Origin Myths: The Real Details It is proven that most authors write about what they know. They will use their surroundings along with familiar objects, places, and topics. This is demonstrated in the Native American’s origin myths. Origin myths are stories written by the Native Americans that describe the beginning of life.
Creation stories tell of how the world was created based on the who the story originates from. In my home state of Washington State, Makah Indians told the story of the Two-Men-Who-Changed-Things creation story. Chelan Indians told the story of a Great Chief above that created the Indians. Both have different cultural backgrounds and live in different places in Washington.
In the Iroquois nation’s creation myth, “The World on the Turtle’s Back,” they highly respect the natural, again, not only because it is all they knew but it is because that is all they had. To better respect nature, they told myths to
In an effort to explain this came up with creation myths. Unlike the Bible’s one creation story, the Choctaw people have different versions of their creation myth. The Choctaw creation stories are classified as myths because they are “imaginative stories that present events that took place at the beginning.” (Ryan, 2016).
Unlike the Christian creation myth, no god or creator is visible at the beginning of the Navajo creation myth. After the insect people leave the first world, they go to the second world where they meet the bird people and not long after are asked to leave because they
Lastly another way is the Native Americans beliefs because of Native Americans meeting Christopher Columbus. The first way was food because during this time the Native Americans did not know there were many foods. When the Europeans found new foods like potatoes, they had trouble to accept them. In document four, it states, “The Europeans in America, like those at home, were very slow to accept potatoes as a staple food.”
Europeans came to the New World with three intentions: gold, glory, and God. The spread Christianity to the Native Americans, but in turn, they did not adapt the Native American’s customs. It helped make Christianity a global religion. Because it was almost forced into the New World, Christianity overruled Islam as well as other religions.
The Sky Gods vs the Iroquois The stories “The World on the Turtles Back” by the Iroquois, and The Way to Rainy Mountain by N. Scott Momaday discuss two different creation myths. “The World on The Turtles Back” is an Iroquois legend that has been passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth, making it an oral tradition. A creation myth is a traditional story that involves supernatural beings or events that explain how the some aspect of human nature or the natural world came to be. These myths have comparable aspects that are specifically the roles of men, women, animals, and nature.
The differences between light and dark, good and bad, are blurred in the Iroquois Creation Story. The narrator captured two different views in this story, blurring the line between what is considered right and wrong. The Iroquois Creation Story does not have just the black and white, but also the gray areas as well. It makes readers question what is really good and what is bad. The overall use of light elements gives the story a light feel, but also has a dark undertone when looked at closely.
As more settlers came to the new world from Europe, they brought Christianity with them, and Christianity’s popularity from Europe continued on in the new world. European contact with Native Americans deteriorated the Natives’ religions while strengthening the Europeans’
The Iroquois creation story is a renowned Native American myth written by a Tuscarora historian, David Cusick. He is also the author of David Cusick’s Sketches of Ancient History of the Six Nations, which is known to be the first Indian-written history printed in the English language (Radus). The Iroquois creation myth exists in twenty-five other versions. It describes how the world was created from the Native American perspective. It begins with a sky woman who falls down into the dark world.
During the exchange, religion and cultural practices were spread from the Old World to the New World. This spread developed new customs that changed the way we perceive each other and the ways we interact with each other. The two major religions that spread were Christianity and Roman Catholicism. Christianity first came to the Americas with the Europeans. Unlike today, there was no official separation between the church and state, “and politics and religion were very much mixed.
When reading the origin myth from the Cherokee, it is clear that animals and plants were valued for assisting in creating the earth, receiving special gifts, and sharing the land with humans. Throughout the story, animals help with the development of the world. The Water Beetle made the land from mud, while the Buzzard made the mountains and valleys. The animals even positioned the sun perfectly so every creature could enjoy the light wherever they are. Some plants and animals were even singled out to show the unique qualities they were given.
There was one god and an organized hierarchy to support it. Forgetting their own, not that distant roots, Europeans felt that Native American and African spiritually was actually paganism and devilish. In fact, a primary mission for many Europeans (particularly the Spanish) was missionary work in attempt to convert people they considered to be
The Iroquois creation story is a renowned Native American myth written by a Tuscarora historian, David Cusick. He is also the author of David Cusick’s Sketches of Ancient History of the Six Nations, which is known to be the first Indian-written history printed in the English language (Radus). The Iroquois creation myth exists in twenty-five other versions. It describes how the world was created from the Native American perspective. It begins with a sky woman who falls down into the dark world.
