Anational myth is an inspiringnarrative oranecdote about anation's past. Suchmyths often serve as importantnational symbols and affirm a set of nationalvalues. A myth is a mixture ofreality andfiction, and operates in a specific social and historical setting. Social myths structure national imaginaries.[1] A national myth may take the form of anational epic, or it may be incorporated into acivil religion. A group of related myths about a nation may be referred to as thenational mythos, from μῦθος,Greek for "myth".
A national myth is a narrative which has been elevated to a serious symbolic and esteemed level so as to be true to the nation.[verification needed][2] The national folklore of many nations includes afounding myth, which may involve a struggle againstcolonialism or awar of independence or unification. In many cases, the meaning of the national myth is disputed among different parts of the population. In some places, the national myth may bespiritual and refer to stories of the nation's founding by aGod, severalgods, leaders favored by gods, or other supernatural beings.
National myths often exist only for the purpose of state-sponsoredpropaganda. Intotalitariandictatorships, the leader might be given, for example, a mythical supernatural life history in order to make them seem god-like and supra-powerful (see alsocult of personality). Inliberal regimes they can inspire civic virtue and self-sacrifice[3] or consolidate the power of dominant groups and legitimate their rule.
The concept ofnational identity is inescapably connected with myths.[4] A complex of myths is at the core of nationalistic ethnic identity.[5] Some scholars believe that national identities, supported by invented histories, were constructed only afternational movements andnational ideologies emerged.[6]
All modern national identities were preceded by nationalist movements.[6][verification needed] Although the term "nation" was used in theMiddle Ages, it had usually an ethnic meaning and seldom referred to a state. In the age of nationalism, it was linked to efforts aimed at creatingnation-states.[7]
National myths foster national identities. They are important tools ofnation-building,[8] which can be done by emphasizing differences between people of different nations.[9] They can cause conflict[10] as they exaggerate threats posed by other nations and minimize the costs of war.[9]
The nationalist myth of a stablehomelandcommunity is explained psychoanalytically as the result of thecomplexity of relations within themodern external world and the incoherence of one's inner psychological world. Nationalist identity facilitates imagined stability.[11]
National myths are created and propagated by nationalintellectuals, and they can be used as instruments of political mobilization on demographic bases such asethnicity.[12]
They might over-dramatize true incidents, omit important historical details, or add details for which there is no evidence; or a national myth might simply be a fictional story that no one takes to be true literally.[13]
Traditionalmyth-making often depended onliterary story-tellers — especiallyepic poets. AncientHellenic culture adoptedHomer's IonianIliad as a justification of its theoretical unity, andVirgil (70–19 BCE) composed theAeneid in support of the political renewal and reunification of the Roman world after lengthy civil wars. Generations of medieval writers (in poetry and prose) contributed to theArthurianMatter of Britain, developing what became a focus for English nationalism by adopting British Celtic material.Camões (c. 1524–1580) composed in Macao theLusiads as a national poetic epic for Portugal.Voltaire attempted a similar work for French mythologised history in theHenriade (1723).Wagnerian opera came to foster German national enthusiasm.
Modern purveyors of national mythologies have tended to appeal to the people more directly through the media. Frenchpamphleteers spread the ideas ofLiberty, Equality and Fraternity in the 1790s, and American journalists, politicians, and scholars popularized mythic tropes like "Manifest Destiny","the Frontier", or the "Arsenal of Democracy". Socialists advocating ideas like thedictatorship of the proletariat have promoted catchy nation-promoting slogans such as "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" and "Kim Il Sung thought".[14]
The ideology of nationalism is related to two myths: the myth of the eternal nation, referring to the permanence of a community, and the myth of common ancestry.[15] These are represented in the particular national myths of various countries and groups.
Armenian national myth postulates the foundation of Armenia as a result of a battle between the Armenian founding fatherHayk Nahapet and Belus, a wicked giant, which allegedly ruled over Babylon. According to the legend in theHistory of Armenia byMovses Khorenatsi, Belus tried to impose his tyrranical rule on Armenian people, but as soon as Hayk's son Armaniak was born, Hayk led his people to Ararat, built a village at its slope and named it "Haykashen". Bel led a massive force to submit Armenian nation, but lost a battle near lake Van, which resulted in an establishment of Armenian nation.
