Everything about Culture Hero totally explained
A
culture hero is a
mythological hero specific to some group (
cultural,
ethnic,
racial,
religious, etc.) who changes the world through
invention or
discovery. A typical culture hero might be credited as the discoverer of
fire, or
agriculture,
songs,
tradition and
religion, and is usually the most important legendary figure of a people, sometimes as the founder of its ruling
dynasty. The hero is sometimes said to be still living, but is often instead a
star,
constellation or purely spiritual in nature.
In many cultures, particularly
Native American, the mythical figure of the
trickster and the culture hero are combined. To illustrate,
Prometheus, in
Greek mythology, stole fire from the gods to give it to humans. He is more of a culture hero than a trickster. In many Native American mythologies and beliefs, the
coyote spirit stole fire from the gods (or stars or sun) and is more of a trickster than a culture hero. Natives from the Southeastern United States typically saw a
rabbit trickster/culture hero. The
Western African trickster
spider Ananse is also widely disseminated.
In some cultures, there are dualistic myths, featuring two culture heroes arranging the world in a complementary manner.
Dualistic cosmologies are present in all inhabited continents and show great diversity: they may feature culture heroes, but also
demiurges (exemplifying dualistic
creation myths in the latter case), or other beings; the two heroes may compete or collaborate; they may be conceived as neutral or contrasted as good versus evil; be of the same importance or distinguished as powerful versus weak; be brothers (even twins) or be not relatives at all.
The term is sometimes used to describe great authors or artists in a metaphorical sense (for example
Mzwakhe Mbuli, a
South African poet
(External Link
)).
Partial list
Bunjil
I'wai
Wurrunna
Noah
Abraham
Isaac
Jacob
Moses
Jesus
Mohammed
Haik
Vahagn
Aramazd
Anahit
Anansi
Quetzalcoatl
Qat
King Arthur
Cúchulainn
Lug
Fionn mac Cumhail (Finn McCool)
Huang Di
Yao
Shun
Fu Xi
Guan Yu
Laozi
Bodhidharma
Zhang Sanfeng
Osiris
Thoth
Sceaf
Tarchon
Tyrrehenus
Väinämöinen
Ilmarinen
Lemminkäinen
Cadmus
Cecrops
Castor and Pollux
Herakles
Hermes
Palamedes
Perseus
Phoroneus
Prometheus
Triptolemos
Rama
Lakshman
Krishna
Balarama
Hanuman
Arjuna
Bhima
Yudhishtira
Mamuni Mayan
Apanuugak
Iktomi
Tangaroa
Māui
Gukumatz
Maya Hero Twins
Gilgamesh
Enkidu
Ziusudra
Kaknu
Changing Woman
The Diyin dine
Sigurd Fafnersbane
Beowulf
Starkad
Nanabozho
Rostam
Sohrab
Atonga
Hercules
Janus
Romulus/Quirinus
Aeneas
Kraljević Marko
To-Kabinana
Daniel Boone
Johnny Appleseed
Christopher Columbus
Pilgrims
George Washington
Cin-an-ev
Ahutsetajwaj
Tapiatsa
YanauluhaFurther Information
Get more info on 'Culture Hero'.
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