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Primal Myths: Creating the World
by Barbara C. Sproul
Product Group: Book
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers (1979-12-30)
ISBN: 0060675004
EAN: 9780060675004
Dewy Decimal #: 291
Paperback: 373 pages
Edition: 1st
SKU: 080516009
Condition: Used: Good
Comments: This First Edition copy is in good condition. Theres highlights to different parts of the copy. Otherwise, No visible markings, underlining, tears to text. Tight spine. Theres a name/P.O. box number/price, on the top corner of the front endpaper. No Dust Jacket. Soft Cover has moderate, shelf/edge wear. Very interesting copy, worth having at an affordable price. (L6-6)
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
A comprehensive collection of creation stories ranging across widely varying times and cultures, including Ancient Egyptian, African, and Native American.
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Customer Reviews
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Authoritative!
Rating  (5)
Date: 2005-03-01
19 out of 19 customers found this reveiw helpful
NICE. It's an intimidatingly weighty textbook, unillustrated. When it says "from around the world," it really does mean from around the world. Everything is sorted according to area and culture of origin. The myths are presented more or less as they originally were, not paraphrased or censored, although they usually have a limited amount of commentary preceding each story, explaining a few words and what you need to know about that culture to understand the story. There are the usual creation myths you've probably already encountered, such as the Enuma Elish and some Judeo-Christian things. There are also lots and lots of legends (and even some peoples) who you may not have heard of before, or at least, you heard some parts and not others.
There were a couple stories that took my interest. One of them was an Eskimo genesis about how Raven created the world, discovered humans, and started teaching the first people how to live... I'd heard a few variants, but this one has Raven introducing various animals to the first men, and explaining how to hunt them. Most of the animals are deer, but there are a few fantastic creatures in there, presented with just the same solemnity and depth of detail. One of these was a six-legged, horned animal that I had to make a drawing of; I've never heard of them before, its name was not mentioned, and I've never seen any pictures of them, traditional or otherwise.
Another story that caught my eye was the Hopi genesis, which I've heard of before, with the successive worlds being created, destroyed by a different catastrophes each time, and survived by a select few who later migrated to the next world. What interested me was the elaborate description of "vibratory centers" aligned down the spine, and how the ancient people used them to heal... I mean, they're identical in location, description, and function to the chakras described in India, although the Hopi system doesn't mention the lower two chakras.
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Deja vu all over again
Rating (5)
Date: 2003-01-31
13 out of 14 customers found this reveiw helpful
Forget Joseph Campbell. This is the ultimate myth book, hundreds of creation myths from all over the globe. Sproul shows that our socalled modern ideas--from the big bang to the steady state universe--repeat myths formed thousands of years ago, from the inhabitants of Mesopotamia to the South Sea islanders. Who needs a big bang when you have a "great cosmic copulation?"
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How the World was Created -- According to the World
Rating  (4)
Date: 2001-03-22
17 out of 17 customers found this reveiw helpful
This is an incredibly thorough book that lists, in short story form, the creation myths from all over the world. It is incredibly thorough, covering even Inuit and Siberian legends. A great way to learn about the world's peoples by learning their folk tales of how the world was created. And what a great price for such an invaluable Cultural Anthropology book!
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