Creation Stories
Where do we come from? The creation of the world has for centuries been told through many different stories, in different languages, and from a variety of religions across the world. The founders of each religion developed every creation story, and as religions vary greatly in beliefs, so do their stories of how the world and mankind were created. Although many of these creation stories differ, they have a close mystical and spiritual bind that brings people together. Two particular creation stories from very diverse religions are that of the Native Americans and the Christians. Unlike Christians who worship one god, Native Americans worship two high gods as well as a variety of natural and supernatural forces. Although both stories may differ from one another in determining their belief of creation, they both are similar in which both religions believe that through ceremonies and worship that they will be at harmony with god. Through their creation stories we can interperate their understanding of the world around them, how they view life, and how they are compatible and incompatible with one another.
Native Americans believe that all things of nature have a spiritual value in life, they use animals, insects, plants, and other forms of nature to symbolize spirits in their stories. Native Americans have a variety of creation stories in which different tribes depict how they believe the world and evolution came to be. The Osage tribe has a creation story in which the world is emerged out of chaos; the Seneca tribe has a creation story in which the world came together through a clash of good and evil. The creation story that is found in many tribes is that of ?Inktomi?, also known as ? spider woman? whom they believe created earth and life. They believe that spider woman spun a line to form the east, west, north, and south, from which came the Four Corners of the earth. Those who had forgotten the gift of her thread would drown in the great flood she sent, but for those who remembered they floated to the New World and climbed unto the safety of mother earth. The Native American creation story reveals that they understand the world to be a place of equality. In the following passage the creation of man is depicted from the use of different clays: ? Spider woman used the clay of the earth, red, yellow, white, and black, to c...
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... But for some Native Americans they believe that when they die their soul takes form as a part of nature, whether a bird, tree, or wolf, and like their ancestors they will provide as a guardian for their people after them.
After learning of the varying stories that the Native American and Christian religions depict of creation, I have come to the conclusion that they all have a similarity with one another despite their other differences. They both have the belief that a higher force, for the Native Americans it was the Spider Woman and for the Christians it was God, created the earth and humanity. For religions such as these the scientific explanation of creation holds no importance in their lives, because their faith and teachings of their creation story justifies their belief. Across the world the cultures, languages, and beliefs that separate people from one another are erased when it comes down to the story of our beginning, our creation story. Like seen in the compatibalities of the Christians and Native Americans their creation stories have for centuries interpreted their understanding of the world around them, spiritually binding people from all religions together.
One of the first differences between the Iroquois’ beliefs and Christianity is the theory on “the creation of life”. The Iroquois believe in a creator God called ‘Hahgwehdiyu’, which was the good spirit of the twin Gods of Wind Breath. He shaped the world with the palm of his hands and recycled the corpse of his dead mother to create the sky, moon and the sun. He planted a grain of corn in her to give the world fertility. It is believed that when the Sky Woman, or the mother, fell from the sky, she would fertilize the earth so her granddaughters could grow and harvest many things. They also believe in a current God called “the Great Spirit”. On the other hand, the Christians believe in a different story. The Holy Bible states that one God, simply called God, created the heavens, the earth, the light and the darkness. Later on he created the first humans, which were Adam and Eve. Already we can see one difference, just by knowing...
The Native American’s way of living was different from the Europeans. They believed that man is ruled by respect and reverence for nature and that nature is an ancestor or relative. The Native American’s strongly belie...
The Native Americans and Europeans had many influences that affected their outlook when they first encountered one another. These influences have different stories and views that pertain to the origin of life and how the earth was created. For example the Native Americans had stories that were passed down from generations that would be reshaped in different tellings. On the contrary the European Christians obtained their stories from books that had been written in earlier years such as the bible and Aristotle’s work. Despite their differences all of their beliefs were affected by the accounts which then made their encounter with each other and the relationship with human beings.
Duane Champagne in Social Change and Cultural Continuity Among Native Nations explains that there has never been one definitive world view that comprises any one Native American culture, as there is no such thing as one “Native community” (2007:10). However, there are certain commonalities in the ways of seeing and experiencing the world that many Native communities and their religions seem to share.
