African Bushmen And Iroquois Creation Myths

Have you ever wonder how the world was created from another culture’s perspective? Native Americans used creation myths to explained to their people how the world was developed overtime. Creation myths are a big part of the Native American culture. they have been passed down from generation to generation. In the creation myths, harmony with nature, rituals, and strong social values are shown in each myths. The purpose of having strong social value in these myths is to teach younger Native Americans valuable lesson if they ever do something bad. These myths reveals how the rituals were created and their intentions for doing it. Creation myths has harmony with nature in it to show a very close kinship between them

There are quite a few similarities between the Greeks stories of creation and the Cherokee. In both stories, before anything could be created, water had been everywhere, and surrounded in darkness. It was void-like and wild, primitive almost. Another similarity

The Apache Creation Story is a reliving of the creation that takes on a more personal, familial and dialogue-based approach to how the world and mankind came to be. The story depicts how the natural environment was created, from the earth itself to the four cardinal points to the clouds, the animals, and the trees. Because of the nature of the Apache’s nomadic life, the legend remains generalized in terms of its location. Typically the story is told in order to preserve their tribal history as well as social and instructional purposes. These occasions range from the campfire to rites of passage to simply a parent teaching their child of their historical identity. The legend of creation is central to the spiritual practices and beliefs of the Apache, especially when it comes to their relationship with the natural world. As explained in the first two phrases of the story, “animals, elements, the solar system, and natural phenomena are revered by the Apaches.” By sharing this story with younger tribe members, the Apache engage them in understanding their traditions. It also teaches them of the morality they must have and pass on when it comes to nature, as Montejo mentions (21). It tells of the role of all living beings on earth and the importance of them all working harmoniously to keep the universe balanced.

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.

All different cultures have their own creation stories, mostly all containing the elements of a Higher Power of some sort, how the power created the world, and the creation a human man. The Christian belief in the Genesis story has these key elements , as does the Iroquois creation myth, The World on the Turtle's Back. Although these two creation stories share similarities, they also have some stark contrasts. These contrasts include, how the two cultures of the Native American Iroquois tribe and then Christians view life and aspects of good and evil, the way each culture views nature and the impact that has on their culture, and finally the way the Christian God and the Iroquois gods are portrayed to

There are many familiar archetypes found in the Creation stories of the Native American Indians. The Iroquois and Navajo Creation Stories from The Norton Anthology American Literature Vol. A, contains several archetypes similar to those of the Judeo-Christian Bible. The story of the Iroquois contains similarities such as a virgin mother, characters of good and evil, different steps to creation, Heaven and Hell. Some concepts follow through in the Navajo story, but it also mentions the importance of marriage, twelve tribes, interbred peoples, floods, and a rainbow.

A belief is defines a true statement, something that exists, or the trust and faith in someone or something. We all have beliefs and have obtained those believes individually in many different ways and whose to say that belief is right or wrong, or true or false. As with a myth, a traditional story, mostly believed to be a false idea or false believe.

Creation myths have varying optimistic views on the creation of man. However, most creation myths agree that a god or gods of sorts sculpted man from the Earth’s clay. The creation myths “The Golden Chain” and “The World on the Turtle’s Back” come from two different tribes, the Seneca and the Iroquois, and share an optimistic view of mankind as well as the idea that man is made from clay. Even though both the Seneca and Iroquois tribes both believe that man is made from clay, they believe that man is created using a different method than that of the other. The Seneca tribe believes that man is created by Obatala in a state of abnormality because Obatala is drunk, while the Iroquois believe that mankind was created in a normal state of mind

Many Native Americans tell stories of the creation of earth that explain how they came to be before the Europeans entered North America. Creation myths vary among all cultures; however, they all have one thing in common; heaven and earth. One of the most popular creation myths was the Iroquois creation myth. The Iroquois or Haudenosaunee meaning “People of the Longhouse” (Iroquois Indian Museum, n.d.) consists of six Indian nations that include the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora tribes. In the beginning, there was a belief that before the creation of earth, there were two realms, the sky, and the lower world that consisted of water and water creatures. From the sky, a young woman named the Sky Woman was

Eternal inflation is an alternative theory of creation that is a modification of the Big Bang Theory. The earliest universe was expanding matter, and particles that were next to each other would routinely be sent whizzing away to the farthest reaches of their cosmological horizons. It is no longer like that, however, as the inflation stopped. The theory of eternal inflation is that the expansion did not stop all at once. Rather, little bubbles of space randomly stopped inflating, or fell onto trajectories that led to the end of their inflation. And, since the expansion is rapid, the inflating space creates more space than the bubbles that stop inflating lose -- so inflation never ends. The result is an ever-expanding multiverse, which means not only is Earth not the center of the universe but our universe isn’t the center of the universe.

The Iroquois creation story there exists two planes the Nothing and the Great Blue. In the Great Blue there lived a woman who dreamed dreams has a dream about a tree that brings the light, but the blossoms on the tree blocked the light and this frightened her. When she awoke she begs the men of her village to cut down the tree, but not understanding the men dig around of the tree to allow more light to shine through. The tree fell through the hole the men dug and left only darkness. The men blamed the dreamer of dreams for there being no more light and the men grabbed her and threw her through the hole where the tree used to be. As the woman fell a hawk caught her and slowed her fall. The hawk unable to carry her forever called to the other creatures to help find solid land for the woman to live upon. Unable to find dry land the animals dove into the depths and came up with mud which they began to pile on the back of a gigantic turtle. The animals became excite by their work and made the entire Earth. Till this day the Earth

The difference in writing styles between the Iroquois Creation Myth and Christopher Columbus’ letters is very significant. The Iroquois Creation Myth is much more mystical and entertaining while Columbus’ letters are more formal and simply recounting events. Though the two pieces of literature have their differences, there are still some similarities. The Iroquois Creation Myths focus on nature and animals. Likewise, when Christopher Columbus is writing his letters, he describes the nature around him in great detail.

The story of creation begins with Genesis 1 and 2, it explains how the world and it’s living inhabitants were created from God’s touch. From Genesis 1 we see how the sky, seas, land, animals, and mankind were created. However Genesis 2 focuses more on the first of mankind, known as Adam and Eve and how they are made to be. In this paper I will compare Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 and what the main idea for creation is in each one, however in my opinion there is no contradiction between the two. Genesis 2 merely fills in the details that are "headlined" in Genesis 1.

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 the Iroquois creation myth, Sky Woman understood that she was pregnant with twins and was pushed by her husband into the Earth’s waters below the above world. Little Toad was able to bring up mud to spread on Big Turtle’s back, and it grew to become the size of North America where Sky Woman created the Iroquois world. Her children, Sapling and Flint, were important in creating the details of the land such as rivers, fish, plants, and even the seasons. The Sky People, Demi-gods of the Iroquois, were critical to the Iroquois people as it helped to define who they were and what they believed. The Iroquois people were happy and peaceful. There was little to no violence within their tribes just as in their myth of creation that tells of the Sky People living on an island floating above the “earth” where there was no sadness, violence, or negativity. This shows the ways the Iroquois applied their myth to their everyday lives and their religion. The myth also explains how the Sky Women’s evil son, Flint, was beaten by his good brother, Sapling, and was required to live on the Big Turtle’s back. North America was carried upon Big Turtle’s back and according to the the myth, bones in fish, thorns on bushes, and volcanos erupting symbolized Flint’s anger. The myth of Sky Woman and her sons is the explanation of how all nature came to be.