The Meaning of Myth in World Cultures

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Mythology-circulated through sacred stories (myths) and their reenactments (rituals)-is the basis of any society’s religion, and religion is an essential key to identity. Mythology creates and sanctions meaning through the elaboration of identity in cultural metaphors that are at once ecological (associated with a society’s exploitation of its environment), sociological (based on social relations) and ideological (couched in a society’s worldview). These metaphors are incorporated into anthropomorphic spirits, fostering a deep sense of identification with those spirits as well as with others who share that sense of identification.
This study examines mythology from a global perspective, citing case studies in cultural traditions from Africa, Europe, Oceania, Native America and elsewhere.