This was the second assignment for my mythology course, uploaded now for a sense of completion.

Fractal Hassan
Mythology | HUM – 2310
10/16/2022

It is often asked amongst philosophers what topic in philosophy has plagued philosophers more than any other topic. Perhaps the most striking of these questions is asking ourselves what it means to be human. Many people have tried to answer this question. Linguists like Noam Chomsky would argue that language is what makes us human, until it was discovered that many other animal species have rudimentary forms of language-like communication. Some culinary artists would argue that no other species possesses the ability to cook—and so far, we have not found chefs amongst the animal world. What some anthropologists, including mythologists such as Joseph Campbell, would argue, is that humans possess a unique awareness of their own lives and their own mortality—enough so that they start to contemplate about the meaning of such a life, the meaning of their deaths, and what may lie beyond that seemingly final barrier.

Humans are then the creatures who notice that the shadows on the walls of the Cave may not be true representations of these figures, and dare to try and venture outwards to find the mouth of the Cave to try and catch a glimpse of the true forms. These people explore the Cave, explore outwards, and then return with stories of that which they saw, i.e. the mythologies that aim to explain the True Nature of Things. Different cultures went through these processes in different ways, and perhaps we will never know the true origin or motivation of the first people who dared to venture out of the Caves, but we do know that the very earliest signs of mythological thinking involve burial rituals [1.32, 2.10:02] whereby people (and indeed animals) were buried not without intent, but with a certain method and carefulness, perhaps with fetish items or otherwise grave gear. Death, then—the fear of, or in some way, the fascination with it—was the earliest driver of mythological thinking that drove humankind to have a sort of mythological instinct that drives us to storytell; perhaps we see the storytelling instinct even amongst the secular types in the form of the adoration of fiction and heroic stories of the cinema, and the grandiosity and appellation adorned upon historical figures deemed to be Heroes. It is impossible to escape the grasp that mythological thinking has on the human psyche, and understanding precisely how it entangles all of us into one greater tale will help us understand our own psyche and our own role in the greater tale of humanity’s mythology.

In many cultures, the ideas of life and death are intertwined as part of the same story; in Genesis [3.57], for example, Eve becomes both the Mother of all life, as well as the scapegoat for suffering and death. The Serpent then, being another symbol of the Feminine (as the shedding of its skin is akin to the cycles of menstruation), connects the sin of obtaining the knowledge of good and evil (and the awareness of death) to the Feminine (more specifically, the womb). This then alludes to an eternal cycle, tying back the end, being death, with the beginning, being Life, through the Lifebearer, being the Woman.

In some other cultures, the reason for death is considered a separate matter from that of life. There is no such “sacred land” which a Navajo spirit would continue onto, as in Navajo mythology, this world is considered to be the sacred land and the most desirable one [3.98]. Many cultures have ceremonies surrounding the primary animal they hunted for food and clothing; while the Ainu people would treat bears as sacred [1.32] and have rituals honoring them, many Native cultures would have similar rituals for other food animals, such as the Blackfoot tribe with Buffalo [1.35], or salmon with the Navajo [2.14:35]. Indeed, it does seem like there is this commonality of atonement related to the death of the food animal amongst many cultures, at least when it comes to animals. This is something that the Abrahamic religions only emphasized as it transitioned into Islamic mythology (as can be seen with the necessity of halal meat in the belief, although it existed as far back into the Jewish era what with kosher meats), although atonement for animal sacrifices were largely not heavily emphasized in the earliest renditions of Abrahamic mythology.

It’s interesting to note that while Abrahamic religions greatly emphasize human death while hardly touching on animal sacrifice, Navajo mythology is quite the opposite. While the Navajo culture has many intricate burial or sacrificial rituals surrounding the death of animals, the death of a human is far less emphasized, although death rituals do exist [5]. There is a great fear of the dead, and burials are often done carefully and with intention as to, so to speak, prevent hauntings [4]. There is no “sacred land” that exists beyond this world. This world, as a result of the actions of the Air People in its creation mythology, is the “sacred land.” Thus, while there is no belief of reincarnation nor transcendence in Navajo mythology, there is no absolute death, and the spirits of the Navajo walk this world freely. There is an interesting stark contrast to see here, between the Abrahamic writings and the Navajo storytellings: the way which death and in particular this life is framed is starkly different.

Perhaps one of the most common archetypes one can see analyzing the mythologies of this world is this idea that there existed better times that have fallen to what is currently seen as “hard times.” With Greek mythologies, there is an allusion to the five ages. There exist hints of this in Vedic traditions, as well as Germanic traditions [3.45]. In the myth of Genesis, this era of a “Golden Age” was the era of Eden, i.e. that time which Adam and Eve lived peacefully in the Garden, prior to consuming the fruit that would give them the knowledge of Differences. Perhaps it is quite interesting, then, to see the Navajo myth greatly diverge from this general archetype of “fall from a better era” as its mythology greatly focuses on an emergence from a worse one, i.e. we are living in the Golden Era [3.98]. This then alerts one to an interesting observation—precisely that world view in which the Navajo viewed this world not as a place of suffering, but as a blessing to enjoy, and the world around them as deeply sacred and as a gift to humans from the Gods [3.111]. Genesis, in contrast, stresses that humans exist in this realm, in this plane, as punishment for Eve’s “wrongdoings.” Thus, whereas the Navajo myths highlight the beauty in this realm, the myths of Genesis and Abrahamic teachings highlight its horrors.

