creation myths. culture acc. to andrew wiget, culture is a system of beliefs and values through...
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CREATION MYTHS
CULTURE
Acc. to Andrew Wiget, Culture is a system of beliefs and values through which a group of people structure their experience of the world. the impact of ideology upon literature pluralize our notion of the world & understand that other peoples can
organize their experience in different ways and dramatize their experience of the world
through different symbolic forms
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CULTURE
If culture is a system of beliefs and values by which people organize their experience of the world,
then it follows that forms of expressive culture (literature) should embody the basic beliefs and values of the people who create them.
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CULTURE
These beliefs and values can be roughly organized in three areas: (1) beliefs @ the nature of the physical
world (2) beliefs @ social order &
appropriate behavior (3) beliefs @ human nature & the
problem of good and evil
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CREATION MYTHS
Stories about the Creation of the World “tell people who they are by telling
where they came from” (21) influence how they think about the world
& treat it their worldview symbolic story about how the world was
created & how humans came to be
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CREATION MYTHS
common traits: advance a general cultural outlook perspectives on life ways to understand life also birth theme: start of life cycle higher power: a creator, catalyst innocence, sinlessness animals & humans together
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CREATION MYTHS
Natives: spoken, narrated, sung, chanted (oral
tradition) mid- to late-1800s that Euro-Americans
gained the linguistic skills & cultural understanding to translate them decently
& Natives collaborated in the recording of their myths & legends Frank Hamilton Cushing, Zuni, 1879 Washington Matthews (army doc), Navajo, 1880s JW Fewkes, & JW Lloyd, Pima, 20th C. David Cusick, a Tuscarora member of the
Iroquois 6 Nations), 1825 – 1st Native
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IROQUOIS
5 Nations: Mohawks Seneca Oneida Onondaga Cayuga
6th nation = Tuscarora of North Carolina, early 1700s
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IROQUOIS
“People of the Longhouse” Haudenosaunee referred to self longhouse –
20 ft. wide 40-200 ft. wide several families in 1 shared cooking fires
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IROQUOIS
Iroquois: French English & Dutch: Mohawk, Seneca,
Maqua area:
northeast North America Erie & Ontario lakes St. Lawrence & Ottawa rivers Hudson River
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IROQUOIS CREATION MYTH 25 versions (oral tradition) 1623: Gabriel Sagard, French 1828, David Cusick – Sketches of the
Ancient History of the Six Nations
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IROQUOIS CREATION MYTH 2 worlds –
Lower World of darkness the possession of the Great Monster
Upper World of sky inhabited by “mankind”
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IROQUOIS CREATION MYTH SKY WOMAN:
conceives TWINS sinks, pushed, falls from Upper World to
Lower World Lower World creatures see her
falling, prepare her landing get a patch of earth turtle volunteers to catch her in the
water
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IROQUOIS CREATION MYTH TURTLE
grows to the size of an island w/bushes & trees
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IROQUOIS CREATION MYTH TWINS
fight in the womb evil one wants to burst out his mother’s
side good one prevents it
birth she dies shortly after
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IROQUOIS CREATION MYTH ENIGORIO –
good son creator
sun from mother’s head moon from mother’s body stars creeks & rivers animals “Adam & Eve” = “The Real People” (Ea-Gwe-
Howe) rain, vegetation, game animals
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IROQUOIS CREATION MYTH ENIGONHAHETGEA –
evil son creates only bad things, tries to corrupt
brother’s creations mountains, valleys (rivers in only 1 direction) reptiles – poisonous to humans tries to create humans – but APES tries again, brother stops, gives them life &
souls “the most knowledge of Good & Evil” (25)
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IROQUOIS CREATION MYTH Evil Son tries to contain all animals, to keep
from humans – Good Son frees them Final Battle
Evil Son challenges brother for governance of entire universe confess their weaknesses
Good’s = beaten w/corn stalks, rushes, reeds (a lie?) Bad’s = beaten w/deer antlers
2-day battle Bad = beaten w/antlers, crushed into the earth Bad’s last words –
he’ll become Evil Spirit (“Devil/Hades”) hold equal power over human souls after death
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IROQUOIS CREATION MYTH COMPARISON to BIBLE:
virgin birth good vs. evil struggles Creation Adam & Eve ultimate battle, Good vs. Evil,
Armageddon Devil, Hades
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NAVAJO
Athabascan language shared by Canadian & Alaskan tribes shared by Apaches
Navajo Nation Din-e “The People” Navajo = Spanish, Apaches who
cultivate fields (Apachu de Nabajo)
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NAVAJO
migrated south west skills
farming & weaving - from Pueblos silver-working – from Mexicans livestock – from Spanish
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