The national myth ofBrazil as aracial democracy was first advanced by Brazilian sociologistGilberto Freyre in his 1933 workCasa-Grande & Senzala, which argues that Brazilians do not view each other through the lens of race, and that Brazilian society eliminated racism and racial discrimination. Freyre's theory became a source of national pride for Brazil, which contrasted itself favorably vis-a-vis the contemporaneous racial divisions and violence in theUnited States.[16][17]
TheKalevala is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled byElias Lönnrot fromKarelian andFinnish oralfolklore andmythology,.[18] TheKalevala is regarded as thenational epic ofKarelia andFinland[note 1] It narrates an epic story about theCreation of the Earth, describing the controversies and retaliatory voyages between the peoples of the land of Kalevala called Väinölä and the land ofPohjola and their various protagonists and antagonists as well as the construction and robbery of the epic mythical wealth-making machineSampo.[20] TheKalevala was instrumental in the development of theFinnish national identity and the intensification ofFinland's language strife that ultimately led toFinland's independence from Russia in 1917.[21][22]
King Arthur was alegendary noble king that united Britain, laid the foundation to medieval notions ofchivalry in western Europe, and was later important for building a commonBritish identity.[23][24]
According toGreek mythology, theHellenes descend from Hellen. He is the child ofDeucalion (orZeus) andPyrrha, and the father of three sons,Dorus,Xuthus, andAeolus, by whom he is the ancestor of the Greek peoples.
Thesagas of Icelanders,[25] also known as family sagas, are one sub-genre or text groups of Icelandicsagas. They are prose narratives mostly based on historical events that mostly took place inIceland in the ninth, tenth, and early eleventh centuries, during the so-calledSaga Age. They were written inOld Icelandic, a western dialect ofOld Norse. They are the best-known specimens ofIcelandic literature. They are focused on history, especially genealogical and family history. They reflect the struggle and conflict that arose within the societies of the early generations of Icelandic settlers. The Icelandic sagas are valuable and unique historical sources about medieval Scandinavian societies and kingdoms, in particular regarding pre-Christian religion and culture and heroic age.
TheKingdom of Fanes is thenational epic of theLadin people in theDolomites and the most important part of theLadin literature. Originally an orally transmittedepic cycle, today it is known through the work ofKarl Felix Wolff in 1932, gathered inDolomitensagen. This legend is part of the larger corpus of theSouth Tyrolean sagas, whose protagonists are the Fanes themselves.[26]
TheShahnameh is a longepic poem written by thePersian poetFerdowsi betweenc. 977 and 1010 CE and is thenational epic ofPersia. Consisting of some 50,000distichs or couplets (two-line verses),[27] theShahnameh is one of the world's longest epic poems, and the longest epic poem created by a single author.[28][29][30] It tells mainly themythical and to some extent the historical past of thePersian Empire from the creation of the world until theMuslim conquest in the seventh century.
ThePromised Land isMiddle Eastern land thatAbrahamic religions (which includeJudaism,Christianity,Islam, and others) claim theirGod promised and subsequently gave toAbraham (thelegendary patriarch in Abrahamic religions) and several more times to his descendants.The concept of the Promised Land originates from a religiousnarrative written in theHebrewreligious text, theTorah.[note 2]
InJapanese mythology,Emperor Jimmu is thelegendary firstemperor of Japan. He is described in theNihon Shoki andKojiki. His ascension is traditionally dated as 660 BC. He is said to be a descendant of the sun goddessAmaterasu, through her grandsonNinigi, as well as a descendant of the storm godSusanoo. He launched amilitary expedition fromHyūga near theSeto Inland Sea, capturedYamato, and established this as his center of power. In modern Japan, Emperor Jimmu's legendary accession is marked asNational Foundation Day on February 11. There is no evidence to suggest that Jimmu existed. However, there is a high probability that there was a powerful dynasty in the vicinity ofMiyazaki Prefecture during theKofun period.
