Comparing The Earth on Turtle's Back, When Grizzlies Walked Upright, And the Navajo Origin Legend

Comparing The Earth on Turtle's Back, When Grizzlies Walked Upright, And the Navajo Origin Legend

When this world came to being, there was no single explanation of its

origin. Many Native American tribes and other religious groups

throughout the world created their own origin or creation myths for

the earth on a whole or just the people of the earth. The basis of

these myths was cultural and social beliefs of the many different

tribes around the world. The Earth on Turtle's Back, When Grizzlies

Walked Upright, and The Navajo Origin Legend are the three creation

myths by the Onondaga, the Modoc, and the Navajo. Each of these myths

are by far original and different, yet at the same time share many of

the customs, attitudes, and beliefs of each of the individual groups,

which were revealed to us throughout the stories. Origin Legends not

only teach how a natural aspect of the world came to being, but also

dives into the soul of the tribe that created a specific legend. If

read closely enough, so much can be learned about the lifestyle of a

whole group of people, from a single myth.

The Earth on Turtle's Back is created by the Onondaga, from Northeast

Woodlands. This myth portrays many beliefs and attitudes that are

found in the Onondaga culture. No customs could be picked up from this

myth because the legend did not go in depth describing whether a

social or individual, idea or action was repeated over a period of

time. This myth reveals to us that these people are hard-working and

find joy in helping others, rather than being self-centered. When the

animals noticed that a lady was falling from the sky, the swans

immediately flew up ...

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stories has different attitudes and customs, yet many of the beliefs

are commonly shared. Many Natives had many of the same beliefs which

were reflected through their origin legends.

The Earth on Turtle's Back, When Grizzlies Walked Upright, and Navajo

Origin Legend all revealed differing attitudes, customs and beliefs of

their own tribes. These three aspects greatly portray the culture and

lifestyles of the Native tribes these legends belong to. They not only

teach us the variety in culture but also their creativity and ability

to create their oral traditions. Creation myths were also a great way

to teach the young of the tribe the type of values they would have to

live up to and what kind of lives they should lead. It was a great was

to get multiple messages across to their own people and the entire

world.