“The Origin of Life and Fire” Reading Questions
Due Wednesday 9/12/07 All Blocks!
After reading the myth “The Origin of Life and Fire”, please answer the following questions in 5-7 awesomely crafted, carefully thought out sentences:
1.How does this creation myth reflect the people to whom in belongs?
2.What is the nature of Bumba and the universe he creates?
3.How does this myth view human beings and their purpose?
4.When Bumba visits each village and speaks of the wonders that he has created, what does this reveal?
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10 comments:
Eta Block
1) You can say that the people that believe in this myth also believe that everyone and every living thing were created by one person. After that the few small things like ants and the plants were created by that one person’s sons. So they also believe the creator had some help in making the world. The people must also love kites as well because it was added in by the last son (which was some what random). The people also believe in a good person (Bumba) and the bad person as well (Tsetse).
2) Bumba creates the humans, the stars, the moon, the sun, the living creatures, Tsetse (lighting), old Kono Bumba, Nyanyi Bumba, beetle and the goat. When he vomited the sun, it causes other things like the clouds to happen, rain, and the hills coming together. Overall he creates the world. It’s like he is a god to the people who believe in this myth.
3) You can say that the humans being in this myth depends too much on Tsetse even though they also fear her as well. But the humans don’t really know what this mean until she is gone and they don’t have fair anymore to warm their food and ect. That the sons wanted and did help out their father to make earth the way it is. But the only purpose the humans are there so they can make life on earth and keep it going.
4) When Bumba goes to very village and talk to the people this show you how hard willing he is to make his creations happy. He is willing to take time and make his people think about what he did for them. Not to sit there and be sad all because one great thing was taken away. It also shows you that the humans depend and took things without even thinking about them. Bumba doesn’t really want the humans to forget that he made them and that if it wasn’t for him they wouldn’t be there. Therefore they should enjoy life then sit there and be sad over one thing.
1. This creation myth reflects the people to whom it belongs in a number of ways. The first is that they don’t look like their gods. This means that they will never be mistaken as anything but gods. Another is that their gods didn’t have a choice in the creation of the world. The major parts of creation were unavoidable and once they had occurred their god decided to continue developing the earth.
2. Bumba seems to be more of an inadvertent creator. He was the first and seemed pretty content with his lot. It wasn’t until he started vomiting up cosmic bodies that he started to get into the swing of making things. The universe that he creates seems to be one that is well suited to his propensity for accidentally creating things. The creatures that he creates then go on to create other creatures and fill up the universe without requiring much input from him.
3. This myth views humans as not really having any defining purpose other than to live on earth. They are at the mercy of Bumba and his earlier creations and don’t have any particular powers of abilities to protect themselves with. Bumba wants them to acknowledge him as their god and creator but doesn’t really ask for anything else When he feels sorry for them he gives them new tools in order to make their lives easier.
4. Bumba traveling to all of the villages and talking about all of the wonderful things that he has created reveals his ego and pride in the world that he started. He wants everyone to acknowledge his greatness. The problem is that Bumba didn’t mean to create everything. It just sort of happened without his direct control of anything. This means that his bragging isn’t really deserved.
John Carreon
Block Epsilon
1)Well from this creation myth you can tell that this society cares a lot about the earth and it natural elements. It also tells of people living in harmony and them working together to live and fill the earth with life. in the myth there is the creator and the things he created made other things.
2)Bumba is the creator and he is some one who may be the ultimate good that believes in joy and working together. Everything works in a circle, everything relies on each other for survival.
3)Humans are the last to arrive but they are the dominant species of the earth and they are on top. He talks to the humans saying all that he has created is for them to enjoy. The takes the human side and gives them what ever they need like fire.
4)He wants the creatures he created to enjoy everything and not to be sad. He has made every thing for them so that they don’t have to worry.
Eta Block
1)According to this myth the poople believe that they all came from one cosmic being. And that his is the creater of all beings. But this myth also has a bit of evolution in it. Bumba the creator of all living beings. Created sons who created other beings and thse being created other beings. Ad this is like evolution because from one thing another object was created. So I believe that the people who believe in this myth also believe in evolution or a form of evolution.
