Native American cultures have a strong sense of connection to and unity with nature, an aspect of characterization. Like other folklore, the Cherokee story explains how the creation of the world and environment. However, what sets this origin tale of the Native Americans is that its lessons about respecting nature set it apart from other stories. This nature’s significance is visible daily in the Cherokees’ daily way of life. This essay will demonstrate how the creation of the Cherokee myth “How the World Was Made” aimed to provide a harmonious balance between humankind, creatures, and god utilizing symbolism, archetypes, analogies, hyperbole, and personification. However, the absence of humanity from the creation account starkly contrasts with their dominance of nature.
According to the Cherokee creation myth, there is just water at the beginning. The Great Spirit and only animals exist in the world, not refer to humans. Although the animals lived in the skies above the water, they were interested in what lived there. The water beetle, Dayuni’si, offered to explore the streams and found mud there. The water beetle repeatedly transported mud from the water’s bottom to the top (Cherokee 2). It caused the muck to extend across the oceans and transform into the current land. The new country was fastened to the sky by four loops by the Great Spirit. The animals then dispatched off the Galun’lati, a bird of prey, to ready the field because it was not suitable for the others to arrive.
The animals present further continued creation. The buzzard’s wingspan started to touch the earth as he swooped to land since he was exhausted. Highlands and valleys appeared as soon as the wings touched the ground. Once the animals realized it was too dark, they took Sister Sun and lowered her where it is now in the sky. The Great Spirit formed the man and woman lastly, and when the male brushed a fish against the woman, she got pregnant (13, Leemings). Consequently, human creation happened after everything else. They came to a world already perfected for them to rule. It raises concern about the supreme power portrayed by these animals during creation only for the subjection of human dominance.
The absence of human control over nature in this origin myth was notable. In the origin narratives of different civilizations and religions, highlighting humanity’s origin always happens. Although it is not entirely false in this instance, there is no evidence of human supremacy over animals. Other religions give people and their dominance over nature much weight. However, the Cherokee creation myth depicts plants and animals as powerful as people do. Animals played a part in the planet’s formation, which people cannot claim (Cherokee 4). It is observable that the religion’s effort to elevate the environment in the creation stories. This narrative demonstrates how nature is what it is and that humans have no control over it.
One aspect of this Cherokee story that stands out is that the creation of the earth does not happen due to a single hand or divinity. The Great Spirit and the animals created various areas of the globe. The aquatic beetle is in charge of first carrying the mud to the level from the sea’s surface. The Great Spirit tied four cords from the sky to the ground. The animal that built the mountains was the buzzard (Cherokee 5). The creation of humans did not place them over the rest of nature but rather as a part of it. That does not mean that other origin stories ignore nature; quite the contrary. However, Adam is said to have been created in God’s image and given the animals their names in the Judeo-Christian creation myth. In Cherokee mythology, animals were given names before people and were never considered inferior. In contrast to other creation myths, the world’s creation happens through a cooperative effort. The other creatures have significant parts in the creation tale, although the Great Spirit is the one who creates humans. The story, therefore, creates a contrast compared to other stories in terms of the roles played during the creation. Cherokee creation emphasizes animals who were at the center of the process.
In addition to helping us understand how the world came into being, creation myths also help us understand how we should live our lives. Nature is given great significance in the Cherokee creation myth. Other Native American creation tales also display this appreciation for nature. It can be seen in the reverence that Cherokees and other Native Americans have for the natural world. They hardly waste anything they hunt and only use natural resources for the Cherokee creation myth promotes unity, which reflects in their political structure. As a result, the lessons of the creation myth significantly affect people’s culture and way of life. This sense of responsibility by the Cherokees is attributable to the creation story they believe. However, the humankind creation story in this study differs from others, like the Genesis story in Christianity, where the supreme being orders them to name and utilizes nature to praise their god. The contrast in the creation stories’ role altered humankind’s trajectory toward nature.
In the Cherokee creation myth, men followed the plants and creatures. The man struck the woman with a fish and instructed her to multiply the earth. She gave birth to a child in seven days, then another every seven days after that. Their number multiplied to the point where there was a threat that the planet might not be able to support them all. A woman is only allowed to have one child per year after that, and that rule has been in place ever since (Cherokee 4). According to the Cherokee creation myth, people were first made to preserve the environment and then scattered around the world. The plants and creatures did not have a part in conserving the environment they helped create and were already facing extinction from the growing population of human population.
In conclusion, the Cherokee creation myth emphasizes nature, mainly living things and plants. In contrast to other cultures where the creators were gods with a masculine orientation, the creator of the Cherokee was an insect, a bug. The narrative explains the position and function of humans on Earth and highlights their lack of control. The creation also sparks arguments over the dominance of people in the environment. This argument stretches over to other creation myths with are predominantly based on a supreme being. The Cherokee legend stands out for encouraging nature conservation, however. This essay dealt with the various ways that the narrative compares humans.
Works Cited
“Cherokee Legend – How the World Was Made – Legends of America.” Www.legendsofamerica.com, Web.
Leeming, Former Professor of English and Comparative Literature David, et al. Myths, Legends, and Folktales of America: An Anthology. Google Books, Oxford University Press, 1999, Web.