 - Creation Stories.




An Aboriginal creation myth portrayal.

 

1)   It is part of human nature to be curious. We need an explanation for everything, or else we are not satisfied. I think that this is the driving force beyond the formation of creation stories and myths of cultures worldwide. We attempt to explain our origins because in reality, some of us aren't quite sure what to believe. As human beings, we need reasons and logic to give us a sense of comfort and to help us define who we are both as individuals and as a society; we want to feel like a part of something bigger than any one person. These creation "myths" can still be found throughout the world to this day, although they may not be perceived as myths to some. The Bible offers an explanation of the origin of mankind, and Charles Darwin has proposed a theory that some people hold as fact and is even considered part of many schools' lesson plans for science classes. Some cultures pass down creation stories by generation, and even more common are fables that contain life lessons. Cultures find ways to leave a bit of themselves in all that they do, and just one way is through the telling of stories that seek to provide an answer to the question of the origin of mankind.



2 & 3)   From the creation stories of the Maori and Aboriginal cultures, we can begin to tell what each people values and believes in. Both the Maori and Aboriginal creation myths stress the existence of gods, and many at that. Each deals with a family of gods and the separation of their parents. There are many offspring in both stories, emphasizing the importance of repopulation within each culture. Family values are a common theme between the two cultures, with the Maori stressing that one should never turn on their family, especially their parents, and the Aboriginal calling for families to "live peacefully with one another." Man is created first in each story, coming back to the primitive idea of male supremacy over females. Individually, however, the stories do have their differences. The Maori consider the mother to be earth, displaying their strong appreciation for the creatures living on it, especially the humans, who are the only such organisms mentioned. The dark tone of the myth suggests their feelings towards death, and how the love of two people was seen as enough to prevent this. The Aboriginal creation story takes on a whole new tone, environmentally concious, and using the sun as a mother figure; hinting at the amount of value they see in life and their respect for animals. The story is nature-based and stresses growth, both physically and mentally. These differences may have resulted from the different locations and environmental factors of their countries, which could easily persuade each culture's specific view on the sun, the earth, and the animals. The lighter tone of the Aboriginal story may have been a result of a more positive interraction between the people and the animals, while the Maori may have condemned nature more because of harsh conditions at the time, but then again, I can only assume.



4)   Although they can be seen as outdated, the creation myths of both the Aboriginal and Maori cultures reveal challenges that still exist to this day. The Aboriginal story is very environmentally concious, and calls for the rest of the world to be the same. If modern times were as concerned with the environment as they had been, who knows if global warming would have ever been theorized? Would the condition of the ozone improve? Would we have a longer life expectancy rate and less polution, simply because we began to embrace nature the way the Australian Aboriginals had? Besides this problem, the Maori story addresses the amount of crime in the world. The story tells us of children struggling to separate and kill their parents in the quest for their own personal gains. Selfish reasoning drove them to attempt murder on their own parents, showcasing the greed that can be found across the globe, as well as weakening familial ties that cause children to become unstable without a strong sense of unity.

5)   I believe one hundred percent in the creation story as told by the Bible. In fact, it has always been my favorite Bible story. My faith has supplied me with answers as to where I come from and I have accepted them as truth. My beliefs have guided me throughout my life and make me strive to be a better person and to resist temptation. Because of my strong sense of where I come from, I value my religion that much more. I understand that no one is perfect and that God doesn't intend for us to be; He knows that we all make mistakes. This knowledge allows me to see the world with open eyes and to get to know people before I judge them, knowing that a person's imperfections only mean that they are human. Going to church, taking religious education classes, and listening to my parents' views growing up really helped to shape my views on creation. I believe that God created humans in His own image, but with individual imperfections that make us unique.


A Maori creation myth portrayal.



Blog 1 - Timelines.

          At first glance, it is impossible to know the background of a country. At further inspection, one may find that it has a lot more in common with a person's own country than previously suspected. Such is the case between Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.
          For starters, both Australia and the United States were colonized and settled by the British during the eighteenth century. The six colonies of Australia can be compared to the thirteen established in the US. The colonies of Australia later forming to establish a democracy in 1901 is also similar to that formed in under the American Declaration of Independence in 1776. A major difference between the two countries can be seen by the different amounts of time taken to achieve independence as well as a democracy within each nation. While the United States was able to break free from British rule within the same century as having been colonized, the six colonies of Australia took nearly 150 more years. Australia also continued to "pay allegiance" to Great Britain despite their creation of a Commonwealth (thefreedictionary.com). As far as the settlement of the three countries, another similarity can be found between New Zealand and the United States. English Captain James Cook visited New Zealand in 1769, his voyages inspriring other Europeans to travel to the intriguing country. Christopher Columbus sailed to the Americas in 1492, encouraging others to settle in this newfound land, and beginning the exploitation of natives that would be seen in many countries on many continents throughout history (en.wikipedia.org). Although the two men made their voyages at different points, they have both been credited as the explorers who brought about settlement in either country, despite not actually having discovered these lands themselves.

          The discovery of gold played a major economic role in all three countries, showing how greed transfers to be a worldwide trait. Gold rushes in New Zealand, Australia, and the USA occurred relatively around the same time, the mid-1800s. The NZ rush sprouted after the discovery of gold in Tuapeka, while the American gold rush began in California; both sent hundreds of thousands of people flocking to these areas in an attempt to get rich quick (en.wikipedia.org). The Australian gold rush was spearheaded by Edward Hargraves, who noticed the similarities between the geological features of Australia and California, and set out looking for gold once he realized that his observations proved to be correct (cultureandrecreation.gov.au).

          Outbreaks of war in both New Zealand and America showcase another similarity between the origins of the countries. The American Revolution consisted of a series of battles fought between the colonists and British for independence. A similar case, the native Maoris fought European settlers for nearly a decade in an attempt to gain back their homeland. On the contrary, Europeans did not up and leave New Zealand, as the British left American colonists alone for the most part after the revolution. However, in 1947 NZ gained independence from Britain, and the multiple cultures in both countries are able to live in peace today.


Australian Aborigines, who sought equality and fairness.



          Both Australia and the United States experienced segregation problems and an unequal distribution of rights. In 1962, Aborigines in Australia were granted the right to vote, and in 1967 they were considered citizens. Granted, these were the natives of the country, and they were just now gaining these rights that should have never been stripped of them in the first place. Going on during this same time period was the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, one of the most influential and thought-provoking in history (pbs.org). He stressed his dreams of someday living in a country where all men were treated equally. These thoughts were shared not only by African-Americans in the US but also by Australian Aborigines, both calling for equal rights.

          In order to fully appreciate another culture, I feel that it is essential to educate oneself in the similarities between this new country and one's own, and also to learn the differences in order to obtain complete understanding of the place, the people, and their struggles.