For World Mythography Part I see February 21, 2021 post
Using a regional paradigm, myths can be examined as they relate to geography and culture. Following is World Mythography: Part II
Northern Europe – myths are from medieval literature of the Scandinavian northlands and Germanic legends; recorded by Christian monks, some stories contain old beliefs and customs; Viking myths include tales of journeys, sky and earth deities, guards who ruled over knowledge of the past and future, poetry and oratory, and victory in battle; Germanic myths tell of the conflict between gods and monsters; myths of the northlands also told of the World tree and its realms, the trickster, the wolf, the last great battle, the All-Father Odin, gods of sky, land, water, goddesses and female spirits, and dragon slayers
Central and Eastern Europe – although comprised of many peoples, the Slavs had a shared mythic tradition; pagan gods and folktales survive through oral tradition; three motives evolved (the theme of light against dark, the cult of the dead ancestors, and the elemental gods); other themes are the other world, the Baba Iaga (the witch), ancestors and heart spirits, spirit souls of the departed, and malevolent spirits (forest creatures, werewolves, and vampires)
The Arctic Regions – myths in these remote areas reflect the harsh environment and the fact that people were widespread and lived in small, isolated groups; common mythic themes are the threat of starvation, animals as helpers and tricksters, spirits who control the seasons, the health of humanity, the elements, spirits of the sea and sky, and shamans
North America – the development of small-scale, oral cultures who range from nomadic hunting tribes to settled agriculturalists; religion permeates all aspects of life; myths are sacred and include “ritual“ myths used in ceremonies and “entertainment“ myths used for pleasure and moral instruction; themes are creation, the structure of the universe, shapers and controllers of the world, origins of humanity, death, maize and game, vision quests and guardian spirits, tricksters, entertainers, mischief-makers, curing ceremonies, the myths of the plains, and animal myths
Mesoamerica – although consisting of many nations and having a variety of artistic styles, Mesoamerica has a unity of culture and religion; each god was linked with a point on the compass or with a central axis of a disc shaped world surrounded by water; myths and images tell of the old gods, the jaguar and the fire god, creation and cataclysm, the myth of the suns, Lord of the Smoking Mirror (the supreme god), the feathered serpent, the wind god, the god of sun and war, the gods of rain and corn, the gods of the sacred calendar and the sacred and solar cycles, and the three layered cosmos
South America – the environment was the focal point for spiritual belief; myths tell of the gods who created the landscape; themes of myths are related to the varied terrain and include spirits who inhabit mountains, rain makers, gods responsible for fertility, rainforest animals and anthropomorphic beings; the ancient religions and mythic beliefs included sacrifice and sacred journeys, origin myth, sky gods, supreme creators, sacred constellations and sacred lines known as ceques which radiated out from Coricancha, the Sun Temple at Cuzco: the myths of the forest peoples consisted of the origin of horticulture, the relationship between kin and in-laws, and the concept of knowledge and ignorance
Africa – with a great diversity of cultures and over 1,000 different languages, African myths have a surprising unity; common themes are the cosmic serpent, the asexual creator gods, the motif of twinship, and the origin of people and their wanderings; myths include the tale of the divine blacksmith, the upside down world (realms of the living and the dead), the loss of immortality, the divine lineage of earthly rulers, the trickster as mediator between heaven and earth, and animal myths of tricksters and transformers
Australia – ancient peoples lived as independent clans; to take advantage of abundance in another region, groups occasionally joined with other clans; myths reflect this interdependence; stories are relayed in song cycles; common myths tell of a wandering ancestral culture hero, the big flood (and origin myth), the origin of mortality, the origin of marriage, and tricksters who disrupt the ancestral order
Oceania – made up of three regions, ranging from small groups to large complex societies; although diverse and culture and languages, there are some common themes; gods and culture heroes exist to teach about customs, morality, sex, mourning, and warfare; myths are told through ritual and include the concept of the actions of ancestral culture heroes effecting living human descendants; myths are told about the creation of the world, the primordial separation of the earth and heaven, the human and heavenly realms, and food and fertility
Southeast Asia – one of the most culturally diverse regions of the world; myths are made up of many layers of cultural and religious heritage; the common theme which prevails is the concept of the universe having many layers (seven above and seven below); dependence on wet-rice cultivation resulted in myths about rice as the giver of life (as life force, as part of the death-regeneration cycle); themes include the origin of civilization, encounters with magic, barbarians, demons, and witches