One way of examining the values and traditions of a people is to look at their explanations for how the world came to be.  These stories make such wonderful tools for analysis because all cultures have some sort of ‘creation’ story.  Thus to compare groups of people we may start by looking at their creation mythology.  It is important to note that the downfall of comparing mythologies is that in a way it is like comparing apples to oranges.  This is because not every myth portrays and explains the same elements.

        Five myths from throughout Africa will be mentioned throughout this essay.  They are from the Boshongo, Mande, Shilluk, Egyptian, and Yoruba peoples.  For a brief description of these myths please see the appendix.  Please remember that these myths do not represent the beliefs and stories of all of Africa.

        In each of these stories, the tale of creation has been presented with a unique twist.  Yet there are several important similarities among the various myths.  Besides explaining creation, there is always one major creator.  However, in some stories such as that of the Boshongo, the creator had helpers whereas in the Shilluk tale, Juok worked alone. In the Boshongo myth, Bumba creates nine animals and mankind.  Then these animals and Bumba's three sons worked together creating everything else.  In the Shilluk tale, obviously everything is related somehow because everything shares the same creator.  Even in other stories where the creator has helpers, however, all of these helpers were made by the creator and thus everything is still connected.

        In all of these stories, mankind is created by a more powerful being.  This represents the belief that man had not always inhabited the earth.  It also portrays the belief that man is not the most powerful being in existence.  Some of the stories make it sound as though mankind's arrival on the planet was almost accidental; for instance Bumba vomited mankind in the Boshongo myth.  Other stories, such as the Mande's tale, portray the creation of man as intentional.  Those cultures that believe mankind's creation to be intentional are more likely to have a view that the Earth and everything on it are there for their benefit.  Whereas those tribes who view their arrival on Earth as more accidental are more likely to believe that they are there to help and benefit the Earth.

        In each of these myths, we see that mankind is one of the very last things to be placed on the earth.  This implies a common belief that the Earth was not created solely for mankind's use.  Both the Boshongo myth and the Egyptian myth make a point of mentioning that mankind was the last thing created.  This demonstrates that both feel that all beings are equally important, rather than viewing man as the supreme earthly being (Crystal “African Creation Myths”).  They also show a deep relationship between the people and nature.

        Another similarity among these stories is the fact that several of the creators are or can be similar to man in appearance.  We know that the Yoruba creators Olurun and Obatala had a human form because all men are descendants from these two gods (Crystal, “African Creation Myths”).  Although the Egyptian god Re could take on any form he wanted, he chose a human one in order to become the first pharaoh.  These cases show that these societies felt similar to their creator.  It gives the creator a ‘human friendly’ nature.  In the Mande tale, where the creator Mangala does not have a physical form the god has much less influence on the creation of the planet.  It is his first creations that do all of the work.

        The similarities among the creator and mankind further emphasize the belief found in several of the myths that regardless of physical differences, all men are created equal.  For example, the Shilluk's story describes all people being molded in the exact same way just from different parts of the earth.  Although the Mande myth does not explain why there are separate races, it does explain why they have two distinct social groups.

        The Boshongo people tell us that Bumba vomited “…many men, but only one was white like Bumba” (Leach).  This is an interesting statement because although it tells us that Bumba is similar to all men, it also tells us that some men are more similar to Bumba than others.  The fact that Bumba is white and the Boshongo people are not leads us to the following conclusion.  The whites in this myth are in the minority, but hold most of the power.  This means that the Boshongo people do not think that they have a lot of control over the world.  Of course, this myth also implies that this power is not necessary.

        There are however, several differences among these myths that haven't been mentioned yet.  Egypt is the only group who mentions the importance of death.  Since Egyptians view life as a cyclic process, they view death as an important part of this cycle.  This shows through their creation myth.  The Egyptian tale is also the only one that mentions the quality of mercy.  It is Re's mercy that prevents mankind from being destroyed for their disobedience (Crystal, “Egyptian Creational Myths”).  This fact shows how important the quality of mercy is to these people.

        The Mande myth mentions another attribute, hope.  This myth tells us that Mangala failed at his first attempt to create the world, but did not give up.  This story also explains the cause of mankind's mischievous nature; it is their relation to the chaotic Pemba.

        The Shilluk myth is unique because it prioritizes the activities of these people.  The first thing Juok gives humans is the body parts necessary to do work.  This demonstrates that to them, work is the most important thing.

Appendix

 The Boshongo, a Bantu Tribe, believe that in the beginning, Bumba was all alone in the water.  Then however, he got sick and vomited the sun, moon, stars, and land.  Next he vomited nine animals: the leopard, the eagle, the crocodile, Yo the fish, the tortoise, the lightning (who was later exiled to the sky), the white heron, one beetle, and the goat.  The last thing that he vomited was mankind.  The animals and Bumba's three suns then created plants and the rest of the animals.

“An African Cosmogony.” http://alexm.here.ru:8081/mirrors/www.enteract.com/jwalz/Eliade/051.html. taken from:
        Leach, Maria. The Beginning. New York: 1656. pages 145-6.
 

“Creation Myths.” http://www.dreamscape.com/morgana/ophelia.htm. January 8, 2001.
 

Crystal, Ellie. “African Creation Myths.” http://www.crystalinks.com/africacreation.html. August 1995.

- - -. “Egyptian Creational Myths.” http://www.crystalinks.com/egyptcreation.html. August 1995.

“Egyptian Cosmogony and Theogony.” http://alexm.here.ru:8081/mirrors/www.enteract.com/jwalz/Eliade/054.html. taken from:
        Piankoff, Alexandre. The Shrines of Tut-ankh-amon. New York: 1955. page 24.

“Life and Death Under the Pharaohs – the Gods.” http://icvc.imago.com.au/egypt/html/the_gods.html. 1998.

“West African Cosmogony.” http://www.fandm.edu:80/departments/Anthropology/Bastian/ANT269/cosmo.html. 1999.