The Five Worlds And Their Suns Summary

The question has existed throughout time: how was the earth created and where did we humans come from? In modern times, society has the benefit of science and technology. We can take a bone sample and deconstruct it's DNA or chemically discover it's age. Through studying biological material, chemistry, and the laws of physics modern day scientist can gain an idea of our human/earthly origins. This technology was obviously not always available and before them existed the creation myths of the world. Through reading these myths, there are a number of concepts that consistently appear through each one of them. Although these myths are from different cultures across the world and through different time periods, many still repeat similar themes
and explore creation through comparable lenses. Most notable to me is the theme of death as it relates to rebirth and transformation. In several myths, there is not a finality to death as there is in modern culture. Death is presented as a bridge to new life and a continued legacy that is more powerful than your being. In 'The Five Worlds and Their Suns', the ideas of death and transformation is explored. Nanautzin was this lowly God who didn't have the usual characteristic of a divine being (power, wealth, beauty, and etc.). He jumps into a fire, dies and is reborn as the 5th sun that eliminated the new world. His image transformed and lived on in another state. In P'an Ku, after he separates the sky and the earth, he lays down to rest but instead dies. His corpse gives substance to the universe. "[different parts of his body formed] the five sacred moutons defined the four corners of the earth [...]. His breath formed the clouds and the wind. [...] flesh formed the soil of the earth, while his blood and semen became the oceans and rivers[...]" (p. 329 of 'The Creation of the Universe and Humans Beings'). The earth, the sky, the mountains, water, animals, plants, and humans are often times created from an organic material, either be an egg or a body. "[...] they pulled until she broke apart int he middle. her head and shoulders became the earth, while the lower part of her body rose into the sky and became the heavens" (p. 604 from 'The Creation Cycle'). In the Aztec creation myths, the earth is created from the corpse of a goddess and humans are created from the bones of Quetzalcoatl's father. The death or destruction of one being results in life, balance, and stability for the human kind. Another point to note is the theme of unity.
Each of these creation myths at first describes how the earth is created and then how the mountains or the animals come to be. All these components stem from one being's body or one source and so logically all forms of nature are connected at a very basic level. An ant, the ocean, and the mountains were created from the same divine singular material in theory. We are all small pieces of the whole and the world requires every piece to exist. 'The Five Worlds and Their Suns' explores this concept of balance in nature as it relates to prosperity of the human race. In the first four worlds, the sun was made up of only one element (or what the Aztec culture believed to be the elements) and the humans were too greedy/disrespectful/improper. In the fifth world, the sun is comprised of all four elements (earth, air, fire, and water). In this world there was balance and every small part made up the balanced whole. In Amaterasu, the sun and moon balanced each other. "In a great rage, she left the palace [...]. Now that her brilliance no longer illuminated heaven and earth, day became as black as night. [...] plans would no grow. People everywhere stopped their activity [...]" (p. 337 from Amaterasu). When the sun became upset, the world fell into chaos and it wasn't until the forces were united that the world returned to homeostasis. This concept is also explored in Nu Kua, where she neutralizes the destructive nature of Kung Kung.
Whatever he destroys, she comes to save the lives of her human children. In these myths, the earth continues to thrive due to the unity of these opposing factors and their constant battle to balance each other. When we further explore balance, we should also consider the relationship between males and females.
This is a natural paring when exploring love/romance or new beginnings but the male and female relation is also one of opposing forces. The Chinese creation myth 'Yin and Yang' tells of the universe being created by two forces. Yin was feminine in nature and characterized by heaviness, darkness, earthiness, passiveness, submissiveness, and cool. The opposing force of masculine Yang, who possessed principles of light, celestial, aggression, and warmth. From Yin and Yang, the earth and heavens were created perspectively. Although this myths talks about the creation of the universe, the underlying theme is about the balance (Yin and Yang) between aggression (male) and submission (female). In 'The Creation Cycle', the male God Nanautzin is transformed into the 5th sun when he jumps into the fire. This is similar to the ideas expressed in 'Yin and Yang' where the masculine represents divinity and light. The masculine hostile and sometimes barbaric theme is also displayed in Amateurasu's brother, God of Moon. Her calm and tolerant nature is what stands between a peaceful world and a chaotic one. Female in turn become the saviors or protector of earth. The Corn Mother is a great representation of ideas of earth/growth/sun/life/fertility. Not only does is the Great Mother the mother to all of human species, she sacrifices her life in love so generations after can be nourished
physically and spiritually. This myth explores the significant of everything that relates to the feminine concepts of life. In many of these myths, females represent love, peace, safety, and life. Balance comes hand in hand with separation. The concept of balance is creating an equilibrium between separate forces with different interests. In the universe, there is a natural separation and hierarchal order. In 'P'an Ku', he separates the sky and the earth because otherwise no living thing could survive. This idea can also be related to a separation between divinity and humans as Gods reside high in the sky over looking the earth. This physical height difference creates an even more distinctive separation between heaven and earth and is presented as a very fundamental idea onset from the beginning of creation. As myths have a sociological function, it conveys to human culture how natural separation really is. The underlying theme is applied to the myth 'Nu Kua' where intellectual humans are created differently than commoners. "[...] she decided to use the yellow earth of this riverbed [...] and formed them into little people. [...] after a while, she became too tired to continue to fashion people one at a time" (p. 326 from 'The Creation of the Universe and Human Beings'). Nu Kua then used wet clay from the riverbed to form commoners in multiples at one time. When examining the structures of ancient or modern society, we can see this continued theme of separation between the rich and poor. This is in no doubt directly related to these ancient myths that influence our ancestries and continue to influence us today. The question of creation and human origins still fascinate and warrant further study to this day. There is an undeniable continuity between different myths of different cultures that existed across the globe and during different time periods. One gets a chilling sense of awe-inspiring unity through this journey. The fact that through time and space, different cultures can arise to the same concepts and wonder about the same question is a testament to how similar all human beings are.