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The World On The Turtle's Back Analysis

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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 men in “The World on the Turtles Back” have different roles for each character. For example, the husband plays a more submissive role in the story. Although the husband did …show more content…

The right-handed twin chose to be born the normal way, showing that he is smart and has respect for his mother. He always told the truth, and tried to “accomplish what seemed to be right and reasonable”(38). He made the weak animals of the world, and the sweet berries and fruits for them to eat. He also made man, which makes him the “Master of Life”. The right-handed twin is a symbol of the sun and daylight. When the sun rises, the people realm of the right-handed twin. Unlike the right-handed twin, the left-handed twin is stubborn, untruthful, devious, and crooked minded. Instead of being born the normal way, he chose to be born through his mother’s armpit, showing no respect for his mother. The left-handed twin always lied. He also contended with his brother, and made the dominant creatures who would feed on the right-handed twin’s creations and the poisonous plants of the world. He is a symbol of night and darkness. The boy in The Way to Rainy Mountain has similarities and differences to the men in “The world on the Turtles Back”. While the boy was at play with his seven sisters, the boy turned into a strong, aggressive, and violent bear, which symbolized the turning

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The most important way to think about myths is that they are symbolic stories that attempt to answer difficult human questions about the universe. For instance, where did we and the world come from? And what is the meaning of life?. “We all want to know where we came from, but because our earliest beginnings are lost in the mists of prehistory, we have created myths about our forefathers that are not historical but help to explain current attitudes about our environment, neighbors and customs” (6). Myth functions as a guidance that explains everything that we come into contact with in the universe.

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The two stories of creation we 're very similar in both Christianity, and the Iroquois. They both had the same outline, but each of them added their own personal twists that made it their own. Their first similarity was the amount of children they had. They both had 2 kids, that we 're opposites. One of the differences about this was that one of the stories was how in one, the kids we 're dire opposites.

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In the Iroquois story Earth was created by a woman .Both of the stories use good and evil. In the both stories there is something that is forbidden. both stories tie up by there being temptation by animals. something that is strange is that many Native American stories tie up with something to do with mother nature.in the indian story earth was created by a sea animal going deep

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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.

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Each every creation myth is unique in its own way. Of course, creation myths have their similarities, but each of them has at least one detail that separates them from every other myth. The question is how those similarities came about, considering for some of these groups that didn’t even know that each other existed. It would have nearly impossible and extremely unlikely for them to communicate with each other let alone, share their stories with each other. Yet, despite this there are some extremely common themes and events throughout these myths.

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In Genesis and “The World on the Turtle’s Back”, shared characteristics include the central tree, a fall from the heavens, and the beginnings of the earth from the primordial sea. Through these similar aspects, however, the Christian god is shown to have dominance over his creation, while the Iroquois gods are depicted to be like the natives, susceptible to weaknesses and temptations. Their reasons for the conditions of their present life differ as well, for the lives of the Iroquois depend upon the woman’s fall, while the loss of eternal life for Adam and Eve interfered with the main reason for their creation. With these interpretations of the archetypal settings, the Iroquois and the Christians perceive the same world through different eyes, giving them a basis for their unique cultures and

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Even though the twins had a constant rivalry between them they still needed each other to create new things on their World and to keep a balance in their World. The Master of Life created humans who are the main thing in the World. The Devious One who lives in the world below knows how the human world works and finds content in it. People had rituals to honor the right-handed twin during the day and the left-handed twin at night. The comparison between The Master of Life and The Devious One shows how good and evil compliments each

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And in The Iroquois Creation Story it states “ Among the ancients there were two worlds in existence. The Lower world was in great darkness;- the possession of the great monster; but the upper world was inhabited by mankind”(David Cusick). Now these two sections of writing are abundantly similar. Especially when the bible states that God created the Heavens and the Earth, The Iroquois Creation

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Native Americans have a very rich and interesting past. The story “The World on the Turtle’s Back” told by the Iroquois Indians is a story of how the world came to be and the good and evils in the world. The story “The Way to Rainy Mountain“ by Scott Momaday, is a story of about the Kiowa traditions and the way that they lived. Both of these stories show how important it is to respect the gods. “The World on the Turtle’s Back” is a myth about a man and a woman that lived in the sky world.

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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.

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Have you ever wondered how Native Americans believe the world came to be? Both stories include the elements that make the world balanced. The stories “World on the Turtle's Back” and “The Menominee” both include the importance of nature and animals. Also, their beliefs on what makes things good and evil. Finally, they include how the gods created man, woman, and earth.

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