¶ … functions of myth, as defined by Joseph Campbell. Specifically, it will explain Campbell's four functions of myth, and show how they are demonstrated in Native American Hopi culture. The Hopis of Northern Arizona epitomize the four functions of myth in their culture and society. Their society is based on myth, religion, and spiritual celebration, and they have held on to these myths when many other tribes have turned away from their spiritual and mythical past. The Hopis myths relate to the earth, the natural world surrounding them, and their dependence on this natural world for their survival. They understand the importance of myth in a healthy society, and because of this, they have one of the longest-lived Native societies in the desert Southwest.
FOUR FUNCTIONS OF MYTH
Joseph Campbell wrote heavily about myth, reality, and how important myth is in our culture and society. Myths and stories have long been the way Native American cultures preserve their history and pass it down from generation to generation, and the Hopis of Northern Arizona are no exception. Their myths nearly all relate to what is most important in their lives - the land around them, and their dependence on it for their sustenance and well being. Joseph Campbell's four functions of myth are demonstrated in their stories of creation, hope, and life.
Campbell defines his four functions of myth this way:
The first is the mystical function...realizing what a wonder the universe is, and what a wonder you are, and experiencing awe before this mystery. The second is a cosmological dimension, the dimension with which science is concerned -- showing you what the shape of the universe is, but showing it in such a way that the mystery again comes through. The third function is the sociological one -- supporting and validating a certain social order. And here's where the myths vary enormously from place to place. It is this sociological function of myth that has taken over in our world -- and it is out of date. But there is a fourth function of myth, and this is the one that I think everyone must try today to relate to -- and that is the pedagogical function, of how to live a human lifetime under any circumstances. Myths can teach you that (Campbell 31).
What does Campbell's definition really mean? Campbell's four functions of myth bring the reader right into the reality of myth, and how it really does apply to our day-to-day lives. Do discover myth every day, we simply must open ourselves up to the wonder in each of us, and the absolute wonder of our world. You cannot help but be awed when you begin to see the wonder around you. The shape of the universe is ever changing, but it created all of us, and that is wondrous and mythical at the same time. Some people believe myths are outdated, but as Campbell shows in the fourth function, they can allow us to live a more meaningful and authentic life every day if we recognize the importance they play in life, in survival, and in hope for the future. The Hopis recognize these four functions of myth, which is why their oral history is so important to them. To understand the Hopi myths, and their importance in their lives, is to understand just how myth can sustain and nurture every one of us. As Campbell wrote in an anthology on myth, "Man, apparently, cannot maintain himself in the universe without belief in some arrangement of the general inheritance of myth. In fact, the fullness of his life would even seem to stand in a direct ratio to the depth and range, not of his rational thought, but of his local mythology" (Murray 20). As such, myth has always existed, myths tend to take on certain commonalities, and this is directly related to Campbell's four functions. Certain myths, such as that of creation, tend to show up again and again, despite cultural and geographical differences, and there are many similarities between these myths. Not only does this relate to the wonder of the universe, and the need to explain its creation, it relates to the sociological need to hand down stories from generation to generation, and the need we have to understand our lives, and give them more meaning by understanding our world. Campbell notes,
People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think that what we're seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances within our own innermost being and...
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