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Comparison of creation myths
Comparison of creation myths
Comparison of creation myths
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Native American Creation Myths Compare and Contrast
Many oral traditional stories have been told and passed down from person to person and family to family for thousands of years. Almost every story that has been told has either been altered or told in a different way so after 100 years of one story being told someone will decide to create their own version of it.
For starters, The Osage Creation Account has been changed in many different ways. In one story there was a part of Wazha’zhe that lived in the sky that desired to know where they originated from. They went to the sun and found out that the sun was their father and then the decided to go to the moon and she told them that she was the mother of them. They were told by their mother to go to earth but found it covered with water. Searched for help but found none until they found the finest, most stately, and inspiring elk of all creatures. They took this elk and dropped him into the water and he started to sink. The he called to the winds which blew until the waters went upward as in a mist. First there were only
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rocks then the water went down until the soft ground was exposed. When this happened the elk rolled over on the soft earth and all of his loose hairs clung to the soil. The hair grew, and from them sprang beans, corns, potatoes, and wild turnips, and then all the grasses and trees. The second version i heard was “The Navajo Creation Myth” which was about Begochiddy.
One day Bigochiddy decided that we would return to the Lukatso, and found the people very excited. He told them that he had met many people above and that the world was good. They were very happy to hear that so Bigochiddy sent badgers up to see the world but when he reached the hole, he tried to jump onto the crust but he broke through and that is the reason his paws are black today. Bigochiddy asked he he could dry the wet earth so they sent up to the fourth world white thunder, white cyclone, the white hail, and black, blue and yellow cyclones. When the hail and thunder and cyclones hit the petrified wood, they were all broken. Then the cyclones blew till they dried the mud, then dust-devils trimmed the rocks. After all of the storms were gone the ants had led the people back to the
world. So, there are many ways that this story has been passed and told and there are many ways this story has been recreated by people and passed along to others. These are just two of examples of one story being told in two different ways.
Creation stories tell of how the world was created based on the Indians. In my home state of Washington State, Makah Indians told the story of the-Two-Men-Who-Changed-Things creation story. Chelan Indians told the story of a Great Chief above that created the Indians. Both have different cultural backgrounds and live in different places in Washington.
Zitkala-Sa was extremely passionate with her native background, and she was adamant on preserving her heritage. When Zitkala was a young girl, she attended White’s Manual Labor Institute, where she was immersed in a different way of life that was completely foreign and unjust to her. And this new way of life that the white settlers imposed on their home land made it extremely difficult for Native Americans to thrive and continue with their own culture. In Zitkala’s book American Indian Stories, Legends, and Other Writings, she uses traditional and personal Native stories to help shape her activism towards equality amongst these new settlers. Zitkala’s main life goal was to liberate her people and help
The Sioux Creation Story is an native american tale about how the world was created. It is based upon the idea that the humanity needed to be destroyed and recreated because of the not so good actions they were committing. The story focuses on particular traditions in the native american culture.
For the Native Americans to explain their existence, they created stories that described how things came to be. These stories are much like the ones that you would find in the Bible, and are very insightful in getting a better understanding of the Native Americans religious viewings. The Native Americans strongly believed in spirits and beings of another world. In the Iroquois Creation Story, these believes are strongly represented by telling the story of two brothers. This story is a representation of how the world was created. There is a good minded brother and a bad minded brother, which are not just brothers but twins. These unborn brothers and their mother were sent to the back of a turtle that in order to secure them from the dangers of the dark world she fell to. In a hurry to be born, the bad minded brother murders
The historical context of the documents complicate the narrative of the United States' "colonial beginnings" because it shows that the original treatment of the Native Americans shaped the United States' beginning, much more than what most are lead to believe. This is shown through the timing of certain events, the issues that caused the events, and the people who helped make many of the events happen or end.
Considering historical evidence, the notion: Native –Americans was not the first inhabitant of America is a complete false. For centuries, history kept accurate and vivid accounts of the first set of people who domiciled the western hemisphere. Judging by those records, below are the first set of Native-American people who inhabited America before the arrival of another human race; the Iroquois: The Iroquois of Native Americans was one of the tribes that lived in America before other people came. Based on historical evidence, it is believed that the Native Americans came from Asia way back during the Ice Age through a land bridge of the Bering Strait. When the Europeans first set foot in America, there were about 10 million Native Americans
The Maori myth is a Polynesian story about the creation of the universe which according to Rosenberg was different from other creation myths because it begins with nothing and then progresses through a process of “nonbeing to thought to the creation of the universe and human beings” (351). Even though it may be different because it goes from “nonbeing to thought” instead of nothingness to a spoken word or action, it has many similarities to other creation myths in how it explains the origins of the Gods and how each one represents a natural event or aspect of nature and humanity. The myth begins with an “idea” that “was remembered” and then “became conscious” and then “a wish to create”, all of which created a “power to live and to grow, even in emptiness” (352). At this point there was still no being, only thought and desire which gives the idea that what is being addressed are the human attributes of feeling, sensing, desire and thought, this is where this story is different from other creation myths.