Throughout history man has searched for an explanation of our origins and why we are here. Many creation myths are attempts of our ancestors to do just that. I have found in reading many of these creation myths, that there is also an attempt to explain why human existence is imperfect. The following essay will compare and contrast four creation myths and their explanation of how mans imperfection came to be.
The most common mythological theme across different cultures is the creation of humankind because everyone has always questioned how the earth was created and so forth. Creation myths are “usually applied to a mytho-religious story which explains the beginning of humanity, life, the earth and the universe as being the result of a deliberate act of supreme beings or being” ("Creation myths," 2007). Individuals from different cultures believe in a higher power known as God and they believe that the higher power is the creator of earth, animals and humankind, however each culture believe in different Gods but they all believe that God is the creator and that is the universal theme across different cultures.
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
Just look at two creation stories side-by-side and you should easily see their similarities. Perhaps the easiest way to do this would be to take one unknown creation story and compare it to one from one’s own culture. Below is an example of a Mongolian creation myth:
The rituals and traditions of the Indians evince their beliefs in spirits and afterlife. Indians believed that there would be a better life for them after they die, because many of them did not see a way out, but people were still fighting for their lives.
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).
Have you ever wonder how the universe was created? Some people believe in the Earth creation by the Supreme Being, some believe in the scientific explanation of Big Bang explosion theory. Every civilization in the world has its own story of how things are created. Each story reflects how people see and think the world at their time. In this essay, I am going to compare two myths of how man was created – the creation tale of Mohawk Tribe and the Hebrew Bible creation story. There are a lot of similarities as well as differences between these legends. While some differences between the two tales are the development of the stories and the meaning behind the stories, the similarities between them is the concept of creationism.
...milarities. Their single god creates a firmament, luminaries, dry land, and the people that inhabit that land. Chinese and Egyptian mythology also share an uncanny amount of coincidences, such as the presence of a dog-headed god, or the creation of Earth and the heavens from a cosmic egg. Norse, Japanese, and Greek mythologies, too, agree on a lot of ideals. They each contain a clash of gods and the death of certain gods in order to form life. The list of creation myths, and myths in general, that relate to each other could stretch out for miles. With these parallels, humanity can better understand earlier cultures and document the method to how mythologies change over time.
Native American religion tends to center around nature. The scene, creatures, plants, and other natural components assume a noteworthy part in the religion of Native Americans. Many of the legends passed down were an attempt to explain events that occurred in nature. Native American religion incorporates various practices, services, and conventions. These services might be to pay tribute to various occasions. The act of taking certain psychedelic drugs was usually used to increase more prominent knowledge or speak with the divine beings. Functions may incorporate feasts, music, dances, and different exhibitions. Imagery, particularly with creatures, is frequently a typical piece of Native American religion. Creatures were utilized to speak
Both the Theogony and the Creation in Genesis show nature as a blessing for humans but with negative affects, However the myths differ in the ways that the Earth and humans were created and how humans interact with the deities of the creation stories. These differences include how Gods treat humans and why the Gods/God created Earth. These stories are still being passed on in today’s world and are two of the most influential creation stories to have ever been written. The similarities and differences in the creation stories show that different cultures and religions throughout the world really aren’t that far off from each other.
I felt it was a good idea to ask my next question when I did because of the interest I got in Native Americans in a previous question. “Do you know anything about the religious beliefs of Native Americans?” For this question, I felt everyone had the same general idea about Native American beliefs. Many of them believed the Native Americans worshiped nature and had a deep respect for it. Lynne had said “I know they believed things had a spirit, everything is alive and that everything worships God. What I loved about them when I was younger was that if for example, if they were to hunt and kill something they would thank it for feeding them.” Very similarly Frank said, “They would thank nature, like if they had to kill an animal for food they would thank it for its services.” Marie had said “I think they believe in the sun and the seasons, I