Cultural Exchange

I’m from a small town in Oklahoma. And, two summers ago, I took a trip to Thailand. I had never been out of the U.S. before.

When I told people, “Oh! I’m going to Thailand in a few weeks!” The most common reply was, “Why?” (followed by a look of complete distaste and confusion).

My reply was, “Why not?”

I didn’t have a real reason for going to Thailand. I wanted to take a trip out of the country. The best deal I found was in Thailand. And it turned out to be one of the best weeks of my life.

Today, cultures aren’t confined to certain parts of the world. We are intertwined with each other. We all have our own customs and our own beliefs. And we don’t necessarily need to change them. But, we need to understand the customs and beliefs of those around us.

Because racism is nothing but ignorance.

Shogun , by James Clavell

This is a classic piece of work that should be included in  everyone’s library.

It takes place in the 1600s Japan. A group of English sailors are shipwrecked on the island of Japan. They are taken as prisoners in this new and unexplored land and must find a way to get free and head home.

During their trials, they see the beauty and complexity of a culture they never knew existed.

This novel artistically describes Japan at a time of tumult.

The Tale of Murasaki , by Liza Dalby

A beautiful rendition of what could have been Murasaki Shikibu’s life.

Murasaki is a famous 11th century writer. She was the first woman to break the bonds of Japanese tradition. Women weren’t supposed to write. They weren’t supposed to speak foreign languages and be as educated as a man. Women couldn’t work as scribes. And they certainly shouldn’t read stories as graphic as Genji.

But Murasaki changed it all. With her tales of Genji, the “Shining Prince,” even the Queen fell in love with her writing.

The Tale of Murasaki is a taste of what her life might have been like, based on Murasaki’s journals.

It’s a beautiful rendition, well worth the time.

Many people don’t bother with creation myths anymore. Most people today don’t believe creation myths. They don’t believe in the gods and goddesses who create humans on whim. And I’m not saying they necessarily should.

Creation myths vary from culture to culture. Yet, they all have similar tendencies. Reading these creation stories can show us how similar we all are. They can show us that we all have the same thoughts and questions about life. And, it is very intriguing  to see how our ancestors explained life.

 An Abstract from The Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson

“The first world to exist was Muspell, a place of light and heat whose flames are so hot that those who are not native to that land cannot endure it.

Surt sits at Muspell’s border, guarding the land with a flaming sword. At the end of the world he will vanquish all the gods and burn the whole world with fire.

Beyond Muspell lay the great and yawning void named Ginnungagap, and beyond Ginnungagap lay the dark, cold realm of Niflheim.

Ice, frost, wind, rain and heavy cold emanated from Niflheim, meeting in Ginnungagap the soft air, heat, light, and soft air from Muspell.

Where heat and cold met appeared thawing drops, and this running fluid grew into a giant frost ogre named Ymir.

Ymir slept, falling into a sweat. Under his left arm there grew a man and a woman. And one of his legs begot a son with the other. This was the beginning of the frost ogres.

Thawing frost then became a cow called Audhumla. Four rivers of milk ran from her teats, and she fed Ymir.

The cow licked the salty ice blocks. After one day of licking, she freed a man’s hair from the ice. After two days, his head appeared. On the third day the whole man was there. His name was Buri, and he was tall, strong, and handsome.

Buri begot a son named Bor, and Bor married Bestla, the daughter of the giant.

Bor and Bestla had three sons: Odin was the first, Vili the second, and Vé the third.

It is believed that Odin, in association with his brothers, is the ruler of the heaven and earth. He is the greatest and most famous of all men.

Odin, Vili and Vé killed the giant Ymir.

When Ymir fell, there issued from his wounds such a flood of blood, that all the frost ogres were drowned, except for the giant Bergelmir who escaped with his wife by climbing onto a lur (a hollowed-out tree trunk that could serve either as a boat or a coffin). From them spring the families of frost ogres.

The sons of Bor then carried Ymir to the middle of Ginnungagap and made the world from him. From his blood they made the sea and the lakes; from his flesh the earth; from his hair the trees; and from his bones the mountains. They made rocks and pebbles from his teeth and jaws and those bones that were  broken.

