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Northern Europe

In the beginning was a great abyss, Ginnungagap, the Yaning (or perhaps Deceiving) Gap, full of latent energy. Layers of ice and sparks of fire came together to create the primeval androgynous giant Ymir, from whose body the giants and the first man and woman were engendered. The giant was fed by a primeval cow which licked the salty ice-blocks until the Sons of Bor emerged - three creator gods who slew Ymir and formed the earth from his blood, and the shy from his skull. The sky was held aloft by four dwarves, creatures who bred like maggots in the earth. Another tradition is that a man and a woman were created when the three gods endowed two trees on the seashore with human form, breath and understanding.

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Encyclopedia Mythica
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