In Native American communities, there is a great belief in balance and respect. This can be seen in most, if not all, aspects of their lives, from hunting rituals, where they would set aside a period of time around the hunt to thank the animal so that its descendants would still allow themselves to be hunted, to the roles each person plays in the tribe, where each are different, but viewed as equal. This belief remains even in the modern day. In a 2010 survey completed for a dissertation by Randy Woodley, Native American tribes were asked, “Are you familiar with a concept or way of living and being in harmony/balance that relates to many of your Native American values?” To this question, 92.7% of the survey takers answered either “yes” or “somewhat” …show more content…
(105). All of this is stems from the love for and of the Great Spirit, the Great Mystery, the creators, the higher beings. While there is a separation between creator and created in Native American myth, the relationship between them is one of reverence and love, which plays a great role in the importance of both harmony and appreciation for all living things in this culture. Looking at the creation myths from the Zuni, Hopi, and Navajo tribes, as well as the stories on Raven the trickster, one can see that the separation between Gods and the ancestors of humans is great, but the Gods still care about these “lesser” beings. The Gods enjoy being revered and, as with Gods in other cultures, they complete actions stemming from selfish reasons. For example, in the Zuni myth, the Sun decided to help out the people of the fourth and darkest world because there was “no one to give him prayersticks” and worship him (Thury 95). However, aside from the self-centered actions, many of the Native American Gods tend to lean towards helping the humans in their search for a better life, as opposed to keeping them down. In the Zuni emergence myth, the human-like figures were kept in a dark world where they could not see anything and had no choice but to urinate and spit on one another. Then, “the Sun took pity on them” (Thury 95). He decided to assist the people by giving them his two sons. The boys grew up quickly, then headed out into the world to find the people. One can assume these sons were very god-like, coming from the Sun, but they showed their connection to the people by saying, “They are our fathers and mothers, our sons and daughters” (Thury 96). The sons then traveled far through all of the worlds until they reached the dark fourth world. The people there recognized them through the dark and said, “Our fathers, you have come. Teach us how to get out of this place and come into the first world. We have heard of our father Sun and we wish to see him” (Thury 96). The Gods and the people are family, interconnected, though distant in abilities. Out of love and a wish to help these people, the sons then taught them how to move from one world to the next, by way of prayersticks. Essentially, in their worship and reverence, they were led up into a better place by the Gods. The Hopi creation myth is very similar to the Zuni myth and further enforces that the Gods care for their creations.
Contrary to the Zuni myth, however, as stated in Introduction to Mythology, the Hopi myth “postulates the creation of the First World by Tawa, the Sun Spirit, who regretted the emptiness” (98). This version emulates the reverence between creator and creation, as both see the relevance of the other. Tawa creates the people for company, making them, if not equal in a way, then at least important. They have a purpose. Thus, from both the Hopi and Zuni myths, one can see that the creators love their creations and, in return, the creations love and worship their creators. This generates a sort of harmony that is important amongst the Native American …show more content…
people. As yet another example of caring higher beings, in the Raven myths, Raven is a creator and trickster character and many of his actions are incited based on his own needs, but often end up helping the people. He is separated from the people in ability, as with other gods or higher beings; “There is often a certain wildness, with shifting shapes and transformations, a vision of cosmic extravagance” (Jackson). However, the positive outcomes of his actions allow for the people to respect and revere Raven, as both animal and God-like figure. In a version of the myth, Raven decides he wants to steal the fresh water from a man who hogged all of it, keeping it in his well. Raven tricks the man and gulps all the water into his mouth. As he escapes, flying over the land, little drops fall from his mouth and he creates several rivers, thus giving fresh water to the people of the world (Thury 379). In another part of the myth, Raven reveals his compassion and “felt very sorry for the few people in darkness” (Thury 378). He then steals and releases the moon, sun, and stars from a man who kept them in his home. It is Raven, also, who brings fire to the people of the world. Raven loves the people enough to give them such gifts that help their existence. The people, in exchange, worship Raven for all he has done for them. The tales of Raven not only depict this harmonious love, but then bring forth another important characteristic of the Native American people: the respect and “equality” amongst all living things.
In many Native American myths, Gods or higher beings are often animals. In the tale of the Raven, this God-like being takes many forms, but is usually depicted as a raven. “Raven embodies the mysterious life-force, the quirky spirit of life with its appetites, transformations, mistakes, and successes” (Jackson). Raven is connected both to the higher beings and lower humans through his personality. He has great power, but makes mistakes just as humans
do.