Maggots appeared in Ymir’s flesh and came to life. By the decree of the gods they acquired human understanding and the appearance of men, although they lived in the earth and in rocks.

From Ymir’s skull the sons of Bor made the sky and set it over the earth with its four sides. Under each corner they put a  dwarf, whose names are East, West, North and South.

The sons of Bor flung Ymir’s brains into the air, and they became the clouds.

They they took the sparks and burning embers that were flying about after they had been blown out of Muspell, and placed them in the midst of Ginnungagap to give light to heaven above and earth beneath. To the stars they gave appointed places and paths.

The earth was surrounded by a deep sea. The sons of Bor gave lands near the sea to the families of giants for their settlements. To protect themselves from the hostile giants, the sons of Bor built for themselves an inland stronghold, using Ymir’s eyebrows. This stronghold they named Midgard.

While walking along the sea shore, the sons of Bor found two trees, and from them they created a man and a woman. Odin gave the man and the woman spirit and life. Vili gave them understanding and the power of movement. Vé gave them clothing and names. The man was named Ask (Ash) and the woman Embla (Elm). From Ask and Embla have sprung the races of men who lived in Midgard.”

Abstract obtained from Pitt .

An Inuit (Eskimo) Creation Story

“At the beginning of the world there were giants.

They lived on the land and ate the fruits of the land. One year, as the days began to get shorter and colder, a baby girl was born to two of the giants. They named her Sedna.

Day by day, as the sun became weaker and smaller, Sedna grew stronger and bigger. She grew and grew very quickly until, in no time  at all, she was huge. Soon she was bigger than her giant parents.

The bigger she got the more she ate and the more she needed to eat, but there were not enough plants on the land to satisfy her hunger. One night, ravenously hungry, she began to gnaw her parents’ legs.

‘Ow!’ they cried, ‘that’s enough of that.’ With a great struggle they bundled Sedna up in a blanket and carried her to their canoe. It was dark but they paddled out to sea in the light of a hazy moon. When they reached the middle of the ocean, they pushed Sedna overboard into the icy waters.

And that, they thought, was that. They started to paddle back toward the land, shivering for the cold and also for shame at what they had done to their own daughter. Yet before they had gone far, the canoe stopped - no matter how fast they paddled, the canoe would not move forward. To their horror they saw two hands, Sedna’s hands, reaching out of the water to grip the canoe and then to rock it from side to side.

The giants felt the boat shaking. Soon they would be tossed into the ocean ocean. They would surely drown unless they did something quickly.

Simply to save themselves, they pulled out sharp knives and chopped off Sedna’s fingers. One by one the fingers splashed in to the sea and, as they sank, they changed into swimming creatures. One became a whale, one a seal, another a walrus, another a salmon. The fingers changed into all the creatures of the seas.

As for Sedna, she drifted through new shoals of fish to the bottom of the ocean. There the fishes built her an underwater tent. Above her, the cold waters formed a crust of ice and sealed Sedna in her wintry, watery world. She still lives there, and whenever the Inuit are short of good, they call on Sedna and she provides it, even in the depths of winter.”

Story provided by Painsley .

Hindu Creation Story

“Before time began there was no heaven, no earth and no space between. A vast dark ocean washed upon the shores of nothingness and licked the edges of night. A giant cobra floated on the waters. Asleep withing its endless coils lay the Lord Vishnu. He was watched over by the mighty serpent. Everything was so peaceful and silent that Vishnu slept undisturbed by dreams or motion.

“From the depths a humming sound began to tremble, Om. It grew and spread, filling the emptiness and throbbing with energy. The night had ended. Vishnu awoke. As the dawn began to break, from Vishnu’s navel grew a magnificent lotus flower. In the middle of the blossom sat Vishnu’s servant, Brahma. He awaited the Lord’s command.

“Vishnu spoke to his servant: ‘It is time to begin.” Brahma bowed. Vishnu commanded: ‘Create the world.’

“A wind swept up the waters. Vishnu and the serpent vanished. Brahma remained in the lotus flower, floating and tossing on the sea. He lifted up his arms and calmed the wind and the ocean. Then Brahma split the lotus flower into three. He stretched one part into the heavens. He made another part into the earth. With the third part of the flower he created the skies.