            This condemnation of differences can further be contrasted, as Navajo mythologies highlight differences from the start, being chock full of Quaternities. There is a strong emphasis on the differences of the cardinal directions [3.106], as well as strong color symbolism throughout its mythologies, emphasizing the different colors that are adorned on the creatures (such as an aetiological explanation for grasshopper colors [3.109]) and realms within it. These differences being spoken repetitively throughout the myths would suggest a deep importance to differences existing, which is strongly contrasted to that of Genesis, where the very concept of “being different” is deemed to be forbidden knowledge by God’s decree, and is the foundation for its entire mythology. This can further highlight an emphasis on life, rather than death in Navajo mythology, as contrasted with the Abrahamic beliefs. It does not require much thought or research to ascertain this world which we live in now is incredibly diverse, filled with countless differences, and filled with variations beyond what is conceivable and comprehensible. It is rational to understand why the culture which celebrates differences would see this world as being more desirable than the one whose entire mythology is structured around this unwanted unveiling of said differences (i.e. the condemnation of being different). That there could help one understand why the Navajo beliefs puts far more emphasis on how to live (i.e. a principal guide for navigating this life without regards to post mortem philosophy), rather than the Abrahamic emphasis on “how to die” (i.e. one does these rituals in preparation for death when they meet their maker), as this world is already the desired one.

Perhaps it is no secret as to why Native cultures such as the Navajo people consider the entirety of nature to be sacred, and the act of the White Man coming and pillaging nature and slaughtering their sacred buffalo to be an act of vile and vehement desecration. Their mythology, their creation story, was not created out of a fear of death, but a reverence for life itself—all of life, all of nature, everyone and everything in it, being all part of a grand dance in the ballroom of this planet, dancing to a billion year old tune that harmonizes all of us as a part of its song. Life, to the Navajo, is in and of itself a sacred thing, and we exist because of, not in spite of, sacred gifts. While Genesis alludes to this world being the worse off one due to the awareness of differences, the Navajo see these differences as a thing to be revered and loved, as differences are a part of nature and a feature to be adored. By analyzing their respective mythologies, one can see a relative trend that generally points to the Abrahamic myths teaching one’s life preparing one for death, and the Navajo myths teaching one’s life being focused on this world and the life in and around it despite of death.

Hereby we can see two sides of the coin—how does one rationalize and cope with the insurmountable wall of death? This philosophical question, that permeates all of mythology on some level or another, this philosophical question that is a fundamental driver for all of mythology. One can live their life preparing themselves for what may come after it, or one may use it to gain incredible perspective of what life exists around them. The Navajo people do not focus on death, it does not focus on an afterlife or what may lie beyond, nor does it focus on what one must do before they die. The Navajo mythology aims to help people navigate and appreciate this life, especially with regards to nature and the people around one’s self, whereas Genesis asserts we exist here in this life due to Original Sin (Eve consuming the fruit, obtaining the knowledge of Differences), and we must atone ourselves of this sin in preparation for death, in order to rejoin God’s kingdom. The view of this world, the view of death, between Genesis and the Navajo myths are almost inverted, and thus show a very stark contrast on how human mortality is viewed. The Abrahamic viewpoint tells one to live for death; the Navajo viewpoint tells one to live for life. Both are guides for living one’s life despite one’s mortality; only the frame of reference shifts from one of pessimism to one of optimism.

Perhaps this does highlight an interesting facet of the human psyche and how one comes to terms with one’s own mortality. Whatever belief system one chooses to believe, regardless of origin of spirituality or religion, one will always be confronted with that seemingly impenetrable wall of death, and how one should structure their life knowing they will one day succumb to that wave. Some may structure their lives in preparation for whatever they believe lays beyond it. Some may structure their lives so they make most of what the sacred act of Being Alive has to offer. Whatever it may be, whatever belief one may have, everyone everywhere will die one day, and we must all make decisions knowing that fact. Making these decisions, with death as perspective, is what the very first Paleolithic humans did 200,000 years ago, making the choices to develop themselves and their community that would cascade into the society we see today. And perhaps it helps to think mythologically; as Joseph Campbell points out, the lack of mythology in today’s society is in his opinion part of the reason for its decline [2.39:18]. Fundamentally it all boils down to one decision: will one choose to live life in preparation for death, or will one live life with all this life has to offer? These are not mutually exclusive quests, and one may find wisdom in attempting to achieve both. The real takeaway then, is that death is the grand unifier of all things in this universe—all things live and all things die; some things just live far longer than us. But how we, how humans perceive death, and how humans shape their lives around this awareness of death, is something, as far as we know, intrinsic solely to us. This journey from the womb to the grave is a meandering stroll that one takes; the path one takes and what one collects in this journey to plan for the next one is a deeply personal decision one must make along this journey. And what matters not is what the journey entailed; it is the satisfaction one has with where they went and what they collected before laying down at the destination that is what determines how meaningful and important that journey was.

Bibliography

1. Campbell, Joseph. Myths to Live By. Penguin Compass, 1972.
2. kinolorber. “Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth | Ep. 3: ‘The First Storytellers.’” YouTube, 23 Aug. 2022, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij5cJtYLkvE.
3. Thury, Eva, and Margaret Devinney. Introduction to Mythology: Contemporary Approaches to Classical and World Myths. Oxford UP, 2022.
4. Navajo Culture. navajopeople.org/navajo-culture.htm. Accessed 16 Oct. 2022.
5. Navajo Death Rituals | Navajo Code Talkers. navajocodetalkers.org/navajo-death-rituals. Accessed 16 Oct. 2022.