Creation myths or Creation truths nobody knows
Every culture and religion around the world has their own beliefs, myths legends and stories of creation about how all things came to be. Some are very similar and others are very unique and take on a whole new perspective and life of their own. One thing that they all have in common is that those beliefs are a direct reflection of their religion and paradigms (the way they see the world) and therefore effect their actions and behaviors. Most of us here in North America and the United States are familiar with Christianity’s biblical version of creation as found in the old testament in the book of Genesis and may be unfamiliar with the Native American creation stories. In this essay I will closely compare the religious beliefs by examining the traditional Christian and Navajo Indian creation stories.
In the Christian Religion God is the Alpha and the Omega and the creator of the heavens and Earth and all that inhabit it. The Christian religion is monotheistic meaning that there is only one God, who can be seen in three forms, the Father referring to the heavenly God, the Son referring to Jesus the Earthlier human form and the Holy Spirit referring to the more spiritual, divine, and holly form. God was said to have created the heavens and the Earth and all of its inhabitants without ever lifting a finger, the holly words he spoke came to fruition. Christianity more so than other religions put a great emphasis on spreading the
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 many cultures throughout the world, and each has its’ own creation story, and many of them are very similar; however the creation stories of the First Nations’ People are some of the most magical. These stories not only tell how the world was created, but give a glimpse into who the Cherokee and Lakota were, and their views of the relationship between human beings and creation, and human beings and animals. The Cherokee and Lakota creation stories are similar in many ways, but each has
In the multiple origin stories both the Native and Euro-Americans told, there were many ways that Earth was believed to be created. Through stories like “Earth on Turtle’s Back,” “White Buffalo Woman,” and the book of Genesis, the values and beliefs of each group shine through. Reading origin stories of the Euro-American and Native American civilizations illuminates profound differences in the cultural values of the two groups.
People often ask, “How did the world begin?”. Some argue the Big Bang Theory, others argue God created Earth Himself. Most Native Americans, however, generally believed their world stemmed from multiple gods, animals, or a phenomenon of nature. Each creation myth was tailored to each individual tribe’s culture, customs, and beliefs. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to compare and analyze the creation stories of two prominent Native American tribes present in Texas: the Comanche and the Apache; warrior tribes that rode fiercely on horseback, and both competed to dominate the Great Plains. These two tribes were fairly similar in their military prowess, but both had a different language, culture, and a remarkably different creation story. From their creation story, one may begin to understand the culture of these two notable tribes.
Some Native American creation stories can be contrasted with the book of Genesis from the Bible. For example, the land is made differently in each story. In the Native American stories “How the World Was Made” and “The Sky Tree”, land was made by “animals bringing up soil from the water,” while God “made the heavens and the earth” in the
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.
The Indigenous people of America are called Native Americans or often referred to as “Indians”. They make up about two percent of the population in the United States and some of them still live in reservations. They once lived freely in the wilderness without any sort of influence or exposure from the Europeans who later came in the year of 1492, and therefore their culture is very different from ours. The Iroquois are northeastern Native Americans who are historically important and powerful. In the following essay we will discover some differences between the religious beliefs of the Native American Iroquois and Christianity to see if culture and ways of living have an effect on the view of religion, but we will also get to know some similarities. I am going to be focusing on the Iroquois, which are the northeastern Native Americans in North America.
One of the fundamental questions that religions seek to answer is that of origin. How was man put on earth? Why and from what was he created? Who created him? What does his creation imply about the status of human beings? Some or all of these questions are answered by a religion’s creation stories. Every religion’s creation myths attempt to give solutions to problems present to that religious society. Because of this, each religion may have one or more creation stories, each of those different from one another in the questions they ask and the answers they give.
Who is God? God is the creator of all according to the Christian worldview. As Christians we believe that God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Diffey, 2015, Ch. 3) We trust that God be existent in three persons. After reading the Genesis chapters, I understood that God
Myths – as they are known to most of the world – give insight into the pasts of various countries and religions as the people saw them. They have been used to explain phenomenons in nature or describe the tales of courageous and important men and women throughout history. Creation myths in particular define how the Earth itself was created, along with the universe, heavens, hell, people, and creatures that exist today. Genesis of Christian mythology, for instance, tells the story of how the single deity God spoke and formed everything from day and night to man and woman. Various African creation myths, such as with the Yoruba, explain the creation of the Earth through at least a couple gods working together and all life
The writings of Columbus and Bradford and the Cherokee Creation Myth each gives a glimpse into the beliefs, attitudes, values and shared patterns of behaviors that form the cultures of the Native Americans, Imperialists and Pilgrims. Interestingly, their cultures overlap and blend. Some key Native American religious beliefs resembled those of the Imperialist and Pilgrims. For instance, the Creation Myth of the Cherokees depicts a Creator God and describes an afterlife. There is also evidence that in each of the cultures there was reliance on the providence of God.
Indigenous religions exist in every climate around the world and exhibit a wide range of differences in their stories, language, customs, and views of the afterlife. Within indigenous communities, religion, social behavior, art, and music are so intertwined that their religion is a significant part of their culture and virtually inseparable from it. These religions originally developed and thrived in isolation from one another and are some of the earliest examples of religious practice and belief. The modern world; however, has taken its toll on these groups and many of their stories, customs, and beliefs have been lost to, or replaced by, those brought in as a result of popular culture and the missionary work of Christians and Muslims.
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.
A creation story is a supernatural story or explanation that describes the beginnings of humanity, earth, life, and the universe. Religion plays a significant role in the establishment of Creation for both the Native Americans and the Puritans. “The people known collectively as the Iroquois were made up of the Mohawk, Seneca, Oneida, Onondaga, and Cayuga nations.” (Cusick 21) “The Iroquois creation myth exists in some twenty-five versions.” (Cusick 22). However, there was no concrete indication from a Native American that coincides with the Iroquois’s belief as of how and when the creation of the world began until David Cusick, transcribed and translated an Iroquois cosmogonic myth in the nineteenth century. David Cusick became the first Native American to record on Atotarho. Grounded in nature the Iroquois religion portrays the natural foundations of the world and continue to believe that all things/people should live in harmony. The Iroquois believes that The Great Spirit would indirectly guide the lives of ordinary people and opposed that The Great Spirit and other forces of good were Evil Spirit and other lesser spirits responsible for disease and other misfortune. Corn, beans, and squash were referred to as the three sisters and thought of as deities or spiritual beings. The Iroquois believed that ordinary humans could not communicate directly with Great Spirit but could do so indirectly by burning tobacco, which carried their prayers to the lesser spirits
Creation vs evolution has always been a big topic. Christianity vs. evolution is mainly a question of where did we come from? Or how has everything come into existence. Many people believe in evolution because they simply think it makes sense (which it does not) or because they refuse to believe in Christianity. People who believe in Christianity believe in it by faith. The Bible is the main source of information on Christianity. Evolution is a theory that the world and everything we know today came to be by chance or accident. The people who believe in evolution believe in it the same way that Christians believe in Christianity by Faith. Evolution is not based on religion like Christianity is but on solely observation