“The earth was bare. Brahma set to work. He created grass, flowers, trees and plants of all kinds. To these he gave feeling. Next, he created the animals and the insects to live on the land. He made birds to fly in the air and many fish to swim in the sea. To all these creatures, he gave the senses of touch and smell. He gave them power to see, hear and move.

“The world was soon bristling with life and the air was filled with the sounds of Brahma’s creation.”

Translation obtained from Painsley .

A summary of the Qur’an’s teaching

“In the time before time, God was. And when God wants to create something, all he needs to say is “Be,” and it becomes. So it was that God created the world and the heavens. He made all the creatures, which walk, swim, crawl and fly on the face of the Earth. He made the angels, and the sun, moon and the stars to dwell in the universe. And consider how God poured down the rain in torrents, and broke up the soil to bring forth the corm, the grapes and other vegetation; the olive and the palm, the fruit trees and the grass. Then it was that God ordered the angels to go to the earth, and to bring seven handfuls of soil, all of different colors, from which he could model man. God took the seven kinds of earth and moulded them into a model of a man. He breathed life and power into it, and it immediately sprang to life. And this first man was called Adam. God took Adam to live in Paradise. In Paradise, God created Eve, the first woman, from out of Adam’s side. God taught Adam the names of all the creatures, and them commanded the angel to bow down before Adam. But Iblis, one amongst the angels, refused to do this, and thus began to disobey God’s will.

God placed the couple in a beautiful garden in Paradise, telling them that they could eat whatever they wanted except the fruit of the forbidden tree. But the evil one tempted them to disobey God and eat the fruit. When God knew that Adam and Eve had disobeyed him, he cast them out of Paradise and sent them to earth. Bug God is merciful. The earth was created to give food, drink and shelter to the human race. The sun, moon and stars give light. It is a good world, where everything has been created to serve people. And people should serve God and obey his will. For those who submit to the will of God will be saved, and taken to live forever in Paradise.”

Summary obtained from Innovations Learning .

“Long before the world was created, there was an island floating in the sky, upon which the Sky People lived. They lived quietly and happily. No one ever died or was born or experienced sadness. However, one day one of the Sky Women realized she was going to give birth to twins. She told her husband, who flew into a rage. In the center of the island there was a tree that gave light to the entire island, because the sun hadn’t been created yet. He tore up this tree, creating a huge hole in the middle of the island. Curiously, the woman peered into the hole. Far below she could see the waters that covered the Earth. At that moment her husband pushed her. She fell through the hole, tumbling toward the waters below.

Water animals already existed on the Earth, so far below the floating island two birds saw the Sky Woman fall. Just before she reached the waters they caught her on their backs and brought her to the other animals. Determined to help the woman, they dove into the water to get mud from the bottom of the seas. One after another, the animals tried and failed. Finally, Little Toad tried, and when he reappeared his mouth was full of mud. The animals took it and spread it on the back of Big Turtle. The mud began to grow and grow and grow until it became the size of North America.

Then the woman stepped onto the land. She sprinkled dust into the air and created stars. Then she created the moon and sun.

The Sky Woman gave birth to twin sons. She named on Sapling. He grew to be kind and gentle. She named the other Flint, and his heart was as cold as his name. They grew quickly and began filling the earth with their creations.

Sapling created what is good. He made animals that are useful to humans. He made rivers that went two ways and into these he put fish without bones. He made plants that people could eat easily. If he was able to do all the work himself there would be no suffering.

Flint destroyed much of Sapling’s work and created all that is bad. He made the rivers flow only in one direction. He put bones in fish and thorns on berry bushes. He created winter, but Sapling gave it life so that it could move to give way to Spring. He created monsters, which his brother drove beneath the Earth.

Eventually, Sapling and Flint decided to fight until one conquered the other. Neither was able to win at first, but finally Flint was beaten. Because he was a god, Flint could not die, so he was forced to live on Big Turtle’s back. Occasionally his anger is felt in the form of a volcano.”

Translation obtained from CS Williams .