Compare And Contrast Changing Woman And The Origin Of The Sun Shower

There were, without a doubt, myriads of Native American tribes before America was discovered, explored, and eventually colonized. Although their numbers were great, each with a separate set of languages and traditions, one prominent custom they had in common was oral tradition, and like every other culture, Native Americans made sense of their world through storytelling. Many of these stories are creation myths or origin tales where the primary theme is nature, and among these unique stories are “Changing Woman and the Hero Twins” and “Origin of the Sun Shower,” with the first from the Navajo and the latter from the Huron-Wendat. In order to have a better understanding of Native Americans and their general view of nature, one can compare them

Nevertheless, both stories advise that nature is not to be underestimated. In the Huron-Wendat tale, it is exemplified by the Thunder Child, who is thunder portrayed as a child. Even though the Thunder Child is young and seemingly innocent, he is still capable of killing: “… Take the utmost care of him, as he must always be good-natured. He should never strike anybody, for if he does he will surely kill them outright, as he is of [the thunder] family.” Likewise, in reality, thunder is mostly thought of as simply cacophony during a storm, but it represents more than noise—thunder is the sound that lightning creates in its wake. While thunder does not inflict direct damage, it should not be taken lightly or ignored. Furthermore, by using a child to portray thunder, it overall proves that nature is beautiful and innocent, yet powerful and dangerous at the same time. Similarly, the Sun god in “Changing Woman” has both good and evil qualities. At a glance, the Sun god seems entirely good as he carries the sun across the sky in his many colored robes. However, it is later revealed that he has a temper and is the father of several monsters. While the sun provides light and life, it is also capable of damage, such as droughts and fires. The Native Americans perceived nature as having both

To the Native Americans, nature should be respected. In these stories, it is often personified as elders who often take care of younger generations and provide advice. This is because the elderly are socially revered for their old age, experience, and wisdom that follows the first two. Disregarding elders, or in this case, nature would bring forth unwanted consequences. Once again, in “Origin of the Sun Shower,” the Thunder Child is taken from his mother when she did not heed the elder Thunder’s warning about the Child’s lethal capabilities. Another example is found in the other Native American myth where there are many aspects of nature personified as elders, such as Talking God and Water Sprinkler, who “called the [hero twins] grandchildren.” The twins greatly benefit from the elders as they help Changing Woman raise them, provide weapons, and give