2) Bumba is good natured. Form his stomach he vomited up the beings that created the earth. And as he continues to create new things that help his past creations. For example he created the sun which help evaporate the water to make land.next he created living beings the walk upon the land. And his next creation what three sons who created the trees and various other thing for his past creation to benifit from.
3) In this text humans were created to populate the earth along with the other creatures. THe humas in this myth also seem a but out of place. They feared something yet they also needed it to continue surviving.
4) This reveals that Bumba wish for praise. That he want's to be reconized for the work he has done. I think it also means that he is here to let people know to be happy . And that he wants his people to be glad and that they are to live in peace a harmony with all other beings.
(I was sick the day this was originally due.)
Aryana - Theta Block
1.How does this creation myth reflect the people to whom in belongs?
The way the story is told reflects a lot about the people in the sense of how they look at the world. By describing their creation as pain-induced vomiting, they do not hold themselves or anything else in the world much above the God who created them. Religion may be important, because the way humans are made tend to reflect how precious they consider themselves in the scheme of the universe. It shows their attention to the rest of creation, including earth, animals, and the cosmos.
2.What is the nature of Bumba and the universe he creates?
It seems to be a good natured world. It seems to be a world with many positve things in it. The life and the light are all considered positive things, and there is only one “evil” which is not so much considered evil as it is considered a trouble maker. There is little development of the idea of an evil god or a malicious god.
3.How does this myth view human beings and their purpose?
Their purpose may be creation like their own Creator, but their purpose seems more obviously to enjoy the things Bumba made for them. They are to acknowledge the work of Bumba and to take joy in it. They are supposed to recognize the beauty and wonder of life as Bumba and his children have crafted and/or vomited up. They are supposed to respect life and the world and to understand the cosmos as an extension of Bumba's desire to please their different senses.
4.When Bumba visits each village and speaks of the wonders that he has created, what does this reveal?
It reveals that the idea of Bumba vomiting everything up is not a very negative one. It reveals a sense of hope in the people, I think. It reveals a little arrogance on Bumba's part because some of his children made things, not every single thing he lists is made by his own hand. But it also reveals the sense that all humanity should be grateful for what they are offered, for what they “own” since Bumba says “be joyful that these are yours.” It lends more weight to the idea that humans are here to enjoy the pleasures, wonders, and beauties of life.
Taylor Kemp
ETA (H)
1. The people who made this creation myth live in some of the harshest terrain on earth, and living in harsh terrain I imagine you would grow a very deep respect for the deadly creatures and lands you live with. This myth seems like it respects and is more involved with the creatures than other creation myths like the Christian creation myth which is more concerned with forbidden fruit. Although it is strange how they decided to use a god’s vomit as the medium through which the universe was created. Another strange thing was that they had the god and one other human was white, if you follow the way that scientists think humans spread across the earth, white people were the last people to be on earth, coming full circle from Africa all the way around to Europe, so it is very unlikely that these people knew about white men before this myth was created, although they could have made them up.
2. Bumba is a very humanoid kind of god, because first he is vomiting, then he walks to all the villages and tells the people to rejoice. I think it is weird that the people who created this described the universe as a god’s vomit; it might tell you something of what they think of the world. I like this myth better than a lot of the other ones we have read, it is more positive, it has a happy ending, it does not end with someone dying or being cast out of paradise or a war breaking loose like some of the other ones.
3. This myth is not very specific as to the purpose and reason for human beings. In the Christian myth, God created humans so he could be worshiped by beings that had free will, in this one humans and animals are almost on the same level. This myth means for all the humans and animals to live peacefully and bask in the things that Bumba threw up for them. Bumba just happened to throw up humans; he did not really intend to create them.
