Conceptions of beliefs and traditions in different peoples vary due to the cultural and ritual peculiarities in development. People always urged for some eternal things and tried to feel the spiritual world and the sphere of deities. It is so because of the strong and gradual succession of what the ancestors prescribed to do. Of course, every religion has its history and is determined due to the characteristic features of names of gods, the creation of the earth and a man, the prophecies, etc. This paper is dedicated to comparing one of the world’s most spread religions, Christianity, and its interpretation of the word-formation with the beliefs of Native Americans and their interpretation of the existence beginning as of suchlike most significant things according to the theme.
First of all, the comparison touches upon the reasons for the world’s formation, i.e. the participation of the highest deities and the main role of the Spirit responsible for making from nothing that is now called the world. This leaning to the spiritual significance, in the book of Genesis it is the Trinity (God, Spirit of God and the third part which is comprised in the entity of God’s Son, Jesus) (Genesis I:3); in Nottowegui (Five Nations) it is the wholeness of Superior Beings led by the Great Spirit (Norton, p. 88).
Then, God placed in the Eden Garden the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which caused the further breakdown of the holy agreement between God and Adam with Eve. (Genesis II: 9) On the other hand, in the religion of the Iroquois, the Great Spirit planted a tree (Norton, p. 88). Moreover, the extent of woman becomes guilty for disobedience to God (Genesis III: 6) in the Bible and for illicit pregnancy in Nottowegui (Norton, p. 88).
What is more, in both scriptures the theme of two human beings – man and woman – is underlined and also the unity of them is prescribed, because they were created by the Spirits, in the case of Iroquois, and Lord God in Genesis. There are also two more or less similar concepts of place where first human beings were protected by the spiritual guard, and these places are above mentioned Garden of Eden and the Cave.
The extent of two brothers, Teharonghyawago and Tawiskaron, in Nottowegui are quite similar in their traits of character to Cain and Abel who are mentioned in Chapter IV of the book of Genesis. Their names even hold merely the same definition Teharonghyawago – the Holder of Heaven, Tawiskaron – Flinty rock (Norton 89), and Abel who dealt with sheep, as a symbol of sacrifice to God, Cain, in contrast, was a plowman. (Genesis IV:2) Teharonghyawago and Abel were more preferred in eyes of the deities and were obedient to what the Highest Authorities told them to do. The wicked nature of Tawiskaron and Cain cannot but let envy and hatred come into their souls.
All in all, these two sacred excerpts bear in mind the idea that religions have many things in common, and due to the unique nature of a man, one cannot but agree that notwithstanding location, traditions, beliefs the psychological and imaginary part of human being’s essence coincides in terms of the Highest Authorities and trends towards grasping of the world creation mystery.
References
- Clinck, Carol. “Iroquois Origin Story.” Journal of John Norton, 1816. Toronto, 1970, pp. 88-91.
- The Holy Bible. Book of Genesis. King James Bible Edition, pp. 385-388