Navajo Origin Legend Research Paper

Dictionary.com defines a myth as a traditional story, usually concerning some being or hero or event, with or without a determinable basis of fact or a natural explanation, especially one that is concerned with deities or demigods and explains some practice, rite, or phenomenon of nature. Native Americans passed down their history by word of mouth. Many Native American tribes share legends within their group to their children. Obviously, they did not have the resources we have today to explain why some things happen in the world, so the Native Americans used their only assets on explaining natural phenomena. The Navajo and Delaware tribe both have their own explinations on how the world was created, while they are both completely different myths they have some points that are similar. To begin, The Walam Olum and The Navajo Origin Legend have a great deal of similarities. The Walam Olum explains how the Great Manito created all of our natural resources of the world, like the sun, moon, and the stars. Along the same lines, the Navajo Origin Legend discusses about how the first man and women came to be. Both stories have an explination on how the world originated. They both have an explination of life. Also, the two tribes pass down their stories by word of mouth to the

Myths are passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. Without a doubt, the stories are bound to change because there is no original story in writing. No matter what we do, there will never be concrete evidence on the life and stories of Native Americans. Since there was no actual explination on the creation of the world for the Indians, they had to use their only natural resources and what they believe in. The two legends obviously show that since there was obviously great distance between the two tribes, they still prove that they use their own