Washington Matthews, late 1800s complex 5 Worlds #1 theme =
HARMONY & BALANCE gods & humans & creatures man & wife
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
“like an island floating in a sea of mist” (26)
red no sun, stars, people only light = the sky
1st WORLD
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
wind creatures (Nilchi Dine’e) the Holy People (Hashch’eeh Dine’e)
predecessors of Humans (we got their beauty & form)
4 colors of the day white = eastern sky, dawn (rise & shine) blue = southern sky, day (work) yellow = western sky, evening (retire) black = northern sky, night (sleep)
1st WORLD
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
north = death Great Fountain
center of the world (axis mundi) confluence of 3 rivers
12 TRIBES 4 in 3 directions ants, dragonflies, beetles, bats, locusts
not insects/animals but spiritual beings
1st WORLD
#4•4 or 2 pairs•important pattern # to Navajo•signifies completion, wholeness
• Judeo-Christian #7
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
4 GUARDIANS in the water surrounding the 1st World Water Monster, east Blue Heron, south Frog, west White Mountain Thunder, north
1st WORLD
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
“FALL” adultery
resulted in deceit, jealousy, turmoil * destroys the HARMONY between husband & wife
warned 3x, 4th = banishment but they were “lost in their wickedness & did
not heed” 4 Guardians sent Great Flood escape east, through small opening into a blue
world “strange blue head” in the sky
1st WORLD
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
blue barren & flat scouts (like Noah & raven & dove) Swallow People (blue beings)
(supernaturals who were precursors of today’s birds)
2nd WORLD
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
don’t learn their lesson: take liberties with head Swallow’s wife (adultery #2)
kicked out #2 White Head appears, go south – crooked
opening
2nd WORLD
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
white Grasshopper People
(supernaturals who were precursors of today’s insects)
adultery #3 kicked out #3 Red Head, go west – winding entrance
3rd WORLD
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
black & white the Pueblos (the Kiis’annii) –
lived in pit houses, houses in the ground Pueblos teach them @ agriculture
(corn, squash, pumpkin, beans)
4th WORLD
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
*Nilch’i Dine’e behave (no adultery, no kick out)
4th WORLD
LESSON:•behave b/c learned a trade •industry•idle hands…
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
Holy People appear 3x just a voice – 4th x = appear
White Body (Talking God) Blue Body (Water Sprinkler) Yellow Body (Calling God) Black Body (Fire God)
4 days, 4x a day – tried to speak w/gestures & signs – not understood
want to make more people, but in better forms
ND = formed like Holy People: teeth, 4 legs, claws like insects…
4th WORLD
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
“smell bad” purify wash dry with sacred cornmeal –
white for men, yellow for women Holy People return in 12 days
4th WORLD
LESSON:•how to clean•purifying ritual
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
Creation of 1st HUMANS 2 buckskins 2 ears of corn (white, yellow) buckskin, ears, buckskin Sacred Wind came between buckskins Mirage people appeared & walked around
the buckskins 4th turn of the MP man & woman replaced
the ears
4th WORLD
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
Creation of 1st HUMANS “ADAM & EVE”
First Man, First Woman Altse Hastiin, Altse Asdzaan
make a shelter husband & wife rock crystal
to man symbol of clear thought to burn for fire
turquoise to woman symbol of power of speech to burn
4th WORLD
LESSON:•1st humans
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
4 days TWINS Nadleeh have both male & female spirit --???
hermaphrodites? men who did women’s work w/o stigma?
every 4th day 4 more sets of twins (no more Naleeh)
4th WORLD
LESSON:•populate the land
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
Instructions: A&E taken to east mountains for 4 days children taken later, for 4 days how to live a good life how to conduct themselves (in a manner
befitting their divine origins) Knowledge of Good & Evil
b/c Holy People were capable of G&E taught them witchcraft, too
4th WORLD
LESSON:•Good & Evil in the world
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
religious rituals: A&E wore masks prayed – long life, ample rain, abundant
harvests ceremonies: prayers, songs, rituals…have
NOT changed
4th WORLD
LESSON:•rituals ***
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
marriage: children of A&E + Pueblos + Mirage People 4 days children
inventions earthen dam
guardians = Nadleeh Nadleeh made pottery, baskets while there
“Millennium” period of peace 8 years (long time, 4x2)
4th WORLD
LESSON:•important cultural ritual
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
Trouble: Earth & Sky join COYOTE & BADGER bad & good omens
1st argument
4th WORLD
LESSON:•imbalance •disharmony•battle of sexes
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
1st argument: 1st Woman’s “ungrateful remark” regarding
his hunting & providing other versions make it seem a “bawdy”
joke the vagina (the joosh) = responsible for the
successful hunting & food provision 1st Man moves away, separation =
loss of self-control (overreaction, pride)
4th WORLD
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
1st argument: 1st Man gathers all men take all their weapons & tools & move across river (with Nadleeh) Let’s see how they “get along w/o us after
all!”
