Turtle Dives To The Bottom Analysis

Since the humble beginnings of culture, humans have constantly looked around, above and below them and pondered the mystery of creation. How did the universe come to be? What is the purpose of life? A relentless need to answer these universal inquiries, and an inexhaustible thirst for knowledge sparked cultures around the world to conceptualize and speculate various beliefs. These beliefs and faiths that erupted around the world pursued the same purpose; they aimed to find the answers to the conundrums of life. These beliefs and myths may come from various corners of the world, but nevertheless, if scrutinized and studied properly with judicious attention to the various symbols, motifs and themes, stupefying similarities will begin to reveal themselves to the conscious mind. These similarities allude to a cosmogonal connection between the thought processes of humans. The Native American creation myth, “Turtle Dives to the Bottom”, the

Judeo-Christian creation myth Genesis, and the Nigerian creation myth “Oleron the Creator” all demonstrate and exemplify many astonishing universal connections.

One familiar universal symbol shared between creation myths would be the connection of the three worlds. These connections can come in many forms and shapes, such as trees, bridges, and even ropes. In the Genesis, the tree of life symbolizes the connections between the three worlds. The three worlds are heaven, earth, and the underworld. “…The tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” (The Holy Bible, Genesis 2.9) The myth of Genesis is established around the tree of life, both literally and figuratively. This tree, is generally in the focus of the myth, and in most cases resembles a connection between the three worlds; heaven, earth, and purgatory. How does a tree connect the three worlds? The spindling and

limitless branches of the tree stretch up to heaven, the strong and stable trunk of the tree rests on earth, and the knotted and intertwined roots of the tree reach down to purgatory. Although the tree has been used many times to represent the connections of the three worlds, it is not the only symbol used. In the Native American myth, “Turtle Dives to the Bottom”, a feather rope is used to symbolize the connections between the three worlds. “Down from the sky came a rope of feathers. And down the rope came Earth Starter.” (Hamilton 35) Earth Starter, the creator, came down from Heaven. Later in the myth, Turtle “… Dives down underwater for some earth.” which implies the connection to the underworld. In the Nigerian creation myth, “… Long spiders’ webs hanging from the sky.” can be used as a connection between the three worlds as “They draped across sweeping spaces like graceful silk bridges.” (Hamilton 75) This myth, like many others, symbolizes an element as a connection between the three worlds. The connection of the three worlds is a recurring idea in the various creation myths across the world.
Another reiterative theme between creation myths is the woman igniting the downfall of humankind. In many cultural myths, the women are the ones that make the first mistake, which then causes a domino effect resulting in the doom of all mankind. For example, in the Genesis, Eve, the woman, ignited the flame that led humankind to be banished from Eden and denied paradise. Eve ate the forbidden fruit and “knew” and Adam, took his wife’s word and ate the fruit and also “knew”. When confronted by an angry God, Adam defended himself by claiming, “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” (The Holy Bible, Genesis 3) Eve was then cursed and both Adam and Eve were banished from Eden, as they had the power to know between good and evil, and had the power to challenge God. Whereas in the Native American creation myth, the woman tickles Coyote, which causes him to laugh and his intentions to create life are foiled. “… When the woman poked him in the side, he couldn’t help laughing. Because Coyote couldn’t stay still and quiet, the woman would not come to life.” (Hamilton 40) These are some myths that exemplify the reiterative theme of women making the first mistake and causing the downfall of mankind.
The true values of myths are unfathomable to the human mind. Myths are perplexing things, and if they are looked at superficially and devalued; we will not gain any further knowledge of our world and never be able to answer the universal inquiry. Humans remain ignorant of the complexity of myths. These myths can aid us in the journey to reach enlightenment. These myths are the key to finding the answer to the many questions the universe has proposes, they help connect everyone in this journey called the human experience.