ipl-logo

The Earth On Turtle's Back Analysis

707 Words3 Pages

How the World Uniquely Begins Native American myths and the Christian Bible both offer stories about how the world began.. In “The Earth on Turtle’s Back” and Genesis 1, both tales have similar values and ideas. These two stories compare in that both tell the importance of water, the fact that Earth came out of the water, and the existence of supreme beings; in contrast, each story has a unique idea of how the world came into being. “The Earth on Turtle’s Back,” a story from the Onondaga tribe, an original Native American group, is a myth which relates a story about the beginning of the world. Water is below the Skyland and it becomes an issue when the Great Tree is uprooted. Earth is located beneath the water, and the wife of the Ancient Chief falls through the hole left by the uprooted tree. The animals who live in the water know she is from the Skyland and that she cannot survive in the water. The muskrat saves her by diving into action and bringing the Earth up to the surface. Once the muskrat comes up, she puts Earth on the turtle’s back. After the Earth was placed on the turtle’s back, the wife drops seeds she was holding from the Great Tree onto the land. “The two Swans brought the Sky Woman down. She stepped …show more content…

Even though the creation stories that exist in all human cultures end up sharing similar elements. Both Genesis 1 and “The Earth on Turtle’s Back” relate because somewhere along the lines, the Earth was once covered in all water. The differences are in the way the Earth is created. In Genesis 1, God creates the Earth, humankind and everything that lives. In “The Earth on Turtle’s Back,” the animals are responsible for creating the Earth. After comparing and contrasting, “The Earth on Turtle’s Back,” to Genesis 1, one can see that both of these creation stories have two distinctive tales about how the Earth was

Show More
Related

The World On The Turtle's Hollow Analysis

683 Words | 3 Pages

For centuries, Native Americans have passed down creation myths from generation to generation. Creation myths always “describe how the universe, the Earth, and life began” (33). The Iroquois’ creation myth, retold as “The World on the Turtle’s Back”, describes the creation of Earth and of life as we know it today. In a Kiowa myth from The Way to Rainy Mountain by N. Scott Momoday, the narrator (the author) describes a myth detailing the creation of the Big Dipper constellation that he had heard from his grandmother. By analyzing these myths, I have recognized the similarities between the Iroquois and the Kiowa despite cultural differences.

Read More

Comparing God In Genesis 1-Two And Enuma Elish

763 Words | 4 Pages

Even though both stories do end up with the creation of earth the way they got there is a bit different. In Genesis it is stated that only one God created all of life but in Enuma Elish it was said that there were multiple gods whom have worked with individual jobs. In the Cosmogony, the first part of Enuma Elish that described the creation of the universe, Apsu and Tiamat were the only two gods who existed in the beginning of the story but were only set of water. The gods begin to form and create the earth but made a disturbance while doing so which had upset Apsu, so he tried to destroy them but later is stoped by

Read More

Comparing The Antiquois And The World On The Turtle's Back

1083 Words | 5 Pages

Since the beginning of civilization, countless cultures, including the Cherokee and Iroquois, developed stories in order to explain their views on creation and reflect the values and traditions in their culture. The Iroquois developed a myth called “The World on the Turtle’s Back”, while the Cherokee recorded “The Story of Corn and Medicine”. Both myths reveal the importance of nature, including plants, in the Iroquois and Cherokee cultures, and they follow a similar path of creation that starts with water and darkness and the expanding of mud to form land. However, the Iroquois myth focuses on human harmony with nature and the disharmony between genders, while the Cherokee myth points out the disharmony with nature and the greater equality

Read More

Comparing Navajo Origin Myth And The World On Turtle's Back

409 Words | 2 Pages

As man and woman grew from the corn and emerged from the buckskin they looked upon their new world with the eyes and mind that only a human could possess. Symbols are an important part of stories because they represent larger themes and teach lessons, and show themselves very prominently in the Native American stories “Navajo Origin Myth”, “When Grizzlies Walked Upright”, and “The World On Turtle’s Back”. For example in the “Navajo Origin Myth”, the gods created man and woman from corn, which symbolized life. Because of this, the people who believed this story rubbed themselves with cornmeal. In the story “The World On Turtle’s Back”, the muskrat who swam to the bottom of the ocean to retrieve earth even though she was smaller and weaker

Read More

Compare And Contrast The Iroquois Creation Story

988 Words | 4 Pages

Firstly, these stories have some similarities and differences in the process of creation, including the making of the heavens and earth, the creation process, and the concept of time. In the book of Genesis, God created the

Read More

The Role Of Creation In Hesiod's Theogony

1791 Words | 8 Pages

Hesiod’s account of creation, as outlined in the Theogony offers one of the most detailed and accepted theories of creation in the Greek culture. On the other hand, the Biblical account of creation, regarded as a Hebrew culture creation account, is to date one of the most widely acknowledged and accepted versions across various cultures seeking explanations for the origin of life and the earth. However, even though these creation accounts originate from two different cultures, they share some thought-provoking parallels in terms of their content and intentions, as well as some contrasts that make each of the creation accounts unique. Both Hesiod’s and the biblical creation accounts are similar in that they argue that prior to the beginning of creation events, the earth was merely a void that had no shape or form and this void was filled with darkness.