4. When Bumba speaks to all of the villages, it reveals that he is a very humanoid entity as I said before. He also says “rejoice that it is yours” meaning that Bumba intended for humans to be the highest level of being on earth, in that at least they had the gift of fire. Though also as I said I don’t think this myth tries to give absolute power over the earth like some of the other myths do. This one is just kind of saying that Bumba has “given” them the earth as more of a gift than a kingdom.
Misha Steier
Epsilon
1) The people who wrote this myth probably have a deep reverence for the animals around them. Not only are they created by god they create themselves. You gotta respect something that makes iguanas. Also Bumba shouts rejoice and look upon each other and live in peace. gotta revere things that you live in peace with.
2)The universe and its creator seem pretty dedicated to harmony. Everything seems to build off everything else and there is only one source of trouble. He tells everyone to be peaceful and rejoice in each other and all the creatures have a part in each other.
3)All that I gathered of humanity's purpose, according to this myth, is that it's supposed to rejoice at everything Bumba did. They are told that bumba created everything to live in peace with one another. This myth casts people as just another part of the harmonious world Bumba's puke sent into motion.
4) Bumba claims that he created everything with the purpose to work in peace. He tells them everything in yours but makes it clear that it is due to him. I think it's meant to show that although humanity may be the strongest it's at the mercy of many factors in the world.
1. They think that god put a lot of effort into making this universe. Also they appreciate what god made for them, and the fact that all what god wanted is for human to live happily and enjoy it. They also believe that they should enjoy thier life because thats why they brought to earth (to rejoice).
2. Bumba is a god who believes in joy and living happily, and also he believes working together will make everything better. Bumba seems to be smart by the way he created everything for a reason. Bumba has a very kind personality, he went to every village to check and see if everything is going well by himself.
3. It views that god gave human what they wanted and everything around them was made for their comfort, and all god cares about is humans’ happiness. So this myth view human as they are on top of everything, and that god set everything for them before he created them.
4.
I think god went down to the village to make people realize that they are the best creatures, and that he have done a lot of stuff for them to be happy and enjoy life. Also he wanted to infirm them about how everything was created, and how hard was it.
Kaid Alameri
Epsilon
1. They think that god put a lot of effort into making this universe. Also they appreciate what god made for them, and the fact that all what god wanted is for human to live happily and enjoy it. They also believe that they should enjoy thier life because thats why they brought to earth (to rejoice).
2. Bumba is a god who believes in joy and living happily, and also he believes working together will make everything better. Bumba seems to be smart by the way he created everything for a reason. Bumba has a very kind personality, he went to every village to check and see if everything is going well by himself.
3. It views that god gave human what they wanted and everything around them was made for their comfort, and all god cares about is humans’ happiness. So this myth view human as they are on top of everything, and that god set everything for them before he created them.
4.
I think god went down to the village to make people realize that they are the best creatures, and that he have done a lot of stuff for them to be happy and enjoy life. Also he wanted to infirm them about how everything was created, and how hard was it.
Jasmine Martinez
Epsilon Block
1. This creation myth reflects the people to whom it belongs to because they believe that everything, the world, the sun, the moon, the stars, etc was all created by one person. That is why the environment and nature is very important to them because their creator created it all.
2. The nature of Bumba and the univrse that he creates is the sun, the moon, the stars, the first living creatures (the leopard, the crested eagle, the crocodile, the bretle and the fish), the clouds, the heron, lightning and human beings. Then what he creates helps to create evenmore things like for example the fish creates all the rest of the fish in the sea and the clouds create rain and his oldest son white ants and so on until the world was complete.
3. This myth views human beings almost like the owners of everything because at the end of it all he says that eveything is for them. He says how he created all the wonders of the eye, the ear, the nose,tongue, the hand and the feet for them to rejoice over. It's seems like through this myth the purpose of huamn beings is to use all the wonders of the world that he gave to them and use them to continue taking care of the world/enviornment and continue living.
4. When Bumba visits each village and speaks of the wonders the he has created he reveals that all of these wonders should allow them to let joy flood their hearts because it all belongs to them.. He's telling them that they should be happy and use all of this for their happiness.
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