Creation Stories

The Ainu creation story

• Explain how life began

In the Ainu creation story, before there was life the world was a quagmire where nothing could live. The world was a watery place resting on the back of a trout--all of which was created by the creator god Kamui. One day Kamui decided that he would make something of this watery world, and he sent a water wagtail to create dry patches of land. These patches of land became islands. Once the animals who lived in the heavens saw the world Kamui had created, they begged Kamui to live on it. Kamui let them live on it, but he also created many other creatures--such as the first people--to dwell on the world as well.

• Explain why things are the way they are

When Kamui made the world a vast round ocean, he made it resting on the backbone of an enormous trout. This trout sucks in the ocean and then spits it out creating the tides. When it moves, it causes earthquakes. Back when the world first began, the devil wanted to swallow the sun. In order to thwart the devil, Kamui sent down a crow which flew down the devil's throat making him choke and cough. This is why the crow is such a bold bird. When Kamui made the Ainu, he made their backbones out of willow sticks. This is why as we grow older, our backs become bent.

• Establish a belief in a higher power

The higher power is Kamui, the creator god. This is known because he makes the world the way it is, he lives in the highest of the six skies, and he created the creatures of the world.

• Establish a moral code of conduct

Aionia, the divine man, was sent by Kamui to teach the Ainu how to hunt and cook along with many other things. Aionia must have taught some form of government or moral code to the people of the world since he taught many things. After his return to the heavens, the Gods told Ainu that he had the terrible smell of a human being, and the Gods would not let Aionia return to heaven until he had rid himself of his clothes. The Gods' want for cleanliness could be part of a code for how people should treat their bodies.

• Provide a sense of purpose and order for life

Since the watery world was in such a mess, Kamui wanted to make something of it. Ever since the animals saw how beautiful the world was, they begged him to live there. Kamui also gave purpose to creatures, for example the wagtail and the crow.

In comparison to the Christian creation story...

• In the Christian creation story, God formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathes into his nostrils the breathe of life and man became a living thing.
• In the Ainu creation story, the first people had bodies of the earth, hair of chickweed, and spines made from sticks of willow.
• In the Christian creation story, the serpant tempted Eve by telling her that she would not die from eating from the forbidden tree, but instead, she would know good from evil like God.
• In the Ainu creation story, Kamui created the world and the devil tried to thwart him.
• In the Christian creation story, God said "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place and let the dry land appear", and he called the dry land earth and the water the seas.
• In the Ainu creation story, Kamui sent down a water wagtail to make something of the watery earth. The wagtail fluttered over the waters with its wings, trampled on the sands with its feet, and began beating it with its tail creating patches of dry land.

Group 5 Members:

Jennifer Hyatt, Lindsey Bratcher, Kyle Boswell, Tracy Field