Marta Weigle, in her book Creation and Procreation: Feminist Reflections on Mythologies of Cosmogony and Parturition, has identified nine types of creation myths (Leonard and McClure 33). Often more than one of these types are combined in a single story. For instance, the Genesis account combines both the deus faber and ex nihilo types (Leonard and McClure 43). Students should avoid treating one type of myth as better or worse than another. Each type tries to make sense out of the created world, and each has its own sphere of value (Leonard and McClure 33).
| Type | Description | Emphasis |
|---|---|---|
| Accretion or conjunction | These myths see creation forming as a result of "the mingling or layering of the primal elements (e.g., earth, wind, fire, and water)"(Leonard and McClure 34). "Any action, whether that of wind or wave, or the earliest stirrings of a god or devil, unleashes the productive power sleeping in the primordial deep" (Leonard and McClure 34-5). These myths always involve inanimate matter and never involve the deliberate and purposeful action of a god. | "potency of primal matter" |
| Secretion | These myths see creation as a result of "divine emissions as 'vomit, sweat, urination, defecation, masturbation, web-spinning, [and] parthenogenesis'" (Weigle qtd. in Leonard and McClure 35) (Blood is not a secretion). Parthenogenesis is the production of an offspring from an unfertilized egg or gamete. According to Leonard and McClure, myths following this pattern generally focus on the birth of life or humans (35-6). | Usually focuses on creation of humans; humans coming from the gods |
| Sacrifice | These myths focus on creation as a consequence of the sacrifice of a god. Typically the sacrificed blood or bodies become some part of the newly created world (Leonard and McClure 36-7). Do not confuse the sacrifice creation type with the hero's sacrifice. The creation type requires that some physical part of the universe be made from the sacrificed body. | creation has a cost |
| Division or consummation | According to Weigle, these myths are "'usually associated with discriminating primal matter or a cosmogonic egg [or] with the consumated marriage of earth and sky'" (qtd. in Leonard and McClure 37). Usually, "the sky-father casts his seeds into the earth-mother in the form of rain" (Leonard and McClure 37). Myths involving sexual intercourse are consummation myths. Division or consummation myths focus on separating the various parts of the universe and embuing certain portions with life or the potentiality for life (Leonard and McClure 38). | making room for life, just as children push their embracing parents apart to make room for themselves |
| Earth-diver | These myths typically begin with a primordial sea into which the god descends to bring back the materials necessary for creating the world. In these myths, the amount of material retrieved by the god is small and parallels the way in which the tiny cells of procreation grow into full-sized beings (Leonard and McClure 38-9). However, do not confuse this type with creation from seeds. | miracle of birth; life emerging from the smallest particle |
| Emergence | In these myths, a first creature, human, or race enters our world from another world. The first world parallels the womb and is often too small for its occupants (Leonard and McClure 39). People leave a cramped, dark world and emerge into a larger, open, well-lit world. There may be several intermediate worlds through which the humans pass.
[E]mergence myths emphasize progress from the cramped darkness of early society to the airy brightness of civilization. . . . [T]he people learn important turths before they finally arrive in our world--and even then, the world they find is not quite complete without their efforts. Tests must be successfully met, religious ritual must be learned and performed, and the people must create that which the world does ont already provide. (Leonard and McClure 40) |
gradual improvement of humanity; humans as participants in creation, improving the world |
| Two Creators | In these myths, the world is created through the combined efforts of or the conflict between two gods. These gods may be of the same sex, opposite sex, or may be twin gods. Often one god is more ethical or compassionate than the other. These myths also sometimes establish hierarchies between created beings, that is, a society of class (Leonard and McClure 40-1). | hierarchies of life; higher and lower classes; explanation for good and evil in the world |
| Deus faber | In these myths, the world is created by a god who crafts like an artist or sculptor (Deus faber is Latin for Maker God). The emphasis is on the creator's craftmanship and on the "intricacy and cleverness of creation" (Leonard and McClure 41-2). | wonder of nature; intricacy and complexity of life |
| Ex nihilo | The Latin phrase "ex nihilo" means "'from nothingness' or 'from spirit' and is used to describe cosmogonies in which the creator brings the world into being through speech, breath, dream, thought, or laughter" (Leonard and McClure 43). Ex nihilo cannot involve any existing thing or being. The ancients did not consider breath to be a "thing" but rather "nothing." | life as breath of god; word creating order out of chaos |