The firstKorean kingdom is said to have been founded byDangun, the legendary founder and god-king ofGojoseon, in 2333 BCE. Dangun is said to be the "grandson of heaven" and "son of a bear". The earliest recorded version of the Dangun legend appears in the 13th-centurySamguk Yusa, which cites China'sBook of Wei and Korea's lost historical recordGogi; it has been confirmed that there is no relevant record in China'sBook of Wei. There are around seventeenreligious groups involving the worship of Dangun.[31]
TheMaster race is aNazi ideologypropaganda ofpseudoscientificracial theories purporting thatethnic Germans belonged to a superiorAryan orNordic race, which combined with otherantisemitic myths (includingstab-in-the-back), which resulted inNazi Germany and its justification forconqueringEurope (for"living space") and forThe Holocaust, itsgenocide of those it mythologized were threats andlesser races, primarilyJews.
TheTreaty of Waitangi is a document of central importance to thehistory of New Zealand, its constitution, and itsnational mythos.[32] It has played a major role in the treatment of the Māori people in New Zealand by successive governments and the wider population, something that has been especially prominent since the late 20th century. The treaty document is an agreement, not a treaty as recognised in international law,[33] and has no independent legal status. It was first signed on 6 February 1840 by CaptainWilliam Hobson asconsul for theBritish Crown and byMāori chiefs (rangatira) from theNorth Island of New Zealand.
Kupe was a legendary[34]Polynesian explorer who was the first person to discoverNew Zealand, according toMāori oral history.[35] It is likely that Kupe existed historically, but this is difficult to confirm. His voyage to New Zealand ensured that the land was known to the Polynesians, and he would therefore be responsible for the genesis of the Māori people.[36]
TheKosovo Myth is a Serbian national myth based on legends about events related to theBattle of Kosovo (1389). It has been a subject inSerbian folklore andliterary tradition and has been cultivatedoral epic poetry andguslar poems. The final form of the legend was not created immediately after the battle but evolved from different originators into various versions. In its modern form it emerged in 19th-centurySerbia and served as an important constitutive element of thenational identity of modern Serbia and its politics.
TheAmerican frontier (also known as the Old West or Wild West) is a theme inAmerican mythology that defines the American national identity as brave pioneers who discovered, conquered, and settled the vast wilderness.[37] It affirms individualism, informality, andpragmatism as American values.Richard Slotkin describes this myth as depicting "America as a wide-open land of unlimited opportunity for the strong, ambitious, self-reliant individual to thrust his way to the top."[38]Cowboys,gunfighters, andfarmers are commonly appearing archetypes in this myth. The American frontier produced various mythologized figures such asWild Bill Hickok,Johnny Appleseed,Paul Bunyan,Wyatt Earp,Billy the Kid,Annie Oakley,Doc Holliday,Butch Cassidy, andDavy Crockett. The mythology surrounding the American frontier is immortalized in theWestern genre of fiction, particularlyWestern films andliterature.
Myth is inextricably linked with the concept of national identity
The core of the ethnic identity is the "myth-symbol complex" — the combination of myths,...
We can, for example, certainly encounter term "nation" in the Middle Ages, but the word meant something completely different than in the age of nationalism, where it is inextricably linked with the efforts to create an associated state.
overemphasize the cultural and historical distinctiveness of the national group [and its territory], exaggerate the threat posed to the nation by other groups, ignore the degree to which the nation's own actions provoked such treats, and play down the cost of seeking national goals through militant means.
... we do argue that tendency to breed conflicts is inherent to typical nationalist myths
The nationalist myth of permanent, fixed, homeland community, derives its emotional power, according to psychoanalysis, from the anxieties generated by the fragility of the sense of self, the ego, in the face of both the complex ambiguities inherent in relationships with the external modern world, and also of the disintegrative incoherence of the inner, psychological world. In an attempt to escape the resultant anxiety, the individual engages in an act of self-labelling and self-construction which is essentially static, inserting him or herself into the institutions of society, so as to 'seek out a name' and thence attain an imaginary sense of stability [...].
Shnirelman (1995) considers nationalist myths ... created by national intellectuals and propagated by the intelligentsia with the aim of using this myths as an instrument of ethno-political mobilization under interethnic conflicts.
[...] a North Korean's conversation is full of phrases such as 'Kim Il-sung thought', 'Kim Il-sungism', 'dedication to Kim Il-sung' and 'the Great Leader Kim Il-sung'.
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