Modern day Native American are widely known as stewards of the environment who fight for conservation and environmental issues. The position of the many Native American as environmentalists and conservationists is justified based on the perception that before European colonists arrived in the Americas, Native Americans had little to no effect on their environment as they lived in harmony with nature. This idea is challenged by Shepard Krech III in his work, The Ecological Indian. In The Ecological Indian, Krech argues that this image of the noble savage was an invented tradition that began in the early 1970’s, and that attempts to humanize Native Americans by attempting to portray them as they really were. Krech’s arguments are criticized by Darren J Ranco who in his response, claims that Krech fails to analyze the current state of Native American affairs, falls into the ‘trap’ of invented tradition, and accuses Krech of diminishing the power and influence of Native Americans in politics. This essay examines both arguments, but ultimately finds Krech to be more convincing as Krech’s
Pages one to sixty- nine in Indian From The Inside: Native American Philosophy and Cultural Renewal by Dennis McPherson and J. Douglas Rabb, provides the beginning of an in-depth analysis of Native American cultural philosophy. It also states the ways in which western perspective has played a role in our understanding of Native American culture and similarities between Western culture and Native American culture. The section of reading can be divided into three lenses. The first section focus is on the theoretical understanding of self in respect to the space around us. The second section provides a historical background into the relationship between Native Americans and British colonial power. The last section focus is on the affiliation of otherworldliness that exist between
People have been living in America for countless years, even before Europeans had discovered and populated it. These people, named Native Americans or American Indians, have a unique and singular culture and lifestyle unlike any other. Native Americans were divided into several groups or tribes. Each one tribe developed an own language, housing, clothing, and other cultural aspects. As we take a look into their society’s customs we can learn additional information about the lives of these indigenous people of the United States.
The Hopi have a highly developed belief system which contains many gods and spirits. Ceremonies, rituals, dances, songs, and prayers are celebrated in year-round. The Hopi believed they were led to the arid southwestern region of America by their creator, because he knew they had the power to evoke rain with power and prayer. Consequently, the Hopi are connected to their land, its agricultural cycles and the constant quest for rainfall, in a religious way. The religious center of the community is the kiva, which is an underground room with a ladder protruding above the roof. The kiva is very important for several reasons. From the kiva, a connection is made with the center of the earth. Also, the kiva is symbolic for the emergence to this world. The room would represent the underworld and the ladder would represent the way to the upper world. In fact, a room is kept in the house to store ceremonial objects. A sacred ear of corn protects the room and symbolizes the ancestry of the family members. Kachinas are also a focal point of the religion. For a Hopi, they signify spirits of ancestors, dieties of the natural world, or intermediaries between man and gods. The Hopi believe that they are the earth's caretakers, and with the successful performance of their ceremonial cycle, the world will remain in balance, the gods will be happy and rain will come. Because they think of their crops as gifts, the Hopi Indians live in harmony with the environment.
The raven always tried to exasperate the narrator (Poe, “Raven”). The narrator was always trying to figure out why the bird just perched on top of the chamber doors and only said the same thing repeatedly (Poe, “Raven”). The bird never moved from them doors (Poe, “Raven”). The raven never said anything more than the word nevermore (Poe, “Raven”). The raven made the story feel somber (Poe, “Raven”). The bird always had a gloomy and somber feeling to it when it was mentioned in the story (Poe,
Religious ceremonies, sorcery, and myths are all prevalent in traditional Hopi culture. These ceremonies are believed to produce rainfall, promote fertility, bring luck in hunting and warfare, or assist the sun in moving from winter to the summer (Brandt, 1954: 18). The Hopi also believe in the supernatural and in afterlife. They have sorcerers who are said to have two hearts, one derived from an animal, which gives them powers, and the other a human heart. Myths are reality to the Hopi; they are both spiritual and practical. (Brandt, 1954: 32)
Like every other trickster, Raven lives on the edge of society and pranks to get what he wants. Through the tricks Raven commits, he unintentionally does good. This is demonstrated throughout the narrative when Raven uses his tricks and ability to manipulate, to give things to humans, helping them survive. He is also motivated by his desires and devise ways to get what he wants. We see that in the text when it says, “he made himself very small… and floated upon the water Nas-ca’ki-yel’s daughter was about to drink. Then she swallowed it and soon after became pregnant.” This is also evidence of Raven being a shapeshifter because he transformed into a hemlock needle, in order to be born. Raven uses his ability to change shape back and forth from a bird to a child to do his heroic deeds. He is not limited to just transforming himself, he is also able to transform the world. We see these abilities when he tricks his grandfather into letting the sun, moon, and stars, and daylight be placed into the sky to benefit people on Earth. In the narrative of Raven, it is also said that he stole water to bring to the world, resulting in him being turned black from flying up the chimney. He has gifted another element to humans when he tied “a piece of pitchwood to a chicken hawk’s bill, he told him to go out to this fire, touch it… and bring it back,” thus giving fire to humans and teaching them how to keep
It is my belief that the Raven is a believable character through his actions and the way the man reacts to the situation and pressure he is in. Questions that challenge this statement is how is the Raven a realistic character, or how do you explain this talking being, or Why does the raven say “Never More”? How do you explain the raven knocking on his door? I will answer these questions that I have been challenged with because I claim that this is a realistic character.
