SABS / 10

th
Grade A World History Activities October
1
st
, 2014
Mr. Wade
Nae! ..
Activity 1!
A "reatio# Myth $ro the %or&ba 'eo(le o) West A)rica
Before creation, Earth was a huge mass of water. Olodumare, the Supreme Deity
and Sky God, summoned Obatala, his vicedeity, to his presence. !e commanded
him to begin creation, by creating "land mass." #ith a vine attached to a piece of
dry soil, Obatala descended on the watery mass and began his $ob. !e dropped
the vine and soil on the surface of the water and with the assistance of a hen and
a pigeon, anchored the vine and scattered the soil about. #hen a portion of the
surface had been covered with the soil, Obatala eagerly reported to Olodumare
the successful completion of the work of creating Earth. Olodumare then
commanded Obatala to return to the land mass, a place called %fe, to create
human beings. Obatala started making human beings out of clay, but he made a
mess of his work. Olodumare dismissed him and sent another being named
Oduduwa to &nish the $ob correctly. Oduduwa did well. !e created the &rst
community of humans at %fe and became their leader. 'ater he sent several of his
own sons to found kingdoms in other parts of the region. (nd that)s how the world
became populated.
Source: *ichard +. Dorson, ed., African Folklore ,Garden -ity, ./0 (nchor, 1234,
544545.
Summary and 6uestions0
1. Summari7e the above myth in your own words.
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4. #hat can we learn about the way that ancient /oruba people thought about
creation from this myth9
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5. #hy do you think ancient /oruba people thought in this way9
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Activity 2!
A Babylonian Creation Myth (Enuma Elish)
Before the universe was created, the gods engaged in a civil war. One group of
gods called
(nunnaki determined to beat the other gods. :hey chose +arduk, a very young
god, to serve as their leader. (fter arming himself, +arduk set out to challenge
the monstergoddess :iamat.
(fter he killed her, +arduk cut :iamat in half. !e used her top half to form the sky
and her bottom half to form the Earth. (fter :iamat;s death, those who sided with
her were enslaved and forced to work for the (nunnaki gods. !owever, after
some time passed, +arduk also destroyed :iamat;s husband, <ingu. =rom <ingu;s
blood, +arduk created mankind. +arduk established Babylon as his own
residence.
=or the te>t of Enuma Elish, the Babylonian creation story, go to
http0??www.ancientte>ts.org?library?mesopotamian?enuma.html
Summary and 6uestions0
1. Summari7e the above myth in your own words.
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4. #hat can we learn about the ways in which ancient Babylonians thought
about gods from this creation myth9
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5. #hat can we learn about the ways in which ancient Babylonians thought
about themselves from this creation myth9
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@. #hy do you think that ancient Babylonians thought in these ways9
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A. Do you think those who told these stories regarded some parts of them as
symbolic and others as literally true9 #hich parts do you think they thought
of as symbolic9
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Activity *!
Genesis, Chater !
B1C %n the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
B2C (nd the earth was without form, and voidD and darkness was upon the face of
the deep. (nd the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
B3C (nd God said, 'et there be light0 and there was light.
B4C (nd God saw the light, that it was good0 and God divided the light from the
darkness.
B5C (nd God called the light Day, and the darkness he called .ight. (nd the
evening and the morning were the &rst day.
B6C (nd God said, 'et there be a &rmament in the midst of the waters, and let it
divide the waters from the waters.
B7C (nd God made the &rmament, and divided the waters which were under the
&rmament from the waters which were above the &rmament0 and it was so.
B8C (nd God called the &rmament !eaven. (nd the evening and the morning were
the second day.
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B9C (nd God said, 'et the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one
place, and let the dry land appear0 and it was so.
B10C (nd God called the dry land EarthD and the gathering together of the waters
called the Seas0 and God saw that it was good.
B11C (nd God said, 'et the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the
fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth0 and it
was so.
B12C (nd the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and
the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind0 and God saw that it
was good.
B13C (nd the evening and the morning were the third day.
B14C (nd God said, 'et there be lights in the &rmament of the heaven to divide
the day from the nightD and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days,
and years0
B15C (nd let them be for lights in the &rmament of the heaven to give light upon
the earth0 and it was so.
B16C (nd God made two great lightsD the greater light to rule the day, and the
lesser light to rule the night0 he made the stars also.
B17C (nd God set them in the &rmament of the heaven to give light upon the
earth,
B18C (nd to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the
darkness0 and
God saw that it was good.
B19C (nd the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
B20C (nd God said, 'et the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature
that hath life, and fowl that may Ey above the earth in the open &rmament of
heaven.
B21C (nd God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which
the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after
his kind0 and God saw that it was good.
B22C (nd God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and &ll the waters in
the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
B23C (nd the evening and the morning were the &fth day.
B24C (nd God said, 'et the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind,
cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind0 and it was so.
B25C (nd God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their
kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind0 and God saw
that it was good.
B26C (nd God said, 'et us make man in our image, after our likeness0 and let
them have dominion over the &sh of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and
over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that
creepeth upon the earth.
B27C So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he himD
male and female
created he them.
B28C (nd God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply,
and replenish the earth, and subdue it0 and have dominion over the &sh of the
sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon
the earth.
B29C (nd God said, Behold, % have given you every herb bearing seed, which is
upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree
yielding seedD to you it shall be for meat.
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B30C (nd to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to
everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, % have given every
green herb for meat0 and it was so.
B31C (nd God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.
(nd the evening and the morning were the si>th day.
Source0 Bible, "in# $ames %ersion. !umanities :e>t %nitiative, Fniversity of
+ichigan.
http0??www.hti.umich.edu?cgi?k?k$v?k$vid>9typeGD%H1IbyteG1@33.
6uestions0
1. !ow does this chapter of the Bible describe God;s role in creation9
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4. !ow does this chapter of the Bible describe people;s role in the world9
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5. +ake a list of &ve details that this chapter of the Bible e>plains about
creation.
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+he "hro#olo,y o) the -#iverse "o(ressed i#to 1*
%ears
%f the universe had begun 15 years ago, then, at this moment8
:he Earth would have e>isted for about8A years
'arge organisms with many cells would have e>isted for about83
months
:he asteroids that killed oJ dinosaurs would have landed85 weeks
ago
!ominids would have e>isted for85 days
Our own species, !omo sapiens would have e>isted for8A5 minutes
(gricultural societies would have e>isted for8A minutes
:he entire recorded history of civili7ation would have e>isted for85
minutes
+odern industrial societies would have e>isted for8K seconds
:he %nternet, as we know it, would have e>isted less than81 second
Source0 David -hristian, L#orld !istory in -onte>t,M $ournal of &orl' (istory 1@
,Dec. 4NN5O0
@53@AP.
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