Citations

Christian, M. “Oceania: The Myth.” Oceania Myth. 1997. 8 December 2008. http://www.internet-at-work.com/hos_mcgrane/creation/cshzeal.html.

Lindemans, M.F. “Polynesian Mythology.” Encyclopedia Mythica. 2007. 8 December 2008. http://www.pantheon.org/areas/mythology/oceania/polynesian/articles.html.

“Mythology of Oceania.” Kava.com. 2008. 5 December 2008. http://www.kava.com/oceania/mythology.htm.

Resture, Jane. “Oceania Mythology Homepage.” Oceania Mythology. 2008. 5 December 2008. http://www.janeresture.com/oceania_myths/index.htm.

“The Gods of Oceanic Mythology.” Oceanic Mythology. 2008. 8 December 2008. http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/oceanic_mythology.php.

Willis, Roy. “Oceania.” World Mythology. New York: Henry Holt & Company, 1993. 10 December 2008.

•Laprade, Thomas. “Hawaii.” 13 September 2008. Photograph. The Snowbird, blog of Thomas Laprade. 17 December 2008. <http://encyclopedia.smokersclub.com/images/hawaii.jpg

•Merritt, Ed. “Easter Egg.” 11 March 2008. Photograph. The Witch Doctor. 17 December 2008. < http://witchdoctor.files.wordpress.com/2007/04/easter-egg.jpg>.

•Jeffrey, Jack. “Akepa.” 2008. Photograph. Birds of Hawaii. 17 December 2008. http://www.travelwithachallenge.com/Images/Travel_Article_Library/Hawaiian_Bird_Pictures/Akepa7.jpg.

•Stephans, Quinn. “Ocean17.” 2008. Photograph. Creating an Ocean in After Effects. 17 December 2008. http://www.quinnstephens.com/tutorials/ocean/ocean17.jpg.

Oceania

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Oceania Myth Summaries

Creation Myth

In the beginning, there was only darkness and the sea. Later, there came the Old Spider. During the Old Spider's journey in the sea, he found a giant clam. He immediately opened the clam and crawled inside. Inside the dark and cramped clam he found a snail. The two decided to open the shell a bit for more room. Then, the Old Spider took the snail and placed it in the west and made it into the moon. After, Old Spider got help from another snail and pushed very hard on top of the shell, raising it up, and it became the sky, called Rangi. Next, Old Spider pushed down on the lower part of the shell and it widened and became the earth. The earth was called Papa, or Mother Earth. After Rangi and Papa were seperated, they became very sad. The tears that Rangi cried are the rain drops that fall and the dew in the morning.

The Myth of Maui, New Zealand, Daylight & Fire

Maui was a boy who grew up in the sea with the sea god. His mother favored him, therefore his brothers were very jealous and would never take him fishing with them. However, one day he hid in the boat and then went fishing. Maui immediately caught a huge fish. The fish was so big it covered the sea as far as he could see! Then the fish became the islands of New Zealand. Afterward, the island became the home for Maui and his family. Although they loved their home, there were not many hours of sunlight. As a result, the brothers put aside their jealousy to help Maui slow down the sun. After they made the sun promise to go slower over the sky, they then realized they needed something to keep them warm at night in the longer days. Fire! So the next day, Maui went to the lady with fingernails made of fire, Mahuika, and threw a bit of her fingernail in a tree. To sum up, the sparks stayed until finally Maui and his brothers figured out how to make fire with wood.

Christian, M. “Oceania: The Myth.” Oceania Myth. 1997. 8 December 2008. http://www.internet-at-work.com/hos_mcgrane/creation/cshzeal.html.

Lindemans, M.F. “Polynesian Mythology.” Encyclopedia Mythica. 2007. 8 December 2008. http://www.pantheon.org/areas/mythology/oceania/polynesian/articles.html.

Names/Places Review

1. Vikings-- Came from Norway, Finland, and Sweden.
   
2. Ginnungagap-- Dark void.
   
3. Nifleheim-- Land of fog and ice.
4. Muspellheim-- Land of fire.
   
5. Yggdrasil-- World Ash Tree. Connects all three worlds.
   
6. Asgard-- Home of the gods.
   
7. Midgard-- Land of man.
   
8. Hel-- Home of the dead.
   
9. Bifrost Bridge-- (rainbow) Divine bridge that links the humans and the gods worlds.
10. Ymir-- Wild, fierce, evil frost giant. Made man and woman from his sweaty armpit.
    
