There are many different myths and religious beliefs associated with the creation of the universe. Some view it as one huge cosmic event. Others depict creation as a series of events that happened in stages. No matter what the myth, the original woman and man are always seen as central symbols of primordial humanity. Australian Aboriginal stories, which are more than 150,000 years old, attribute creation to their ancestors living in the mythical space and time known as “The Dreaming.” These dreaming beings lived a lot like their human counterparts – traveling, hunting, loving and fighting. In sleep the ancestors dreamed the events of the next day. They believed that every being shared a fundamental connection with the source of creation.

The Maori and other Polynesians believed the universe originally consisted of an eternal night. Eventually, Rangi, the sky father, and Papa, the earth mother became a couple. Their coupling created the land and many divine offspring. They lived in the darkness until the parents decided to split apart. In the Sumerian mythology Enki, the fun-loving god of wisdom, molded the first humans out of clay from a river bed. The book of Genesis describes God as single-handedly creating the universe in seven days. He completed his work on the sixth day with his creation of humans and rested on the seventh. In the Biblical account, Adam is created from the dust of the earth by Yaweh, the creator God. Yahweh then gives him a companion female, the mother of all humanity.