Summary Of The Iroquois Creation Myth

The story of the Iroquois Creation Myth is a story that was written in 1816 by John Norton. He was part Scottish and part Cherokee, but adopted by the Mohawk Indians. The Mohawk Indians taught him this story of creation, and the story lives to tell the rich culture and beliefs of the Mohawk Indians. This creation myth is a very approachable myth, because of the way it describes a struggle between the good twin and the evil twin. The myth ends with the evil twin being cast to the underworld, but leaving his presence on the Earth. The well written myth relates to me in a different way than most, I feel like the story describes a struggle that is not easily won. Even though the caring brother cast the destructive one to “Hell”, the loving brother

John Norton challenged my views by challenging the truth of my religion and its validity, however I was not changed to any degree by this text. I was not changed by this text, because I sat down with my youth pastor and discussed how and why humans were created by God. The text didn’t communicate to me on a large scale, because I was reading this narrative with a closed mind instead of an open mind. The text totally failed to convince me of how humans came to be because of all the superior beings conceiving children, the heavenly twin being related to the devious one, and how the Earth sits on top of a giant turtle. “His daughter having become pregnant by an illicit connection, he pulled up a great tree by the roots, and threw her through the Cavity thereby formed” (Norton, 1). I have no clue how this can be possible, since the author fails to clue me in on how this can be. In other words he leaves me hanging in an ice cold meat

On the contrary the text appeals to those who are open to new religions and beliefs about the life of the creators and how they created humans. “The twin brothers were nurtured and raised by their Grandmother; the eldest was named Teharonghyawago, or the Holder of Heaven; the youngest was called Tawiskaron, or Flinty rock, from his body being entirely covered with such a substance” (Norton, 1). I consider this document important only because it shows that good triumphs over evil, even with an ongoing conflict. “They fought; the one made use of the horn and flint stone which he had provided: the other sought for froth and the reed, which made little impression on the body of Teharonghyawago. They fought a long time, over the whole of the island, until at last Tawiskaron fell under the conquering hand of his brother” (Norton, 1). This excerpt clearly shows triumph in the favor of