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THE SONG OF CREATION
Author(s) -
Muller Richard A.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1980.tb15923.x
Subject(s) - annals , citation , library science , computer science , classics , history
M. Stocker, Hear Where We Are: Sound, Ecology, and Sense of Place, DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-7285-8_2, © Michael Stocker 2013 “In the beginning was the word...” and so begins one of many accounts of The Creation wherein the fabric of the cosmos is woven by the voice of God. 1 All world peoples from the Aborigines of Australia to the Zulu of Zimbabwe describe the beginning of the universe through sound: The totemic beings weave the Songlines across Australia; The Chameleons of Yemen and Madagascar sing into the primordial forest to bring the world into existence; the Quiché Mayan Popul Vuh tells of the Guacamatz—the givers of light, who consult, and while they speak their deep understanding brings forth the dawn. They speak about the forests and about the nature of life; how the waters will fl ow and how crops would be sown—and these things appear from their words. In the fi rst hogon of the Glittering World, the Holy People of the Diné sing the Blessing Song from which creation emerges; and for the ancient Sumerians, the power of creation consisted primarily of the divine word. “All the creator had to do was make his or her plans, utter the word, and pronounce the name” 2 —a pronouncement echoed in the Koran, explaining that Allah need only 2 The Song of Creation