I believe there's an anthropological view holding that environment, including climate and terrain, impacts every aspect of culture, from language and costume to cosmology, theology and magical practice. If myth and magic arise out of observed phenomena in nature - mankind's efforts to explain and/or control seasons, the movements of heavenly bodies, weather, animal migrations, etc. - then one would expect mythology to differ according to variations in climate and ecology.
For example - in most cosmologies, the sun is considered to be a "male" entity and the moon "female". However, in the Norse myths, the sun is "female" and the moon "male". One plausible explanation is that in a warmer, more equatorial climate, where people experience long summers and occasional periods of drought, the sun would be viewed as a powerful, potentially destructive force, and therefore be characterized as "male". In a cold, Northern clime, with short growing seasons and long freezes, the sun would be viewed as a nurturing, life-giving "female" force.
You construct your belief system and prcatice around what you know and what you need. Environment directly impacts that. People living in a desert, the mountains, the Arctic, a large city, or a coastal fishing village are simply going to have different ideas about the world. |
