Edmund Nequatewa, a Hopi man from the village of Shung-opovi, Second Mesa, Hopiland, and an initiated member of the One-Horned Fraternity, a ceremonial priesthood responsible for safeguarding and transmitting this sacred Hopi Emergence story, narrated this account which was first published in 1936 by the Museum of Northern Arizona as Bulletin No. 8.  In 1967, it was reissued in book form under the title, Truth of a Hopi. 

This Hopi emergence account is notable for its attestation of a pre-earth existence; the presence of an established pre-earth religious order consisting of chiefs and priests; the presence of formal religious rituals in the pre-earth world; the eruption of a division between good and bad people in the pre-earth world; the expressed desire of pre-earth humanity to enter the present world; the convening of a council of wise men who formulated a deliberate plan to assist the people’s passage from the pre-earth realm to earth; the growth of an immense tree at the center of the pre-earth world; the existence of a passage or opening within that tree through which human beings could ascend to this world; the requirement that individuals adhere to a prescribed or “set” path prior to being allowed to pass through the tree to this world; the guarding of the tree’s entrance by two powerful beings; the prohibition of bad people from entering the tree and coming into this world; and the ultimate emergence of human beings into this world through the top of the tree, where they performed sacred ceremonies in this world like they had done in the pre-earth world.

Join us for this episode and visit us on the web at theancienttradition.com and www.youtube.com/@theancienttradition for more amazing comparative religion.

In 2009, Douglas Simmonds, son of RAF pilot, Leonard Simmonds, who’d acquired a small cuneiform tablet while serving in the Middle East in the 1940s, took his father’s tablet to Dr. Irving Finkel, one of the world’s leading Assyriologist, a curator at the British Museum.  Dr. Finkel translated the tablet and discovered that it contained a remarkable account of the Mesopotamian Flood story, where Atrahasis, the Mesopotamian Noah, was commanded by Enki, the son of the High God An, to construct a circular boat to survive the deluge.

The tablet, known as The Ark Tablet, dated to the Old Babylonian period (circa 1900-1700 B.C.), is particularly significant for its detailed portrayal of the ark as circular in shape, its emphasis on housing the heart of life within, its meticulous attention to waterproofing the vessel, and for its focus on the ark as a sanctuary offering protection from the catastrophic floodwaters.  These elements collectively suggest that the ark was not just a boat, but a temple- a microcosmic model of the macrocosm.

Join us for this episode and visit us on the web at theancienttradition.com and www.youtube.com/@theancienttradition for more amazing comparative religion.

In 1900, Depot Charlie, Chief of the Tituni-Joshua people—whose ancestral lands are situated in southern Oregon—narrated the creation story of his people to an anthropologist, who subsequently documented it in Volume 28 of the Journal of American Folklore.  The Tituni-Joshua people had significant interactions with European settlers in the late 1700s, though the extent to which these encounters shaped Chief Charlie's account remains unknown.

The Tituni-Joshua creation narrative is particularly significant for its depiction of the creator residing on the primordial waters in a sweat lodge, the mention of a foundation stone, the involvement of the First Man in the creation process, and the portrayal of the creator imparting instructions to the First Man prior to his ascension to the sky.

Join us for this episode and visit us on the web at theancienttradition.com and www.youtube.com/@theancienttradition for more amazing comparative religion.

In the early 1900s, the creation account of the Native American Maidu people, whose ancestral lands are located in northern California in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, was documented in Volume 17 of the Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. During the mid-19th century, amid the Gold Rush, the Maidu people had significant encounters with European settlers. The extent to which these interactions influenced their creation narrative is unclear.

The Maidu account is notable for its anthropomorphic description of the creator, the inclusion of co-creators, mention of a “sky rope”, mention of a raft on the primordial waters, the growth of a sacred tree, the onset of physical entropy on the earth, and most importantly, an account of the creator visiting and imparting important instructions to the First Man, instructions which the First Man subsequently imparts to the Maidu people.