Contact zones were described in Mary Louise Pratt’s article "Arts of the Contact Zone" as being those points in time in which different cultural groups came together. Positive influences between the groups lead to knowledge and understanding, whereas negative influences lead to conflict and miscomprehension. The history of the Hopi Indians is intertwined with the various contact zones between the Hopi Indians and other cultural groups. It is this series of contact zone experiences that has shaped the development of Hopi pottery.
How Native American’s and Americans communicate can vary greatly and can cause miscommunication between the two groups, or unintended nonverbal communication. Native Americans use caution with their first encounters of early communication to demonstrate humility and create harmony (Shusta, Levine, Wong,
Likewise she made the birds and animals, again using earth and singing the Creation Song” (Oswald). The fact that the creator of life on earth is a woman says a lot about the Hopi people. Woman must have been respected for their ability to create life in the form of babies. Another anthropological insight from the excerpt is the way Spider Woman brings about creation, though song. This gives the reader the impression that song was very important to the Hopi. Song could have been sacred to them. A third insight into the culture of the Hopi is the way the creator acts towards his creations. In the myth, the creator saves the people that still remember him and then proceeds to kill off the rest through the use of fire, water, and ice. This tell the reader that the Hopi believed in a god that was both caring and vengeful. The reader can also see that the Hopi believed that regular appreciation of the gods was
Many Native Americans tell stories of the creation of earth that explain how they came to be before the Europeans entered North America. Creation myths vary among all cultures; however, they all have one thing in common; heaven and earth. One of the most popular creation myths was the Iroquois creation myth. The Iroquois or Haudenosaunee meaning “People of the Longhouse” (Iroquois Indian Museum, n.d.) consists of six Indian nations that include the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora tribes. In the beginning, there was a belief that before the creation of earth, there were two realms, the sky, and the lower world that consisted of water and water creatures. From the sky, a young woman named the Sky Woman was married to the Sky Chief. He had a dream that his wife was to “become pregnant from inhaling the breath from her husband but this was unknown to him” (Quenzer, n.d.) The dream disturbed the Sky Chief and began to distrust his wife. A second dream occurred in which the Sky Chief was to uproot the Celestial Tree. He believed this dream to be a powerful message and proceeded to uproot the tree. The Sky Woman had no idea that the Chief was to punish her for her alleged dishonesty. He coerced her to the large hole and as she looked through the large hole, he pushed her through the hole. As she was falling from the sky, she grabbed pieces of plants growing on the floor of the Sky World as well as a handful of seeds from the branches of the Celestial Tree.
than other is that both the poem and that short story both show dark imagery. One way that “The Raven” shows dark imagery is when the raven is taunting the man, then he believes that the raven came from hell. And he was trying to give him a message that he didn't want to hear. So this can reference that the man was having some mental problems, or was drunk and believed anything that the bird was
As we looked at other creation stories specifically from native Americans creation there are many similarities found between them. Both the bible and native American creation stories tells about a creator that shape beautiful and complicated things. The creators of both stories live in the heavens one called God and the other referred to as the great spirit but could go by many names depending on the tribe. They both value humans came to be into this world and their surroundings. But they differ on some things for example, the bible focuses on man as a superior being to animals and nature, while native Americans put mother nature above all. Most of the native American stories begin with man being born from the earth or an animal back. An example
The image of North American Indians as inherently attuned to the natural world is one of the many images associated with this group of people and their culture. Many people have come to believe the myth that Indians are more attuned with the environment than any other race. However, this image is in fact just that; an image. It is a false picture that has been painted into the minds of others. This false picture has been associated with North American Indians for centuries. It is often said that Indigenous people have a spiritual connection with nature that no one else possesses. It is a “very fruitful myth” to believe that all Indians are in fact “nature lovers” and spiritually bound to the Earth (Harrison).