Humans have always had vivid imaginations, and our stories are always filled with epic battles, wild scenes, and fantastic beasts. But one story told throughout history was how humans and the Earth came to be.

Although Adam and Eve's story is the most well-known, there were several human origin stories that today would baffle even the most superstitious of people.

From being created due to a giant’s sweat, or getting puked out by a sick god, here are four of the strangest creation myth stories you’ll ever hear about.

1. Bushongo Mythology: A Lonely God Puked the World Into Existence

Of the four creation stories, the most recent is that of the Bushongo people of Congo. They believed that a god called Bumba once existed in darkness, then one day fell ill and vomited the sun, moon, and stars into existence.

However, Bumba still felt pain, and to relieve himself; he released nine creatures, one of which was Tsetse, a possible reference to lightning, and a particularly mischievous trouble-maker that would leap down to strike the Earth.

Each of these nine creatures then created all the world's animals, with humans being the last of them. Bumba showed humans how to use fire and he who said to the people, ‘Behold these wonders, they belong to you’.

What makes it a more recent creation story is that colonialism seemed to have had an impact as Bumba was said to represent a giant white man. The idea isn’t so far fetched as 40% of African slaves started their journey from the Congo and Angola coasts.

According to Valencia College:

‘The dominant theme in this myth is that of creation out of the male principle. Bumba [M’Bombo]’s vomiting reminds us of the Egyptian High God’s creation by spitting and seed spilling. The absence of the female principle here suggests a patrilineal culture. The fact that Bumba [M’Bombo] is white suggests that this is a late myth, affected, like so much African mythology, by the presence of the white race in colonial Africa.’

Perhaps the Ancient Egyptian reference came from a time when Kemetic merchants travelled to Congo long ago. It could also be that whenever there was a strong foreign presence, the Bushongo people adapted them to their own myths and legends.

It seems that in this case, the white man was viewed almost like a god.

2. Maya Mythology: Humans were Made from Corn

Corn was the staple food for Mayan people, so it’s no surprise that in a world where corn was believed to be the only food source, it became part of their creation story.

In one legend, deities, including the Feathered Serpent, had failed to create human beings with hearts and minds. Finally, they managed to create humans out of yellow and white corn who could talk and were left to roam the Earth.

In another story, the lords of Xibalba, the Mayan underworld, summoned the hero twins, called Hunahpu and Xblananque, to play a ball game in their own court. It’s a fantastical story of trickery and deceit, death and reincarnation, and showed that the gods also had human-like traits.

After the hero twins had defeated the lords of Xibalba, they ascended to the heavens, becoming the Sun and the Moon. The Twins then planted corn for humans to live on Earth, giving rise to a new age.

If the Mayans had discovered other food staples like bread or rice, then who knows how their creation myth would’ve turned out.

3. Norse Mythology: Humans Came from the Armpits of an Ice Giant

According to Norse mythology, there was a great void called Ginnungagap, with one end being scorching and the other being extremely cold. In the middle, however, the ice could be melted.

One of the first creatures, Ymir, an ice giant, was formed from melting ice. As he slept, he started to sweat, and under his arms, two other giants were formed, becoming the first of the giants.

These giants would drink milk from a cow giant named Audhumbla, who also formed from melting ice. She would lick an ice block until one day, a man named Buri emerged, the first of the gods.

Odin was the grandson of this first god, and he and his brothers were bothered by the fact that the giants outnumbered them. So one day, they plotted to kill Ymir, and after an epic battle, which almost wiped out all the giants, Ymir lay dead. From his corpse:

The blood became the oceans, rivers, and lakes.
The flesh became the land.
The bones became the mountains.
The teeth were made into rocks.
The hair became the grass and trees.
The eyelashes became Midgard.

So, where did the first humans come from?

According to legend, Odin and his brothers walked along a beach and found two logs. They each gave each of the logs spirit, intelligence and senses, and they became the first humans; Askr and Embla.

If humans came as a result of the gods, and the gods came from a giant cow, then it means all life originated from the frost giant, Ymir.

It’s also interesting to note that the Norse believed in a flat Earth since the gods used Ymir’s skull as a lid to cover the Earth. But what parts of the giant were used to create the deserts or the jungles, for example?

Of course, the Norse likely never knew that such places existed, so their absence in the creation myth is to be expected.

But what does this tell us about humans and how we think? Maybe it’s the fact that our surroundings have always influenced us and that changing our views of the world only happens if that change affects us.

4. Babylonian Mythology: Humans Were Created from the Blood of Gods

According to Ancient Mesopotamian beliefs, the first beings were Apsu and Tiamat, who gave birth to sea monsters and gods.

However, like children, the younger gods became a nuisance and although Tiamat was able to tolerate them. Apsu could not stand it any longer. She wanted to destroy them.

When the younger gods learned about this plan, they killed Apsu.

However, around this time, another god, Marduk, was born, and now he began disturbing the younger gods. In an ironic twist, the gods complained to Tiamat, who in turn became angry and sought revenge for what had happened to Apsu.

She created an army of sea monsters and appointed Kingu, another god, as her commander. This time, however, the gods were powerless, until Marduk offered to duel Tiamat. The victor would have rulership over all the gods and monsters.

In an epic battle, Tiamat and Kingu were both killed, and Marduk became the overlord. Tiamat’s end was quite gruesome, however.

‘He divided the monstrous shape and created marvels (from it) / He sliced her in half like a fish for drying: / Half of her he put up to roof the sky / Drew a bolt across and made a guard hold it / Her waters he arranged so that they could not escape. / … He opened the Euphrates and Tigris from her eyes, / … He piled clear-cut mountains from her udder, / Bored waterholes to drain off the catchwater. / He laid her tail across, tied it fast as the cosmic bond’

As for Kingu, his blood was mixed with earth and clay to mould the first human beings, in effect making us imbued with godly essence.

The Babylonian creation story of the world being born from a god's parts is very similar to that of Ymir in Norse mythology. Also identical is the belief in a flat Earth, as half of Tiamat’s body was used as a roof for the sky, just like Ymir’s skull.

Like all other creation myths, it seems to be hyper localised; why are Timat’s eyes only being used for the Euphrates and Tigris, for example? What about the Nile and Amazon?

Could it simply be that these weren’t known to the Babylonians, which is why they were never included?