Genesis vs. Iroquois Creation Myth Essay

First we will be contrasting them. These story start very differently off the bat one with god making everything from nothing and in the other a woman made only the earth and she made it from earth and that brings us to our greatest difference between the two stories. In the bible story there is an all powerful god doing everything as for in the native american one it is quite frankly a normal human making the earth and her family making everything that comes after.

Well, to start we could say that both start with love for a God or humans. The cosmovision stories are also similar. Christians believe that it all started with Adam and Eve who had control, given to them by god. Similarly the Native Americans believed in a

There’s tons of debate between which creation story is true. Some people say that the Adam and Eve creation story is true. Others truly think the Native American one is correct. But nobody alive today, has any idea which one is true, probably no one ever will. However, both Native American and Creation stories are similar in many ways. Both stories are different also.

There are many familiar archetypes found in the Creation stories of the Native American Indians. The Iroquois and Navajo Creation Stories from The Norton Anthology American Literature Vol. A, contains several archetypes similar to those of the Judeo-Christian Bible. The story of the Iroquois contains similarities such as a virgin mother, characters of good and evil, different steps to creation, Heaven and Hell. Some concepts follow through in the Navajo story, but it also mentions the importance of marriage, twelve tribes, interbred peoples, floods, and a rainbow.

Almost every culture on earth has a creation myth. Most if not all of these myths borrow from the core theme of a God-centered creation as contained in the book of Genesis chapter one. According to Van Over (11), a good number of these creation stories show a similarity in the point of their origin. Rumor has it that some of these myths have emanated from actual historical occurrences or events. All creation myths emerge from one ancient source and only diverge when it comes to their timing and the surrounding cultural circumstances. The variations in the myths come as a result of the differences in time and cultural circumstances. Aside from the two causes of variation, in general all creation myths show a basic outline and they also share some basic elements.

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.

Native Americans believe that nature, animals, and a higher power work together in a synergetic relationship to foster the lives of human beings by providing resources, protection, and a guiding force by which to live. In the creation myths, “The Navajo Origin Legend,” “When Grizzlies Walked Upright,” “The Earth on Turtle’s Back,” and “The Iroquois Constitution,” these beliefs are shown through a variety of similar ways. Most of these include the use of animism, symbolism, and creation. However, while these stories have many correlative attributes, they also differ through their attitudes along with how they use these symbols and what Gods they may or may not have believed in.

These two creation myths are different in various ways.”World on the Turtle’s Back” comes from the Iroquois culture while “The Moon and the Morning Star” comes from the Wichita culture. One myth started with a sky world while the other started off with nothing. In “World on the Turtle’s Back” the twins created animals with clay and the first woman created plants with soil and roots from the bottom of the ocean.In “The Moon and the Morning Star” Man-never-known-on-earth created

Stories such as Pawnees Creation Myth has characteristics of what we believe today to be our creation story. What Christians believe to be their God corresponds

These two creation stories can tell how at first there was nothing but land and a creature or greater being(s) made the world how it is today. The world on the turtles back tells that two boys made this earth through competing to make the other one jealous, that there creation is better. “In the beginning there was no world, no land, no creatures of the kind that are” (34). This creation story has proven to some people that the world was created this way and this way only. For example, this

Throughout the world myths are used to teach morals and spread information in a way that is entertaining and delightful to children and adults alike. One popular type of story is the creation myth. In the story of “The World on a Turtle’s Back” the Iroquois people live in harmony and balance with nature, whereas the Cherokee in “The story of Corn and Medicine” work against nature.

Another difference comes with a similarity. In both there was a sacred tree, but the differences is in what makes them sacred. The Tree in the skyworld was made to give food to the people, but they were not allowed to disturb it. In the case of Adam and Eve they couldn't do anything with the tree, not even eat from it. The major difference between them was the fact that people lived in the heavens in the Iroquois story and in the biblical story humans could only be on earth.

In all cultures, areas of the world and religious orientations, one of the initial and essential elements discussed is how the world came to be. These creation stories contain the base of information for the respective belief system, as well as a unified understanding of how those particular groups of individuals were put into existence alongside their surrounding organisms and structures. Many creation myths, created by ancestors of the believers, serve as a guide to the remainder of religious beliefs and practices that follow. As a creation myth guides a belief system, it tells of the fundamentals of the faith organization; telling of monotheistic or polytheistic beliefs, certain laws or rules of life, positive and negative elements of the

Ancient civilizations across the globe have created stories, myths, and legends in an attempt to explain the beautiful phenomenon that is the existence of Earth and humanity. While some populations owe their lives to the work of one supernatural being, others credit the work of multiple deities. The Maori and the Hopi peoples generally share similar concepts of how humans were created and how the Earth came to be the home to civilization as it is today. Although they share a polytheistic belief in the creation of mankind, their stories hold extreme differences as well. Religious origin stories across the globe seem to all share one belief: that at one point, there was some form of nothingness. The relative similarities that are found across

Each creation story highlights the most important aspects of the cultures that wrote them. Not only do they show the values of the people, but they can give us an insight into how these cultures might have been. Comparing the Atra-hasis, Rig Veda, Genesis, Yijing, and Popol Vuh has uncovered many distinct themes when focusing on the time and place the creation story occurred. Patterns found in creation stories from different parts of the world show how similar human beings are.