Read More

Iroquois And Judeo Christian Similarities

492 Words | 2 Pages

Then to them taking her to the other animals to help her. They placed her on the turtle's back while many of the animals dove into the waters trying to get soil for her, each one of them failed until the little toad was successful. After that the soil kept spreading in North America. According to the Iroquois story Sky Women threw dust in the air, which created the stars, then she made the sun and moon. Unlike in the Judeo Christian version god said “Let there be light.”

Read More

Compare And Contrast The Judeo-Christian Creation Story

298 Words | 2 Pages

The judeo-Christian story is very well known creation story. The Christian religion is very familiar to this story. The other story is called Iroquois creation this is a Native American story of how the Earth came to a beginning. There is many similarities and differences in this story. One of the differences is that in the Christian story the Earth was made by God.

Read More

Onondaga Myth: The Earth On Turtle's Back

506 Words | 3 Pages

The Native American origin myth "The Earth on Turtle's Back", retold by Michael Cuduto and Joseph Bruchac, displays how connected the Onondaga individuals are with the spiritual world and their inner self. They rely deeply on their instincts and thoughts related to them to lead them to make important decisions within their lives about the future. their culture has many compelling attributes as well as a strict cultural system and ritualistic bahaviors. The Onondaga individuals adhere to a lifestyle that creates happiness on a level that far surpasses what we, in the modern age, see as acceptable.

Read More

The World On The Turtle's Back Related To The Iroquois Creation Story

718 Words | 3 Pages

In various cultures, traditional stories of a universal beginning relate to the beliefs and rituals that are prevalent within that society. Although these creation stories differ among cultures, all display similar characteristics which constitute archetypal settings of creation myths, such as a great tree, the landmass from a watery chaos, and the fall of man. In the Iroquois’ creation myth, “The World on the Turtle’s Back”, the display of archetypal settings parallels the creation depicted in the book of Genesis, but underlying each similarity are differing interpretations which allow for the stories to relate to its specific culture. In both “The World on the Turtle’s Back” and the Genesis creation story, a prominent characteristic is the great tree connecting heaven and earth.

Read More

Iroquois Left Handed Twin Analysis

517 Words | 3 Pages

In the World on the Turtle´s Back the Iroquois wanted to emphasize how there was a Sky World, with people that had extravagant beliefs that explained how good and evil balanced everything in their life. This peculiar place had different gods, like Iroquois. They believed in weird thing for example they believed that a Great tree was the center of their universe. The Great Tree wasn’t a habitual tree, it was huge and had been in that place forever. In this Sky World, there was this woman that seemed to break the rules and desire things that are off limit.

Read More

Comparing The Hawaiian Creation Myth And The World On The Turtle's Back

871 Words | 4 Pages

There are over hundreds of creation stories from many various cultures, religions, or areas. Though we may never know if any are true, creation stories are the basis of every culture and religion. One of the most popular and well-known stories about the foundation of the world is the Catholic creation story about God constructing the Earth in six days and resting on the seventh. Two other recognized legends are the Hawaiian creation myth and the Iroquois creation myth, also known as “The World on the Turtle’s Back.” Each account of creation is diverse in several aspects, but the most interesting thing is they are similar in many points also.

Read More

Comparing Iroquois Creation Story And The First Book Of Genesis

479 Words | 2 Pages

For example in the the Iroquois Creation story it states “ the turtle increased every moment and became a considerable island of earth, and apparently covered with small bushes”(David Cusick). In this section of writing it states that the earth was formed on the back of a large turtles shell. In the Bible in Genesis chapter 1 verse 1 it states “ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”. In this part of writing it states that God had created the heavens and the earth.

Read More

The World On Turtle's Back Summary

805 Words | 4 Pages

Mythical Origins The Iroquois people are one of the earliest cultures in American history, Their culture remains filled with an abundance of myths and legends that explain the nature of life itself. Their creation story, The World On Turtle 's Back, outlines not only the creation of Earth, but also the complex nature of people. The legend states that the Earth resided on the back of a great sea turtle, constituted first by a pregnant woman. The daughter of whom would birth the twins who would become the duality of deceit and order in every living being. This legend has been passed down through the generations, first through oral tradition and later translated to writing.

Read More

How The World Was Made: A Creation Myth

676 Words | 3 Pages

Floating about in all types of literature, there are many legends as to how the earth was created; these legends are known as creation myths. A creation myth offers answers to questions that ask how the earth was created, and explains the social customs of today as well as the workings of the natural world by telling an elaborate story. The Cherokee Indians have spread their beliefs on this topic throughout generations through oral tradition. Recent authors have taken these myths to paper to preserve history and to spread them even further around the world. “How the World Was Made” is a creation myth that not only offers an abundance of information regarding the origin of earth, but also supports the social traditions of today’s society and attempts to explain the intangible, natural workings of the world.

Read More

More about The Earth On Turtle's Back Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document