Comparing The Iroquois And Navajo Creation Stories

There are various diverse creation myths from Native American cultures, though many hold similar characteristics. One of the more common forms of creation myth seems to be emergence myth. Generally, in the emergence myth, instead of seeing how the world is created, we see how the people arrive in an already created world. This particular story type is commonly found in Native American cultures from the southwest (Ryan). The Tewa Pueblo version of this myth, entitled How the People Came to the Middle Place, has been collected and written down by the anthropologists Alice Marriott and Carol K. Rachlin in their book, American Indian Mythology. The myth was told to them by two separate sources, Maria Martinez of San Ildefonso and Leonidas

Creation stories are tools used to try to explain the unexplainable. For centuries humans have been searching for answers to the what, when, why, and how questions that encompass life. Genesis and the Iroquois Creation Myth are two different stories that seek to describe the creation of Earth and the universe that surrounds it. Genesis describes a Christian perspective, particularly one of the most popular Western explanations to life on Earth. The Iroquois Creation Myth, on the other hand, takes a less traditional approach, while only mildly alluding to religion. The similarities between the two lie in the timeless battle of good versus evil.

There is an enormous amount of symbolism in the Navajo Creation Story. One important symbol is the number 4. The table below lists several aspects of the story that are related to the number 4.

“The Iroquois Creation Story” tells the ancient myth when only two worlds existed. One, in the lower half, complete darkness filled with monsters and the other, the upper world, filled with mankind. There, in the second world, a women conceived twins. As her labor intensified she fell closer and closer to the lower, darker world. While in distress the twins were born and “entered the dark world by compulsion”. Only a few moments later the women fell to her death. As the twins grew older they possessed different minds. One was the good mind and the other was the bad mind. The good mind used the parent for his initial creations. Around the head, an orb was created to “bestow light to the new world”, now known as the sun. Another orb was placed around the body which was “inferior” to the light, now known as the moon. He also created spots of lights to connect the day and night which are now know as stars. All of these were created to help “regulate” the days, nights, season, years, etc.”. The good mind continued his creations by creating animals, oceans, mountains, insects and mankind.

The power in The Navajo Creation Story belongs to the four Holy People who were called mysterious beings. They appeared four times over a four day period (Franklin A: 28). These beings wanted to create more people, a community, which led to the creation of the First Man and First Woman. The First Man and First Woman became leaders as they learned “how to live a good life” (Franklin A: 29). In order for their family to live a good life the family had to grow, so after four days there were children. At the conclusion of the story, the Twins became leaders who saved the people from Monsters.

The story of the Sky Woman, her daughter and twin grandsons depicts the beginning of the world and creates the belief that everyone is born with good and evil in them. The significance of nature influences how the Native Americans belief that nature, animals, and humans are equal counterparts. If it had not been for the help of the animals, Sky Woman would have died and the creation of earth would not exist. The twins play a significant role among the Iroquois that the good and evil are necessary for the world to be in balance. The belief that Sky Woman is the leader of all female life who “controls the rise and fall of the waters and a companion to the stars” (Olan, n.d.) and “regulates the monthly cycles of all females in which guarantees new life will be born” (Olan, n.d.). The myth signifies the Native American belief of how the creation and reincarnation of humans connects to the rise and fall of the sun and moon.

One of the first differences between the Iroquois’ beliefs and Christianity is the theory on “the creation of life”. The Iroquois believe in a creator God called ‘Hahgwehdiyu’, which was the good spirit of the twin Gods of Wind Breath. He shaped the world with the palm of his hands and recycled the corpse of his dead mother to create the sky, moon and the sun. He planted a grain of corn in her to give the world fertility. It is believed that when the Sky Woman, or the mother, fell from the sky she would fertilize the earth so her granddaughters could grow and harvest many things. They also believe in a current God called

There are three key patterns seen in most Native American religions they are the human relationship with nature, framing of time and space and respect for gods/ancestors. The human relationship with nature known as animism, everything is seen as part of the same reality and every object has a spirt, is a practice where there is little distinction between humans and animals. Time and space is sacred, cyclical,

Storytelling continues to be an integral part of Native American culture, providing us with an understanding of what was important to the Native Americans. Through their stories, Native Americans expressed an understanding of the environment, and the relationship that existed between themselves and their environment. These stories also provide us with a look at Native American legends, history, and a collection of knowledge critical to their survival. Native American stories are deeply rooted in their relationship with Mother Earth. Their many years connected with land, life, water and sky has created many stories explaining these important bonds with Mother Earth. From ancient times the Native Americans have looked to their

Native Americans were the first civilization in America this means that they do not know how things were made yet. That caused them to tell stories called myths about how the Earth came to be and how mountains were made. Myths got passed down from generation to generation and often got changed as the word passes on. These myths are still around and being told today but just as historical background to study them. Native American myths have common traits such as characters, morals, and the pattern of events; imply that Native Americans value land and life.

At the beginning of the story about the creation is different: in Christian story, the first day God created the heavens and the earth. God created the world in seven days, and the world has day time, night time, plants, trees, sky, seas, lands, water, birds, wild animals, foods, the man ? Adam, and his wife ? Eve. On the other hand, in Iroquois, that has two worlds in ancients already ? the lower world was in great darkness and humankind inhabited the upper

All humans are interested in their origins and trying to account for their existence through creation stories. Native Americans tribes are no different from the rest of humanity. The tribes’ stories explain how people came into existence, how they came to be live on the lands they do and the how people interact with nature and each other. These trends can be seen in the legends of three tribes hailing from New England to the Great Lakes Region.

Many Native American stories are of the creation of the world; like the story “The World on the Turtle’s Back” told by generations of Iroquois that were past down. The story describes a pregnant woman that falls from the sky and plants soil on a turtle’s back and has a daughter who has two twins that create balance of good and evil in the world. Most creation stories have a purpose behind them as Joseph Campbell described it fulfills the four functions of a myth: Metaphysical( to instill awe), Sociological (to support customs), Cosmological( to explain the world), Pedagogical(to guide people). One of the most important ones is sociological or to support customs of the Native American story.

The motifs found in the creation myths are undoubtedly different from those found in any other type of myth. Contrary to popular belief, the purpose of the creation myths is much greater than a primitive attempt to explain the mysteries of creation. Behind each creation myth is a vast variety of symbolism along with a number of motives which are often shared between cultures, despite vast geographical differences. My intention here is not only to discuss the purpose of the creation myths, but also to compare and contrast common themes which can be found in three selected works. These being, an Eskimo creation myth, the Ongwe creation myth and the Navajo creation myth.

In my opinion, Native American Indians want to evaluate white men’s narrow perspective about thought of Native Indian by telling a fake creation myth. Their narrow perspective about thought of Native Indian is that Native Indians are not enlightened but primitive, so they think Native Indian don’t use modern things. Especially, in One Good Story, That One, a scene that white men gave tobacco to Native Indian implies white men’s narrow perspective very well. Since, they may believe Native Indians should use tobacco because origin of tobacco is from Native