Joao:
>THEME TWO: EARTH WAS CREATED
>Abstract: In the beginning only existed a primordial ocean. But birds (or
>bird-gods) picked mud from the bottom of sea and created Earth; >gathering
>dry land.
I've heard this version of the tale, yes. It's prevalent amongst some
Uralic- or Altaic-speaking peoples so I've read.
>Sources:
>Siberia : bird-gods picking mud and creating Earth.
>Israel : The dove brought a olive branch to Noah.
>India : Varaha (Ok, a Boar is not a bird, but this entity saves the >earth
>from Flood)
>Egypt: Thoth as creator?
>Greece: During the Deukalion Flood, the people of Geraneia was saved >by
>following the cranes.
You are not taking heed in the concepts I'm putting forth in this
comparative mythology. If I'm correct about a SemitoEuropoid belief system
developing in Western Anatolia around 7000 BCE or so, it inevitably stands
to reason that this belief system can spread quite far over a span of 9000
years into the locations you mention!
I feel that these myths are not original to their respective areas. Another
"bird" creation myth exists among Inuktitut peoples too but this cannot
ultimately be a native view. All these related myths can better be explained
as originating out of W Anatolia at 7000 BCE spreading into the IE homeland
by 5500 BCE, and finally spreading far into NorthEast Asia by about
3000-2000 BCE, or at least before the EskAleut peoples left for North
America whenever that may precisely be dated.
As far as I'm concerned, a succesful theory on a _Nostratic_ mythology is
still remotely far away. Just the thought of it makes my head spin. We have
better hope with the linguistics end of things first. :)
- gLeN
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