The United States of American is a country that was previously inhabited before the European Anglo-Saxons came across that Atlantic Ocean. It was a nation of independent people, multiple tribes in many places both those who made one place their home year round and others who traveled with the seasons. In the middle of this big island laid a land that belonged to the Osage tribe, and what a mighty tribe it was and still is. In the 17th century the original Osage tribe separated from the Sioux their language almost extinct belongs to the Siouan family, few Osage still speak this native language. This tribe is federally recognized by the United States Government and the majority of the tribal members are located on the Osage Reservation in north-central Oklahoma, but members of this tribe are throughout North America.
Storytelling is the means by which Native American tribes pass down history, traditions, and spirituality from generation to generation. This rich cultural tradition was all but eradicated after Europeans flooded into North America to claim tribal lands by right of conquest. But in recent years, Native American storytelling has begun to emerge once again to strengthen the culture that was all but lost. As this valuable tradition carries on, it continues to enrich the lives of Native Americans in the twenty-first century.
Storytelling has a special importance in culture throughout the African continent; Anansi the spider in Ghana, is one great example of an African fable that teaches children important lessons including respect for elders, the importance of wisdom, and the importance of culture. These stories have been retained and perpetuated by oral tradition, despite the western emphasis on written records; African tribes have preserved history and culture well thorough oral historians. The translator, D.T. Niane, explains the validity of oral history well by stating that written text can contain inaccuracies as well (xv). The importance of the oral aspect of djelis method relays the information in a personal manner, as Djeli Mamoudou Kouyate states, “writing lacks the warmth of the human voice,” therefore by creating a written text of an oral story it “does violence” to it (xvi). I was raised in an African community, here in DC and was lucky enough to attend Djeli performances by family friend, Djimo Kouyate, and later his son Amadou. Although I do not speak Manding, Djeli Djimo Koyate, performed the music in such a way that I was able to relate and...
In the beginning, there was nothing, no sand, no sea, or cool waves. The heaven or the Earth did not exist. Before the earth was made Niflheim was made. In Niifleim rose twelve rivers. The south was Muspell, where heat and brightness guarded by Surt, who was a giant who carried a flaming sword. The north was frigid Ginnungagap, where the rivers froze and all was ice. Soon enough the ice thawed, and the drips thickened and formed the shape of a man. The man’s name was Ymir, the first of and ancestor of the frost-giants. Then more ice fell and created a cow. The milk of the cow flowed four rivers and fed Ymir. By the third day of the cow licking, a whole man had emerged, and his name was Buri. Buri had a son named Bor, who married a girl named Bestla, who was the daughter of one
For centuries stories have been passed on and used to entertain and allow readers to
Throughout time, mankind has forged stories and legends to explain the unknown. As years went along the stories and tall tales were passed down to each generation. Each recount of the inherited stories are always told differently, how the story was told usually depended on the person and their particular region of habitance. Thus leading to hundreds of different versions of a single story told throughout the world, written and told by different people. Not only are these stories told as pure entertainment, they serve as wise life lessons and set examples for children when they were eventually introduced to society. These stories are so prominent in human history that even to this day the same stories that were told to children centuries ago
Many totem poles from Native American cultures have animals. Those animals symbolize many character traits. My totem pole consists of seven total animals. The dragonfly and butterfly represent the past. The fox and owl symbolize the present. The beaver, dove, and turtle represent the future.
Before there were humans and animals, there were giants. They were the sons and daughters of the sky spirits. The giants used to live in the sky with the sky spirits, but the giants dishonored the sky spirits, so the sky spirits punished them to live on the Earth and wonder their whole lives, so most of them were evil out of anger and hated the Earth. But a few were good and wanted the Earth to flourish and grow so life might be better. There was only soil on the Earth, so the good giants dug. They dug with their hands for days and found nothing. The giants cried out of sorrow. From their tears sprouted trees and bushes, when the giants saw this it made them hopeful. They began to dig again. They dug until they found a worm. This worm was small