11. Odin-- God of gods and humans. Domains are wisdom, war, witchcraft and poetry. God of storm and night.
    
12. Frigg-- Wife of Odin. Cloud spinner. Most powerful goddess. Domains are love, destiny and marriage.
    
13. The Valkyries-- Choosers of the Slain.
    
14. The Norns-- Fate Maidens. Past (Urd), Present (Verdandi), and Future (Skuld)
    
15. Thor-- Warrior Son. Strongest son of Odin. Domains are thunder, battle and fertility. His hammer is named Mjolliner. He has a chariot pulled by goats.
    
16. Balder-- Beloved son of Odin and Frigg. God of radiance, rebirth, justice and light. He is beautiful.
    
17. Njord-- Domains are wind and sea. Patron of sailors.
    
18. Frey-- God of fertility, prosperity, sun and rain. Married to Freya.
    
19. Freya-- Goddess of fertility, love, beauty, magic, war and death.
    
20. Idunn-- Odin's daughter in law. Goddess of youth. Keeper of golden apples (youth). Married to Bragi.
21. Loki-- Son of a giant. 1/2 blood god- mixed blood with Odin. Has magic powers. Knows all secrets. He is a trickster with many disguises. Evil and has evil children.
    
22. Fenrir-- The wolf destroyer.
    
23. Jormungandr-- World serpent.
    
24. Ragnarok--"Dooms Day." Final Battle. Ending of everything. Causes a new beginning.
    
25. Runes-- Pebble things...each one has a different design that means something. Either a letter or a word. They are a way of communicating.
    

"Runes." 2008. Photograph of Runes. Spellbound Enterprises. 1 December 2008. http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://spellboundenterprises.com/images/
runes1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://spellboundenterprises.com/index.


"Alternative Religions." 2008. Photograph of Norse Tree of Life. About.com: Alternative Religions. 1 December 2008. http://altreligion.about.com/library/glossary/yggdrasil.jpg

Burr Woman

In the story of Burr Woman there is a guy who does not like women. He was very handsome so, as a result, all the women liked him and wanted to marry him. Even though super pretty girls, one in particular, ask to date him, he declined them. So, this one girl mentioned before, was a girl who was gorgeous and lived with her grandmother. The girl decided she was pretty enough and was sure she would not be turned down by this mystery man so she decided to propose to him. Sadly, the uninterested boy immediately did not except her proposal and she ran home to her grandma in great anger. Her grandma was likewise upset and came up with a plan. As soon as grandma saw this guy walking around the next day, she came up to him and told him she could not walk. She asked for a ride on his back. Even though this was an odd request, he let her. So she jumped on top of his back and refused to let go even when they reached their destination. The helpless guy yelled for help after struggling to shake this crazy old lady off. A lot of woman came to his cry and tried to save him. However, no one succeeded. That is, until two girls decided to double their force and pull together. As a result, the grandma peed on the man during the forceful pull and afterward was killed by the two heroic girls. Therefore, the two women were rewarded by both marrying the guy!

“Burr Woman.” Indian Mythology. 2006. 7 November 2008. .

Crazy Old Grandma

“A Western Grandma.” 2005. Photograph. AhaJokes. 11 November 2008. .

Hero Quest

Universal/Unique- Representative of every man with a special characteristic that sets him apart.
"...and the baby grew up thus into an active, daring little girl."
"She became in the end more than their equal in all the feats of a hunter's life."

Major Flaw- Hero is special, but not perfect.
“…when a daughter and not a son was born to him, he was of course bitterly disappointed.”

Call To Adventure- Hero is given a goal or assigned a quest.
“Then came the famous hunt of the Calydonian boar…Oeneus called upon the bravest men of Greece…with them came as a matter of course Atalanta, ‘the pride of the woods of Arcady.’”

Initiation- Entering of a strange world and leaving behind the familiar.
“Once two centaurs, swifter and stronger by far than any mortal, caught sight of her when she was alone and persued her.”

Journey- The road of trials, battles and obstacles.
“In this confusion of dying men and wildly flying weapons, Atalanta kept her head and wounded the boar. Her arrow was the first to strike it.”

Companions- Sidekicks, partners and support.
“Some of the heroes resented her presence and felt it beneath them to go hunting with a woman, but Meleager insisted.”

Supernatural Guide- Provides information, magic, weapons, or charms.
“A she-bear took care of her, nursed her and kept her warm. Kind hunters then found her and took her to live with them.”

Ultimate Battle- The final test.
“…the goal was now very near. But then the third golden sphere flashed across her path…she could not resist it. As she picked the apple up, her lover panting and almost winded touched the goal. She was his.”

Transformation- Hero is altered in some way in the final battle.
“The two are said to have been turned into lions because of some affront offered either to Zeus or Aphrodite.”


Death/Rebirth- Out with the old, in with the new.
“Her free days alone in the forest and her athletic victories were over.”

Boon- Gift of renewal; reward to be shared.
“The pride of the woods of Arcady…she walked in on that masculine gathering.”