According to some anthropologists, a myth is structured--like language. In order to have a myth, people have to talk or write about certain events. These stories have structure and relation. Language, of course, has structure and relation--like verbs and direct objects. According to Levi-Strauss,
"Myth shares with language the following characteristics:
1. It's made of units that are put together according to certain rules.
2. These units form relations with each other, based on binary pairs or opposites, which provide the basis of the structure."
A myth must be somehow communicated to others in order to exist. Myths are communicated by their structure. According to Levi-Strauss,
"However, the layers, or "slates," aren't identical, even though they repeat key elements in the structure. Because of this, the myth "grows spiralwise," meaning the story it tells unfolds as the myth goes on. In other words, the myth "grows" as it is told; Levi-Strauss points out that this growth is continuous, while the structure of the myth, which doesn't grow, is discontinuous"
This could account for the similarities between the creation stories of different cultures. One culture may have spread the word of its creation to another, and the other culture may have adopted some of the other's story as its own. This link can help explain the structure of myth compared to the structure of language. Levi-Strauss believes that although the content of the myths may widely vary, their similarities are directly linked to the structure that myths have to follow.
Also, some anthropologists believe it is the wiring of the brain that creates certain stories. The similarities between the creation stories can be due to the processes of the human brain. For example, the flood story or the representation of the flood story in many cultures removes the evil from the world. This could be something the brain has embedded inside that tells us that evil is bad and should be put away.
So, since myths are structured and our minds can conceive similar ideas, it is easy to see how myths from different cultures can be so much alike.
Lindsey Bratcher, Brandon Young, Kyle Boswell
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3 comments:
Embedding ideas/beliefs in the brain seems plausible espicially in a religius context. Some religions are very fanatical and instruct their young in their beliefs and leave no room for growth in other directions. This in turn is passed from generatin to generation. On the other hand some religions believe in free will which leaves open exploration of other religions and growth in other areas.
Its still unusual that no creation story has us coming from animals or a lesser, inteligent race of human-like creatures. Surely there would be some mention of such if it were ever the case.
Yeah, Robin, I think it's unusual as well considering anthropology is somewhat of a "scientific" study of cultures and people. Science usually believes that we evolved from lesser intelligent organisms..
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