mythFor many religious cultures, it represents its sacred history and the ratio-
nale for present personal and social conditions. In many religions, myth
also operates as an exemplary model for significant human behavior,
such as rites and religious celebrations.
Mythic narratives, representing the primary stories of a religious cul-
ture, embody violence, sexuality, pain, desire, lust, life, death, play and
worldview. The myth makers use elements from daily life to create their
narratives and weave together an interconnecting web of these elements
with human, heroic, or supernatural beings.
A particular myth may show evidence of additions and expansion as
well as deletions, alterations, and substitutions as the cultural/historical
circumstances change. This suggests that myth is a narrative in continual
compositional process, development, and unfolding of the truth. This
dynamic feature of myth is especially evident in oral cultures because the
sharing of the myth by a storyteller influences its shape, the hearers may
alter the story based on what they remember, and the storyteller may alter
the story based on the reaction of the audience. The re-telling of a myth
is sometimes restricted to certain times and places, whereas other reli-
gious traditions place no restrictions on the telling of a story. Restrictions
on when a myth can be recited are directly related to its authoritative
language, which enables a storyteller to simply present the story and not
have to argue in a philosophical way for it. The telling of a myth is not
only a social action that the storyteller shares with others, but it is also a
performative act in the sense that the narrative is re-enacted and makes
the mythical events recounted current again.
Mythic narratives are not merely entertaining, but they also represent
worthwhile knowledge and serve as a form of knowing. The convincing
nature of the myth gives hearers a secret knowledge about the origin of
things that is otherwise inaccessible to ordinary people. If one knows
the origin of something, this gives the knower power. Once one pos-
sesses this type of power, one can assume control of it, manipulate it,
or reproduce it. When one knows a myth it is possible to repeat its
actions in ritual and to re-enact ritually what occurred at the beginning
of time. The knowledge gained from knowing a myth liberates one
from having to think about certain things because the myth explains
everything, can be taken for granted, not questioned, and frees us from
the burden of thought. By knowing the myths of one’s culture, this
knowledge enables one to locate oneself in the world and the social
order. A person knows to what group one belongs, the identity of the
outsiders, and their relationship to one’s religious culture. As useful
tools of knowledge, myth establishes personal and cultural boundaries,
enables one to make sense and interpret one’s social and personal