4th WORLD
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
1st argument: 1st winter:
women = OK b/c they harvest men’s crops
women taunt men too late in season for men to plant, ate mush
spring: men w/ bigger harvest (than before, than women)
4th WORLD
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
1st argument: 4th year:
men had so much they left most to rot in field waste = taboo women = starving women miss men
dildos of cacti & stones creation of monsters loss of self-control
reunion for sake of species (no more children)
feast to commemorate, celebrate = “community”
4th WORLD
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
LESSONS from 1st argument: imbalance, loss of self-control x2 taboo: waste food feasts = community pray to Holy People
4th WORLD
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
3 women = missing mother, 2 daughters captured by Water Monster as they were rowing
across the river pray to Holy People Coyote helps in search of water – 4 chambers of
WM’s dwelling found, retrieved, BUT Coyote steals WM’s child
FLOOD feast
4th WORLD
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
Flood b/c of Coyote’s trick planted trees to climb to safety juniper, pinon, pine, spruce Old Man, Young Man – w/sacred soil Great
Reed from 7 sacred mts. 32 reeds fused into 1 giant reed hole in east side of reed, climb in for safety, sealed escape through Sky Turkey = last out, white tail feathers = reminder of
escape
4th WORLD
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
glittering Holy People, Pueblos, A&E, Nadleeh,
offspring return Water Monster’s baby plant, build houses, scouts, multiply
5th WORLD
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
divination HP do test to determine their future “magic shell” tossed into water: float =
immortality, sunk = mortality Coyote tosses 2nd stone in water when 1st floated sinks “If we do not die, we shall soon
overrun the world. There will be no room for us all.” people see wisdom, reluctantly agree Coyote = responsible for human mortality = across
Native Am. stories
5th WORLD
LESSON:•why we die - mortality•how to bury
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
1st death & burial Nadleah Holy People instruct – prepare body, place in rocky
crevice Argument #2:
over seed corm brought from 4th World vs. the Kiis’aannii
separation #2 borders, marked by 4 mountains, w/3 interior mts.,
by A&E Naming Ceremony (by A&E) east, south, west, north
5th WORLD
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
4 color changes of the sky (as before – see 1st World)
need more light Sun & Moon = created Old Man w/sacred soil, reward = Sun God,
immortality, bears sun across sky Young Man = Moon God, immortality,
bears moon across the sky
5th WORLD
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
MONSTERS: result of women’s unnatural acts in 4th World
(stones, cacti) horned monster, kicked people off cliffs, killed
w/eyes, flying monster only 4 people remain 1st Man still prays each morning faith in
hardship (JOB) 4th morning – White Body told 1st man to go to
mountain
5th WORLD
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
CHANGING WOMAN: “the most beloved of all the
deities” as a baby, 1st Man takes her home 4 days = full growth, maturity – moves out birth to TWINS
5th WORLD
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
TWINS: sons of Sun & Waterfall Born-for-Water, Monster Slayer
twins defeat the monsters (helped by Spider Woman, others)
MS slew, B4W stayed home protection spells Sun gives special weapons to kill Giant, one of
his sons/monsters b/c killing humans weapons made of lighting, magic to walk on
rainbow
5th WORLD
Clash of the Titans
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
TWINS: last 4 monsters = PANDORA’S BOX-
Old Age, Poverty, Hunger, Cold spared by the Twins so Humans would not get
complacent Twins go dwell w/Holy People
become protectors of Humans (still)
5th WORLD
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
Sun & Changing Woman get married after he agreed that she wouldn’t be long
away from her people made more people (replenish earth after
the Monsters) 4 Original Clans
5th WORLD
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NAVAJO CREATION MYTH
Happy Ending: Changing Woman makes more people Twins become protectors of Humans (live w/Holy
People) Holy People leave but in touch through PRAYER &
SONGS Sacred Rainbow =
placed around Navajo homeland (Dine’bikeyah) protection blessing
reminder of sacredness of that land so long as Dine remain w/in this boundary, they
have protection of Holy People connection to the land (Jerusalem as “Holy Land”)
5th WORLD
Political aspect of story:•Andrew Jackson = becomes president•promise to remove Indians from land•foresees “Trail of Tears”
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LESSONS
#4 industry cleansing/purification ritual how 1st Man & 1st Woman came to be prayer ceremonies & rituals why there’s good & evil marriage be fruitful & multiply harmony & balance loss of self-control & results waste = taboo (esp. waste of food)
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LESSONS
feasts to commemorate good times: symbol of community, celebration
flood why turkeys have white tail feathers why we die – mortality how to bury naming ceremony faith in woe, still pray sun & moon twins why there’s Old Age, Poverty, Hunger, Cold prayer & song holy connection to the land
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COMPARISON to BIBLE
axis mundi (Garden of Eden) 12 Tribes of Israel Sodom & Gomorrah Fall & banishment Great Flood scouts = dove & raven from Noah’s ark Adam & Eve
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COMPARISON to BIBLE
marriage industry, work be fruitful & multiply millennium fall, Serpent-trickster Job & monsters (faith in woe/crisis) Holy Land
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