These first five chapters look at stories from four continents told by communities to articulate their understanding of the cosmos, and their place in it. These are stories of animals and plants, of fire, water, light and the seasons. They offer explanations of the way people experience the world, and the role all living things play in the repeating patterns of nature. Societies inhabit these cosmological narratives, daily and annual, and so conduct a constant dialogue between a particular community and the great scheme of things. The rituals associated with these stories affirm these understandings and, as they do so, greatly strengthen the identity of the community.