FLOOD MYTHS from AROUND THE WORLD
An Interesting Collection
Originally Created by PJCriss
AND ADAPTED FOR THIS PAGE by meister_z (jzr)
Yoruba Creation/Flood Myth
In the beginning was only the sky above, water and marshland below. The chief god Olorun ruled the sky, and the goddess Olokun ruled what was below. Obatala, another god, reflected upon this situation, then went to Olorun for permission to create dry land for all kinds of living creatures to inhabit. He was given permission, so he sought advice from Orunmila, oldest son of Olorun and the god of prophecy. He was told he would need a gold chain long enough to reach below, a snail's shell filled with sand, a white hen, a black cat, and a palm nut, all of which he was to carry in a bag. All the gods contributed what gold they had, and Orunmila supplied the articles for the bag. When all was ready, Obatala hung the chain from a corner of the sky, placed the bag over his shoulder, and started the downward climb. When he reached the end of the chain he saw he still had some distance to go. From above he heard Orunmila instruct him to pour the sand from the snail's shell, and to immediately release the white hen. He did as he was told, whereupon the hen landing on the sand began scratching and scattering it about. Wherever the sand landed it formed dry land, the bigger piles becoming hills and the smaller piles valleys. Obatala jumped to a hill and named the place Ife. The dry land now extended as far as he could see. He dug a hole, planted the palm nut, and saw it grow to maturity in a flash. The mature palm tree dropped more palm nuts on the ground, each of which grew immediately to maturity and repeated the process. Obatala settled down with the cat for company. Many months passed, and he grew bored with his routine. He decided to create beings like himself to keep him company. He dug into the sand and soon found clay with which to mold figures like himself and started on his task, but he soon grew tired and decided to take a break. He made wine from a nearby palm tree, and drank bowl after bowl. Not realizing he was drunk, Obatala returned to his task of fashioning the new beings; because of his condition he fashioned many imperfect figures. Without realizing this, he called out to Olorun to breathe life into his creatures. The next day he realized what he had done and swore never to drink again, and to take care of those who were deformed, thus becoming Protector of the Deformed. The new people built huts as Obatala had done and soon Ife prospered and became a city. All the other gods were happy with what Obatala had done, and visited the land often, except for Olokun, the ruler of all below the sky. She had not been consulted by Obatala and grew angry that he had usurped so much of her kingdom. When Obatala returned to his home in the sky for a visit, Olokun summoned the great waves of her vast oceans and sent them surging across the land. Wave after wave she unleashed, until much of the land was underwater and many of the people were drowned. Those that had fled to the highest land beseeched the god Eshu who had been visiting, to return to the sky and report what was happening to them. Eshu demanded sacrifice be made to Obatala and himself before he would deliver the message. The people sacrificed some goats, and Eshu returned to the sky. When Orunmila heard the news he climbed down the golden cahain to the earth, and cast many spells which caused the flood waters to retreat and the dry land reappear. So ended the great flood.
Greek Flood Myth
King Lycaon of Arcadia was typical of the mortals of his day, without respect for other men, beasts, or the gods themselves. It so happened that Zeus was traveling the earth in human guise, becoming more and more dismayed at the inhumanity of the mortals he was encountering, when he chanced upon the castle of King Lycaon. He entered when he heard sounds of revelry within, and found the king, his family, and his nobles eating their evening meal. He requested hospitality and a meal as was the custom among the gods when welcoming a stranger. The king bade him sit at the table, and whispered instructions to a servant, saying to the stranger that he was ordering a hot meal for him. When the servant returned, the king took the platter from him and set it before the stranger. Zeus took one look at the platter and exploded into a burning rage, for before him, strewed amid the meat and bones on the platter, were dismembered parts of a human being. In his fury Zeus literally burned all before him; the only survivor was Lycaon, who found himself transformed into a wolf. Upon his return to Olympus, Zeus ordered the gods to unleash a flood onto the earth; his aim was to destroy the human race. The Titan Prometheus, who had fashioned these humans, secretly sent a message to his mortal son Deucalion, in a dream, warning him of what was about to happen, and instructing him to build a huge chest, stock it with provisions, and embark in it, with his wife, Pyrrha, when the floods came. When Zeus looked down upon the earth and saw that all below had perished, except for Deucalion and Pyrrha whom he knew for kind god-fearing people, he relented, and ordered the gods to return the dry lands as they had been. Deucalion, and his wife, floated in the chest for nine days and nine nights, before coming to rest on Mount Parnassus. When they discovered they were the only beings left alive they prayed to Themis, the Great Goddess of the Titans, and asked for her advice. She advised them to go forth and cast the bones of their great mother over their shoulders behind them. It took them awhile to understand exactly what she meant before they strode the land casting stones from the great mother as instructed. The stones so thrown turned into a new race of mankind; men from the stones thrown by Deucalion, and women from the stones thrown by Pyrrha.
Amyra Flood Myth
(The Aymara are a tribe that reside near Lake Titicaca in Bolivia.) Kun, the snow god (their principle deity), grew angry at the arrogant humans and punished them by covering all of creation with snow and ice (an ice flood). After this, when all had perished, the gods of fertility sent their sons, the Eagle Men, to create new people, who were called the Paka-Jakes, who still live near Lake Titicaca.
Sumerian Flood Myth
The gods, angered at humankind, decide to destroy them with a flood. The god Enki, disagreeing with this decision, instructs a worthy man named Ziusudra to build a great boat in which to save himself, his family, and a few other people, as well as all animals. This myth dates from about the third millenium B.C.E.
Babylonian Flood Myth
The Gilgamesh epic contains a similar story (see Sumerian Flood Myth above), and it seems likely that this myth is based upon the Sumerian one. In the Babylonian myth the story is essentially the same as the Sumerian, but the names have been changed. Ziusudra (the Sumerian) is now Utnapishtim and Enki (the Sumerian god) is now Ea. This Babylonian myth seems very definitely to be the source of the biblical flood featuring Noah.
China Flood Myth
The flood theme is one of the very oldest in Chinese mythology. A flood myth from the Chou Dynasty of about 1000 B.C.E. is on record. The main difference between the Chinese flood myth and that of Western cultures seems to be the emphasis on why there was a flood. In the Western myths the floods are brought about because of the anger of the gods, or at a whim of the gods, while in the Chinese myth the emphasis is on a very practical matter, the channeling of unruly waters in such a way as to make cultivation of the land possible. No sense of divine justice here.
Maya Flood Myth
The Popol-Vuh, the sacred book of the Maya, contains within its creation story a tale of the destruction of the first beings by a flood. This flood differs from others in that it is not a punishment, but rather a remedy for a faulty creation. The Feathered Serpent first created man from mud. These creatures were a failure; they couldn't see, they dissolved when it rained, etc. So the god broke them up and tried again. This time he made men out of wood. They were better than the mud-men. They could walk and talk; they had many children, built many houses, but they had no minds nor souls nor hearts. The Feathered Serpent was disappointed with what he had created, so he sent a great flood to cleanse the earth of his mistake. (The tale goes on to explain the creation of man.)
India Flood Myth
The India myth is essentially the same as the stories of Ziusudra,
Utnapishtim, and Noah. Like those flood heroes, Manu (the protagonist) receives
supernatural help and is saved by remaining in a ship until he is able to tie up on
an Indian version of Mount Ararat. This story is told in the Shatapatha-Brahmana.
End of Flood Myths From Around The World