Throughout life, there have been many periods when men were superior to women. This fact of men being better or more superior to women is not as present in our lives anymore. Many creation myths show this aspect throughout their stories. The creation myths of the Kono, the Cherokee, the Ethiopian, the Iroquois, and the Navajo tribes identify a key human trait and all have examples of the dominance of a man over woman which signifies the human quality of superiority over inferiority.
The story of the Kono people of Guinea is about how the earth was created and where the origin of death was started. In the beginning of time, there was no light, no plants, nor animals. Life was very tiresome and there were no colors. Without light, life could not survive and people could not work or live their lives. Originally, the only people were Death, also known as Sa, his wife, and their daughter who lived in a sea of mud that Sa created with his magical powers. They lived in an awful, messy, and filthy world that they called home. Luckily, Alatangana visited them and realized that they could no longer live in this filth, so he turned the mud into solid earth and made plants and animals to populate this world that he had now created. In the end Altanagana and Sa created Earth. Altanagana was happy with the gift of Earth that Sa had given him. Sa wanted Altanagana to pay him his debt by giving him any of his offspring when Sa also known as Death, demanded. This is where the concept of death came from.
The creation myth of the Cherokee Indians explains how earth was first made and how people multiplied quickly. “The earth is a great island floating in a sea of water, and suspended at each of the four cardinal points by a cord hanging down from...
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Roberts Jr., Frank H. H. Indians of the Americas. National Geographic C. 1958. Washington D.C.
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.
In considering the relationship between the meanings of myths and their representation of women, we learned that the major role in shaping the narratives was played by men.
Wheelwright, M. (1942). Navajo Creation Myth. Navajo Religion Series, Vol. 1. Santa Fe: Museum of Navajo Ceremonial Art.
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Such stories and their settings establish the Native American presence on this land from time immemorial by relating how the Creator placed the First Peoples in their traditional homelands. Homelands are stable and permanent cultural and physical landscapes where Native nations have lived, and in some cases, continue to live to the present day. (Handsman 13). Creation stories thus reflect the central place their relationship with the land occupies in the culture and hi...
In old, but not so ancient times, native americans populated our land widely with different tribes diverged. One of the most widely known and popular tribes was named the Cherokee tribe and was formed as early as 1657. Their history is vast and deep, and today we will zone into four major points of their culture: their social organizations and political hierarchy, the tribe’s communication and language, a second form of communication in their arts and literature, and the Cherokee’s religion.
Every ancient society and civilization has creation myths that were passed down and keep alive throughout the passing of time by word of mouth. These myths are the world’s oldest stories and are vital to these cultures because they explain their beginnings and give purpose to their existence. By analyzing and interpreting different creation myths it becomes easier to understand different cultures and their connections and relationships with heir beliefs and god(s).
2. “Cherokee Culture and History.” Native Americans: Cherokee History and Culture. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2014. .
Elizabeth A. Johnson draws attention to how, despite being considered equal in Genesis, women had their worth ignored “Consistently subordinated and demeaned in the theories, symbols, rituals,
Myths – as they are known to most of the world – give insight into the pasts of various countries and religions as the people saw them. They have been used to explain phenomenons in nature or describe the tales of courageous and important men and women throughout history. Creation myths in particular define how the Earth itself was created, along with the universe, heavens, hell, people, and creatures that exist today. Genesis of Christian mythology, for instance, tells the story of how the single deity God spoke and formed everything from day and night to man and woman. Various African creation myths, such as with the Yoruba, explain the creation of the Earth through at least a couple gods working together and all life sprouting from a seed. But all share a common themes, such as a form of chaos or nothingness before life is created. Joseph Campbell notes that “... the idea of an absolute ontological distinction between God and man – or between gods and men, divinity and nature - first became an important social and psychological force in the near East, specifically Akkad, in the period of the first Semetic Kings, c. 2500 B.C.,” showing another similar trait – a god or set of gods exists to create in each story (626). Joseph Campbell makes a comparison of how both Genesis and the Book of the Dead of Egypt share the same idea of their bodies belonging to their god in some way, or being reabsorbed into them at death (630-631). Others, like the Japanese and Iroquois creation myths, claim the Earth was once covered entirely of water before land was formed. Adam and Eve of Genesis and Izanagi and sister Izanami of Shintoism provide examples of myths that share both a passive and active pair of people who eventually create the Earth's population. In any case, certain popular creation myths, some closely tied to prominent religions, share more common characteristics than others. An entire sub-study, called comparative mythology, gives insight into this subject.
Through Indian Eyes: The Untold Story of Native American Peoples. Pleasantville, NY: Reader's Digest Association, 1995. Print.
The telling goes into great detail of how the Navajo's interacted with each other and the animals