Notes

culture: the customs and beliefs of a group of people.
myth: a traditional story that explains a belief system, a natural phenomenon, or a worldview of a group of people
phenomenon: an event or occurrence that defies easy explanation
plot: the events and conflicts that make up a story
summary: a statement of the central ideas of a text in one’s own words.

Let's now talk about mythology. Well, what is a myth? Well a myth is a traditional story that explains a belief system, a natural phenomenon, or a worldview of a group of people. So myths tell stories that answer questions that people have about the world and how the world works.
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Myths often tell about the powers who control the human world and their relationship to humans. A myth will share many characteristics with other stories that you are probably familiar with. But there are some elements that are common to myths. Let's talk about those elements now. Myths often include supernatural beings, such as gods, or human-like animals that have the
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qualities of humans. Mythical elements also include fantastic settings like up in the sky or in the center of the Earth, in which ancient people could only imagine when the stories first originated. Third, myths often include an attempt to explain the origin of the universe. Ancient people didn't have the scientific tools to answer many questions about things such as the weather.
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They would use stories to explain things, like the eruption of a volcano, so that it could make sense to them. And finally, mythical elements often include conflicts between worlds, beings, the self, or natural elements. Next you look at the differences between a myth and a story.
Section 4
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TEACHER: You may be thinking to yourself, what is the purpose of a myth. Well, I'm glad you're thinking that, because I have an answer. A myth often attempts to explain the unexplainable. The way a culture's myth explains the unexplainable can tell you a lot about that culture's beliefs, their
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values, and their way of life. Also, myths attempt to explain the origins of the Earth and the creation of all things, such as land, water, the sky, humans, animals, and plants. Myths also attempt to explain the state of the human condition or how people live, including their problems, their feelings, and their behavior. Myths often include fantastic characters who have traits
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that are supposed to teach people how to live and behave. Finally, myths include natural phenomena, such as storms, volcanoes, earthquakes, floods, and droughts. Asian cultures didn't have scientific knowledge about the Earth, or technology to predict when a thunderstorm might happen or to explain why a volcano erupts. The forces of nature were dangerous and mysterious. They became the inspiration for many mythologies.
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Let's now look at how to examine elements and purposes of myths. We will use this passage here, and it's a myth from an early Chinese culture titled "Pangu." Let's read it now. The giant Pangu formed inside an egg and grew safely inside for eons. He finally grew too large for the egg and it cracked open, freeing him.
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Some parts of the shell floated into the air, forming the heavens, while the rest of the shell formed the earth below. Pangu placed himself between the earth, yin, and the sky, yang. He grew 10 feet per day for 18,000 years, increasing the distance between heaven and earth. Upon Pangu's death, the world and its elements were formed.
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His breath became the wind and clouds, his voice formed thunder and lightning, his eyes turned into the sun and moon, his limbs became the four compass directions, his torso transformed into mountains, his flesh became soil and trees, his bones became rocks and minerals, his blood flowed into rivers, and his sweat was rain. So, first of all, we can identify the purpose of this myth.
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This method explains the origins of the earth, the sky, and elements. These elements include thunder, lightning, the sun, the moon, the four compass directions, which are north, south, east, and west. It also attempts to explain the origins of mountains, the soil, trees, rocks, minerals, rivers, and rain. Pangu's shell and Pangu himself became all of these