The Turtle On The World's Back: The Mythology Of Creation

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

The most popular creation myth, in present day is the “one god” myth. It existed yet, had a brief life and it was in the minority. Here Ptah was the closest thing to monotheism that the ancients had. This is a popular theme in Memphite theology, but it was present in parts of Egypt. Ptah supposedly had all that is manifest in thought and then created them with his Word (Baines, 1991). It is also said that the “one god” is and the other god names are used to personify an extension of the “one god” (Ancient Egyptian Religion pg. 2 and 3). Ptah creates the Ennead with thought and word. This monotheism was not very widespread and it did not last long.

How was the world created? There are a bunch of ways different beliefs on how the world was created and it mainly has to do with religion and the way people believe in something. The story “The World on Turtles Back” shows how the Iroquois believe the world was created. The story of Genesis is creation story on how the Christians believe the world was formed. “The World on the Turtles Back” and Genesis are two stories that can be so different

In the Inuit myth, it was perceived that a Raven was the creature. It was believed that the Raven created man through flaps of his wings creating growing pea-pod plants. Mayan and Puritan cultures both believed that a superior man created mankind. However Mayan culture believed they were created between two Gods one of man and one of feathered spirit.

The “World on a Turtle’s Back” is a very interesting creation story that does seem to a good job of “reminding people of who and what they are.” The creation of the world seems to be impossible to comprehend. It is hard for one to believe that a sentient being shaped the world with their bare hands. However, the Iroquois story says the world was created by a human woman, as the story stated that she was from the Sky-World, where the gods who like people (38). I think the Iroquois compared gods to men to remind them who they were as people, and to show that they were not that different from their gods.

“Creation Myth” is a Lakota Sioux legend that depicts the creation of the Earth, per this tribe’s tradition. The world, as it is known today, was not the Creating Power’s first creation: “There was another world before this one”. The Creating Power had created a world before but was displeased with how the people behaved so he sang songs to the rain that caused it to pour so hard that the earth split apart and water filled the surface, drowning almost every creature; only Kangi the crow survived. Creation began when, after Kangi pleaded for a place to rest, the Creation Power gave four animals, that he selected from his pipe bag, a task: “He sent each in turn to retrieve a lump of mud from beneath the flood waters.” The loon, the otter, and the beaver failed; but the turtle, who spent a long time underwater, succeeded in collecting the mud. The Creating Power modeled the mud while laying it out in the water, and then, with two eagle feathers, he spread it out so it would cover the water’s surface; like this, he created the Earth. Filled with sadness after seeing the dry land, he created lakes, oceans and streams by crying. At last, he created men by using black, white, yellow and red earth. He gave men his pipe and told them to live by it and warned them of the consequences if they strayed from honorable behavior: “But the world would be destroyed again if they made it bad and ugly.”

Similar myths and legends have been coexisting throughout the world, regardless of eastern and western cultures, and in different languages. Greek myth is probably the world’s most famous and beloved than any other tale of legends stories. Surprisingly, Greek myth and Japanese myth share many similarities in the creation of the world and legend stories through their mythologies. Japan’s Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters) is a collection of Japanese historical records as well as Japanese mythologies, in which the legend explains the creation of the world and birth of deities. However, Greek mythologies, on the other hand, do not have an official written record of mythologies or religious text like the Bible or the Kojiki, but earliest story-teller like Homer and Hesiod shared richest sources in poems, attempt to explain the beginning of the universe in human language.

For thousands of years, scientists have tried to interpret the concept of creation. However, before people had access to modern scientific equipment, they told creations stories. A creation story is a myth that explains how and why the earth was made. A few cultures with differing opinions on creation are Europeans, Cherokee Indians, West Africans, and Hawaiians. Europeans tell the story of Genesis and God creating the earth in seven days and Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Cherokee Indians believe that the earth was created by a water beetle. In West African culture, they teach the Golden Chain story, and Hawaiians have the Kumulipo story to explain their beliefs on creation. Although each story follows a basic guideline, they all have distinct disparities.

Take the Salinan Indian Creation Story for instance. Most creation stories explain the world as being created by a male human-like figure. This is not the case, for the Salinan people. They believe that they were created by a bald eagle. This bald eagle with the help of a coyote gave man life (The American Yawp Reader). The Hebrew creation story that has formed the basis of

In the beginning of the myth, the gods Plumed Serpent and Hurricane created the first plant life and the mountains on Earth. As time went by, the gods felt there was something missing because there was no noise on the planet. They then created animals to live in the forests. Once the animals were created, the gods had the intention of having the animals speak. Without language, the animals could not worship the gods properly. This left the gods unsatisfied. With this, the gods decided to create humans. The humans would be able to worship the gods and the animals would stay in the forests to serve the needs of man.

There was only water and bare, empty land. In the center of this nothingness was a great mountain. This mountain stood tall and proud and it reached all the way into the heavens. At the very top of this mountain lived a pair of every kind of animal. In the center of this heaven grew a tree. This tree was not just any tree, it was the sacred tree of life, and it was not to be harmed in any way.

What is a myth? When one thinks of a myth perhaps one thinks about a story being told by the fire, or a dramatic tale about an invincible hero, or perhaps a cosmological occurrence that caused everything to be. Personally, when I think of the word myth, I think of the ancient Greeks or Romans with their many gods and goddesses; however, to most, the story being told by a myth is simply that, just a story. To most the term “myth” has been confused for a legend or folklore. The truth of the matter is however, that to religious scholars, a myth is more than just a story; a myth is how a society’s religion came to explain what seemed the inexplicable. With modern science booming and being capable of explaining the events

“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.

People from early civilizations created myths which they followed in their everyday lives. These myths carried three details to explain how the world was created. Those three details were

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