Onondaga and Huron creation similarities
Native American creation myths can be similar in their creation stories. One example is that of the Onondaga and Huron who share an almost identical creation story. Both of them talk about a women falling from the sky and a turtle that turned a piece of land into the entire earth. The Onondaga creation myth and the Huron creation myth clearly influenced eacother do to the major similarities of their creation stories including their beginning, middle, and end.
The Onondaga creation myth is titled “The Earth on Turtle’s back” which starts with the great sky chief’s wife falling from the sky as a cause of the fulfillment of her dream and was caught by two swans that were part of the group of animals below. The animals lived in just water as there was no land and decide to listen to turtle who tells them to get the piece of land deep down in the water and place it on his back. The Huron creation story is almost exactly the same, it states that divine women fell from the sky and was caught by two loons who were part of the group of animals below. Like in the Onondaga creation story there was only water below and again a turtle told the animals to go deep under the water to get a piece of land. Both talk about unique women who fell
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In the Onondaga creation myth the Duck, Beaver, and Loon failed to get the piece of land in that particular order and had to return to the top for air. The Muskrat was the last one to go and was successful in getting the piece of land almost dying in the process. In the Huron creation myth the Beaver and Muskrat went down but failed and others stayed down to long and died. The last animal to go this time was the Toad who similar way almost died getting the piece of land to the surface. The similarities still persist in these two creation myths even further showing the influence that one had influence on the
Origin myths are traditional stories pass down from generation to generation. The Earth’s on Turtle’s Back, When Grizzlies Walk Upright, and from The Navajo Origin Legend all revealed different customs, attitude, and beliefs. These aspects showed the lifestyles and culture of each tribe and how they all came to be. Each myths are far original and different, yet at the same time similar. They focused on natural aspects of how the world came to be. In the story of The Earth on Turtles Back, the Onondagas believed in the world came from a turtle’s back, this showed their beliefs in the animals are the original owners of earth and respects for the animals. Similarly, the Modoc’s also have great deference to animals and especially to grizzlies.
Another similarity seen between both of the myths is presentation of a selected family to survive the flood by receiving a warning. This group is responsible for the repopulation of the planet and salvation of the animals. For example, in The Voice, The Flood, and The Turtle, the voice states: “Now you have everything you need. Now you can live. Now you have children and form a new generation.” In the story of Genesis, God believes Noah and is family are the only ones who deserved to live because they did not act in the same fashion as their peers. Once the flood passes, God says: “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.” Genesis and
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
Throughout the plot of these four creation stories, it is visible that each culture has varying beliefs on how land was developed. For example, Cherokee Indians conclude that land was created by a water beetle who sculpted soft mud, where as Hawaiians believe that land emerged from the slime in the ocean. Both Europeans and West Africans teach that a supreme being used his or her powers to form land. In Genesis, God was responsible for the land, whereas in the Golden Chain story, a creature called Obatala was deemed accountable for creating the land. One similarity betweens these stories is that they all begin in an almost identical setting. In every myth except for
These Native American spiritual stories can be compared to the book of Genesis. Both of the stories and the book of Genesis all start with water at the beginning of the story. In "How the World Was Made" everything was all water and the animals lived above in the sky. "The Sky Tree" starts with the earth covered in water. The book of Genesis claims that the earth began in water. Another common characteristic between all three stories is how land came after water. In all three stories, land
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’s tons of debate between which creation story is true. Some people say that the Adam and Eve creation story is true. Others truly think the Native American one is correct. But nobody alive today, has any idea which one is true, probably no one ever will. However, both Native American and Creation stories are similar in many ways. Both stories are different also.
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.
Often a topic of debate, there are several different takes on the creation story existent in literature. Dependent on one’s religion, different beliefs about how the world we live in was created may arise. Looking deeper into the literature, one will realize there are also many similarities between creation stories. Based on the strong possibility that Genesis was influenced by the Enuma Elish, there are similarities that stem from the fact that they both describe the creation of a new world as well as differences in their interpretations and approaches to creationism.
The Iroquois Creation Myth is a detailed and complex myth that has many different versions. The earliest complete transcription and translation of the Iroquois creation myth by David Cusick’s Sketches of the Ancient History of the Six Nations (Cusick, 1828). In different versions of the myth, Sky Woman gives birth to twin boys, and in another, Sky Woman’s daughter gives birth. In similar sequence,
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.
When I was a child I had been told a Christian creation story is different from the one that I had read in the book ? Iroquois. The differences between these two creation stories are: at the beginning of creation of the world, the type of people, and the meaning of the story.
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 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.