Join us for this episode and visit us on the web at theancienttradition.com and www.youtube.com/@theancienttradition for more amazing comparative religion.

The Esira Temple Text, known as Weld-Blundell 161, or "A Hymn of Eridu", is hailed by the distinguished British Assyriologist Stephen Langdon as a document of exceptional "theological, epigraphical, and philological" significance.  Discovered in the spring of 1922 by Weld Blundell of Queen's College, this cuneiform prism details the grandeur of a temple dedicated to the Sumerian god Enki, situated in Eridu, one of the oldest cities in the ancient world (c. 5400 B.C.).  

The Esira Temple, also referred to as the Apsu, served as the epicenter of southern Mesopotamian society, central to both religious practice and the institution of kingship.  The text's significance lies in its portrayal of the temple as a source of fertility, abundance, and life-giving power, the repository of sacred mysteries, instruction, a "profound ritualistic order", and wisdom, and its prominence as the "Mountain of the Land".

Join us for this episode and visit us on the web at theancienttradition.com and www.youtube.com/@theancienttradition for more amazing comparative religion.

The Kesh Temple Hymn stands as one of humanity's oldest preserved literary treasures, originating in the city of Nippur nestled in ancient Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq. Unearthed by archaeologists from the University of Pennsylvania during excavations in the 19th century, the hymn, inscribed on clay tablets, dates to the Early Dynastic IIIa period, circa 2600-2500 BCE.

The hymn's significance lies not only in its antiquity, but in the elaborate description it provides of the temple's pivotal role in the religious ethos of ancient Mesopotamia.  Revered as a sacred locus, the hymn lavishes praise upon the temple's fixed foundation, verdant properties, live-giving power, heaven-reaching height, three-fold “upper end”, mighty name, guarded gate, auspicious position as the birthplace of kings, and the place where “heroes make their way straight into its interior and perform its oracle rites perfectly.”  Eight songs illuminate the profound reverence and significance bestowed upon the Kesh Temple in ancient Sumer.

Join us for this episode and visit us on the web at theancienttradition.com and www.youtube.com/@theancienttradition for more amazing comparative religion.

In this episode, Dr. Logan delves into the treasures concealed within the Epistle to the Hebrews, Chapter 1, uncovering remarkable textual evidence of The Ancient Tradition.

Join us for this episode and visit us on the web at theancienttradition.com and www.youtube.com/@theancienttradition for more amazing comparative religion.

Join us for this episode and visit us on the web at theancienttradition.com and www.youtube.com/@theancienttradition for more amazing comparative religion.

Join us for this episode and visit us on the web at theancienttradition.com and www.youtube.com/@theancienttradition for more amazing comparative religion.

The Osiris myth was one of the most prominent and influential myths in ancient Egypt; it permeated virtually every aspect of ancient Egyptian life.  While a singular manuscript of the myth remains elusive, allusions to the myth are abundant in a number of ancient Egyptian sources including the Pyramid Texts, the Coffin Texts, and the Book of the Dead.  In the early 1900s, Scottish journalist and folklorist, Donald Alexander McKenzie, compiled the scattered elements of the myth into a unified historical narrative, which serves as the source of today's audio recording.

In the myth, the god Set, jealous of his brother Osiris’s kingship over Egypt, concocts a cunning plan to kill him.  At a grand royal feast, Set unveils an exquisitely adorned chest, declaring that the one who perfectly fits its dimensions shall claim it as a prize.  One by the one, the guests attempt to fit within the chest, but none succeed until the benevolent king Osiris fits flawlessly inside. Seizing the opportunity, Set’s malevolent followers spring up, ruthlessly nailing the chest shut, tragically suffocating Osiris.  Set secretly orders his followers to dump the coffin into the Nile river.  Devastated by the loss, Isis, Osiris’ queen consort, tirelessly searches the riverbank for any trace of the chest or her beloved’s remains.

Join us for this episode and visit us on the web at theancienttradition.com and www.youtube.com/@theancienttradition for more amazing comparative religion.